This is the first day of my summer 2011 Nordic adventure. I cashed in some frequent flyer miles way back in January and booked flights to Helsinki via Frankfurt and back with a stopover in Denmark on the way home. The Lufthansa flight was fine. Changing planes in Frankfurt was an adventure with miles and miles of tube-like corridors to walk. Some of the workers there had bicycles.
Leena met me at the Helsinki Airport. She'd taken a direct flight, gotten there earlier and spent a bit of time with her Mother before coming back to pick me up. We took a cab to her friend Lysse's place - and what a wonderful house.
She has the top floor in a late 19th century Victorian mansion in the Kaivopuisto area, home to lots of embassies. We are next door to the Estonian Embassy and down the street from the U.S. one. The Russian one a few blocks away has a looming Classical presence and was built with Finnish war reparation money to Russia after WWII. Leena wouldn't let me pictures of embassies..
Afraid of falling asleep we got started our explorations immediately of the city. The sea is a block or so away and surrounds the city on three sides.
We walked along the water up to Market Square, stopped at the Old Market and browsed the interior market as well as the open air stands selling vegetables, crafts, furs, prepared food and tourist stuff. And then we had to do lots of window shopping on the Esplanade - admiring all sorts of Finnish design goods.
It was such a beautiful day I got a sun burn and the outdoor cafes were full of Finns (and others) soaking in the sun. Helsinki is a very clean and very green place, with lots of parks and statues.
Then back to our wonderful accomodations with a stop at the grocery story for provisions.
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