We boarded the red-eye and managed a respectable snooze, (which was pretty much my favourite activity to do on a plane), and landed at the seaside city of Helsinki in the early AM. Despite being early spring, Helsinski's still pretty chilly and even without a breeze, the deep coldness of the city penetrated through our clothing.
 |
| Senate Square as seen from Helsinki Cathedral |
Just along the Senate Square is Helsinki Cathedral, which was built and dedicated to Tsar Nicolas I, the Grand Duke of Finland. And just in front of it is a statue of Emperor Alexander II (known in Finland as 'The Good Tsar'), which was erected in the Senate Square to commemorate his decrees on Finland's autonomy.
The local guide met up with us at 9am, where the sun is already up and bright, but the frigid temperature kept the crowd in the city square to a minimal. It's a short climb up the steps to Helsinki Cathedral, and it's kind of grand to look back out to the streets to the lively-coloured buildings surrounding the cathedral.
We posed a great deal outside Temppeliaukio Rock Church, even though I thought it rather looks like an uninspired stack of flat rocks (the highest praise I'd seen for it was found in the tourist booklet, on how "the roof looks like a flying saucer from certain angles <end exclamation point>". I was excited about exploring the interior, where I'd seen a really nice picture of on the internet, but they were the middle of a sermon and we didn't interrupt.
The Uspenski Cathedral on the other hand was quite a piece of work. It’s a traditional Orthodox Church, and another vestige of the Russian influence on this land over the last few centuries. We popped around the back where the parking lots are, which clearly is the best site to take a grand picture of the cathedral towering over the landscape.
Our walking tour also brought us to Cafe Ursula, a spacious seaside cafe on the outskirts of Kaivopuisto Park. It's a popular morning hangout with the locals, and even as the streets remained largely empty, the locals were gathered here drinking coffee whilst reading the daily papers. I had my first taste of the seasonal Laskiaispulla, a pastry filled with cardamom-flavoured sweetened cream. (Our guide's eyes lit up when he saw a tray out by the counter, and told us in no uncertain terms to get some.) It was delish! I used cardamon on everything from mulled wine to pork bellies, but somehow, I'd never thought of using it in desserts.
After our half day city tour, we explored the rest of the city by ourselves, and revisited Market Square, just a stone’s throw away from Uspenski Cathedral. It's a normally bustling street, except that we landed on Sunday when the city remained in slumber. Luckily, a couple of food stalls were open for business along the waters, and despite having just had pastries and coffee, we tucked in to excellently grilled salmon and seafood right by the Baltic Sea. We also had a reindeer burger. Reindeers are actually pretty common meat option, and is found in restaurants here much like how you can find regular deer meat in Chinese cooking, or kangaroo meat in Australia.
Helsinki is the capital of Finland, and legging it is a pretty reasonable travel plan within the city zone. Despite the cautionary tones that Finland is an expensive country to live in, I actually thought that the food was reasonably priced. We had our second cup of coffee at the elegant Cafe Kappeli, and also their delightful Salmon Cream Soup ($10.90).
We walked past Stockmann, the local departmental store, and the nearby Marimekko is always worth a visit. I was hoping to buy a cute little Moonin figurine too, but no luck! Finnish cultural icons are expensive.
I started googling dining options while on the bus from the airport to Helsinski (procrastination's a real thing in my life!), and shortlisted several restaurants. (I also quizzed the hotel receptionist, who had the misfortune to be on duty when I came a-knocking.)
Based on her recommendations and my google-fu, we grabbed dinner at Zetor on our second day, which was pretty incredible. We‘re quite a convert of the Finnish salmon cream soups (we had one almost every day while in Finland!), and the one here didn’t disappoint. It’s filled with chunks of salmon and potato, and despite the cream, was rather light and easy to drink. The second favourite dish was the deceptively simple Roasted Chicken Breast, which was so tender, they might have used a sour-vide machine (it’s now on my Christmas list!). Topped with grilled haloumi and surrounded by a variety of mashed sides, the portions were huge!). We also had a reindeer steak, which based on my impressive sample size of two, I would say reindeers taste remarkably similar to beef.
I was sorry not to be able to go to all of the receptionist's recommendations, such as The Savotta or to Kaarna (both traditional Finnish cuisine), or more alluringly, to Juttutupa, a pub that Lenin frequented in his days. I thought I could find company to commiserate on how wee little Moomin figurines can be priced so expensively, but I guess that’ll have to wait.
Our next city stop detoured us away from Finland to Tallinn, just a two-hour ferry ride away from Helsinki. It’s the capital of Estonia and a coastal city along the Baltic Sea, with a medieval-era old town that is so well-preserved, it was recognised as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
We reached Alexander Nevsky Cathedral just as it began to snow, little flecks of crystals swirling from the heavens. This cathedral is another Orthodox Church, and often romantised by the locals as the most geographically-westward Russian Orthodox Church, holding up an eastward spread of Catholicism. (Just a tad on the westward side is St Mary’s Cathedral - a Catholic church.) Done in the Russian revival ecclesiastical style, it has the traditional thin windows, thick walls and capped with the onion-shaped domes, it is quite a grand spectacle, though it was disliked by many Estonians as a reminder of Russian authoritarianism.
St. Mary's Cathedral is one of those churches that seem unassuming at first sight, but it's majestic in its own way. Perched near the top of a hill, it has its rustic charm in the winter snow. As I was angling for a shot in the church's parking lot*, I thought the tree was getting in the way, but later in hindsight, thought it framed the clock rather neatly.
*I admit: I probably spent too much time hanging around churches' parking spaces taking pictures.
 |
| Tourists, amirite? |
The Town Hall Square where Tallinn Town Hall is located was currently quiet in March, but it comes alive during festive occasions. In December, the old town holds a Christmas market in the square, complete with a giant Christmas tree. In July, local markets sprig up selling knick-knacks (in fact, if you go on Google Map street view, you can see one happening at that very moment), and local businesses make full use of the balmy summer weather to advance their al fresco tables out from their storefront by a few metres.
 |
| An town skating rink |
Viru Gate comprises of two solemn stone towers that guard the Eastern entrance to the town, but from the outside now, a bevy of colorful shophouses belies the imposing towers with a cheerful exterior. Kiek In De Kok wasn't open on Mondays (which was the day we were there - darn it!), it was a wartime bastion and cannon tower that had been now converted to a museum, complete with tours.
Everywhere we go, we spot stalls selling glogg (a local version of mulled wine) and candied almonds. They're a streetside presence of Olde Hansa, and the main restaurant in the town square is serving dishes from the 15th century.
 |
| Found one dressed in the Griffindor colours! |
It’s just a quick day trip, and I was sorry that we couldn't stay longer! It's easy to get lost in the old charm of the old town, and forget that outside of its old town, Tallinn is a vibrant metropolitan European city, and that Estonia, the country where Skype is from, is the IT-capital of Europe. We'd barely scratched the surface of what this city has to offer.
No comments:
Post a Comment