Why Helsinki, Finland?

Helsinki is cold. One would expect that in the middle of winter, but this was my spousal unit’s idea. He travels in short hops at the beginning and end of his long trips between Turkey and the U.S. Once Europe began to open after the Covid lockdown, we hopped a plane. Our trip of about thirty-six hours ended up being a trip about churches.

We took the train from the airport to the city, which took about an hour. As an American who grew up in a small southern town, being dropped so close to our destination is a luxury. The more I live without a car, the better I like it. Yes, they are very convenient until you are somewhere that has no parking.

The Hilton Helsinki Strand is downtown and on the waterfront and has the best pizza restaurant, Pizzorante BRO. When the concierge recommended it, I raised an eyebrow at my husband, but honestly, it was excellent, much better than the local food we had the next evening down the street.

We began walking as usual, but this time in a general direction rather than by taking a specific route. We stumbled upon Kamppi Chapel, a small building in the heart of Helsinki, Finland. It is one of the most unusual places I have ever visited. This stunning contemporary Finnish architecture sits in Narinkkatori Square. If you are ever in this city, you must visit. Plan to stay longer than five minutes for your soul. It will be worth it.

The room’s acoustics amplified every tiny sound I made when we entered. I unzipped my coat before sitting on one of the pews, and it sounded as if I had released a machine gun. Embarrassed, I sat and waited for my heart rate to slow so that I could relax and absorb the stillness of the room. If we had stayed more than one day in the city, I would have returned daily for meditation.

I learned that Finland has a tradition of wooden churches like this, but they are more cubist than this structure. A ship-building crew aided the architecture firm that created this building, and when you walk up to the inside walls, you can see how this building was lovingly created by using oiled alder planks glued together to form one large wooden bowl.

It is truly lovely.

We had been walking to Temppeliaukio Church, a partially underground structure carved right into the rock in the city's center. The church was built in 1969 and is known as the Church of the Rock or the Rock Church. Originally planned during the 1930s, World War II interrupted those early stages, and the church was not completed until much later.

My fascination (as a pianist and organist in my young life) was the pipe organ on the left side of the Lutheran sanctuary. I could see my organist friend Jack in a concert here and promptly sent him photos.

After our double church tour, we walked, strolling through the city, even in the cold and snow. Walking is our way to see the city slowly, learn our way around, and act as flaneurs, regardless of the weather. To understand this type of wandering, I refer you to this article from The New York Times. It is a luxurious time for me when my husband has no location, timeline, or real purpose. He wants to walk and explore, and I am happy to wander along. It is some of our best times together.

We try to always eat local food at least once during a trip. Dinner that evening was at Ravintola Kolme Kruunua, a traditional Finnish restaurant with an equally Finnish waitress who reminded me of Seinfeld’s Soup Nazi.

Our return home during the pandemic was though an empty airport…

…and an equally empty plane. I am surprised there was even a flight with so few passengers.

Since I am a water person, I would like to return to Helsinki during the warmer months, if only to visit the islands near the city and explore more of the country by car or plane. Some islands, such as Kuninkaansaari Island, have retained their natural beauty. This one opened to travelers in 2016, as did Vallisaari Island. Since I am a ferry fanatic, taking an hour-long ferry to Kaunissaari Island, twenty kilometers from Helsinki, sounds like a great day trip.

Then there are the saunas. Closed because of COVID-19, we could not experience a sauna. Turkey has hammams, and this article gives you an idea of what they are about, but those are a different experience than a real Finnish sauna (and a subject for a later post.)

Since all my travels to the Nordic countries have been in the winter, I plan to visit them again in the summer over an extended period. Drop me a line if you have suggestions for places I should visit that are off the traditional tourist maps.