Anyways, on to Helsinki... I flew in on Friday night, arriving to the city around 10:30pm. It was bitter cold there... as in, so cold that my snot was frozen in my nose instantly when I walked outside. It was -18 C... I'm not sure what that in in Farenheit (my, how screwed up my mind has gotten with temperatures, clothing sizes, times, etc!), but it was REALLY COLD!! I made it to my hotel, no problem, and then crashed into bed!
When I was packing, I had found hand warmers in my cold weather drawer... now, I'm not sure when or where I bought them, but, I must say that they were a LIFESAVER on Saturday. I like walking around new cities, but it was so cold in Helsinki that I opted to take a bus tour. Before that, however, I wanted to try a local breakfast (did you really think I wasn't going to mention food?!?). I went to the Old Market Hall, and tried some of the local fish. It was a different kind of breakfast, but yummy and filling.
Salmon and shrimp on toast - yum!
View of the Finnish Orthodox Church from my breakfast spot - think it might have been cold? ;)
The tour guide on the bus was awkwardly funny. He really wanted to talk to me, but then he kept saying strange things about me finding a Finnish boyfriend and nonsense like that. Oh boy! I tried to stay as far away from him as I could! :)
We stopped at this really cool church, which in English is just "the church in the rock". It was carved out of stone in the late 60's, and was so naturally beautiful. We only got 10 minutes there, which was not really enough for me, but I enjoyed it.
The Church in the Rock
The ceiling was made of 13 miles of copper woven together.
Natural Beauty
Our next stop was at the Sibelius Monument. This was a famous Finnish composer, and his monument was really cool (remember I dig sculptures). :) I enjoyed looking at this as well - all the pipes welded together were impressive. :)
Think it snows much??
Sibelius Monument
Sibelius Monument - from underneath
After the tour ended, I went from coffeeshop to coffeeshop, taking in sights in between. I had a really great book to read, so I didn't mind the somewhat relaxed sight-seeing. :)
Lutheran Church - prettier on the outside than on the inside, to be honest
After I had done a little shopping, I decided to go the experience something quintessentially Finnish - the sauna. Okay, now, over time, my comfort level with nakedness has gone something like this - 1. immediately after arriving in Amsterdam - "must not expose skin, even in locker room" 2. a few months later "well, maybe it's okay to get dressed in the locker room without covering myself up entirely with a towel", 3. "aw, screw it - who cares who sees me in the locker room", 4. "Maybe I'll go topless in the hammam in Istanbul", 5. "maybe I'll go sans bathing suit to the sauna in Helsinki". Yes, ladies and gentlemen, I've finally got over my American phobia of nakedness. True, I did kind of keep my towel around me the whole time, but THERE WERE NO CLOTHES. :) So, in other words, I've come a long way. :) The sauna was quite an experience. Lots of naked women speaking Finnish. It was quite the social experience. The men were in a separate room, but at intervals, they would go outside in only their towels to drink beers in the snow and socialize. I kid you not. It was something unlike anything I've ever seen before!
I had had my heart set on getting a massage at the sauna, but unfortunately, the massage therapist was not in that day. I'm honestly not sure WHAT I was thinking (okay, I think I was thinking "I really want a massage"), but I decided to go to a place that had a neon sign with the words "Thai Massage" written on it. Again, what the hell was I thinking? First indication should have been that I had to ring a doorbell to go in. A Thai woman in a very short skirt with a lot of make-up on answered the door and invited me in to her HOME, to reveal another scantily-clad woman smoking a cigarette on the couch. This was not the nice spa I remembered from Bangkok - no, I'm pretty sure this was a front for a prostitute's house!!! I quickly thanked the woman and got the heck out of there! I will NEVER make that mistake again! Oh boy!! :)
The sauna...
After the sauna, I went back to this lovely cafe I had found (or rather Rick Steves had recommended), and just relaxed with The Economist for a few hours. It was just so nice to have some time to myself.
Helsinki by night was beautiful! :)
That evening, I had dinner at a really fun place... it had a tractor theme (not really sure what that was all about, but, hey, I'm a country girl!). I tried local beer and, sorry, Rudolphy, but also tried sauteed reindeer. It didn't taste so different from ground beer, but was a unique item on the menu that I couldn't pass up. :)
Rudolph on a plate - with pickles of all things!
It snowed overnight, which made the city even more beautiful. I made the trek out to see the Finlandia building, in honor of my lovely friend Suzie back in PDX. :) She's an architect and likes Alvar Aalto, who designed this building. Wish she could have been there to help me "get it", but it was a nice walk. ;)
Finlandia Building by Alvar Aalto
The snow was beautiful!
After yet another coffee stop at a cafe, the churches I wanted to see were finally open. I went to see the grandiose Finnish Orthodox Church and the stark Lutheran Church - amazing to see the contrast between the gilted alter of the Orthodox chruch and the white-washed walls of the Lutheran one. Always keeping my brain open... I take in so many new things on these trips!
The Lutheran Church
The Finnish Orthodox Church
I ended my trip at Finland's department store, Stockmann. I made a few purchases, and then made my way back to Amsterdam, where it was a balmy zero degrees. :)
2 comments:
Wow. You really have come a long way, trying a Thai "massage" place! You must really need one so I hope you get it in Amsterdam.
ooh love the pic of the snow on the trees. Sorry about the creepy massage place...yikes! but seriously you ate reindeer??? sniff. Who is supposed to pull the sled next christmas!?!?
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