When we planned The Big Trip we planned to spend August in Northern Europe. We were scared off of spending too much time in Copenhagen due to it being “extremely expensive”, we decided against venturing up to Norway and since we had been to Stockholm a couple of years ago we ended up spending the final 2 weeks of August in Finland. J had read the Moomin books by Tove Johnson multiple times in the past few years and so we incorporated a trip to Moomin World which is just outside of Turku. We booked an Airbnb apartment for a week in Turku and I had planned a few business meetings in Helsinki on the back end of the month and so we spent the last week of August in Helsinki.
We arrived in Finland by “cruise ship” ferry from Tallinn and took the train to Turku.
Our apartment in Turku was fantastic. A modern loft in an old converted warehouse by the shipyards with a balcony overlooking the indoor courtyard.
We spent much of our week indoors, listening to great music on the radio (why aren’t there any famous Finnish DJs and musicians?!), reading, eating and partaking in the national traditional activity of sweating it all out in the Sauna (every apartment has one).
We explored the town, but did not feel the pressure to be “tourists” and thus had a very pleasant week where we really got a good feel for the local culture and environment.
We explored the nice walkable town, taking the forti ferry to cross the river back and forth to the market, the library, food hall and playground.
We spent a day in Moomin World, a great small “theme park” (with no rides) where the kids interacted with the lifelike characters, learned life lessons from a live play (being patient, kind, good friends and open to exploration) and danced along to theme songs.
We visited the outdoor culture museum to see time stand still and learn about history with interactive activities.
We visited the Turku Castle and had a great tour guide tell us about the history of Turku, the historic capital of Finland until it was conquered by Peter the Great of Russia who moved the capital to Helsinki, and the castle through many years under foreign rule (Swedes, Russians) and independence.
The next week we traveled to Helsinki where we stayed at a nice apartment in the “Design District”. Helsinki was a bit overwhelming at first, having come from Turku, but it grew on us through the week. As we walked around and explored the parks and harbors, we appreciated once again being in a cosmopolitan center. We dined on Nepalese food, found real Italian Gelato and fantastic coffee shops. V and the kids took yoga classes at the Kampi center and I spent some time getting to know the local business, tech and start-up scene which is quite impressive and forward looking. We found Helsinki to be the most expensive city we have visited thus far on the Big Trip (so much for choosing more time in Helsinki vs. Copenhagen) and even more so in areas that are geared to tourists. But with a bit of time we learned to avoid the tourist traps (don’t go to the old market on the weekends) and discover local treasures.
F-I-N-L-A-N-D in seven words:
Food. Finland has a reputation for having terrible food, rivaling only the UK in the race for worst European food. We did not find the food to be bad at all. We mostly ate in. Victoria found the central market in Turku quite easily and the food was fresh, natural and flavorful. We found the strawberries to be the best we have ever had (better than Spain and Italy) and the smoked fish (Salmon and others) to be AMAZING: by far the best in the world.
Even the kids got into the fun and on Thursday they decided that they will prepare lunch. They prepped ahead of time, made a shopping list, went to the market, bought the food and came home to prepare it. Valuable life lessons can be learned while traveling.
With fresh, easily accessible food in the markets and the cost of going out being much higher than eating in we only ventured out to eat on select occasions.
In Turku we were lucky enough to get a table at Kaskis Restaurant (for a 4pm dinner). Kaskis is considered by many to be the best restaurant in all of Finland and it did not disappoint. The food was fantastic: new takes on traditional and local food; the service was superb: the staff made us all, including and especially the kids feel special and the entire experience was one of the best we ever had.
Finland (like Sweden) has a great tradition of food halls (Saluhaull) where one can find local culinary ingredients, but also dine in or take out prepared food. In the historic Turku food hall V discovered a vegetarian restaurant called Roots. We took food to go there when we ventured to Moominworld and picnicked on a bench by the lake and came back to brunch on our last day in Turku. The food was fresh, delicious and excellent.
In Helsinki we ventured out to a few meals out, but mostly V cooked at home. Once again we explored the markets. Our first adventure was disappointing as we visited the central market at the harbor on a Saturday. We found that market (on the weekend) to be a complete tourist trap where one can not help but feel like he or she is getting ripped off. After a bit of research V discovered Hakaniemen tori market which is where the locals shop. The food was fresh and the prices reasonable. We also discovered a small market in Töölöntori on the way to the park and library. We did come back to the central market on a weekday and it was a much more pleasant experience, but we still don’t think that a local would shop there.
Our Michelin Star dining experience in Helsinki was at Garden by Ola and was quite disappointing. The food was alright, but not amazing. The service was very poor, cold and unwelcoming, all making the overall experience poor. The best meals out we had were a lunch at a Nepalese restaurant near the local playground which was authentic and fantastic and a Ramen Shop which turns into a bar at night called “Why join the Navy when you can be a pirate”. Great Ramen by day and fantastic negronis by night.
Islands: Finland has the most islands of any country in the world. The Finnish Archipalego is amazingly beautiful. The way to fully experience it is to take a few weeks and boat from island to island sleeping in small cottages with no electricity or running water and spending your days exploring nature. With our #travelingcircus we did not do that but we did venture out to explore a few of the islands. In Turku we discovered the best deal: We boarded the BussiVassi (which is a water bus) for Eur3 (mother and baby were free and kids are half price) and spent an hour aboard sailing around a few islands which are in close proximity to the mainland. It was a beautiful late August day capping off the hottest summer in 30 years and it was beautiful.
In Helsinki we took a boat out to Suomenlinna island where we walked around and explored the castle, some canons and gorgeous views. We unfortunately did not plan ahead to pack a picnic to watch the sunset, but that is what one should do.
Nature. Finland’s nature scene is amazingly beautiful. The air is fresh, the country (seen by train or boat) is very green and blue. Our time there was very much spent clearing our lungs and bodies from the New York pollutants.
Libraries. Finland is the most literate country in the world. 82% of people have a library card. Finns are generally introverted and on the long dark, cold days and nights they love to bury their moomin noses in a great book. Finland’s libraries are some of the most beautifully designed architectural buildings, but at the same time functional, friendly and inviting. J, M and S LOVED the library in Turku where they could spend hours reading or playing. We also visited the public library in Helsinki and while it was smaller it was very nice, at the north side of the park.
Awkward. A joke told to me while speaking with a Finnish acquaintance this week: How can you tell a Finnish extrovert from a Finnish introvert? The extrovert is looking down at your shoes instead of his shoes while speaking to you. The Finns are known to be awkward and introverted. Maybe it’s all the time spent reading in the libraries, or maybe it is the many years squeezed between the Swedes and the Russians. This can lead to some embarrassing or uncertain moments with long silent pauses when you’re not sure whether you or your children offended someone, or service that leaves something to be desired at times. Like when we asked the supermarket checkout girl in Turku whether they sell wine in the store (we found out later that Finland, like Sweden, has a government owned and run alcohol monopoly dating back to its post prohibition days and wine and liquor is only sold there) she looked at us with what looked like silent horror in her eyes. I am not quite sure whether it was horror or whether smiles are limited in Finland, but it all makes for a very awkward interactive experience. The librarians are quite nice and helpful though 🙂
Nice. Finland is the most child friendly country we have visited. On the bus (and all public transportation) mothers with a child in a stroller ride for free. On the train we booked a family compartment which was the nicest compartment we have ever seen and there was even a playground on board.
Every restaurant or coffee shop had a high chair and some had children play areas. The playgrounds were very nice and encourage independent play. On trains and buses there is no pushing, shoving or cutting ahead in line. In Turku we visited the outdoor museum where the history of the city was explained through a very interactive experience. Everyone was extremely nice and patiently told stories, explained their parts and allowed the children (and adults) to be a part of the experience. In Helsinki we visited the Helsinki City Museum which walks its visitors through a very unbiased and multifaceted history of Helsinki. The museum was extremely child friendly with interactive activities, displays, dress up areas and games.
Finland really is investing and vested in bringing up literate and kind future generations.
Design. Finnish design is minimalist and extremely functional. It is a clear reflection of the culture and the people: understated, very thoughtful, modern and in touch with nature.
Finland is definitely a beautiful corner of the world. We did visit it during a hot summer by Nordic standards, when the days are long and the temperatures are bearable (by the time we left in late August autumn was definitely in the air and the kids made good use of the Moomin sweaters we bought in Tallinn), but we left it very much impressed, inspired and with a little Suomi Moomin in our souls.
