Kaisaniemi Botanic Garden

July 29, 2014 / Mel_inHelsinki / 4 Comments

A lot of construction goes on in Helsinki during the summer months due to the extreme cold here in winter. Unfortunately this means the grounds of the Kaisaniemi Botanic Garden are closed for maintenance, but Miko and I spent a lovely afternoon wandering through the glasshouses recently.

Also known as the Helsinki University Botanical Garden, this is the oldest scientific plant collection in Finland. Originally opened in Turku in 1678 they were moved to Helsinki in 1829 after the Great Fire of Turku.

The greenhouses were originally wooden and had to be rebuilt after they deteriorated. During the Winter War of 1940, bombs smashed the glass and only the seeds of the giant water lily and one cyprus tree survived the cold.

The greenhouses were rebuilt in the 1990’s and are now automated. There are a series of eight interconnected houses, each home to a different family of plant species.

I was interested to see they had a Wollemi Pine, an amazing fossil of a tree from Australia. They also had some specimens of New Zealand plants in the Island House. This made me smile as I forget New Zealand is an island nation and tend to think of islands as the many smaller land masses off our coasts.

There was a cafe in the grounds but we didn’t stop. Somebody’s child (mine) was following me around saying “Can I have an ice cream?” on repeat until I eventually gave in, so he enjoyed that as we made our way home.

We’ll be back to visit the grounds once they are re-opened but in the meantime the greenhouses are lovely and warm and a good place to visit on a wet, Helsinki afternoon.

Kaisaniemi Botanic Garden

Is homesickness a disease?

July 28, 2014July 28, 2014 / Mel_inHelsinki / 8 Comments

I’m no stranger to moving. By the age of 11 I had lived in four different towns around New Zealand. But a week after moving to Helsinki I started to feel pretty low and it got me thinking: Is homesickness a dis-ease?

View from our lounge at our temporary accommodation in Helsinki

Things didn’t feel difficult, they just didn’t feel very easy. And it’s not that I felt un-easy here – but I missed the sense of ease that comes with being in a familiar place and knowing all the social norms and expectations. I felt temporarily in a state of dis-ease.

View from our lounge in New Zealand

Everyone speaks English here but often the signs are all in Finnish or Swedish, so until I could ask someone I was looking around for social cues as to what was expected of me. Where do I queue? Do I take a ticket? What does that very important-looking sign with the picture of the stroller say? Park here? Don’t park here? Is everyone wondering why I’m doing the opposite?

I used to watch people to see if we were expected to park our strollers under here or was it just an option?

These structures are common at playgrounds & I used to watch people to see if we were expected to park our strollers here or was it just an option?

But don’t feel sorry for me! I feel much better now and am genuinely enjoying the experience and am grateful to be here. Those challenges now feel character building, rather than overwhelming. Of course I still miss family and friends but that’s different than really pining to be back home again.

Helsinki skyline

One thing that makes a big difference when you are new somewhere is the kindness of strangers. The chance to have a conversation or some banter in the street takes on a whole new meaning when it may be the only interaction you have that day. I’m so grateful for the support I have received from home and also that of people I hardly know here.

My sister-in-law checking in on me (I do know her), her sister-in-law checking in on me, people I’ve never met who have agreed to meet up because a mutual friend has asked them to, even when they haven’t seen that mutual friend for a very long time! The woman I met in a playground who gave me her number and invited us to her daughter’s birthday party.

Auckland skyline Photo credit: Stephen Murphy, 2007

These interactions and acts of kindness mean so much when you’re new in a city. Sometimes they turn into lifelong friendships and sometimes they don’t. And that’s okay, but they give me the courage to keep going and talk to the next person I meet and feel better about how life is going here.

I’d really like to ask you: is there someone you know who is new to your town that you’ve been meaning to have a coffee with, may have even suggested it to them, but have not followed up on? It might only be an hour out of your time, or just ten minutes to ask ‘How are things going?’ but don’t underestimate the difference you can make in someone’s life as they begin to find their place in their new home.

This is the sound… of silence

July 23, 2014July 23, 2014 / Mel_inHelsinki / 5 Comments

It was Miko’s final day at childcare before the July break. How best to use my time seeing the sights of Helsinki without my two-year old in tow? The Chapel of Silence? Sounds perfect!

Like the hull of a giant wooden boat, Kamppi Chapel looms high above a bustling market square outside one of Helsinki’s busiest malls and transport hubs. We have walked past it numerous times and I have to admit I’ve never given it a second thought.

It’s a lovely sight, the warm wood rising above as students, workers and tourists move about like pieces on a giant concrete chessboard.

It’s easy to get church-fatigue when sight-seeing in Europe, and an edifice made of wood is no big deal to New Zealanders, but this is an architectural pleasure and a welcome relief from high-vaulted stone cathedrals.

The chapel doesn’t hold services or events such as weddings and is operated by a partnership of Helsinki parishes and the city’s Social Services Department. When I entered I could hear someone behind a screen weeping softly as they spoke with the Social Worker on duty. I was ushered into the chapel where I sat down on a pew and just absorbed absolute silence. It was an incredible contrast to the noise and hustle outside. I felt like I was inside a giant, warm wooden egg.

The Chapel contains pews, a pulpit and a place to burn thin tapered candles. There’s also a pile of cushions shaped like rocks that reflect the colours of river stones. I sat for about 15 minutes before heading back out into the hustle of the streets and off to pluck Miko from a mob of excitable kids at daycare. Being in the Chapel is not quite like taking Valium, but it was all the Mother’s Little Helper that I needed.

Kamppi Chapel of Silence

A Bear in our Supermarket

July 19, 2014August 2, 2014 / Mel_inHelsinki / 8 Comments

I’m often asked about Finnish food and what we are enjoying the most. It feels a bit unpatriotic to say but we are really enjoying the dairy products here. There’s a huge selection of milk, cheeses, yoghurts and butter including lactose-free for the estimated 17% of Finns who are lactose-intolerant.

The milk we buy

Valio is the main dairy producer here and one cheese they make is Oltermanni. It’s a yellow semi-soft cheese, a bit like Havarti. According to a book we have all about cheese (we do love it) they produce the cleanest milk in the EU thanks to the ‘crystal clear water and freedom from industrial pollution.’

There’s also a strong emphasis on eating seasonal produce. It’s Chanterelle season at the moment and these small golden mushrooms are very high in Vitamin D, important for well-being during the Nordic winter. If you’re not out picking your own, the best place to buy them is at the market stalls around the city, especially down at Market Square.

Chanterelle, portobello & field mushroom medley

The bread section in our local supermarket is split into two areas: Vaaleaa Leipää (light bread) and Tummaa Leipää (dark bread). I’m a new convert to rye bread and my favourite lunch is smoked salmon sandwiches with boiled egg on rye, from the deli.

Most mornings I have a poached egg on rye toast with a gherkin on the side. It’s not as crazy as it sounds as the pickles we buy aren’t such an assault on the tastebuds as some that are sold in a jar. They have no colour added and are more like a dill pickle from the States. We buy them from a big barrel at the supermarket where you can choose from plain or garlic.

Something that I hadn’t seen before was soap nuts. Part of the lychee family, the fruit pulp is used to make soap and the shells can be used in the washing machine in place of detergent. They are meant to be great for people with allergies or very sensitive skin. They’re not actually a Finnish thing and have been used in India for years.

Soap nuts in the laundry section

We’ve been fascinated by the bear meat sold in a can. Apparently bears that have a diet higher in berries than fish provide a sweeter tasting meat. Bears are protected animals and hunting quotas are set, although these are adjusted to remove bears from reindeer-herding areas.

Which is kind of ironic because some reindeer end up in a can too! I’ll just have a side of cheese with my pickles thanks.

Chanterelle mushrooms

Soap nuts

Helsinki Second Hand

July 13, 2014August 18, 2014 / Mel_inHelsinki / 2 Comments

Miko and I spent hours recently at the playground near Kaivopuisto. He was so tired when we left he fell fast asleep in the stroller. I took a new way home and was pleased to come across Ravintola Sea Horse and its little kiosk across the road. People were enjoying cool beverages in the late-afternoon sun and I decided to join them and read a few pages of my book while I had the chance.

Ravintola Sea Horse kiosk

After a pleasant half-hour I wandered up towards the city centre and came across Helsinki Second Hand, a huge warehouse with a ramp leading down to just below street-level.

The store was full of antiques and furniture, some familiar and some that seemed very nordic. It reminded me of Junk & Disorderly, a second-hand store we really like back in Auckland.

The markets and second-hand stores here are full of glassware and crockery with the two big names being Arabia and Iittala. Arabia has been making ceramics, porcelain and other forms of pottery in Finland since 1874. Iittala has been making glassware since a factory was opened in the town of the same name in 1881.

Large pieces of industrial furniture are as popular here as they are at home, with old farming items from traditional Finnish life featuring too.

NOT Miko’s new bed

Now that summer is here, huge cruise ships frequently come and go from the nearby ports of Tallinn, Stockholm and St Petersburg. There are some great vintage posters you can get and the booming horns of boats can be heard across the city as they slowly pull out of Helsinki’s various ports.

Thankfully they’re not enough to wake a sleeping child and Miko slept soundly until we got home, giving me a good amount of time to navigate the store without having to say once, ‘don’t touch!’

Helsinki Secondhand

Arabia

Iittala

Moving tips for my former self

July 11, 2014July 11, 2014 / Mel_inHelsinki / 5 Comments

The Fourth of July – Independence Day for some, moving day for us! Like a 1950’s traveller our belongings had survived the six-week voyage by sea and were ready to be delivered to our new address in central Helsinki.

Anchors aweigh! Our things ready for sailing

Only three months have passed since we packed but it was funny to see what I had anticipated we would need. It was soon evident how sentimental I am as I unpacked boxes of photos and gifts from family and friends. This includes a small rock I was given for my 21st birthday that I have taken with me to Australia, back to New Zealand and now Finland. (Sentimental or just semi-mental?)

You know you're in Finland when the former tenants forget to take their reindeer fillets and escargot from the freezer

You know you’re in Finland when the last tenants forget to empty the freezer of reindeer fillets and escargot

If I could go back in time, here’s a few packing tips I would give myself:

– don’t worry about all the small appliances like the toaster, jug, lamps and fairy lights. The power adaptors you’ll need to run them may cost more than the item did.

– unlike Sydney, where built-in wardrobes are very rare, storage won’t be a problem in Finland. So leave the large chest of drawers behind.

– also unlike Sydney and Auckland, moths and cockroaches don’t seem to be compulsory flatmates. You can leave half your airtight storage jars behind.

– a Japanese phrasebook and an absinthe spoon – what were you thinking?

– it’s good you packed the books you’ve been meaning to read and haven’t yet. If you haven’t read them by the end of winter, stop carting them around!

– same goes for cookbooks.

– there are shops in Helsinki.

View from our lounge in Auckland (moving in 2012)

View from our lounge in Auckland (moving in day, 2012)

The fourth of July was also the due-date given to us last year for the arrival of our twins; two baby boys we lost at 16 weeks pregnancy. If I could talk to my former self from that time too I’d say, time doesn’t change things, but it does keep moving forward and you really never know where you might find yourself just one year on.

View from our lounge in Finland

A Little Island Paradise – in Helsinki

July 1, 2014February 13, 2015 / Mel_inHelsinki / 10 Comments

Saturday morning was spent buying paint and supplies for our new apartment. With no car and a two-year-old in tow we felt we deserved a slice of pizza and a drink in the sun once our mission was complete.

Ravintola Skiffer on Liuskaluoto

We walked down to Meripuisto which looks out onto a few small islands in the Gulf of Finland. You could almost swim across if you had to but its a busy waterway and still pretty cold. We saw loads of boats go by, including a large wooden one with a sauna and benches on the back deck to sit on while you cool down.

We caught a small ferry across to an island where there are a few jetties, a shop for boaties and 24-hour diesel pumps. Just further along is Skiffer, an outdoor bar with a menu specialising in wood-fired pizza.

The bar and outdoor seating at Skiffer

It felt so good to be outside, sitting in the sun and enjoying the atmosphere which was not unlike that of an Australian beer garden. The music was good, Miko played happily, it was the perfect way to spend a Saturday afternoon.

We stayed a few hours before catching a ferry back. They seem to run every ten minutes or so with the last one on a Saturday being at midnight.

A floating wood-fired sauna

The next day the temperatures plummeted and we bussed to Ikea in freezing rain, only to realise on arrival that it didn’t open for another hour. With temperatures lately forecast to reach a ‘high’ of 12 degrees we have learnt to savour moments like we had at Skiffer and to make the most of the nordic sun while it’s here.

Looking back to the city

Skiffer

I heart Kiasma!

June 26, 2014June 26, 2014 / Mel_inHelsinki / 5 Comments

I don’t really like art galleries. Or Christmas fruit cake. And as a woman of a certain age I feel like I should – but sometimes I stand in front of paintings wondering how long before I can move on to the gallery cafe or gift shop.

A giant rose made from soft jube sweets

But I loved Kiasma, Helsinki’s Museum of Contemporary Art. The exhibitions are tactile and interactive, offering inspiring representations of ideas, rather than classical depictions of iconic scenes.

Someone has been mucking around in the office

Slow day in the office?

In one room we were invited to wander through thousands of coloured ribbons, feeling our way blindly as we tried not to bump into each other. I later doubled back to go through again because I just felt so happy in there amongst all that colour.

I know the door is here somewhere….

I loved the glasshouse that was filled only with green items, like the work of a colour-blind bower bird or an OCD backyard hoarder.

It’s a very greenhouse

I wandered around big coloured blocks depicting the houses of an Italian village and large copper circles that spelled terve (welcome) in braille. I laughed with strangers as we tried to figure out why our images were not reflected in the mirror before us.

Holiday scenes depicted on perspex

I was deeply moved by the work of Alfredo Jaar, a Chilean artist who addresses political and humanitarian issues with his art. One Million Finnish Passports is a room of just that, showing how many people would have been permitted into Finland had they a more open immigration policy. The Silence of Nduwayezu is a room containing a million slides of the eyes of a boy who saw his parents killed in front of him. Many of Jaar’s works comment on the world’s failure to talk about issues happening in African nations.

The Silence of Nduwayezu, 1997 Alfredo Jaar

I left Kiasma feeling informed and entertained and a bit better about myself for genuinely enjoying an art gallery experience. In fact I felt elated because I enjoyed it so much. And as it was raining outside I was happy there was still time to look around the art gallery gift shop.

I’d love to know – what have been your favourite art gallery experiences?

Kiasma – Helsinki’s Museum of Contemporary Art

Alfredo Jaar

Where the Wild Things Are

June 22, 2014June 22, 2014 / Mel_inHelsinki / 9 Comments

I’ve mentioned before the wild abandon with which Finns let nature explode in the warmer months. The changes in our natural surroundings are incredible as trees and plants accustomed to the harsh climate come to life with just the smallest amount of encouragement. Hedges and edges are left untrimmed and greenery grows out of cracks in walls and pavements. Nowhere was this more evident than on our recent trip to the island fortress of Suomenlinna.

Suomenlinna (Suomen: Finnish, linna: castle) is not actually a castle but a sea fortress built on a series of islands 15 minutes by ferry from Helsinki’s Market Square. It is quite unique as it has played a part as a defence base for three different states: Sweden, Russia and Finland.

Construction began in 1748 when Finland was part of the Kingdom of Sweden. King Frederick I named the fortress Sveaborg and visited four years later to see how the construction was going. King’s Gate was built on the site where his ship anchored and is now considered the most emblematic site of interest on Suomenlinna.

King’s Gate

In 1788 the fortress served as a naval base during the Russo-Swedish War. Twenty years later the fortress surrendered during the Finnish War and became a Russian naval base for the next 110 years.

A Russian Orthodox church was built on the island in 1854. During the early days of Finnish independence the church was converted to an Evangelical-Lutheran church and all signs of Russian decoration, including the onion domes, were removed. A lighthouse still operates within the church steeple.

Moss graffiti!

During the Crimean War of 1855 the fortress was damaged during bombing by the Anglo-French fleet. At the time of the Finnish Civi War in 1918, a prison camp was set up on the islands and the fortress was renamed Suomenlinna.

The fortress went on to play an important role as a base during the start of the Second World War. As well as cannons and guns still in place there is a submarine you can pay a small entry fee to explore. In 1991 Suomenlinna was added to UNESCO’s list of unique monuments of military architecture and became a protected World Heritage Site.

Skimming stones

The islands are also home to tunnels you can explore if you bring your own torch. It reminded me of Kirrin Island in the Enid Blyton books I read when I was younger and I wonder if there’s a Smuggler’s Cove.

If you look close enough you may spot the man sunbathing on this beach

More than 800 residents now call Suomenlinna home and there are art galleries, museums, shops, cafes and wonderful lookouts. We briefly considered living here when an apartment became available but we wondered about accessibility during the winter months.

The beauty of the wild flowers was my favourite thing about Suomenlinna as we stopped for ice cream and later for a beer in the late afternoon sun. But I know it will be worth another visit during winter when the landscape will be transformed by ice and snow into a surreal frozen scene. And lying underneath will be the the seeds of the wild flowers and grasses, resting until the warmer months.

Suomenlinna

UNESCO World Heritage Sites

With thanks to the Suomenlinna Tourist Guide.

Linnanmäki Amusement Park

June 16, 2014 / Mel_inHelsinki / 5 Comments

There are some things in life you don’t really want to hear. Your doctor saying, “Hmm, I’ve never seen that before,” or your tattooist saying, “Actually, that spelling doesn’t look quite right.” So I was very glad no one told me that the man standing at the back of the rollercoaster we went on at Linnanmäki was there to ensure it didn’t derail.

Linnanmaki (literally: Castle Hill) is an amusement park in Helsinki that was opened in 1950 and is owned by non-profit organisation, Lasten Päivän Säätiö (Children’s Day Foundation). We visited in May, and the sun shone brightly on the crowds as they swooped and screamed through the air enjoying the 40+ rides on offer.

This circular building (grass roof) houses an indoor rollercoaster that can be used all year round

Entry to the park is free and you can pay per ride or buy an all-day pass for unlimited access. There are also many rides available at no cost, which is especially good when you have young children. Miko and I went on the Panorama together, a circular ride that rose high in the air and turned slowly, giving us unlimited views over the park and city beyond.

View from the Panorama

Jonny and the guys went on the Raketti (Rocket), a free fall tower where you are launched from the ground high up in the air before being dropped back down towards earth. My favourite ride was the Salama (Lightning), a spinning rollercoaster set over another river ride far below.

The Kirnu (Churn)

I’m a bit of a chicken when it comes to rides but was quite happy to have a go on the wooden Vuoristorata (vuoristo = mountain range, rata = track) as it is the most popular ride at Linnanmäki every year. Built in 1951 in time for the tourists arriving for the 1952 Summer Olympics, it was one of the tallest rollercoasters in Europe at the time.

View of Linnanmäki and Vuoristorata from the Panorama

Vuoristorata is the last built rollercoaster in the world to use side friction technology. Unlike modern rides that have an extra set of wheels that keep the cars from becoming airborne, side friction rides could derail if they take a corner too fast and require a brakeman to ride on the train to slow it down when necessary.

View of Linnanmäki from Töölönlahti

I’m so glad no one told me that, as I thought the man standing behind us as we flew around the track was just there to add to the park’s old world charm. Had I known I might have just suggested that Miko and I just take another slow safe spin on the Panorama…

Linnanmäki

Hey Helsinki

A New Zealand girl in Finland

Author: Mel_inHelsinki

Kaisaniemi Botanic Garden

Is homesickness a disease?

This is the sound… of silence

A Bear in our Supermarket

Helsinki Second Hand

Moving tips for my former self

A Little Island Paradise – in Helsinki

I heart Kiasma!

Where the Wild Things Are

Linnanmäki Amusement Park

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