While I was in Tallinn, Estonia, I was told about a ferry that departs from Tallinn, and arrives in Helsinki, Finland in just 2 hours. A return trip ticket cost me just €15 as I was just travelling as a passenger without a vehicle. I departed from the ferry terminal in Tallinn at 5:00am local time, due for arrival in Helsinki at 7:00am. I felt a bit nervous traveling through the Baltic sea particularly in the dark. I was reminded of the disastrous sinking of the MS Estonia which sank in the Baltic Sea on the 28th of September 1994, claiming 852 lives. Those fears were soon forgotten about as I witnessed the sunrise over an iced-over Baltic sea entering a snow-covered Finland. As a matter of fact, the sea in Finland was frozen everywhere I went.
Departing a warm ferry, I walked out into a brisk winter morning in Helsinki, the temperature clocking in at -9° Celsius. I’m sure this is completely normal and pretty bearable for those living in countries that actually experience snowfall in winter, but for this Aussie, I has never felt such low temperatures in my life. It was so cold that I couldn’t go without my ushanka for more than a second or two as the freezing cold temperatures were casing my ears to ache terribly. There was nothing for it, but to find a nice café to warm up. Since I was in Finland, I decided to head to the Fazer Café Kluuvikatu. Karl Fazer launched Fazer Chocolate in 1922, and has since become a large cultural icon in Finland. Its a must-see when in Finland. I ordered a hot chocolate and a berliner, and tried my best to warm up. It was a most welcome treat.
A short walk from Fazer café is the Helsinki Cathedral. So iconic, I had no problem finding snow globes of all sizes with the Cathedral in it. I was blessed with a clear blue sky, so I spend some time outside taking photos of this gorgeous landmark.
You wouldn’t know from looking at the photo that it was the middle of February on a -9°C day. Not a single cloud in sight. I also got the opportunity to go inside the Cathedral. A lot of cathedrals in Europe do not allow photography inside, but this was an exception. I took a quick video on my phone to give you an idea of how big the Helsinki Cathedral is inside.
About a ten minute walk south-east of the Helsinki Cathedral is the Uspenski Cathedral. The Uspenski Cathedral has a rather Russian look too it, easily explained by the fact that its architect, Aleksey Gornostayev, was indeed Russian. He passed away before Uspenski Cathedral was completed. Unfortunately, as I had come to Uspenski Cathedral on a Monday, the Cathedral was closed. Uspenski Cathedral is open all other days of the week, so if you intend to visit, I’d recommend not doing it on a Monday. However, the building is gorgeous from the outside, and I again took the chance to take out my camera and get some photos.
You can also see the Helsinki Cathedral quite easily from the Uspenski Cathedral.
A short walk from the Uspenski Cathedral is the Market Square. Considering it was winter, it was probably a lot less busy that it would have been in summer, but there were still some good vendors there selling some souvenirs and some Finnish food (even some hot food!). Certainly worth checking out while you’re in Helsinki.
It was getting close to lunch time, and given the cold and the huge amount of walking, I had worked up quite the appetite. I decided to try Goodwin the Steakhouse which I found very pleasant. I found myself having a steak from an Australian cow and a wine from McLaren Vale in my home state of South Australia. I found it humorous that I had travelled all the way to the other side of the world just to eat a steak and have a wine that was produced in my own state back home. Pleasant staff, a classic older style American vibe, and beautiful food. It is a little more on the expensive side, but I found that to be the norm in Finland, it is quite an expensive country to live in and to visit.
Now with a full tummy, I took a 30 minute walk to Temppeliaukion Church, a Lutheran Church built directly into solid rock. Because of this, its often just referred to as the ‘Rock Church’, particularly by tourists like myself that can’t pronounce ‘Temppeliaukion’.
While the outside of the church leaves a lot to be desired, its true beauty is on the inside.
While i was there, one of the ministers shared a word from John and lead us in a prayer before giving a benediction. There is no shortage of information inside describing how the church came to be.
I spent the rest of my day walking the streets of Helsinki, I walked past Finland’s Parliament House, which was so big I struggled to capture the entire building in the rushed photo I took.
All up, Finland was a pleasant country, and I found that I was able to do a lot in 24 hours. Unless you are wishing to visit Lapland or Espoo, I would say that 24 hours would be enough time to see the main attractions of Finland. By the time I got back on the ferry to leave Finland, Finland had applied to become a member of NATO, and at the time of writing this article, Finland is now the newest member of NATO. If you ask me, Finland is an extremely welcome addition to NATO. It has an extremely western feel and seems to conform in a lot of ways to western ways of thinking. When travelling to Finland, particularly in winter, ensure that you bring a portable phone charger, as the weather is so cold that it depleted my phone battery in less than an hour. Also note that it is an expensive country to visit. Stay in Tallinn, Estonia and visit Finland as a day trip via the ferry to avoid expensive hotels and restaurants. If you want to see the inside of Uspenski Cathedral, do not plan your day trip on a Monday.
The three things I recommend you must experience in Finland are:
The Helsinki Cathedral
The Fazer Café
The Temppeliaukion Rock Church
Being so far away, I don’t know if I will ever get back to Finland, but the memories I made there will stay with me forever! If I ever do get back, I’d love to see Suomenlinna in summer. Thanks Finland, and welcome to NATO.
