Helsinki, March 31, 2018

The first night in Helsinki was very pleasant. We didn't notice the one-hour time difference. Early in the morning, I finished writing the blog entry from the previous day, had Bibi proofread it, of course, and posted it online.

We have to admit that we didn't feel cold at all. Overall, we have noticed that everything is well insulated here. Very sensible for such a cold country! We have around 5 degrees Celsius, and the weather couldn't be better! Pure sunshine, calling for an active day! Around 11 o'clock, we leave the hotel and start sightseeing. Our hotel is so centrally located that we don't need more than 20 minutes to reach the harbor.

We simply walked down Aleksanterinkatu along the railway tracks. A beautiful street with many small boutiques, cafes, restaurants, and shopping centers. A little detour to the Cathedral of Helsinki, the Dome, at Senate Square in the parallel street is a must. A white dome church built between 1830 and 1850. It was open to the public, and we couldn't miss that! Beautiful from the outside as well as on the inside. Bright and simple. Plain and nice to look at.

Actually, we wanted to go for breakfast, but it turned into brunch. Well, not quite. Finally, we went to the harbor. There, we just looked for a café where we could finally relax and have a coffee. The coffee in the hotel was free, but we thought there might be even better options. And we did find one! At Café Johan & Nyström. A very charming café with extraordinary types of coffee. Alternately furnished with many small accessories and detailed decorations. A gallery gave the café an atmosphere of a studio. Upstairs, we found a small bookshelf. 'Take one book and leave one.' Of course, we wouldn't have understood a word. They were all in Finnish. Many mirrors made the gallery look brighter, and the couch right by the railing was the perfect spot for us. Our coffee was called Springbreak. Cherry, Hazelnut, and Chocolate. A taste that I had to get used to at first, but I was pleasantly surprised!

Afterwards, we continued to walk along the waterfront and ended up at the Ferris wheel, 'skywheel Helsinki'. However, it was too expensive for us, with just over €10. Next to it is 'Allas sea pool'. A sauna with an outdoor swimming pool, a seawater bath. We didn't go inside. We were too scared and also stuck in the café/restaurant 'Flytour'. It simply invited us to stay. We sat in the blazing sun for almost 3 hours and enjoyed ourselves. Highly recommended. The beer ('Karhu', somehow a women's beer) cost €7.50 per glass. It seemed a bit expensive at first, but it's the average in Helsinki. We quickly got used to the prices.

After spending so much time there, we continued to the Kleinmarkthalle - Vanha kauppahalli. We bought postcards and had two fish sandwiches and a reindeer kebab at the Kleinmarkthalle. Highly recommended as well! The bread had a slightly sweet taste, and the meat was simply delicious.

We didn't stay there long, as we still wanted to go to the Easter bonfire on the island of 'Seurasaari'. It can be reached by a bridge. We were hoping for more, but all we saw was smoke. When we started our way back, we decided, like almost everyone else (!), to walk back on the ice. But we quickly gave up on that idea after I fell through the ice... Fortunately, it was only up to my knees! In the end, it was worth it, as our path led us through a small 'village', an open-air museum. We could admire many small wooden huts from the outside, from different periods of time. Very worth seeing, and the view was priceless!

We returned by bus. Unfortunately, we missed the first bus. We are just too honest of people. The driver got out for a short break. Which is legitimate, yes, but we had to buy a ticket, and that's not possible if nobody is at the counter. We were at the front and naturally let all the people with tickets go first. So, the bus was full, and we were outside without a ticket. Luckily, another bus arrived, and we were able to calmly buy our ticket and return.

We spent the rest of the evening at O'Learys. We ended the day quietly, watching ice hockey and boxing.