Sunday island fun

Summer came back to Helsinki. At least a little. This Sunday gives the best oportunity to still enjoy one of those beautiful Finnish summer days.

How about a trip to an island for that? Today is Vartiosaari-päivä. On the island in the Eastern part of Helsinki a whole day of music, art, water and family activities and more awaits you. A free water shuttle from the main land operates the whole day through.

For more information check out the Facebook evnet.

Have a nice Sunday!

Helsinki's new island

Another part of the beautiful Helsinki archipelago has been opened to the public. Since mid May the Vallisaari island is accessible to anyone.

Just like Lonna is used to be a military island but was now turned into a recreational area. Vallisaari is located right next to Suomenlinna and has around the same size. It is way less crowded and due to being closed for decades has very wild nature. You can go for hikes through the woods or enjoy sitting next to the water.

So far Vallisaari only has one small cafe serving waffles. If you want to have anything else, you'll have to bring it along.

You get there with the JT line from Kauppatori that operates hourly and continues from Vallisaari to southern Suomenlinna. A return ticket costs 7 €.

Walk to Uunisaari

The bridge to Uunisaari is back for the cold time of the year. Now you can easily get there by foot and enjoy the beautiful view over the sea from the small island.

Also it is a great place for a short coffee or lunch stop on your Sunday walk.

Have a nice day!

Lonna, the new island

This summer Helsinki opened a new island to the public. Lonna might be small but is a wonderful place to go on a sunny day. The former military island is still undergoing some mayor rennovation but most buildings and the rocks surounding the island.

To get to Lonna you need to take a boat from Kauppatori. The JT Line brings you there. You get a ticket from their small blue ticket office. You might be surprised that Lonna is not mentioned on any of the signs and timetable but their ferry going to Suomenlinna (not the from HSL) makes a stop at Lonna as well. Return tickets are 7 €.

On the island you can visit both the new cafe and restaurant that are residing in one of the old storrage buildings now. In the big yard you can also sit outside if you like. On the summer weekends they have quite often have parties in the yard with DJs and delicious bbq snacks.

But you don't have to visit them to enjoy Lonna. Head to the rocks facing Helsinki. This is just the perfect picnic place and it has an amazing view towards the city. Stay till the evening to see the sun slowly go down over the city.

Don't miss it!

Helsinki's Hobbingen island

Suomenlinna is one of Helsinki's most important sights. The fortress island has a lot of history. It has been military base for Swedes and Russians and still is for Finns.

Suomenlinna has a lot to offer from beautiful cafés and restaurants to museums and of course the fortress. But on the far end of the island surrounded by the thick walls you can also find a very interesting landscape that reminds you imidiately of the Lord of the Rings books and movies. Here you get easily reminded of Hobbingen. Even a small lake with some benches around can be found. Those green hills are in fact bunkers that were used by the armys stationed here.

If you come to Suomenlinna check it out. And maybe shoot your own short hobbit video :)

Off to the islands

The summer is coming back and now also the ferries to all the beautiful small islands around Helsinki and Espoo operate again. Go for a boat ride to Iso Vasikkasaari, Suomenlinna, Uunisaari or any of the other wonderful places for a relaxed summer day trip.

Enjoy the summer!

The bridge to Uunisaari

As soon as the boats are out of the water at Kaivopuisto the bridge to Uunisaari is put in place again. Till spring it is now possible again to access the small island at the coast of Helsinki by foot.

Why not go for a nice Sunday walk there today? You can also warm up in between at the Uunisaari Café and maybe continue your walk until Liuskaluoto.

Have a nice Sunday!

Another foggy day

It's another foggy day in Helsinki. But that's of course no reason not to go for a walk through the nature.

Have a nice Sunday!

Secret way to the island

Do you know what this mysterious gate in the rock of Kaivopuisto is hiding? It is the entrance to a small tunnel leading all the way to Suomenlinna. It connects Länsi-Musta, the north-western part of the island with the mainland.

The tunnel was built in the late 70s and is big enough for a car. It is only open to emergency cars and authorities. Furthermore heating, water and cables go through this tunnel.

So unfortunately if you don’t happen to work for the government, the army or are an emergency doctor you will most likely not get to see more than the tunnel’s small outer gates. But if you take a look at HERE Maps you can see where exactly the tunnel goes.

A day at Iso Vasikkasaari

The capital area has lots of beautiful islands. Many of them are private but some are open to the public. One of them that it definitely worth a daytrip is Iso Vasikkasaari on the coast of Espoo.

Several times a day a ferry leaves from Otaniemi, Haukilahti and Matinkylä to bring visitors to the island. For the timetable click here. Adults pay 5 € for a return ticket, children just 2€.

Especially on weekends and when the weather is good the ferries are normally full. So try to get on board before Matinkylä. Luckily the island is big enough to never give you the feeling of being overcrowded.

There are nice smaller and bigger beaches and several idyllic places along the water and further inside on the island. On the South-Western side the sailing boats at the wooden pier give you the feeling of being somewhere at the Mediterranean Sea rather than in Finland.

Closer to the harbor you find a cozy restaurant serving meat and fish dishes. You can of course also just enjoy a cold drink in the shade.

Enjoy your stay!

Haven of the Kalevala

Build in 2010 by the American architect and professor Travis Price and his students the wonderful wooden chapel at the southern end of Seurasaari has already become part of the landscape.

Over that many people already forgot that this installation was actually just planned to be here for a limited time. And this exhibition time will end at the end of August. After that the installation that invites people in everyday to come in and relax will be removed again.

This month you still have the possibility to visit and enter Shaman’s Haven of the Kalevala daily from 12 to 15. It can also bebooked for private events for a fee of 30 Euros.

Helsinki’s balcony to the sea

Are you looking for a brunch place for the weekend? What about sitting on a small island overlooking the city and enjoying a selection of delicious archipelago buffet?

You can get all that at Restaurant Saaristo on Klippan island. You get there easily with a small ferry leaving every few minutes south of the Olympia Terminal next to the Peace Statue.

The white Jugend style villa with the red roof can already be seen from far and is a landmark in Helsinki. Its history dates back to 1898 and during the summer months it serves as a high class restaurant.

The buffet is served only on Sundays between 12:00 and 16:00 and costs 32 Euros. This is one of the more expensive brunches in the city but it’s probably also the one with the most unique surroundings.

Saaristo is also open during the week as an à la carte restaurant and also serves lunch. You can of course also just come there and have a drink on their beautiful terrace.

Saaristo is still open till September 1.

Juhannus Kokko

The Juhannus Kokko (Midsummer fire) is a very old Finnish tradition. It originates in the Eastern Finland but has over time become popular all over the country. It is lit to scare away bad spirits.

Last night lots of those big fires were lit everywhere in Finland - like on the Helsinki island Pihlajasaari.

Have a nice Juhannus Day!

More space at Skiffer

Skiffer on Liuskaluota is one of the must-go places in Helsinki during the summer. They have the best pizza and one of the top summer terraces in the city. And since this year their terrace got bigger.

Anyway I highly recommend coming their early if you want to get a table. Be there around five if you want to have dinner at Skiffer.

Skiffer is open from Tuesday to Thursday between 12:00 and 21:00, Fridays and Saturdays from 12:00 till 22:00 and on Sundays from 12:00 till 19:00. For more information on the place read the HelsinkiIn review or check out Skiffer’s website.

A city of sea and islands

Finland is the land of a thousand lakes. All together there are around 188 000 of them in the whole country. Surprisingly enough in Helsinki itself we barely find any sweet water except for a few ponds. Most of the water you can see in Helsinki is actually the sea. Even what appears to be a lake like Töölön Lahti (on the picture) is in fact just a bay.

But Finland is also called the land of a thousand islands (179 000 to be correct). And here Helsinki has a lot to put to the table. The Helsinki archipelago consists of around 330 islands. How many of them have you visited already?  

It almost feels like summer

When the sun is out and the wind stops blowing and you sit next to the sea watching the shimmering water it feels like summer already arrived in Finland. And lots of summer places and terraces already opened in Helsinki.

A few hundred meters from Uunisaari where this picture was taken Skiffer, one of the best pizza places and best summerhangouts opens in May on the weekends.

A cycling trip to the islands

During the winter the sea suddenly also functions as a street. And why not cycle to the islands surrounding Helsinki or just park it on the ice as long as it’s possible.