Aurinko Paistaa ( The sun is shining )

May 19, 2015 / Mel_inHelsinki / 16 Comments

I’ve always loved the sun, which is not great in New Zealand where we are exposed to high levels of UV rays. But my love affair with the sun is even more pronounced here in Finland, where it has become something of a long distance love affair.

I realise now there is a strong difference between sunlight and sunshine. One marks the day and one warms the skin. The second is now returning after a long hiatus and seriously, I could weep with joy. Which makes a nice difference from the day I wept on the way home from Finnish class for no real reason – other than lack of Vitamin D.

I’ve done my first Finnish winter now and spring has never felt so good. The difference in the trees is amazing, week to week, and the presence of birds and flowers is increasing.

On a recent walk from Hietalahti Market Square to Merekatu I was delighted to see the outdoor market growing in size once again.

I also came across this sculpture by Rafael Saifulin called Onni.

Onni means happiness or bliss. To me he’s really captured the pleasure of feeling the sun on your face once again.

Although fairly weak, the sun is now up from 4am to 10pm in Helsinki, with a month to go until summer solstice. Miko told me he can’t go to bed until the sun goes down, but considering that won’t really be until October, honestly, he’s kidding himself.

Like most Finns we are now eating ice cream any chance we get. The funny thing is, as good as it feels, it’s still only 10 degrees outside.

But that’s okay, the sun is back and we’ve learnt to savour it while we have it.

A Weekend of Festivals in Helsinki

May 15, 2015May 21, 2015 / Mel_inHelsinki / 7 Comments

With spring finally making itself felt around the city, Helsinki’s festival season now kicks off. There is so much on tomorrow, the hardest thing will be knowing what to do first.

Ravintolapäivä (Restaurant Day) – the city becomes a food festival as anyone can open a cafe or restaurant for the day. Download the app to plan your route or just head somewhere like Ruttopuisto (Vanha kirkkopuisto) for a great selection of food.

Cafe Tivoli

Cat Video Cafe – and if it rains you can always duck indoors and watch funny videos of cats while you eat cupcakes.

Photo credit: Helsinki Think Company

Teurastamo (The Abbatoir) – this redeveloped area comes alive in the warmer months and tomorrow marks the opening of the summer season. There will be music, seedlings for your garden, events for cyclists and of course, lots of food.

Arabian Street Festival – in Helsinki you can catch a tram to such exotic places as Arabia without leaving the country. Home to artists and other creative people, the Arabia Street Festival will also host 17,000 visitors according to its Facebook page.

Photo credit: arabiahelsinki.fi

Puu-Vallilan Yard Sale – the suburb of Puu-Vallila is unique in Helsinki as it is full of wooden houses. (Puu means tree or wood in Finnish). Wander around the markets and enjoy the neighbourhood, only a short ride from the city centre.

Photo credit: osuma.fi

Whatever you do this weekend, try not to eat too much before you leave home and take some cash with you. Seems it will be a weekend of food, fun and hopefully more sunshine. Hyvää Viikonloppua!

A Quick Guide to Helsinki

May 8, 2015May 8, 2015 / Mel_inHelsinki / 16 Comments

I get lots of emails from people visiting Helsinki, asking what to do while they are here. So here’s a list of ideas to get you started, which I will add to and update. You can also check out my City Guide to Helsinki, which I wrote for Design*Sponge.

Many museums in Helsinki have one day a month where entry is free. Many places also have different opening hours during summer and winter, so always visit the relevant website before you head out.

City walks

Katajanokka – a suburb of beautiful architecture and great coffee

Töölönlahti – frozen in winter and beautiful in summer, this bay has coffee shops dotted around it’s edge. More photos here.

Uunisaari – an island connected by bridge during winter

Lauttasaari – lovely coastal walk and summer cabins

Baana – a converted freight line is now a cycle and walking path

Five things to do on Fredrikinkatu

Five things to do on Korkeavuorenkatu

Places to visit – outdoors

Linnanmäki – amusement park, free entry, open during summer

Korkeasaari – Helsinki’s island zoo, ferry runs only in summer, bus access otherwise

Seurasaari – outdoor museum on an island, bus access

Pihlajasaari – summer island for swimming

Suomenlinna – fortress island and UNESCO World Heritage Site

Places to visit – indoors

Sea Life – great option for a rainy or cold day in Helsinki

Annantalo – arts centre with exhibitions for children with family friendly book cafe

Yrjönkatu Uimahalli – swimming hall with sauna, men & women separate, only open during winter

Natural History Museum – displays of Nordic and other animals over a few floors

Botanical Gardens – beautiful gardens in glasshouses, good option for a rainy day

Cultural

The Rock Church

Chapel of Silence

Lokal – art gallery & cafe

Kiasma – Museum of Contemporary Art

Alvar Aalto House

Markets

Hietalahti Market Square – summer time flea market & antiques

Old Market Hall – Vanhakauppahalli is a great place for lunch

Day Trips

Tips for Visiting in Winter & Getting Around

How to walk on ice without dying

How to walk under ice without dying

How to dress a child for Finnish winter

Using Helsinki’s Metro

Cultural Events

Saint Lucia – December

Christmas Path – December

Vappu – May

Samba Carnival – June

Baltic Herring Festival – October

All Saint’s Day – November

Cleaning Day – a giant yard sale throughout the city, held various times a year

Restaurant Day – a street food carnival where anyone can open a restaurant for the day, held four times a year

Places to eat & drink

Cafe Regatta – traditional Finnish cafe by the water, for coffee and cinnamon buns

Mockbar – Soviet style bar specialising in vodka and bad service

Moko Market & Kaffa Roastery – cafe and homewares, great for buying gifts and very family friendly.

Freese – owned by Finnish barista champion Kalle Freese, check Facebook for opening times as can be closed if busy elsewhere

Good Life Coffee – great coffee and delicious almond croissants

Skiffer – pizza bar on an island, only open during summer months. City venue during winter

Fafa’s – good falafel and vegetarian takeaway

Dancing in the Shadows – at Annantalo

May 4, 2015 / Mel_inHelsinki / 7 Comments

I’ve walked past Annantalo so many times and never stopped to wonder what it is. Turns out – it’s great is what it is!

Annantalo is an arts centre for children and young people, housed in a beautiful old school that was built in 1886. Miko and I recently visited with friends on a rainy afternoon after daycare.

On the ground floor is the large Kirja Kahvila (book cafe) with loads of space for families and smaller tables set up with paper and colouring pencils. There’s also shelves full of childrens’ books, printed in Finnish and Swedish.

The cafe is also home to Tutti-tukaani (Pacifier Toucan) who sits atop a large bottle where children put their pacifiers when the time comes to give them up. The idea is based loosely on similar traditions in Finland and was dreamed up by the Office Manager.

The cafe is run by a lovely woman called Krista, who told me she loves all the handmade touches around Annantalo.

This includes the warm korvapuustit (cinammon buns) and the woollen covers on the tea glasses.

Upstairs in the building, there are art classes, as well as dance and theatre for young people. Miko’s daycare has visited in the past to watch a puppet show, which he still talks about.

There are also exhibitions for children, which are really creative and interactive. Miko loved going inside a big teepee and looking at tiny worlds inside boxes with a torch during the last one.

Although the cafe is family focussed it can be very quiet at times and there’s lots of space to spread out if you need to work. With wheelchair access it’s a great place for anyone to visit, young and old alike.

Annantalo – events and courses

Annankatu 30, Helsinki

Due to a bad dose of the flu there were no Vappu celebrations for me this year. The spring carnival on May Day is one of the biggest events on the Finnish calendar. You can read my post from last year here.

Sandwiches in the Snow

April 20, 2015April 20, 2015 / Mel_inHelsinki / 9 Comments

A few weeks ago after Finnish class I decided to walk to Töölö where I was headed to interview a young cobbler. It started to snow so intensely it was like being stuck inside a snow dome someone had just shaken up.

With an hour to go until the interview I was relieved to spy this cafe and ducked inside, out of the cold.

Stepping inside I was taken back by the size. It was tiny! The floor space was about 2m wide by 10m long.

No one was around but I could understand the sign: ‘Ring bell. We are in the kitchen. Thanks!’

A young guy came out and took my order from the menu on the wall. He said the store had been open since the 1960’s and his family had bought it fairly recently.

Most people, he said, phone ahead and take-away. He went back to the kitchen so I took a seat, admiring the retro Danish posters.

It was great, as though the cafe had been decorated in the 1960’s and hadn’t been updated since.

My lunch soon arrived – a delicious open sandwich with fresh salmon and cottage cheese.

Soon another customer stepped in out of the snow and when his order arrived he made as though to eat it standing up. I invited him to share my table – the only table – and we chatted about a trip he’d made with his wife to Australia a few years before.

Sated and satisfied I headed back out into the snow, watched by a drummer boy pinned by the front door.

I felt a bit like him as I tightened my coat and set off once more into the swirling snow, my hat and hood piled high upon my head.

Dansk Smørrebrød – Cygnaeuksenkatu 5, Helsinki

Creating Helsinki – interview with cobbler, Juho Erving

The Horse and the Beaver

April 15, 2015April 20, 2015 / Mel_inHelsinki / 7 Comments

Most of our holidays are centred around walking and eating and walking some more so we are hungry again. Riga was no exception. Not knowing what to expect we were really pleased to get off to a good start by visiting Garage, a tapas bar where I had a delicious ceviche salad and Jonny had a small platter of local cheese.

On the prowl that night for some vegetarian fast food we went to Street Burgers, open on Good Friday and serving a hearty portobello burger with a side order of fries.

The next morning, in search of good coffee we headed for Innocent Cafe and found it was brunch time. The table was laden with strips of smoked cheese, pickled vegetables, potatoes, salads and fish.

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To be honest my stomach was not ready for some of these savoury treats but I happily had a couple of rounds of olives, potatoes and cheese on toast.

Later, in the Old Town, I popped into Black Magic cafe. They specialise in serving Riga Black Balsam, a herbal liqueur served in coffee or neat. It wasn’t quite balsam-o-clock yet so some more walking was called for before our next stop.

Looking for lunch we were nearly invited into this den by the Latvian Russell Crowe but pushed on to find restaurant 1221 of which we’d read good things.

1221 was as lovely as described with lots of people stopping to take photos of the painted exterior.

Unfortunately however, the menu was not a good fit for a vegetarian and his vege-quarian companions.

Although for the carnivores there was something for everyone.

We dined that night at our hotel restaurant, which we never do but it was cold and raining so we allowed ourselves the luxury of going downstairs. The food was delicious and came with glasses of birch water, compliments of the chef.

So we managed to eat our way around Riga without resorting to pork knuckles and cabbage as some guide books would suggest. The euro goes a lot further outside of Finland too and we were very grateful to leave feeling so well fed.

Seems the only thing going hungry on our trip were these poor little guys at the airport.

Riga’s Central Market

April 12, 2015April 20, 2015 / Mel_inHelsinki / 11 Comments

A review on Trip Advisor warned that Riga’s Central Market is good but only if you like the same old stuff. Ha! Depends where you come from really, because what’s same old stuff to you, may not be same old stuff to me.

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Housed in what were once Zeppelin hangars, Riga’s Central Market was opened in 1930 and covers 72,000 square metres.

You can smell the first hangar before you even enter. Not in a bad way, but in a bustling, crowded, bouquets of dried fish on the counter kind of way.

We stopped in the walkway to the next hangar to buy a couple of wooden spoons for our kitchen. Local honey and woollen socks were also on offer in this part of the market.

The next hangar was full of sweets. Latvia seems to have a love affair with pastries and, surprisingly, halva, which we found was also included in our breakfast buffet in the city.

Latvian’s are proud of their dairy production and rightly so. We saw beautiful piles of soft cheeses and curds but opted instead for some hard Dutch cheese we could bring home in our luggage.

Then it was through to the produce market. If you love vinegar like I do, then this one’s for you.

Piles of colourful vegetables preserved in oil and vinegar were everywhere, many displayed in huge vases.

Finally we walked past piles of dried goods: pasta, tea, ketchup and rice. Not terribly interesting products in themselves but still worth taking a photo of, because having never seen this packaging before, they are not the same old stuff to me!

Riga Central Market

This post has been shared as part of the Show Your World feature on the Tiny Expats blog – you can find out more here.

Latvian Loma (holiday)

April 8, 2015October 31, 2015 / Mel_inHelsinki / 12 Comments

Latvia’s capital Riga was founded in 1201 and sits about 360km south of Helsinki (the same distance as Auckland to Ohakune in New Zealand). The flight takes just under an hour, making it a perfect destination for a short Easter break.

As we headed out on Good Friday, I was looking forward to seeing the Old Town and the examples of Art Nouveau architecture, which are considered to be some of the best in the world.

It is estimated that around 40 per cent of Riga’s central buildings are in the Art Nouveau style, with many examples evident along Alberta Iela.

The street is also home to the Art Nouveau museum and a store selling beautiful Art Nouveau jewellery, lamps and art.

I have a soft spot for Latvia because two of my close friends in Australia have family from there. I would be lying however if I said the legacy of its occupation is not still visible in the city. To me it was apparent as soon as we left the airport.

Latvia was occupied by both the Soviets and Nazi Germany, before gaining back its independence in 1991.

There are a lot of parks in the city, which we walked through on our way to the Old Town.

I think they will become quite beautiful in summer, once all the trees are full once more of green foliage and the birds have returned from their southern migration.

We had such a great holiday – most countries outside of Finland are so much cheaper by comparison and with Latvia’s reputation as a spa destination we treated ourselves to massages and a nice hotel.

There were lots of locals around, including lots of women in maybe their sixties or seventies, many of them dressed alike. There is also a really good hipster scene, which I say with no judgement because where there’s hipsters – there’s good coffee!

I’m going to write more about all the yummy food we ate and the great markets we visited but for now, it’s time for lunch.

The island you never leave

April 2, 2015 / Mel_inHelsinki / 19 Comments

There’s a joke in Helsinki that the residents of Katajanokka are so content with life they never leave the island. Which is particularly funny because this island is connected to the city by a short bridge and is two minutes walk from bustling Market Square.

It’s a great place to walk around because you really do feel as though you are away from the city, despite the proximity. Your tour begins once you find yourself looking up at the Orthodox church of Uspenski Cathedral.

There’s some beautiful housing to see on your walk. Katajanokka is described as one of the ‘most distinguished’ suburbs of Helsinki and used to be home to Finland’s former president.

It’s also home to wonderful examples of Art Noveau architecture, or Jugendstil as it is known here. (Kataja means juniper).

The details on the window frames and arches are incredible. (I had a bizarre experience this day, in that every time I photographed a door to a building, it would open and someone would walk out).

Not being too tall can be an asset on this island. I had to crouch quite low to get into this store, where entry is only available through the window.

Any hobbits visiting from New Zealand would feel quite at home, I’m sure.

As well as being home to a major port for cruise ships, Katajanokka is also home to the huge ice breaker ships that churn up the Baltic Sea during the colder months.

The red-brick style of architecture is more evident on this side of the island too and some official maritime offices are housed here.

Katajanokka is also home to one of Helsinki’s best cafes: Johan & Nyström. It was in their Stockholm branch that current Finnish Barista Champion Kalle Freese honed his craft, after discovering coffee culture while living in New Zealand. You can read my interview for Creating Helsinki with him here.

Just outside you can often watch hardy Finns walking from the sauna to the frozen water for avanto (ice swimming). From the cafe it’s just a short walk back to the base of Uspenski Cathedral and over the bridge to the city.

Unless of course, like the residents, you also decide that you never want to leave. In that case, the island’s former prison has been converted into a hotel where you can sleep in a renovated cell.

Which brings to mind the Eagles song Hotel California every time I think of it. ‘You can check out any time you like, but you can never leave….”

Katajanokka

Uspenski Cathedral

Johan & Nystrom Cafe

Creating Helsinki: Kalle Freese Interview

The Church of Rock

March 30, 2015 / Mel_inHelsinki / 12 Comments

When my Italian teacher moved to Finland she was amazed at the austerity of the churches. Where, she wondered, were the statues, the golden altars, the ornate candelabra? Welcome, teacher, to the Protestant church.

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Although many churches here do hold those features, there are others that are standouts solely for their architectural design. Which can be a welcome relief for those suffering ‘cathedral fatigue.’

If you make it to Helsinki, I would recommend visiting both the Chapel of Silence and Temppeliaukio (Rock Church).

Temppeliaukio was designed by architects Timo and Tuomo Suomalainen and opened in 1969. Their vision was to carve the chapel straight out of the rock it sits on; a vision that was met with some resistance.

Once dubbed ‘a devil defence bunker’ it is now one of Helsinki’s most visited sites and was made a protected building in 2004.

Its huge copper dome is supported by large concrete beams that allow the light to shine in and illuminate the chapel.

There are places where you can burn a candle for a loved one and the great acoustics mean it is a popular place for orchestral practice sessions.

The neighbouring apartments in Töölö wrap themselves around the church and there are good cafes nearby.

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Within walking distance of the city centre, there is always room inside to sit upon arrival and rest your feet. Which, on a snowy Helsinki day like today, means this really is a church that rocks.

Temppeliaukio

Lutherinkatu 3, Helsinki 00100

Hey Helsinki

A New Zealand girl in Finland

Author: Mel_inHelsinki

Aurinko Paistaa ( The sun is shining )

A Weekend of Festivals in Helsinki

A Quick Guide to Helsinki

Dancing in the Shadows – at Annantalo

Sandwiches in the Snow

The Horse and the Beaver

Riga’s Central Market

Latvian Loma (holiday)

The island you never leave

The Church of Rock

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