By the time I hit Helsinki, I will have been in residence in the Nordic countries for 5 weeks. I will have a definite feel for the Nordics and the nomadic work life by then.

 

Read on below for details. 

 

HELSINKI: July 2 – July 10 (8 days)

 

DAY 1:   MONDAY JULY 2

• Arrive at 9:55am from Stockholm
• Train from airport to Helsinki Central Railway Station (one of the world’s great transportation hubs, designed by Eliel Saarinen and completed in 1919)
• Walk to hotel (10-15 mins)

 

HOTEL: F 6

Comfortable and great staff but absolutely no lobby or bar scene.

 

LUNCH:  Juuri – new Nordic cuisine

One of the best meals I’ve had on this trip. Tempted to go back for dinner before I leave.

 

 

DAY 2:    TUESDAY JULY 3

CO-WORKING SPACE:  Mothership of Work (Pieni Roobertinkatu 9)

• Available with a Day Pass

 

Dinner:  Yes, Yes, Yes with Tord and friends (opens at 4pm, closed Sunday and Monday)

 

 DAY 3:   WEDNESDAY JULY 4 

Ferry ride for all 3 islands: Departure times are confusing (and not consistent across website and ferry terminal signage)

JT-Line ferry for Suomenlinna sea fortress, Vallisaari island and Lonna island.

• JT-Line ferries depart from Market Square (look for blue and white colors)
• You can get tickets at the JT booth right next to the boats or on the boat.
• 10 mins walk from hotel

 

Stop 1: Suomenlinna sea fortress (pics above)

• This UNESCO World Heritage Site is an 18^th century Swedish maritime fortress.
• EXCELLENT ENGLISH SPEAKING TOUR: available at 11 am, 1 pm and 2:30 pm

Stop 2: Lonna

•  The small island Lonna is one of the most newly opened to the public. Good (but expensive) restaurant with terrace seating. There’s also a notable sauna on the island.

Vallisaari

• The island was opened to public in 2016. The Aleksanteri trail is 1.5 miles around the island.
• Never made it here!  If you want to do all 3 islands you have to do them in order starting with Vallisaari. I was too impatient – the ferry leaving as I arrived at Market Square was heading to Suomenlinna and unless I wanted to do a lot of waiting and criss-crossing, I missed the chance to see Vallisaari.

 

Walking and Exploring:

It’s a small city, I was able to walk from the hotel, around the waterfront where the big ships are docked all the way to one of the swankiest parts of town. Planned to check out BasBas Wine Bar but it turned out to be closed for summer holidays.

 

Design Museum:   Came across this on my walk and decided to pop in just before closing. Highly recommend. Excellent shows at the moment with work by Daniel Rybakken and Timo Sarpaneva.  Beautifully installed.

 

Dinner:  Spis

 

Flavorful and innovative but too many tiny courses (and outrageously expensive). I ordered the 4 course meal with wine pairing. The 4 course tasting menu comes with several amuse-bouche and it’s often hard to tell what is a course vs an amuse. $150 for dinner, for one.

 

DAY 4:   THURSDAY JULY 5 

Walking the City: Easy and fun to explore on foot

 

• Esplanada
• Kamppi Chapel of Silence at Narinkka Square: Contemporary chapel with a minimalist wooden interior, built for silent reflection. An architectural gem. (No photos allowed inside)
• Kiasma contemporary art museum located on Mannerheimintie. Name alludes to the basic conceptual idea of its architect, Steven Holl.

Lunch at Fabrik with Olli Hietalahti (with his newest product, Tom of Finland Vodka)

Afternoon Exploration:

• Loyly Sauna
• Hietalahden Halli (Food Hall)
• HAM, Helsinki Art Museum (graffiti show with lots of Martha Cooper’s photos)

 

Dinner: The Cock

Across the street from my hotel and quite good.

 

DAY 5:   FRIDAY JULY 6

More walking/more exploring from hotel to Sibelius Park

Lunch: Cafe Regatta (super cute, and I finally caved in to the cinnamon bun mania that the Nords are all about

Afternoon included a wide range of monuments, churches and food halls.

 

DINNER: Holiday Bar (opens at 4pm)

Holiday Bar, The Cock and Yes, Yes, Yes (as well as several other restaurants/bars) are all owned and run by young chef/entrepreneur Richard McCormick. Quite impressive.

 

 

DAY 6:    SATURDAY JULY 7

Alvar Aalto house/museum and old studio: Booked 12pm Guided Tour

 

• Take the #4 tram – approximately 30 mins from downtown Helsinki
• BOOK TOUR IN ENGLISH for both studio and museum, get there early
• CLOSED SUNDAY & MONDAY

Studio is a short walk from the house. Note: Both tours are only 30 mins (not an hour)

 

Dinner:  Pobre (Filipino) in the Kampii Center (on 5th floor)

Recommended to me by the guys from Hills Dumplings. Delicious food and great, welcoming  chefs/owners. They even made up a tasting plate for me so I could sample as much of the menu as possible. My favorites were the chicken and chive dumplings, the corn dish and the broccolini greens. They also have two hot sauce condiments – I especially loved the one made with kaffir lime.

 

DAY 7:   SUNDAY JULY 8

My plans to explore Kallio and Tuerastamo were upended when I realized that almost all stores, restaurants and bars in the area are closed on Sundays.

However, I had a great backup plan. I took the #1 tram and rode it virtually all the way to the end to Käpylä which is a really cool area with 100 year old wooden houses. Not sure exactly what’s going on in the neighborhood but it looked like more than half of the houses were being renovated (new owners?). Although this was originally a working class neighborhood, it has become extremely popular with creative professionals – especially architects.

My primary goal, however, was to check out Kahvila Siili (hedgehog) for brunch. It was difficult to find but I am so glad I did make the trek. Really fabulous!!

 

 

DAY 8:  MONDAY JULY 9

Last full day in Helsinki. Beautiful day but I had literally run out of things to do. Decided to get a day pass for Mothership of Work and get my next blog post written. It’s a summary of the last 5 weeks – what was outstanding, overall impressions.

Also hit up Putte’s for pizza. Meh!! Looks good but left me underwhelmed.

 

 

DAY 9:  TUESDAY July 1o

Leave for train station to airport by 8:30am for 10:30 flight to Stockholm and then on to NYC.

 

RECOMMENDED RESTAURANTS:

• Juuri – new nordic cuisine – excellent!!
• Holiday Bar – great location but only so-so food
• Gron
• Yes, yes, yes (vegetarian) – v. good
• Olo (3 hour meal, near Uspenskin Cathedral)
• Bas Bas (wine bar, great reviews – closed for summer holidays)
• Spis (closed Sunday and Monday) – good, not a repeat!
• Muru (great reviews, closed Monday and Sundays, central location)
• Elite (artist hang out)
  

RECOMMENDED BARS:

• Liberty or Death (design district, opens at 6pm, closed Sundays)
• Trillby & Chadwick (speakeasy, lines to get in, no photos)
• Runar (at F6 Hotel)
• B-Side Bar (in Teurastamo area – closed Sunday, Monday, Tuesday)
• A-21 (very fancy, near design district)

 

ADDITIONAL TIPS:

Tram Nr. 3 goes around the whole center of Helsinki and passes most of the important sights. Get a day-pass.

Helsinki Card – use as many trams and buses, ferries as you want and get access to many attractions throughout the city! PRE-ORDER ONLINE AND PICK UP.

SAUNAS – Helsinki renowned for them