16.9 → 17.9: Helsinki

Helsinki, the capital of Finland, is located 80 km to the north of Tallinn, on the opposite side of the Baltic Sea. I caught a passenger ferry, Linda Line, which departs from the old 1982 Olympic sailing venue in Tallinn.

Ferry waiting to depart from Tallinn

The boat set off at the early hour of 7.40 and it took 1.5 hours to make the crossing. Bar a few larger waves towards the middle of the gulf, the way was very smooth. In Helsinki I was greeted with rain. Upon disembarking one walks through the ferry terminal, passing straight through the extensive border check and customs points – a reminder of how good the Schengen agreement is. Fortunately the terminal was very centrally located, meaning it was only a short walk to the tourist information centre. I picked up some maps and other information before setting off to get some breakfast and plan the day ahead. I found a very nice little café in the old port precinct, which is now an indoor market. After devouring some delicious eggs, bacon and coffee, I set off to explore the town. It was still raining out but only a fairly light drizzle, meaning it wasn’t too bad. I decided to be primarily guided by geocaches. These led me, as they do, to some really interesting places around the town.

Finnish and Estonian language and, to some extent, culture are quite closely related. Certainly, when listening to Finnish without paying too much attention it sounds very similar to Estonian. However, when actually listening to a conversation, it doesn’t make any sense, as would be expected. Apparently many words are identical between the languages but have totally different meanings. For example, the word for a small hawk in Estonian refers to ones manly bits in Finnish, leading to some humorous situations.

To me, Tallinn and Helsinki are two very different cities. One could hypothesise that Helsinki is what Tallinn would be like if not for those pesky soviets. I’m not really sure to what extent this would be true however. For a start, Helsinki doesn’t have an ‘old town’ as exists in Tallinn. Helsinki however appears to be a much more multicultural place. Just walking around, one sees a much greater mix of ethnicities and restaurants offering various Asian and African cuisines.

Town hall with market out the front, beside the port

Main square, with orthodox cathedral in background

Inside cathedral (packed with tourists like me escaping the rain)

I think the general tourist demographic is a bit different in Helsinki. I saw many ‘selfie-sticks’ during my stay, compared to very few in Tallinn. Read into that what you will, I don’t know what to make of it.

The other major difference is geological. While Tallinn and its northwest coastlines are dominated by limestone, Helsinki and, I believe, much of the Finnish coast is dominated by granite. Granite is everywhere in Helsinki, from large outcrops beside streets and in the parks and gardens, to the guttering, streets, footpaths and buildings. This makes for some very attractive settings.

In the afternoon I visited the National Museum of Finland, which sets out the countries history from ancient times to present, through a series of well laid out exhibitions.

In the later afternoon, I checked into my hostel and dumped a few items of heavier baggage. I had left most of my things in Tallinn meaning I had only a backpack with me.

The final place I wanted to visit was the Temppeliaukio Church. This Lutheran church was literally cut into the granite bedrock. I thought this was arguably one of the most beautiful, and unique, cathedrals I have visited. The colours in the rock really were breathtaking!

Inside Temppeliaukio Church

I wandered back to the city centre to find somewhere to have a drink after a full on day of touristing. I found a nice bar which seemed to have a number of Fins in it. I also had dinner there. A not-so-traditional hamburger. It was very good though!

The other obvious difference between Tallinn and Helsinki is price. Everything is notably more expensive than in Tallinn. From my somewhat limited experience, the prices seem to be on par with those in Australia, but in Euros, so more expensive.

On my second day, I caught a small passenger ferry to the island of Suomenlinna, a short distance from Helsinki’s coast. This island is famous for its fortresses, which are World Heritage listed. I spent four hours wandering around the island. Geocaching again did a most excellent job of getting me away from the selfie-addicted tourists to some of the more remote parts of the island. I had a most excellent time exploring the fortifications, settlements (800 people live on the island) and nature.

Part of a 'natural memorial' to the Suomenlinna prison camp, constructed after the Finnish civil war of 1918/19 

The view on a rather bleak day

Local inhabitants taking their children for a walk

En route to a geocache on one of the remoter parts of the island

Fortifications

Walking over granite

View of some of the fortifications (not telling how I got to where I took the photo :P)

I caught the ferry back to Helsinki in time for another excellent coffee before heading back to Tallinn. Apparently, the Fins consume the most coffee per capita in the world. This probably explains why their coffee is so good!

Back in Tallinn that night, I went for a walk around the old town with some people from the hostel and got some nice photographs.