A trip to the tropics in Helsinki

January 18, 2015October 31, 2015 / Mel_inHelsinki / 10 Comments

One of the things I like best about living in Helsinki is not having a car. It means we are outside everyday experiencing the weather – even when it’s been -18°c and now when it’s warm (1°c) and slushy.

The snow dampens most sounds and the birds all flew south long ago so it’s pretty quiet out.

Töölönlahti

It is nice to have some indoor options though, and to see some wildlife, which is why we recently visited Helsinki’s aquarium.

Tucked behind Linnanmäki Amusement Park is Sea Life – promoting itself as an alternative to the snow outside and like ‘a visit to the tropics’.

That might be pushing it a bit far but it was nice to be indoors looking at all the fish and crustaceans in a cosy environment.

Miko loved the turtles and all the colourful fish, as well as spotting a huge white python and tiny little rainforest frogs.

Soon we came to a clearing where dinosaur bones are hidden in sand. This suited Miko very well, as apparently he used to be a palaeontologist in Africa. (It must have been a while ago though because he still needed some help with the brush).

There’s also a big sandpit and deck chairs for the parents to sit in on their ‘tropical’ holiday – no cocktails or cheap massages though unfortunately.

A big blue groper watches over the exit as you move on to the next section. Here you can find ‘baby’ fish and sting rays in little nurseries inside the bigger tanks.

At the rock pool Miko got to hold a shark’s egg and the discarded skin of the previously mentioned python. Then it was on to the gift shop where he used some coins from his money box to buy a plastic lobster.

A very real octopus

Time to head out in the cold again and while we were getting rugged up I did feel sorry for these guys – I suspect they could all do with a trip to the tropics!

Sea Life Helsinki

Remember when?

January 15, 2015 / Mel_inHelsinki / 5 Comments

Dear Miko,

Remember when we went to the beach everyday in summer because we knew it wouldn’t last but we almost got sick of it?

And remember how the sand would burn our feet and you always wanted an ice cream but the queue was so long?

And remember how the beach was full everyday and we started to recognise the same people who would, like us, lie in the same place?

Well I went back today and it looked like this! So beautiful!

I can’t believe that one day we’ll be there again with towels instead of scarves and grapes instead of gloves and we’ll dive into the water instead of being scared the ice will crack and throw us into it. I can’t wait!

My City Guide to Helsinki – for Design*Sponge

January 14, 2015 / Mel_inHelsinki / 8 Comments

Many of you will have lived in Helsinki, live there now or are thinking of visiting in the future.

I’ve just put together a City Guide to Helsinki for Design*Sponge – a design blog run by Brooklyn-based writer, Grace Bonney. According to the website they currently reach over 1 million readers per day – so if your favourite Helsinki cafes are soon full of international visitors – um, sorry about that.

My City Guide to Helsinki for Design*Sponge

I’d love to know any additions you would make to the list. I’ve tried to include some old faithfuls as well as some new favourites.

You can find the guide here: City Guide to Helsinki for Design*Sponge

Finland’s oldest public pool – swimsuits optional

January 5, 2015 / Mel_inHelsinki / 19 Comments

In December 1967, a man named Harold Holt went for a swim in rough seas off the coast of Australia. He was never seen again. A tragedy for any family, his disappearance also put the country in an awkward position – because Harold was the Prime Minister of Australia at the time.

Australian PM Harold Holt, 1967 National Archives of Australia

A huge search failed to find his body and conspiracy theories floated to the surface, including speculation that he had been picked up by a Chinese submarine. The event has been described by one Australian comedian as ‘the swim that needs no towel.’

http://cafeyrjo.net/images/galleria/allasnakyma%202.kerros.jpg

Yrjönkatu uimihalli Photo credit: Mari Herrala for Cafe Yrjo

I was reminded of this recently when invited by Verena to join her and two American guests for a swim that needs not only no towel but also no swimsuit. Helsinki’s Yrjönkadun uimahalli (swimming hall) opened in 1928 and while swimsuits have been allowed since 2001 they are still optional.

This is Finland’s oldest public swimming pool and men and women swim on separate days.

For our visit we paid a small fee and were given towels, a robe and a key before being shown upstairs to our cubicles. Each cubicle had a bed, a mirror and a lockable drawer – very clean and simple – like something out of a 1940s hospital.

Where I ~~recovered from smallpox in 1910~~ got changed

Dressed in our robes (no sash or belt provided) we headed downstairs for a compulsory shower before entering the pool. I chose to swim laps but water-jogging is popular, where you run in the water, suspended by a floatation belt.

As I swam I noticed it was time for the changing of the lifeguard. The woman in her 50’s who had watched us from a raised chair was replaced by a young guy, in his early-30s. When it was time to get out I was relieved to see he was no longer at his station and took the opportunity to ascend from the pool – only for him to appear that moment from behind a beam, right at the top of the ladder. All I could do was greet him with a smile because, honestly, that’s all I had on.

Cubicle with a view

Now it was time for another shower and our first sauna. Our American friends had maintained their modesty until this stage but a sign on the sauna door showing a swimsuit with a big red cross through it made it clear this was a swimsuit-free zone. The sauna was around 80 degrees celsius (176 Fahrenheit) and as we entered we could hear a group of women outside singing Finnish folk songs.

After another shower we tried the steam sauna, which was so foggy we could hardly see a thing. It was an effort to find a space to sit without accidentally sitting on someone’s knee.

Photo credit: Mari Heralla for Cafe Yrjo

Photo credit: Mari Herrala for Cafe Yrjo

Time for another shower before heading upstairs to have a drink at one of the tables on the balcony. We each had some water and a glass of sparkling wine or beer before heading back to try the puu (wood) sauna.

This was by far my favourite – a large room with a big wood-fired oven with the door swung open, something that Hansel and Gretel would have nightmares about. The heat was strong but somehow softer than the other saunas and the roof was black with soot.

Verena threw ladles of water on the fire to create heat and told us about sauna culture in her homeland of Austria. With New Zealand being quite conservative in its attitudes to public nudity (not encouraged) it’s always interesting to hear about how big a part of life sauna culture is. Verena commented that she’d much prefer to sauna with friends than alone, as it is a social experience to be shared.

After a final shower we went upstairs to have something to eat before dressing and being ushered out by the staff as we were the last ones to leave.

Goats cheese salad from Cafe Yrjö

Yrjönkadun uimahalli is open from September – April and occasionally they hold events such as Christmas-time candle-lit swimming. If you’re in Helsinki I strongly recommend paying the hall a visit, as for many visitors to Finland this will be a unique experience.

For those in Australia you may prefer to cool off this summer with your own swim that needs no towel – at the commemorative and ironically named Harold Holt Swim Center in Glen Iris.

Yrjönkadun uimahalli

Cafe Yrjö

Yrjönkatu 21b
00120 Helsinki
09 310 87401

Harold Holt Disappearance

Harold Holt Conspiracy Theories

Walking through a winter wonderland

December 23, 2014February 13, 2015 / Mel_inHelsinki / 11 Comments

There are so many new traditions for us here in Finland, especially around Christmas time. On Sunday we headed over to Seurasaari for our first Christmas path.

2.30pm Helsinki – just before sunset

Seurasaari is an island connected to the mainland by a wooden bridge. We caught a bus there full of families, babies in strollers, children and dogs. We squashed in together and there was a feeling of excitement in the air.

The bridge was decorated and there was a tree where children could hang homemade decorations. I’m not sure of the significance of these bundles of wheat but they seem to be popular at Christmas time and Saint Lucia holds one in her arms.

Seurasaari is an open air museum that features buildings in original styles from around Finland. You can wander the island for free or pay to enter different museum exhibits.

Upon arrival we were greeted by women handing out maps and Christmas cards and there was also a group of carollers.

The Christmas path followed the main walking track around the island with special events dotted along the way amongst the old buildings.

Before long we came across a group of forest animals handing out piparkakut (ginger biscuits) to the children.

Back off dad – kids only

Soon we came across a sign pointing the way to ‘Lasten puuro’ (children’s porridge).

I’d read on the website to bring a bowl and spoon and so we lined up like Oliver Twist and Miko was spooned out a share. We joined other families at long tables set with milk and cinnamon mixed with sugar.

With warm bellies full of rice porridge we set off again and came across a row of buildings bedecked with ginger-bread. Check out the foundations on these houses.

The path was decorated all the way around the island with handmade crafts and traditional Finnish pieces. Colourful scarves were tied around tree trunks to show the way.

By 3.30pm the light was beginning to fade but lights and candles brightened the gloom.

Around the next corner we came across a large group of people singing Christmas carols. There was also a large area where people could burn candles.

Many Finns will visit the cemetery on Christmas morning to light candles just like these on the graves of loved ones.

Along we walked until we came to a clearing with stalls selling glöggi (mulled wine) and a woman leading children in traditional songs and dances. Best of all was the chance to see Joulupukki (Santa Claus) and his wife – and despite the amount of people – no queue!

After staying for a while and enjoying the moment we walked on as the sun had dropped quite low and taken the temperature with it.

We walked through a maze made out of hay bales, but the best was yet to come! We came across a field full of people cooking over fires. We were handed a stick with damper on and found our cooking spot.

It’s a Christmas miracle that Jonny’s hair did not catch alight

It was soon time to leave and make our way home. We had one of those amazing experiences where, despite the large crowds, a bus pulled up just as we arrived at the bus stop and we managed to get a seat.

This was a free event and one we all really enjoyed. I would highly recommend it if you’re in Helsinki this time next year.

We will be celebrating Christmas on the 24th December here in Finland. I send a heartfelt thanks to everyone who has read my blog this year, commented, added information and advice. As well as staying in touch with friends & family back home I’ve had the wonderful pleasure of meeting some great Finnish people through my blog and I’m very grateful for these new friends and how they love to show us Finnish life, often inviting us to places & events they know we’ve never seen before.

I get a few emails from people travelling to Helsinki and have been asked by a teacher if she can share my stories with her Russian students. I also love hearing from people who have lived here and like to share memories about their life in Finland. I’ve even been contacted by a doctor in Israel asking where to buy ice skates in Helsinki! Thank you for all your input.

Wishing you all a very Hyvää Joulua!

Helsinki Christmas Markets

December 16, 2014December 18, 2014 / Mel_inHelsinki / 7 Comments

I’ve lost track of time. When I went to buy our Christmas tree yesterday I couldn’t figure out why it was on sale. And then I realised – there’s only one week till Christmas! A common complaint in NZ and Australia is that Christmas merchandise starts appearing in stores around October but I haven’t noticed that so much here, with things really kicking off just this month.

Helsinki Christmas Markets run from 8-21 December and over 100 colourful cabins have been set up in Senate Square. Nerea and I went down on a cool and crisp day to check them out.

One of the hardest things about the Baltic wind right now is having cold ears! The markets have piles of warm woollen mittens, hats and ear warmers to choose from.

You can see this mannequin is also sporting a knitted neck warmer. Plainer versions are really popular for children to stop cold air slipping down their jackets and are easily removed so they are not too hot once indoors.

There’s a range of food on offer – including the ubiquitous smoked salmon, pickled vegetables, pickled herring, berry jams and sauces.

You can also find reindeer pelts and sheepskins to warm up your home – or why not go the whole fox if that’s your thing?

Finnish baking is on offer, such as traditional ginger biscuits (piparkakut) as is glögi, Finnish mulled wine popular at Christmas.

There are also warm Kareljan piiraka and lihakeitto (meat soup) as well as pulled pork rolls and vegan burgers to be found.

If you are in Helsinki I recommend stopping by before the markets close in five days time!

And for anyone feeling even slightly grinchy I have included below what may just be the cheesiest photo I have ever taken.

Day trip to Estonia

November 24, 2014November 25, 2014 / Mel_inHelsinki / 4 Comments

New Zealand’s closest neighbours are New Caledonia and Fiji, each about two hours away by plane. So it’s still a buzz to be able to pop across to places like Estonia and return the same day. Tallinn, Estonia’s capital, lies about 80km south of Helsinki, across the Baltic Sea.

Tallinn’s Old Town is an amazing place to visit and its lack of wooden buildings mean many original buildings date back to the 11th century, for the most part free from any fire damage.

The first time we visited Tallinn we went on a huge ferry that left around 6pm and arrived just after 10pm. We were not allowed off the ship until morning, when we went ashore and had lunch before returning to Finland.

Many people don’t even disembark, except to stock up their trolleys with alcohol, as it’s much cheaper in Estonia than Finland.

The second time we went, we took a faster ferry that took about 2 hours to get there and returned later that day. The fare was about €25. The trip on the larger ferry only cost €40 for the three of us and included our cabin for the night.

While Peter Jackson’s movies may leave you thinking New Zealand is inhabited by hobbits and elves, I think they’d be most at home in Tallinn’s Old Town. There’s a restaurant (above) where people sit around candle-lit tables and eat elk soup out of wooden bowls, while a woman in a headscarf kneads dough behind the counter.

The old walls of the town are still standing and you can have a drink at the top once you have negotiated the huge stone stairs that are set about 50cm apart from each other in height.

The view from the top of the town is reminiscent of Prague, as you look out over all those red-tiled roofs.

There are so many little stores and places to see we still have reason to visit, plus we’ve yet to explore much beyond the Old Town walls.

Until then, I’ll enjoy reminiscing about our trips over the Baltic Sea and the blue-sky days we had, especially as we move into the darker months. With the sun currently rising in Helsinki just before 9am and setting at 3.30pm those sun-filled days make Tallinn seem a world away!

Porvoo, according to Frida

November 10, 2014December 16, 2014 / Mel_inHelsinki / 9 Comments

Over a couple of drinks last week we realised our friend Frida was going home to Porvoo for the weekend, the very town we were planning to visit. Just 50km east of Helsinki it’s an easy bus-ride away and Frida offered to be our tour guide.

Porvoo is Finland’s second-oldest town and was given city rights sometime around 1380 – which blew my mind because it is believed that the first Polynesians only arrived in New Zealand around 1300.

It was a beautiful, blue-sky day but fresh at only zero degrees. We wandered around the Old Town and visited an amazing toy shop; a quick poll revealing that yes, Miko and I agreed this was the best toy shop in the world.

We stopped by the home of national poet, Johan Runeberg, a Swedish-Speaking Finn. Frida regaled us with tales about how he devoted a good part of his later years to drinking, which led to his wife writing most of his work and him returning home one night so inebriated he drove his horse and cart straight into the river.*

Frida also answered my questions about Swedish-speaking Finns as Porvoo is a bilingual city and our visit coincided with Swedish-speaking Week. For some reason it’s hard for me to get my head around but she was very patient, even when I asked her twenty minutes later, ‘So when did your family arrive in Finland?’ to which she reiterated that they are Finnish, not Swedish, they just happen to speak Swedish (and Finnish and English).

The Old Town has some great shops to visit, including antique and design stores. As we looked for lunch we noticed snails feature on many of the menus but opted instead for pizza and risotto in a warm restaurant.

After lunch we headed to Porvoo Cathedral which Frida told us had recently had a fire in the roof. The man who was found to have started it was rewarded with a lengthy jail sentence*.

We walked back down the hill through streets lined with old wooden houses, peering into windows (me) to admire reindeer pelt-covered seats set in front of warm fireplaces. I stopped in at vintage store Doris & Duke and bought some snowflake leggings while the others huddled outside.

The paint on some of the buildings is red ochre and so old that it will leave a powdery substance on your hands when touched.* We dutifully rubbed the outside of people’s houses to see if we could remove some of the paint ourselves.

After all this walking, snooping and rubbing it was time for a treat and so we stopped in at Helmi Cafe which is one of those cafes you often find in small Finnish towns. It’s as though you have entered someone’s private home as you wander through connecting rooms until you find the place you want to sit.

In honour of Frida, Johan Runeberg and Porvoo itself we finished our tour with a round of Runeberg tortes – a fine way to complete our cultural exchange and more fun than riding into the freezing river.

*Source: Frida

Runeberg Torte

A Visit to Alvar’s House

October 18, 2014October 18, 2014 / Mel_inHelsinki / 6 Comments

Alvar Aalto is one of Finland’s best known designers and architects. Born in 1898, his works include buildings, furniture, glassware and lamps from a career that spanned decades until his death in 1976.

Alvar once said, “It is easier to build a grand opera or a city center than to build a personal house,” and you can visit his house in Munkkiniemi, 4km north-west of Helsinki city centre.

With his wife Aino, Alvar acquired the land and built the house in 1936. It was designed and used as a home and studio. The day we arrived to visit there was already a small group gathered on the footpath and taking photos of the garden.

Inside, Alvar’s work desk is still laid out as though he might arrive at any moment to start drawing up plans under the large windows that take maximum advantage of the natural light.

Alvar and Aino were involved in every part of the creation of their home – they designed not only the house but the furniture and fixtures that went inside. Aina also designed fabrics, some of which feature in the house and can still be bought.

Touring the house is fascinating as you realise that between them they designed the sofas, the lamps, the tables, the chairs, the glassware….even the bathroom basins! Alvar and Aino’s two children grew up in the house and their bedrooms are preserved as closely as possible to how they would have appeared during their childhoods.

The house has a lovely warm, calm feeling and features Japanese sliding doors and wall coverings. Aino passed away in 1949 and Alvar was remarried three years later to architect Elsa Mäkiniemi. She lived in the house until she died in 1994.

The house was later purchased by the Alvar Aalto Society and they now keep it as a museum with a small shop.

Guided tours are given of the house and unless you are in a big group you can just turn up at the allocated times on the website. As with most things in Finland, opening hours are adjusted during the winter months so check before you come.

The garden was just beautiful when we visited, the house draped in curtains of red and gold leaves. I saw pictures of the house in winter and the warm space that Alvar and Aino created looks absolutely beautiful covered in snow.

The great thing about their work is that the house will appeal to lovers of architecture, furniture, and interior design alike. If you’re not already a fan I would suggest you might just find something you like when you visit Aalto House.

Alvar Aalto Museum

Nothing wrong with your herring!

October 13, 2014October 13, 2014 / Mel_inHelsinki / 3 Comments

The Baltic Herring Festival is one of Finland’s oldest events and has been running in Market Square since 1743. This year from 5th -11th October the event was held for the 272nd time.

The festival is made up of stalls and boats that are moored close to the steps leading down to the water. Vendors sell their wares directly from the back of their boats and in some cases you can eat lunch onboard.

For sale was herring in an array of marinades and sauces. There were also delicious homemade pickled beetroots and gherkins on offer.

It seems most the vendors had travelled from the Åland Islands, an archipelago off the coast of Finland near Sweden.

The produce all seemed to come straight from the land and included crunchy fresh apples, sea buckthorn berry sauces and jars of honey.

The Åland Islands lie between Finland and Sweden. More than 90% of the population live on Fasta Åland and there are another 6,500 skerries and islands to the east, one of which shares a border with Sweden. In 1921 the League of Nations decided that Finland could retain sovereignty over the Åland Islands but they should be made an autonomous territory. Residents have therefore retained the right to keep using the Swedish language and their culture and local traditions are protected.

For those of us visiting the markets this means the vendors also brought with them the darkest rye bread I’ve ever seen, which is made with malt.

It has an almost sweet, raisiny taste and can be eaten just with butter.

It was a blustery day that we visited the markets, about five degrees and there was a very cold wind coming in off the Baltic Sea.

We eventually had to retreat into Old Market Hall for hot seafood soup and bread.

We ventured out again though after warming up and brought home rye bread, gherkins with chilli and punajuuri (beetroot) for dinner.

For me, herring is an acquired taste but with the markets having such a long tradition I suppose I’ve got all the time in the world to get used to it.