Helsinki Finland
My first exposure to the Finns was a gal my dad once dated. She was Finnish and would speak in Finn to her mom. In doing so, we picked up a word or two, learned that the Finns love their fish, and in particular herring. As you know, I don’t do anything that comes from the sea, so this was never appealing to me. But you can see evidence everywhere as the market and the restaurants feature primarily fish delicacies.
There are two ports in Helsinki. One that is very close to the downtown core and one that is not so close. Unfortunately you know which one we ended up at ~ all hail to the shuttle bus. After going downtown, I wandered and took in the sights. Again, similar to Stockholm, you can see the North American influence as it didn’t take me long to find a McDonalds. As I wandered down to the water, I did manage to find the market. Unlike the market in Stockholm, these vendors were peddling their fish, wooden wares and winter woolies. With temperatures dropping to single digits, I was almost convinced to pay 25 Euros for those woolen mittens, but managed to hold off. The other unique thing about the market was the fact that they had little coffee vendors there. You could get your coffee and then sit and people watch… Unfortunately I arrived just as they were taking things down so I am sure I missed out on seeing the market at it’s finest.
A fish vendor at the Market
After leaving the market, I wandered along the park area adjacent to the market. I find it remarkable that people find time during the middle of the day to take pause, relax and spend quality time either alone or in the company of others. As I walked through you see a number of people sitting on the grass, park benches and the like and coming from a North American view point, you wonder why on earth these people aren’t at work. Maybe they have found something that the rest of us fail to recognize the importance, or maybe we have just forgotten in our hectic daily life. Seeing people in the park, under the tree, enjoying a packed lunch it reminds me of the times in Melbourne when Jon Paul and I would get take away soup, sit in the park, enjoy the sunshine. I can honestly say I have forgotten how important it is to unwind…
Green parks in the middle of Helsinki
The gang hanging out enjoying the sun and the Ice Cream
There are two ports in Helsinki. One that is very close to the downtown core and one that is not so close. Unfortunately you know which one we ended up at ~ all hail to the shuttle bus. After going downtown, I wandered and took in the sights. Again, similar to Stockholm, you can see the North American influence as it didn’t take me long to find a McDonalds. As I wandered down to the water, I did manage to find the market. Unlike the market in Stockholm, these vendors were peddling their fish, wooden wares and winter woolies. With temperatures dropping to single digits, I was almost convinced to pay 25 Euros for those woolen mittens, but managed to hold off. The other unique thing about the market was the fact that they had little coffee vendors there. You could get your coffee and then sit and people watch… Unfortunately I arrived just as they were taking things down so I am sure I missed out on seeing the market at it’s finest.
A fish vendor at the Market
After leaving the market, I wandered along the park area adjacent to the market. I find it remarkable that people find time during the middle of the day to take pause, relax and spend quality time either alone or in the company of others. As I walked through you see a number of people sitting on the grass, park benches and the like and coming from a North American view point, you wonder why on earth these people aren’t at work. Maybe they have found something that the rest of us fail to recognize the importance, or maybe we have just forgotten in our hectic daily life. Seeing people in the park, under the tree, enjoying a packed lunch it reminds me of the times in Melbourne when Jon Paul and I would get take away soup, sit in the park, enjoy the sunshine. I can honestly say I have forgotten how important it is to unwind…
Green parks in the middle of Helsinki
The gang hanging out enjoying the sun and the Ice Cream
posted by Carrie @ 3:34 AM
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