I once traveled to Rome with a connection in Helsinki. The prospect of flying a previously unfamiliar Embraer 190 and the opportunity to choose a long connection in a previously unfamiliar city really appealed to me. Half a day on the way there (7 am to 3 pm) and half on the way back (3 pm to 10 pm). So, Helsinki.
On the way to Rome
I must say that the capital of Finland met us with very beastly weather – gray low sky, penetrating wind and fine suspended particles in the air. But it was very easy to breathe and we were in a new city, in a new country – it means to go for the Scandinavian star of nomadic sedentary, to hell with the weather, to spit on the low sky and expensive fare from the airport, which is not so far away – 4,5 euros. Pay the driver with cash, stop right at the terminal exit, I don’t remember the bus number, but maybe it’s 617, something like that sticks in my memory. In any case, you ask inside the airport – Finns are responsive, ready to help and are very good friends with English. By feelings, to go to the station (and that’s where the bus arrives) is about the same as from Prague airport to the subway, that is no more than half an hour. There is a way to save money, but the bus came quickly and stopped my attempts to understand the scheme with payment cards located at the stop. I suspect it all makes sense with multiple use of transport, but we are pathological pedestrians, so we’ll assume that we did everything right.
So, we’re at the train station. A building that best expresses the cold Scandinavian and at the same time monumental avant-garde architecture of the 20s, although they say that it is Art Nouveau. It’s a bit of an amateur. Where to go? The downloaded map of the city in my phone made it clear that all the movement is towards the harbor, so that’s where we’ll go. Although, I thought, what the hell is all the excitement at 8am on a Saturday morning? But no, Finns are industrious people, and already at that time the market unfolded near the harbor part of the city. From vegetables, mushrooms and berries, so beautiful and perfect that they were perceived as artificial, to handmade crafts, including the famous Finnish knives. Money is still plentiful and the temptation is great, but the luggage is traveling separately from us, so the knives are off the table. And with them everything else except for a couple of fennecs – we’ll stop by on the way back.
The weather turned from unpleasant to nasty – the amount of suspended solids in the air exceeded all permissible norms, the wind increased and it was clear that this was not the limit. Something had to be done. The solution came in the form of pretty Finnish female students, moonlighting as promoters of ship tours around the harbor. An hour trip along the coastal archipelago was offered for 20 euros per person, it remained only to find out whether the boat had a roof. It turned out there is not only a roof, but also a bar inside, though for extra money. Okay, we found the salvation from bad weather, at the same time we’ll have a look at Helsinki from the water.
The first thing we see is the harbor and the huge ferries standing on the roadstead. Soon we will sail from Naples to Palermo on one of these, but for now the size is certainly impressive. Then almost immediately on the right hand side will be Suomenlinna fortress, don’t miss it. The audio guide is also in Russian, but not in the form of the usual headphones with a choice of languages, but in the form of alternating announcements from a common speaker in four languages. To take pictures of what’s outside, you have to go to the upper, open deck, which in my case was akin to heroism because of the ever worsening weather conditions. I was impressed by the saunas scattered here and there, the neat Finnish houses sometimes attached to them (often saunas stand solo) and the sliding bridge.
Fortunately, when we docked, the weather had normalized and we could leave the boat without fear of getting wet to the skin. As after any water procedures, we were hungry, and fortunately we didn’t need to go far – right on the pier, as part of the weekend market, there were shops where fish, sausages, potatoes and other simple and tasty food was fried. Two portions of wonderful (no, really delicious!) young potatoes – with fish and with sausages came out, as I remember, for 8 euros each. The price includes drinks, and I got myself a local beer. Yes, it’s a bit early, I agree, and I didn’t want beer in such weather – I took it for the sake of the lid (I collect them) and out of curiosity. So-so, like any other Scandinavian beer.
We satiated ourselves and at the same time listened to a dark-skinned local, who was saying something loudly to everyone, showing a great awareness in gopovy manners. Passing by classic European policemen, i.e. pumped-up cross-dressers in beautiful uniforms, approached and calmed him down. I don’t understand Finnish, but, apparently, they know who he is, that he is registered and to behave well. So, it’s time to shake off what we’ve eaten, where can we go?
First thing to do is check in at the Cathedral – in any big city it’s the dominant landmark. And even more so in a small city. Helsinki, of course, can’t be called small, but, hand on heart, the city is by no means bursting with sights. Connoisseurs of Finland can throw stones in the comments, I’m all for it. So, the cathedral. We didn’t get inside because it was closed. Apparently it was early, but most likely the reason is something else, I don’t know. But externally it inspires respect, especially taking into account the fact that there are low buildings around, and the cathedral itself is located on a hill with wide steps going up to it. There are people hanging out on the steps, as they should. And seagulls. Nearby, in a separate building there is a business appendage in the form of a church shop. Otherwise, the cathedral is named after St. Nicholas, and in front of the building is a decent-sized Senate Square, in the center of which is a monument to Alexander II, whom Finns appreciate, because he gave many freedoms to Finland during its incorporation into the Russian Empire.
Further, since we are talking about religious buildings, we went to the Assumption Cathedral. Also, by the way, cathedral, but already of the Orthodox pulpit. And it was also closed, apparently all the religious brotherhood that morning was at the market on the Old Trade Square, near the harbor. Well and all right, since there is no rain anyway, we decided to just walk along the embankments, have a snack in some obscure cafeteria (but still very tasty) and for these things somehow unnoticeably it was time to go to the airport. The bus leaves from the same place – the railway station. So, train station-bus-airport – and we are flying to Rome!
The way back from Rome
On the way back, things were different. First, the weather – the sun was shining, it was windless, many locals were wearing T-shirts and sitting barefoot on the grass in the parks. However, we, who had just flown in from Sicily, could not understand them. Secondly, it was the second half of the day, and the streets were somehow livelier, Helsinki no longer seemed like a crowded, half-asleep city. Thirdly, we were after a vacation, so we were not so greedy for impressions, and moreover in a little, but familiar city. All these three factors told us: guys, relax and take a walk, because that’s what you love the most! We do love it most of all – wandering around without a clear plan, going wherever we want, spending as much time in a particular place as we want… The problem is that not every city has this in store for us. That evening Helsinki had more than enough.
So we went – just in a different direction than three weeks ago, through the blocks around the station, through a large and well-maintained park near it, along a large avenue with a statue of Mannerheim, past works of so-called modern art, through a neighborhood with high-tech houses…. The trip that had just taken place was digested in a special way – just now you were in sunny Palermo, waving away a persistent charioteer at the Massimo Theater, buying filterless cigarettes at Tabacci, maneuvering past Italian-Hindus in dirty food shops near the train station. And now, after a few hours (thank aviation and a very brave connection in Rome) you are shuttling between the cold Scandinavian architecture of the turn of the century and glass-concrete offices, all paradoxically seasoned with sunshine, as if it had caught the tail of the airplane.
Helsinki did not leave a clear impression that can be labeled and put in a certain box in your head. On the one hand – the city is boring and sad, though tidy, with good taste, manners. Yes, I know we didn’t go to the famous church in the rock for nothing, and somehow we didn’t walk through the museums. But still – he’s like the guy who sits next to you at the bar, and the suit is okay, and he drinks something interesting, but he’s not your man. But then you drink a little more with him – and things started to go well – he turns out to be listening to your favorite band, and everything like that. But you still part ways in a very cold and wary way. It’s not clear – maybe you will cross paths in this bar again, or maybe you won’t be there again. One thing I can say for sure about Helsinki is that it is the most weather-dependent city I’ve ever been to!
