Finland - Fortresses and Forests

July 12, 14

Hello everyone!

Finland is a surprisingly big place. It covers an area almost equivalent to Germany, which I definitely didn’t expect to read. A lot of that is nature, specifically forest, and far from Helsinki. However, there are some nice places just outside of the city which are worth a visit.

Suomenlinna Fortress

Nuuksio National Park

Green is Nuuksio National Park, red is Suomenlinna Fortress

One of these could easily be classed as ‘inside’ the city; it just happens to sit on an island. As I said last time, Helsinki lacks elements like a medieval Old Town because it wasn’t an important city until the 19th century. Its surrounding area was of military importance, however, so defensive structures were built in the surrounding area, particularly off the coast. One of these is the island of Suomenlinna: The Castle of Finland.

One of about 330 islands within Helsinki's city limits

There are over 6 km of defensive walls

If you take the boat between Tallinn and Helsinki, you pass Suomenlinna and a few other islands. Technically, Suomenlinna is eight islands, but some of them are tiny, and they are all connected by foot bridges. 

Lots of wildlife on the island - this is a Eurasian oystercatcher

You can see a bridge behind the boat.
To the left is a submarine.

The scale of the bastion, star-shaped fortress is best appreciated from that big boat traversing international waters. It was built by Sweden in the middle of the 18th century, perhaps wary of potential threats from the south and east.

The star shape is to help protect from cannon fire

The fortress is a UNESCO World Heritage Site

It may have helped for a little bit of time, but it ended up in Russian hands in the first decade of the 19th century. Russia added some artillery protection and boosted the walls of the bastion at the end of the island. 

The King's Gate was the main entrance to the fortress
when built in the 1750s - this was renovated in the 1990s

Multiple cannons are on display - now
they are used as a seat by seagulls!

There are other intriguing elements of Russian/Soviet history here. One is that it briefly became a prison for Bolshevik Red Army soldiers after Finnish independence. Another is that there is a Finnish submarine, the Vesikko, raised above the water’s edge. This submarine was active in the Second World War and actually sank a Soviet ship in 1941.

The submarine is 41 metres long, and was first launched in 1933

It patrolled in the Gulf of Finland,
protecting the country from enemy vessels

Suomenlinna also possesses other old buildings, some of which are seen as relatively old for the greater Helsinki region. The church, originally Russian Orthodox, was inaugurated in 1854. Other areas, such as the Dry Dock, are from the 1750s. People lived here at the time to make sure that the fortress was in working order.

It switched to a Lutheran church in 1918, a
year after Finland declared independence

A popular walking spot, the island has a 'Blue
Trail' to help you see interesting places

What makes Suomenlinna interesting is that people still live here. Between 300 and 900, depending on your source. There are residential areas, a school, a day care centre and a library, amongst other things. I think that the number of restaurants and cafes on the islands are due to the number of visitors they receive: it’s a very popular and easy trip from Helsinki, a 15 minute boat ride with boats going pretty much every 20 minutes from very early until very late.

One of many residential properties on Suomenlinna

Boats run approximately from 6am to 2am in summer

Another popular place to visit is Nuuksio, to the west of the capital. It’s accessible using the greater Helsinki transport network, which actually includes Espoo, Finland’s second most populated city. A short bus ride north of that takes you far away from urban life.

A tram and two buses, but a total trip of only about 90 minutes -
it's about 30km from Helsinki, so would be much faster in a car

The private beach area at Haltia Gate, the main jump-off
point for exploring Nuuksio National Park

Nuuksio National Park was formed in 1994, and is one of 41 in the country. It consists of dense forest, placid lakes…and silence. Aside from the occasional sound of birdsong or a cyclist zipping along the trails.

Trees and mires make up much of the forest

You could rent bikes at the Haltia Gate office, though
most people would be locals bringing their own

As I mentioned earlier, there’s a fair bit of forest here. Over 75% of Finland is classed as forest. They are therefore important to the country's culture and economy. Over 20 million hectares has been deemed suitable for wood production.

Note the change in bark colour

A lot of the trees were thin and spindly

The well-marked trails I took initially took me on a loop through this forested area. An easy and lovely stroll of about 6 kilometres through the undulating forest of aspen and juniper trees.

A sign told me that junipers are hundreds of years old, and
that aspens are the most important tree species in the forest 

In winter, this place has many cross-country skiers

What this trail didn’t have was any view of water, which led me to join a different trail taking me away from the popular starting point of Haltia Gate. It took me past Nuuksio’s Reindeer Farm; unfortunately, it is only open on Wednesdays and weekends.

The other trail passes into another national park

Rudolph: only available 3 days a week

After a while, I found some of the stillest water you’re ever likely to see. I had been planning on going for a swim, but no one else had braved the water. Also in the first place, there was a small family eating their picnic lunch on the jetty, who probably wouldn’t have appreciated a strange foreigner stripping off and jumping in next to them!

After a lot of steps, this section was much flatter

The family on the jetty were around the corner. I also think
this particular part may have been private property...

I finished my hike at another popular spot, called Haukkalampi. A different lake, and one with a lot more people (there’s a car park nearby). I contented myself to laze on the jetty for a while…until realising that the nearest bus stop was over 2 kilometres away, and that the bus was arriving in 25 minutes.

Food reward for the 11 kilometre hike

Visual reward for the 11 kilometre hike

Walking through here on a pleasantly warm day was very relaxing. Like Suomenlinna, Nuuksio National Park is a place where people living in the capital like to come to get away from life for a little while. Both lovely places to visit if you ever go to Finland.

Suomenlinna Fortress

Nuuksio National Park

See ya Suomi!

Love you all,

Matt

Finland - Sizzling in the Sauna

July 13

Hello everyone!

My final stop on my continental European holiday. The finish. The Finnish, you could say…

The Three Smiths statue in Helsinki

In front of Helsinki Cathedral

Finland. Not a part of Scandinavia - as I explained when I went to Denmark in 2024, that term is reserved for Denmark and the two nations on the Scandinavia peninsula. Even though it borders it, Finland doesn’t belong. 

The language family is different - Finnish is linked with
Estonian and Hungarian, not other Nordic languages

They eat reindeer here. They do have a lot of them.
This was a reindeer hot dog that originally I had sent
back because the actual sausage was so small.

It used to, back in the day, which partly explains why I found Helsinki city centre a bit strange. A bit different from the three Baltic capitals, even though Tallinn is only a short ferry hop away. Much of Finland used to be part of the Swedish Empire. For almost 500 years, in fact. During that time, Helsinki wasn’t important in comparison to other places within modern Finland’s borders.

An insurance company that seems to remind you to
protect yourself against bears...and gnomes...

Moomins are from Finland

The result of that is that Helsinki never developed the cute ‘Old Town’ that has characterised the other four capital cities I have visited this month. Instead, it takes some influence from another country…to the east…

National Memorial to the Winter War, when the Finns fought
back against the Soviets in 1939 and 1940

The striking Lantern Bearers at Helsinki
Central train station were built in 1914

Finland shares quite a long border with Russia. The Russian Empire for just over 100 years, taking over from Sweden in 1809 until the declaration of Finnish independence in December 1917. Admittedly, it doesn’t look Soviet Russian. It does look a bit like St. Petersburg, however, and that city (a 3.5 hour train ride away before Russia invaded Ukraine) was the capital of Imperial Russia throughout this time.

An Art Nouveau building in Helsinki

The Helsinki Winter Garden, which opened in 1893

I arrived into Helsinki on a boat from Tallinn. I was not expecting the boat to be as massive as it was. Once I saw it, I certainly didn’t expect it to be as full as it was. I have read since that going to Tallinn from Helsinki is a popular day trip.

Viking Line's Gabriella

It was a warm day but the wind meant I needed a jacket!

When you are arriving on the boat, you firstly pass a fascinating-looking island called Suomenlinna (it’s in the next blog). The city skyline soon comes into focus, and is headlined by two large religious buildings. The rest of the skyline is actually quite low.

Suomenlinna is a bastion fortress just off Helsinki

The skyline as you approach the city from Tallinn

Neither is actually Russian Orthodox. The one that seems likely to be that is actually ‘Eastern Orthodox’, which the internet tells me is not Russian Orthodox. It was built with about 700,000 bricks that were brought over a fortress on an island called Aland that had been demolished in the Crimean War.

The largest Orthodox temple in Northern and Western Europe

The grounds are currently being renovated

The other is Lutheran, and dominates the square below. Helsinki Cathedral is a symbol of the city and the country. 63 metres tall, topped with a large green dome, it is a striking sight from all angles. I was told that it looks better on the outside than the inside. With there being a €10 fee for entering, I stuck to admiring it from outside.

The building is over 60 metres tall, and can seat 1,300 people

Though I didn't enter, over a half a million people do each year

Another symbol of the country is the sauna, the room in which you sweat by sitting naked in a hot room whilst throwing water on scorching stones to steam it up. Apparently the country of 5.6 million people has over 3 million saunas. Even my hostel had one, which was free to use in the mornings. Partly due to time constraints, and partly due to the intensity of the steam, I lasted about 15 minutes. 

The rules suggested that Finns will drink beer in the sauna

A photo of what the inside often looks like

This public sauna requires bathing suits to be worn

The picture above is a public sauna and swimming area, entry to which costs €23. It is one of many examples of Helsinki being a surprisingly expensive city. It felt like London or Paris prices at times.

Coffee and a donut - special deal, but still over €6

Happy Hour beer in town. 400ml. Discounted to...€8...

The cost played into me finding more free things in Finland’s capital. One was entering the National Library of Finland, which has a stunning first room. Its main function is to preserve anything made in Finland.

The library was built after a fire destroyed an equivalent
institution in the old capital of Turku in 1827

The walls and cupola are stunning

There’s another library in Helsinki, much more modern and a fascinating insight into local life here. The Helsinki Central Library contains three floors, with only one of them being dedicated to books. It has just about every social activity you can think of: multiple chess tables on the ground floor; pods to do Zoom calls, 3D printers and other makerspaces on the middle floor; and the books, newspapers and a variety of seating options on the top floor, including on its wooden roof. Spectacular building from both outside and inside.

The exterior of the library is striking

3D printer for all to use

I was told that Finland isn’t a particularly religious country. Helsinki does have some interesting places of worship beyond the two massive cathedrals, however. One is found in Kamppi, a central shopping and entertainment square. That random shape below with the wooden exterior is actually a chapel. Nearby there is a church which is rock hewn, meaning it is carved out of the rock and is found underground. When I went, it was shut.

Entrance is through the small building on the right

Temppeliaukio - rolls off the tongue...

Partly this is because I was struggling a bit with timekeeping whilst in Helsinki. The city is quite far north, its latitude equivalent to the Shetland Islands above Scotland in the UK, meaning that the summer nights are long. I went to bed each night with it being light outside - chances are it never actually got dark. Winter must be tough here, even in the country that calls itself the “happiest country in the world”.

This was taken at about 10pm

The UN's World Happiness Report has had Finland top for nine
consecutive years. The UK is 29th and El Salvador is 37th.

I was happy enough in Helsinki, though as you’ll see from the next blog, preferred spending my time outside of its centre. It took me by surprise, from its prices to its pristine parks a little bit to the north. Maybe if I return I’d spend more time in the sauna!

Helsinki hosted the 1952 Summer Olympics. Paavo Nurmi, a
distance runner in the 1920s, is arguably their most famous athlete.

Catching a small music festival in the Esplanade Park in town

Very big Cathedral!

Love you all,

Matt