A Day in Helsinki

Helsinki

I've been meaning to post an article about the brief visit I made to Helsinki, ever since I got back from Tallinn at the end of February. However, lots of other things intervened and somehow I never quite got round to it. Now at the height of summer and on what has probably been the warmest day of the year so far, it seems appropriate to write about walking the streets of the Finnish capital in sub-zero temperatures with snow on the ground!

I only decided to make the trip to Helsinki on a whim. Before going to Tallinn I had looked into the possibility of making the trip, but all the travel sites I looked at said that summer was the best time to make the crossing from Estonia, when I fast hydrofoil completes the journey in just 90 minutes. These craft cannot operate during the winter months, as they run the risk of running into ice flows with potentially disastrous results! I looked on the Viking Lines website and saw that conventional ferries take 3 hours to make the crossing, with a return ticket costing around £20. I decided to forget this idea, but before abandoning it completely, looked at a couple of websites describing the beer scene in Helsinki.

Pack-ice on the approach to the Finnish coast

That was it until on my second full day in Tallinn I took a wrong turning and ended up down at the port. I watched in amazement as coachload after coachload of visitors from Finland was disgorged, with most of them just walking the short distance across the car park to the large, purpose-built shopping complex. This was to be no cultural experience for them, exploring the quaint and historic streets of the Estonian capital; no these people meant business. Stocking up on cheap booze and tobacco was the name of their game, and the port shopping complex had plenty of outlets to cater for their quest.

I walked the other way into the by now empty departure hall and made a casual enquiry at the Viking Line booking office. I was surprised to learn that I could buy a return day ticket to Helsinki for the next day sailing at a cost of just EEK200 (around £12). The only hitch was that it involved catching the first sailing of the day out of Tallinn and the last one back from Helsinki. I had originally planed to visit Tartu, Estonia's second city and the home of the A. Le Coq Brewery, but had done little to arrange this. I therefore opted for the crossing to the Finnish capital instead, paid my money and checked what time I would need to be down at the port.

Forts guarding the ice-bound approach to Helsinki harbour

Having come a bit ill-prepared, research-wise, I found an internet cafe later that afternoon and began some belated research of the Finnish beer scene. Unfortunately I was unable to access the site I normally use when researching these visit, namely Ron Pattinson's excellent European Beer Guide. I don't know why this was, but try as I might I kept getting the message that the server could not be located. I then tried Gazza Prescott's ScooperGen website, and this time had a bit more luck. For the un-initiated ScooperGen gives first hand accounts of Gazza's beer sampling activities, and as someone who has visited and drunk in most of the major European cities, as well as many places further afield, Mr Prescott's site is an impeccable source of information. I wrote down the names and addresses of all the bars close to the city centre that he had recommended in preparation for the following day.

I had an early start the following morning; I had to check in at the port by 7.15am in order to make the 8 o'clock sailing. It had snowed quite heavily during the night, but even as I made my way on foot down to the harbour, there were gangs of people out clearing snow from the pavements. The buses and trams were all running and were full of people off to work. There were numerous gritters out and about all helping to keep the roads clear. In short there was none of the travel chaos that ensues in this country whenever we get a few snowflakes!

Ferry terminal encased in ice

The large passenger and vehicle ferry "Viking Express" left on time. I went up on deck as we sailed out of Tallinn and watched the city slowly recede under a cold grey sky. I was glad to get back inside, away from the biting northerly wind. The 3 hour journey passed remarkably quickly. I had brought some rolls and some cheese with me by way of breakfast, and after eating these I took myself, and the book I had brought to help pass the time, to the large observation deck at the front of the ship. The sky slowly began to clear and eventually the sun came out. Eventually it was possible to make out the Finnish coastline on the horizon, especially a couple of the tall power station chimneys. I also saw what appeared at first sight to be extensive white sandy beaches, but as we drew nearer I realised that the whiteness wasn't sand at all, but pack-ice forming an extensive barrier between us and the coast of Finland. Our powerful, steel-hulled vessel though made short work of ploughing its way through the ice, but even so it was a good twenty minutes or so before we began the tricky approach into Helsinki harbour. For the sea to be frozen so far out from the mainland showed just how cold it was, and with all this ice around I could well understand why the hydrofoils do not operate in winter!

Helsinki Cathedral

We negotiated the approach into Helsinki, passing various forts that had been built to guard the entrance, and eventually the ship docked. I disembarked with the other passengers, and as there was no passport control was soon on dry land. I made my way towards the city centre, my boots crunching on the crisp snow. It was a beautiful morning, the sun was shining and there didn't appear to be a cloud in the sky. Despite the sun, the air was extremely cold and I was glad I had come well wrapped up, but before long I had left the port area and was soon in the centre of Helsinki.

For a capital city Helsinki is not especially large. On the contrary the city is quite compact and is easily covered on foot. Once I had left the ferry terminal it didn’t take me long to reach the centre, but on the way I paused for a while to take a look at Helsinki’s main cathedral. White-painted and built in an ornate Russian style, it was surprisingly quite plainly decorated on the inside.

I didn’t stay long and taking care to negotiate the steep, snow-covered steps leading back down to street level, I continued my journey into central Helsinki. On the way I passed some rather non-descript looking government buildings, before passing the city’s main railway station. I stopped to withdraw some Euros from an ATM, and then found a café just across from the side of the station. I popped inside for a welcome cup of coffee, and an even more welcome free refill. It was also good to be out of the cold for a while.

Black Door pub,  Helsinki

I now had a serious spot of beer-hunting to do. Without too much effort I tracked down an excellent pub called the Black Door. It had lots of bare brick inside with a fair scattering of copper and chrome. The locals seemed friendly, and surprisingly there were two hand pumps on the bar. Both turned out to be selling cider; which is obviously a popular drink in Finland, as it is in neighbouring Sweden.

I tried a couple of halves, well 25cl actually. At €3.50 each they were proof of the high price of liquor in Finland. The first beer as a dark, porter-style beer, whilst he second was a copper-red coloured Märzen. Both were good, but I decided not to stay for a third. Instead I set off to try and find the “One Pint Pub”, as mentioned in the Scoopergen article.

I trudged for what seemed like ages through thick snow and although the bright sunshine was most welcome, it couldn’t detract from the fact that it was bitterly cold. I got lost several times and took a couple of wrong turnings, but eventually found the pub in the middle of low-rise housing estate, close to the city’s commercial harbour. It was a good job the pub was open as I was bursting for a leak; the beer I’d consumed earlier combined with the arctic temperatures had proved a disastrous combination.

Interior- Black Door

The pub wasn’t really worth the effort taken, although the toilets provided some much needed relief, and I ended up just having an expensive half of Krusovice dark lager. There seemed little evidence of the exotic bottles which were supposed to be on sale, so after the one drink I upped sticks and left.

I managed to find my way back into the city centre, this time without too much effort, but thanks to the cold and my lengthy walk I was rather hungry by now. I found a hamburger joint, but again being Finland, It was rather expensive at €7.50 for a burger and chips.

Afterwards I decided to walk up to Finlandia Hall, but the way was blocked by various building works. On the way back I paused for a look at the statue of the Finnish wartime leader, Field Marshall Carl Gustaf Mannerheim, who masterminded the defence of Finland following the invasion by the Soviet Union during the Winter War of 1939 – 1940.

Mannerheim was a charismatic figure who successfully managed to keep both Hitler and Stalin at arms length, thereby avoiding Finland being drawn directly into the Second World War, although the Finns did fight against the Soviets between 1941 and 1944 in a bid to recover territory lost in the earlier conflict. The statue of him on horseback, located on Helsinki's Mannerheimintie, is a fitting tribute to a skilled general and clever politician who in 2004 was voted the greatest Finnish person of all time.

Field Marshall Mannerheim

The light was already beginning to fade and the temperature starting to drop further, so in a bid to keep warm I popped inside Helsinki’s imposing department store; Stockmann. The company also have a branch in Tallinn, but the Finnish operation was on a much larger scale. More coffee followed, and by the time I left the store, it was well and truly dark.

I decided to make my way back to the ferry terminal, where I knew it would be warm. There was also a café there. Other passengers began arriving in dribs and drabs and by the time the ship had docked and was ready to board, there was quite a crowd.

The return voyage had none of the spectacular views of the outward journey. Our ship slipped out of Helsinki harbour virtually un-noticed, and soon we were back in the open waters of the Baltic. I treated myself to a meal in the restaurant on the way back, and afterwards sat in one of the comfortable chairs on the aft-deck and read my book. The sea was calm and the voyage uneventful and it wasn’t that long befog we could see the lights on the Estonian coast twinkling in the distance.

We docked at Tallinn shortly before midnight. Fortunately there was a bus waiting at the docks to take passengers back into the city centre. The driver kindly dropped me right outside my hotel and soon I was back in the warm and snuggled up in my nice warm bed.

So ended my first and so far, only trip to Finland, and its capital Helsinki. It had been a long day, but one packed with many memorable sights and pleasant memories. Next time though, I will make sure I visit in summer!