When I got back late Sunday, I immediately passed out and woke up refreshed on Monday. I spent this day reorganizing my life, catching up on classes, working out and relaxing a bit. This rolled right into my Tuesday, where I did pretty much the same thing. I ended up going to Tjili Pop, a cafe during the day and a bar at night. I also went out with everyone in Kathrine and spent the night dancing in a Tiki Shack bar. I spent all Wednesday in class, gave a presentation in Sustainability in Business, and also booked a trip to Italy for late April-early May. With that being said...
Thursday, March 9th
We left for the airport early Thursday morning. While at the airport, Katie accidentally converted her money to pounds, oops. After a quick flight, we arrive in Helsinki and find out way on the metro to our hostel SweetDream Guesthouse in Kallio. While getting off the metro, I see a guy not so slyly pee right next to the tram stop. It's 2pm in the afternoon but I'm still the happiest person arriving in Helsinki but I begin to think this is the sketchier...but also hipster side of the city. We drop off our baggage at the hostel and walk to a cafe called Good Life. Katie and I both did research on Helsinki and found out that they love coffee here so we made it a mission to hit as many cafes as possible. I get a delicious macchiato and share a chocolate chip cookie with Katie- which is probably the best chocolate chip cookie of my life with salt and chocolate so integrated into the cookie. There was such a synergy between the two. We then walk by Kallion Kirko, a really tall and pretty church. We also found out Kallio is actually a pretty cool neighborhood with a ton of 2nd hand shops. We walked down to Eläntarhanlhti Lake and Tokoinranta Park and continue towards a much fancier neighborhood with government buildings. We walk into the Helsinki cathedral and first parliamentary building (got kicked out). We walked around senate square, saw the current prime minister building, and continued to market square right on the harbor, see a Ferris wheel, huge cruise ships, and Uspenskin Katedraali. We then went to Old Market Hall to get lunch- I get a croissant with prosciutto, pesto, goat cheese, arugula, cantaloupe. Katie and I also share a cinnamon roll and a huge merengue. We then walk by south Harbor and there's a huge pirate sail boat named Katarina- obviously a photo opp. We then hit Tähtitorninbuoren Puisto and see a german church built in the 1960s which was really pretty. The people there were also very nice. We then went to the design museum and saw a cool exhibit about Danish designers (orange scissors, angry bird, circular chair, marimekko). We then saw Johanneksenkirkko and walked through a historical and really beautiful more European city like part of Helsinki to Forum to get Katie a bathing suit. We then went to Hotel Torni and went up to the top floor to use the ladies room and took photos from a toilet- which had the best view of Helsinki. We walked around a little more around a commercial and historical area and then went home to change and headed to Loyly, a finish sauna. We wait for our turn and enjoy a beer and some cider and salt chips. We then attempted to follow the proper Finnish way to sauna, took a nice chilly dip in the Baltic, warmed up in the sauna, and later enjoyed a nice fire. The facilities were so nice and we really enjoyed it- although definitely weren't doing it the right way. We then took the bus back to the central station and get thai food at Tamarin. I tried Finnish beetroot in my curry and it was so good. Katie got really good street noodles. We then made it back home to get ready to go out. We started our night at Liberty or Death, a speakeasy cocktail bar. I got a really delicious cocktail called the Belladonna with Bombay gin, Campari, PX Sherry, Lemon, Balsamico, and Tomato dust. After enjoying our drinks we went to a karaoke bar called Erottaja. People were singing really funny finish karaoke songs, and Katie and I agreed that we love the language. Katie and I sang build me up buttercup, and there was probably one guy out of a lot who loved it. We then just people watched and took in the fins. Two people, who we thought were a couple, approach us and it turned that not only were they siblings- but the guy is a famous wildlife instagrammer who almost has a million followers and the sister is the face of Helsinki because she's dating a famous music artist. Our conversations were so funny- they are so rich, have traveled everywhere but America and were surprised we were in Helsinki- even saying "you have to be hardcore to come here". We eventually made it home and in bed around 3am.
Friday, March 10th
We were out the door by 10am and went to Cafe Regatta in Töölö. We saw the Finnish national opera house while on the way. The cafe was really cute and cozy. It was all red and had beautiful decorations. Katie and I both ordered a latte and a blueberry cake with whipped cream. We then walked to Sibelius Monument, a big steel pipe monument. We later walked to Temppeliaukion (rock) Church. So cool and calming, inside a hill and all rock structure with a beautiful top. Afterwards, we walked to the Chapel of Silence. This is near Central train station and it had a cool oval shape. Apparently the Department of Social Services helped build it as a nice place in city central to relax and just listen to silence and escape life stressors. We then went to Why Join The Navy When You Can Be a Pirate and got a pineapple ginger smoothie. Walked down to Esplanadi Park and into a Marimekko store. Then left to walk around the harbor area and walked to another cafe called Johan & Nystrom. On the way we walked by Uspenskin Cathedral, a lock bridge, and a new set of pools being built in the harbor. At the cafe, I got a machiatto and a cookie. The building the cafe was in had a ton of interesting tenants- and reminded me why I love real estate, as it creates a sort of community and enjoyable experiences. We then caught the ferry going to Suomenlinna, a UNESCO heritage site. It's a sea fortress and that has been used in multiple wars. On the islands we saw a church, typical Finnish homes, and really beautiful rock passages used during the war. It was awesome to learn about the history and how the fortress was used. We then left to catch up with Kevin, Katie's cousin who joined us on the trip. We picked him up and walked to Hakaniemi market hall. We then walked downtown to the design district and walked around this area, ending up at another cafe and furniture store called Plootu . We got a cookie with Katie but we were still so hungry so we went to a pizza place called kotipizza- it was ok pizza. We then walked back to the rock church and caught a live orchestral concert. The music was fantastic and it was so relaxing, we were really able to enjoy the church. We then walked to Brewdog and I got a Heavy sunshine Mexican vanilla imperial porter.- so heavy but delicious We played Jenga and just hung out and talked. Eventually we went back to the hostel and fell asleep by 1am.
Saturday, March 11th
Woke up, packed and made our way to Seurasaari, an open air museum where they moved cool homes and Finnish buildings from around the country to the island. On the way we stopped at Fazer Cafe and I got a pistachio pastry and a machiatto (I think I'm becoming a machiatto person- watch out world!) We also bought peanuts and fed the birds while exploring the island. We decided to do this after meeting the world renowned squirrel whisper and tried to copy his photos and meet our own wildlife friends- which is actually so hard! After walking around the island, we went to Kiasma Contemporary Museum of Art but it turned out all the exhibits were closed so we went back to the hostel to pick up our stuff. We then went back downtown and walked around Esplanadi, the harbor market where I bought my mom some Finnish yarn and then headed to the terminal to catch our ferry to Estonia! On the ferry, Katie and I split a pitcher of sangria and explored the ship. It was huge, and so cool as we were just breaking through Baltic Sea Ice. We journaled our trips, ended up getting pretty tipsy and arrived in Estonia so quickly. I really enjoyed this mode of traveling and would love to do it again (Maybe to Oslo?) After arriving in Tallinn, we found our way to Red Emperor Hostel, checked in, got a free beer, warm towels, and unpacked our stuff. It was definitely an Australian party hostel and everyone had beautiful accents. One of the coolest hostels I've stayed in so far. We ended up meeting our hostel mates, a guy who went to American university and a girl from east London. They told us about their lives and travels and suggested some places for us to hit in Italy. After finishing our beers, we met up with Kevin and walked around old town. It was really pretty with the preserved medieval architecture, cobblestone streets, lights, and churches. It was also interesting because the architecture makes it seem like such a quaint European city but then there are these gorgeous and modern restaurants, crazy nightclubs, and pretty commercial tourist stores inside these buildings. We were just so happy walking around the city. Needing dinner, we tried to go to Kompressor for pancakes but it was full. We ended up going to Reval Cafe for an amazing meal. Katie and I ordered 3 pastas- one creamy wine sauce, one red sauce with basil, and lamb gnocchi. It was so good and cheap and very cute inside. Katie and I tried to go to two bars- not quite what we are looking for as they weren't busy but both had really cool craft beer. We ended up hitting Gelato Ladies and I got a delicious mint gelato in a cone. We then went back to the hostel and showered and hung out with the our hostel mates before going to bed.
Sunday, March 12th
We woke up at 5:30am to catch the sunrise. It was pretty foggy and cold but so beautiful. From the viewing point, we could see the orange rooftops and the city was so quiet. We then walked around until we got too cold and ended up going back to the hostel. While Katie slept, I drank some coffee, listened to really good music playing in the hostel like FKJ, Chet baker, it was all great vibes. We eventually made it to a cafe around 10am called Must Puudel. I got smoked salmon, a salad, poached egg, asparagus and dark bread (rye)- delicious. We then went to the Kiek in De Kok and learned about Estonian history, especially from the perspective of wartime. So many countries have taken over control in Estonia- Soviets, Germany, Denmark, Sweden. Got their first independence in the beginning of the 20th century then lost it because the soviets bombed the city where the German soldiers were stationed, lost independence and gained it again only in 1991. Also learned about the torture processes- gruesome. There was a great view from the top of the tower. Afterwards, we hit the oldest bakery in Tallinn called Maiasmokk Cafe. We then went on a 2 hour tour of the city and learned more about Estonian history and culture, saw St Nicholas Church, Freedom Square, Danish Kings Garden, Alexander Nevsky Church, Pikk Herman, Toompea castle (government building), Republic of Estonia government building, walked down the side of the fortress, and finished at the town square. It was a really great tour, the guide was hilarious and we learned a lot. Then got lunch at Art Cafe got a goat cheese salad with strawberries and a cider. Then walked into several churches to see the inside. Interesting to see how a lot of the contributions to the city are from other countries- can see it in the churches and the different religious in a country that is not even religious. Then went to Telliskivi. Really cool part of Tallinn outside of the old town, tech and modern part of the city. Very much still emerging but some cool buildings near old warehouses. A lot of urban infill, cool hipster trend. Cool shops and restaurants and graffiti. Artsy. Walked around and saw a huge mural of a squirrel smoking pot or eating a twig- not really sure but it was dedicated to the endangered species in Estonia. We eventually got beer at Pudel Baar. Really cool bar only serving craft beer and cider. I got Maisel and Friends IPA and it was very good. We then walked and got dinner at Burger Box- I got a falafel burger with tahini- so good and also got kimchi fries. Totally over did it but so delicious. There was also such a pretty sunset that night. We then walked around old town more and ended up going to Kevin's hotel room to watch a movie (totally passed out for it) then made it back to the hostel and went to bed for an early am flight
Monday, March 13th
Made our way to the airport on a sketchy bus. Goes to show how tallinn is still very much developing and it would have been a totally different city if we had ended up here like 5-10 years ago. Still building infrastructure and investing in the city. Took a propeller plane to Helsinki, waited in Helsinki for a 3 hour layover then made our way back to Kathrine.
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I really really enjoyed this trip. It was great to hit two cities in one weekend, and the cities were totally opposite of each other which made it all the more better. Helsinki was such a cool city and would recommend it to anyone thinking about going. It definitely had more of an urban and redevelopment side-but the historical side was beautiful. The shops and cafes were amazing, and you could tell the people really embraced design in their edginess with tattoos, dyed hair, and clothing. It was also interesting because although the people were like this- they also were very reserved. I can't believe we met someone who has around 1M followers on instragram and the face of Helsinki after having such a relaxing time at a sauna- that night will go down in Katie and Cam history. Tallinn was also the first city I have hit while abroad this has the quaint Euro vibes. The medieval streets, old churches, cobblestone streets, narrow passages and architecture was so beautiful. I'm really happy we were able to hit it. Also we were able to finish a huge pitcher of sangria while traveling on a ferry in the Baltic- that's amazing!!!
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