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