Street Scene

How to chill during winter

/ Mel_inHelsinki / 6 Comments

I asked Siri recently what the temperature was and got this reply:

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Which made it clear to me that Siri is not Finnish because -10 / 14F and sunny is a perfect winter’s day in Helsinki.

What we’ve had lately though is -21 /-5.8F with a wind chill of -28 /-18.4F, making life difficult as we still have errands to run and as we don’t have car it’s all done on foot.

So when Markus Watkins emailed me this week to tell me about his photos of people doing summer-time activities during winter, it really resonated with me.

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Rowing Nowhere by Markus Watkins

 

Perhaps it’s the futility of rowing on a frozen lake or searching for summer berries in the snow, but I really like the way he’s thrown the two together because no matter the weather we are outside everyday.

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Sno Berries are Found by Markus Watkins

 

After living in Finland for three years, Markus understands this well.  The 16-year old photographer was born to a British father and Finnish mother and moved to Finland in 2014.

It was while visiting his family’s summer cottage in Asikkala, 130km north of Helsinki, that he found the inspiration for his latest project, The Impossible Contrast.

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Markus Watkins

“After the weather being grey and gloomy for several days, it changed and suddenly got incredibly cold, and the sun came out!  I needed to make the most of it. Since I was at my summer cottage I thought that it would be very interesting to mix my favourite summer activities and contrast them with the winter. The impossible contrast,” he says.

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Ice Cream by Markus Watkins

Currently in high school, Markus is teaching himself about photography and developing his skills as he goes. “I think it is much better to learn this way because you learn the self motivation to keep coming up with ideas and keep developing your own style. I love sharing my images with the world, it gives me a good feeling!”

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Break the Ice by Markus Watkins

He also gets a good feeling from visiting Asikkala, a place his family has been returning to ever since he was a kid.

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The Cold Never Bothered Me Anyway by Markus Watkins

“My summer cottage is my favourite place in the world. Every time I come it has a different vibe or feeling, which makes it amazing for photography.”

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Better Luck Next Time by Markus Watkins

As well as his photography, Markus’ sense of humour is also on show in the titles he’s chosen for his photos and I particularly like this comment he makes on his website: ‘Fingers and toes were harmed in the making of this series.’

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A Chilling Tale by Markus Watkins

Check out more of Markus’ work at: 

https://www.instagram.com/markus.watkins/

https://www.behance.net/gallery/47008717/THE-IMPOSSIBLE-CONTRAST

 

Kalle Freese’s spirit animal

/ Mel_inHelsinki / 4 Comments

We used to love having brunch at Freese cafe – home to some of Helsinki’s best coffee, made by Finnish Barista Champion, Kalle Freese.

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Freese cafe – December 2014

Kalle first fell in love with coffee while living in New Zealand and sadly for us, his cafe closed a while ago due to his other commitments – but we found his legacy last weekend when we visited summer cafe Kahvila Siili.

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Siili means hedgehog in Finnish and the cafe is found in the lovely suburb of Puu-Käpylä, just 20 mins from central Helsinki.

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Puu means wood or wooden and the area is unique for its colourful houses, which were built in the 1920s.

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Red ochre features heavily in the local scheme as it does in many traditional Finnish neighbourhoods.

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We even saw a cat on a lead, not an unusual sight in Helsinki, enjoying the sun outside.

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It was a lovely walk that was made even better once we arrived at our destination.

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The brunch menu, we found, was the same as Kalle Freese’s – delicious crunchy granola with creamy yoghurt, served with seasonal fruit, fresh apple juice and your choice of tea or coffee.

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It also includes tasty avocado on toast and an egg, cooked to 63 degrees celsius and served with thinly sliced fennel.

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There’s also a great selection of freshly baked treats for those looking to have dessert.

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And to top it all off on our way home we came across the cafe’s very own namesake! Not Freese but siili! – a gorgeous neighbourhood hedgehog.

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Kahvila Siili – open only in summer

Puu-Käpylä

 

Up, up & around!

/ Mel_inHelsinki / 2 Comments

We’re just back from an extended stay in New Zealand where we had a wonderful time with family and friends.

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Leaving New Zealand

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Arriving in Finland

Part of the joy of returning home to NZ is also seeing the landscape with a new appreciation. I particularly like how Auckland is home to around 48 volcanoes, all within 20km of the city centre.

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Volcanic rock on Takapuna beach & its birthplace (Rangitoto) in the background

These volcanic cones provide a great vantage point to get a good view of the city, something we don’t have in natural form here in Helsinki. Our favourite places to enjoy an aerial view of the city here are from Ateljee Bar (14th floor!) and the Panorama at Linnanmäki (open April – October ).

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View from the Panorama at Linnanmaäki

So it was lovely to get an email inviting us to be guests of Finnair’s SkyWheel this Easter weekend.

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The SkyWheel opened in 2014 and allows visitors to overlook the city from a peak of 40m.

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Based at Market Square it affords views of the harbour, Katajanokka, Uspenski Cathedral and on a clear day, the islands out towards Suomenlinna.

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Jugend architecture in Katajanokka

As guests we were treated to a trip today in the VIP cabin, which comes with leather seats, a glass floor and soft music. All the cabins are heated as the wheel operates year round, but one extra advantage of the VIP one is clear windows, as the others are all blue.

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Uspenski Cathedral

Being Easter there was also an egg hunt, face painting and free drinks for children, all of which Miko thoroughly enjoyed.

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And just as we left the sun came out, reminding us this view will only get better as we welcome more light and clear sunny days.

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We were guests of Finnair SkyWheel today and received free tickets to travel in the VIP cabin. No other payment was received and all opinions & photos are my own. We may have taken all the Easter eggs from the egg hunt though, for which I apologise on behalf of my four-year-old…..

Finnair Sky Wheel

 

 

101 reasons to visit Helsinki

/ Mel_inHelsinki / 8 Comments
  1. There is a pub tram

    Helsinki's pub tram

    Helsinki’s pub tram

  2. Visit Estonia & be home for dinner

  3. Loads of personal space

  4. These changing sheds

  5. Mushroom season

    Market Square

    Market Square

  6. Pop over to Russia

    St Petersburg

    St Petersburg

  7. Inspiring interiors

    Helsingin Yliopisto Kirjasto

    Helsingin Yliopisto Kirjasto (Helsinki University Library)

  8. Reindeer pate

  9. A new kind of hopscotch

    Lauttasaari bridge

    Lauttasaari bridge

  10. Forest sauna

  11. Beautiful tramways

    Kallio

    Kallio

  12. Really old festivals

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    Baltic Herring Festival – 270 years old

  13. Rum bars

    Navy Jerry's

    Navy Jerry’s

  14. Exotic creatures

  15. Picnics in summer

    Kaivopuisto

    Kaivopuisto

  16.  Historical spaces

  17. Growing cafe scene

    Kahvipaatimo

    Kahvipaatimo

  18. Art nouveau suburbs

  19. Island pizza bars

  20. Beautiful sculptures

  21. Summer cabins in winter

  22. Blini

    Pelmenit

    Pelmenit

  23. Nude public swimming

  24. Foggy nights

    Posti

    Posti

  25. Galleries for children

  26. Design pilgrimage

  27. Coffee and doughnuts are pretty much staple

    Kahvi ja munkki

    Kahvi ja munkki

  28. Oases of Silence

  29. Tropical landscapes

  30. Sand sculptures just two hours east

    Lappeenranta annual sand sculpture event

    Lappeenranta annual sand sculpture event

  31. Frozen harbours in winter

  32. Midsummer bonfires

  33. Modern Art

  34. Great public libraries

  35. Saunas for hire

  36. Fun at the fun park

  37. An old island fortress

  38. Death penalty themed cocktails

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    Liberty or Death

  39. Finding local treasures

  40. Huge indoor playgrounds

  41. Long summer evenings

  42. Pop over to Stockholm

  43. Find good falafel

  44. Walk over to islands

  45. Wooden bicycles

    Helsinki bicycles

    Helsinki bicycles

  46. Central Station

    Rautatientori

    Rautatientori

  47. Rye bread sandwiches

  48. Neo gothic architecture

  49. City sunsets

    Sunset

    Sunset

  50. Finnish products

    Juuri Rye Whiskey

    Juuri Rye Whiskey

  51. Views from great heights

    Torni bar - on the 13th floor

    Torni bar – on the 13th floor

  52. Seaside cafes

  53. Moomin & friends live just two hours west

  54. World class festivals

    Flow Festival

    Flow Festival

  55. These at every cafe

  56. Wild flowers in summer

  57. Iconic design

    Design Museum

    Design Museum

  58. Soviet bars

  59. Wild animals

  60. Long golden autumn

    Lastenlahdenpuisto

    Lastenlahdenpuisto

  61. An artist village only 2 hours away

  62. Dedicated cycle-ways

  63. A church carved from rock

  64. Summer kiosks

    Seahorse kioski

    Seahorse kioski

  65. Colourful festivals

  66. An island dedicated to sauna and hot tubs

  67. Days where the city becomes a restaurant

  68. Moomin at the library

  69. Summer cafes

  70. Cute locals

  71. Cavorting seals

    Havis Amanda

    Havis Amanda

  72. Danish sandwiches

  73. Wonderful book stores

  74. Less than an hour to Latvia

  75. New ways of commuting

  76. Santa Lucia

  77. Thousands of chocolates

    Fazer Cafe

    Fazer Cafe

  78. Forest walks in the city

  79. Boat shed cafes

  80. Oases of green

  81. Sauna boats

    Sauna boats

    Sauna boats

  82. Christmas shopping

    Stockmann

    Stockmann

  83. So many cakes

  84. A cafe named Fanny

  85. Loads of antique stores

  86. Sauna cosmetics

  87. A day trip to Porvoo

  88. Boat cafes

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    Relandersgrund – open in summer

  89. Streets that are heated

  90. You can meet Santa

  91. Summer time cruises

    The archipelago

    The archipelago

  92. Blueberry pies

  93. Moss graffiti

  94. Meat in a can

  95. Beautiful islands

  96. Fish n’ chips by the water

  97. Boating canals

    Ruoholahti

    Ruoholahti

  98. Finnish cocktails

    A21 Cocktails

    A21 Cocktails

  99. The porridge truck

    Porridge truck

    Porridge truck

  100. Spring blossoms

    Lastenlahdenpuisto

    Lastenlahdenpuisto

  101. ..and it’s not Vegas
    View from Cafe IPI

    View from Cafe IPI

     

     

     

Come As You Are

/ Mel_inHelsinki / 8 Comments

With the sun hardly setting in Helsinki these days, we are taking every opportunity to enjoy dinner outdoors.

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Our favourite places Skiffer and Cafe Birgitta only open in summer and they are now in good company with the opening of Hernesaaren Ranta.

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Hernesareen Ranta (Hernesaari Beach) is located south-west of the city, in the redeveloping area of Hernesaari (Pea Island).

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Bus number 14 will take you almost to the door, but as always there’s also plenty of parking for bikes.

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The area is home to a range of eateries, including Piece & Love Pizza and Mexican Chalupa. There’s also a venelaituri (boat pier) for those arriving by boat.

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Once ashore there’s many areas to sit and you don’t all have to order food from the same place.

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Unfortunately, some food providers are still learning how to run food events efficiently. The night we visited, the Champagne Bar ran out of champagne and the sushi bar was hand-rolling sushi to order, meaning a 25-minute wait for food after a 20-minute wait to order.

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Luckily there’s another bar where you can grab a drink while you wait and there’s also a dance floor for those who stay late.

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These guys knew how to kill time, turning up for dinner in a boat equipped with a sauna and sofa up on top.

And we’ll be back. With the area measuring 2000m² and open all week from 10am-2am, there’s something for every man and his dog.

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Hernesaaren Ranta

It’s a bit hard to find – continue west from Cafe Birgitta, past the public sauna building site until you feel sure you must be lost. Hernesaaren Ranta will appear as if a mirage in the distance, just as you are about to turn back. 

 

 

 

Aurinko Paistaa ( The sun is shining )

/ 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.

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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.

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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.

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

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

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

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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.

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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.

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

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The island you never leave

/ 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.

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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.

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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.

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

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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).

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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.

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

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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.

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

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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.

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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.

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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….”

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Katajanokka

Uspenski Cathedral

Johan & Nystrom Cafe

Creating Helsinki: Kalle Freese Interview

Lost & Found

/ Mel_inHelsinki / 21 Comments

Visitors to Helsinki often comment on how well everything works. The trains run on time, the movies start when they say they will and it is very rare to see anyone cross the street before the green man appears, even when there are no cars.

Another thing I’ve noticed is the displaying of lost property. It seems there’s an unofficial understanding that if you find something of little value you drape it somewhere it will be easily found should the owner come back.

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As the weather warms up the lost property du jour seems to be gloves. They are everywhere. Strategically placed on bushes, fences and elegantly draped over power boxes.

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Which is not surprising really as Helsinki recently came first in an experiment to find the world’s most honest city. Eleven out of 12 ‘dropped’ wallets were returned to the owner with everything inside.

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While every city has street crime I haven’t noticed it here. While Sydney is a great city, working in cafes there I witnessed bag snatching, wallet snatching, phone snatching, kids breaking into cars and people trying to steal the tip jar.

We even had one guy who would come in and stuff whole pieces of cake in his mouth and run off without paying. All part of living in a vibrant city of 4.5 million people where there’s a gap between those who have and those who have not.

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So to me these Finnish displays of lost property seem like an indication of the overall honesty of the city’s population. True, no one wants one glove but I’ve also seen hats, shoes and sunglasses strategically arranged that have been left behind.

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To be honest, Jonny’s Ray Bans disappeared after being left in a Helsinki changing room but he recently had a friend request on Facebook from a cafe worker here that he didn’t know. She was asking him to return to collect the credit card he’d left last time he bought a coffee.

Helsinki Tops World’s Most Honest Cities 

Helsinki Metro Runs on Honesty

Beware of falling ice

/ Mel_inHelsinki / 15 Comments

Now that we’ve learnt how to walk on ice without dying, it’s important that we also know how to walk under it too. Because with the big thaws happening its the ice hanging from overhead buildings you’ve got to watch out for.

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The first time a big load of snow was dumped down next to me I actually thought someone was throwing snow at us. But it’s all about timing and mine that day was bad.

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Watch out for snow & ice falling off the roof (& people dancing in mid-air)

With your head down checking where your feet go, it’s a precarious job looking for falling ice. Luckily the City of Helsinki takes precautions for us by blocking off sections of the street.

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But what are we to do? Wait until spring to use these parts of the pavement?

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No, silly. Send young men up there to scrape it off and throw it into the streets below.

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I know there must be rigorous health and safety methods going on but I swear this guy was just held up by his mate holding a rope around his waist.

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However they do it, the ice has mostly gone in Helsinki and today was feeling quite tropical with a high of 10°. Unless we have takatalvi that is (literally: taka: back or rear & talvi: winter, which means wintery conditions in spring).

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In which case you may find the sign pictured above waiting for you as you slide to the bottom of the stairs on your taka – Ei talvikunnossapitoa – not maintained in winter.

An amazing discovery in the Finnish forest

/ Mel_inHelsinki / 17 Comments

I went on an island adventure the other day. Well, I walked to Lauttasaari, an island about 3km from the city centre and connected by a wide bridge.  The sea looked amazing as I crossed over, the mild temperatures evident in the partially frozen water.

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Home to just over 20,000 residents and the Finnish Sauna Society, Lauttasaari is about 4km square in size. I walked around one side and back along the coast relishing the rarely shining sun.

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And then the most amazing thing happened. I came across a village of mini houses, set amongst the trees.

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I was stunned. Painted in different colours these tiny houses were set evenly apart and looked well-loved but as though all the residents had simply up and left.

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I marvelled at how tiny they were, just a minute’s walk from the beach and it was surprising to see that some even had chimneys!

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They are of course kesämökit (summer cottages), a huge part of Finnish life. Helsinki city empties over summer as nearly every Finnish family heads to theirs. Even with the long winters, on average Finns use their summer cottages 80 days of the year. 

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It’s amazing to see photos of the same cottages in summer here – the difference in the landscape is incredible and you’ll even see this cottage with the same dress hanging in the window.

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Apparently in the 1920s, the City of Helsinki offered poorer residents tents so they could experience summer vacations. Soon people began to ask to be allowed to build something sturdier and in 1946 an architect created a single design for the cottages, which were allowed to be 12 square metres in size. The residents own the cottage, there is no electricity, water is only turned on in summer and there are shared outdoor toilets (Source: Green Hearts).

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We’ve yet to experience a holiday in a kesämökki and I can’t wait to see inside – although these tiny cottages are not typical of most summer cottages in Finland. But I’ll be sure to visit again in summer when the leaves and grass have grown back and they are once again full of life.

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City Cottage – Inside a modern-day example of one of these summer cottages

Little House on the Baltic – the story of the owners

The Essentials of Cottage Life – Visit Finland