The herring fishers are in town

It is the time of the year again where Vanha Satama at Kauppatori turns into a floating market. At the Silakka Markinat small and big boats from Åland come to Helsinki to sell their fresh fish, delicious Saaristoleipä bread and much much more. It is a century old tradition that started in the 1700s.

With the beginning of October the boats come to the Finnish capital and stay for a week. And it's worth to drop by. Step onto one of the big sailing ships for a warm salmon soup or get a little fish snack from one of the many small merchant boats and enjoy the fresh sea breeze.

The market is still on until Saturday. And the weather looks quite promising as well. So go and check it out!

Herring from the Åland Islands

The traditional Baltic Herring Market is in Helsinki again. As done for centuries (since 1743) also this year farmers and fishers from the Åland Islands came to Helsinki on their small boats to sell their products at Kauppatori in the heart of Helsinki.

You can buy wool, handicrafts, the famous saaristo leipä, of course the famous Baltic herring as well as many other home made products directly from the boats.

In addition a small archipelago village has been erected on the docks this year. On Friday also a special market square dance will be held at Havis Amanda. The market is still on until Saturday. Don't miss it!

Herring and more from Åland

The boats from Åland are in Helsinki again. As every October farmers and fishermen from the Archipelago between Finland and Sweden come to Helsinki to sell their fresh products straight from the boat. The so called Silakkamarkkinat (Herring Market) is held already for the 272nd time this year and is the oldest traditional event in Helsinki.

And despite the name you can get much more than just herring here. Also other delicacies from
Åland like pickled fish, handicraft from the island and of course the traditional archipelago bread can be found here.

The market is still on until Saturday. Don't miss it!

Sweet and dark island bread

Have you tried the delicious black Archipelago Bread (Saaristolaisleipä)? It’s one of the biggest and most popular exports of the small island group Åland between Finland and Sweden.

This dark sweet bread is made from wheat, rye, malt and dark syrup. It works perfectly with fish toppings like silli or smoked salmon. Archipelago bread can be found in every supermarket.

Enjoy! 

Hand-made beer from the Åland Islands

Between Finland and Sweden lays an archipelago called the Åland Islands. Being part of Finland the roughly 28.000 inhabitants of this autonomous group of islands speak Swedish instead of Finnish. For main land Finns the people of Åland appear somewhat strange and alien. 

If you don’t plan on visiting those remote islands in the middle of the Baltic Sea in the near future there is still a way to get a taste of Åland though. The micro brewery Stallhagen produces some really nice bear that is exported to Sweden and Finland. If you get the chance you should try it. The beer from this small traditional brewery is hand-made as they say and fits perfectly with some nice food. 

Skol!