Eat, Drink, See Helsinki

We had a few more days in Helsinki both after Christmas and after New Years. It's a fantastic city even in the winter when days are short and temperatures are low. Strangely when we were there the city had not seen snow yet, which we were disappointed about, it was rainy much like winter in Seattle.

Dining was interesting, in a good way! Did you know that Helsinki has a large Tibetan population? Forest did, so one night we ate at Mount Everest. Yep, another theme but also quite good Nepalese food.

Fratello Torrefazione was a good stop for mid-day espresso, glögi (mulled wine), and sandwiches.

One non themed dinner was at Restaurant Jurri which was absolutely wonderful. A small space offering mainly seasonal dishes with excellent service. Highly recommend!

And you'd be hard pressed to find a prettier place for lunch that at Kappeli right on the Esplanade. The restaurant and bar are in a gorgeous glass atrium and the food and service were elegant and fantastic.

Besides hitting the American Bar on our very first night in town, most places on my list to check out for cocktails were closed for the holidays. Good thing Forest and I mix such good martinis! But Bar Haven, inside the Hotel Haven where we stayed for a night before heading home had some very well made drinks in a super cool space.

We also had cocktails at the uber-popular Grotesk where craft cocktails rein supreme. It was a bit of a madhouse so I'd suggest going early and not on a weekend if you have your choice.

As far as sightseeing went we used the city's tram system to get us to most of places. It is easy to navigate and the stops are well marked and announced.

Helsinki has a church, Temppeliaukio, that is built entirely into a huge rock; unique and unusual to visit.

The  Kiasma Modern Art Museum is amazing and well worth more that a couple of hours. There were a lot of interactive pieces which is always fun. Also one of the exhibits was of clothing made entirely of plants, flowers, etc found in nature. The pieces were beautiful.

Near to that is the Silence Church, a beautiful oval shaped church with no denomination, meant to welcome everyone. Crazy concept right?

Market Hall (or Hakamiemi in Finnish) is a fun stop to explore both local food items on the ground floor, and crafts and vintage items for sale upstairs.

And of course I did a bit of shopping at the small Christmas Market outside of Stockmann's (which had amazing window displays). I'm sure prior to the holiday the market was much larger.

There was another market down near the harbor which was smaller and not holiday oriented. I think it runs year around but at the time there were a lot of wintery items like reindeer and fox pelts for sale.

We also went to the beautiful Winter Gardens at the Botanical Park.

Right in the center of town there was a skating rink, just next to the train station. We didn't partake  but skating rinks always bring a smile to my face!

All Helsinki photos here

Christmas in Helsinki

Traveling at Christmas is equal parts beautiful and aggravating. Cities are decked out in twinkling lights, festive markets, and fantastic window displays. But many shops and restaurants that would otherwise be on the to-see/to-do list are closed. So you need a plan, and great friends, and a comfortable home-base. And I had all of those while in Helsinki at Christmas two years back.

After our ferry returned us from Estonia we took a quick cab to the Hotel Kamp, a gorgeous Starwood property located right on the beautiful Esplanade Park. We had a few rounds of very nice and very spendy cocktails and snacks in the hotel bar and then headed up to our connecting rooms for Trivial Pursuit and night caps.

The next morning was Christmas Eve, traditionally the day that most Europeans celebrate, so we had very limited options on what to do. You just need to do your research in advance and then also use your concierge for updated info.

We started with a breakfast at Stockmann's Department store which has a lovely cafe serving delicious pastries, egg dishes, espressos, etc. We then walked down to the harbor and caught a mainly pedestrian ferry (mainly as it can fit two cars at a time) to the island fortress of Suomenlinna.

The island is very interesting for strolling around. There are wooden buildings dating back to the habitation of the island, an amazing lighthouse, little villages with shops and cafes (closed for the holidays), and even a submarine!

It was cold and a bit drizzly so after our walk we headed back to the mainland and had a very good lunch at Sunn. By the time we finished the sun had set (after 3pm) and Senate Square, directly across the street, was lit up beautifully.

I had heard about a tradition that happens on Christmas Eve at the big main cemetery, with people lighting candles on all the gravestones, kind of like how we do the paper bag lanterns right? Only a bit more heartfelt and inspirational. We took a cab, it isn't terribly far but it isn't close either, and asked the driver to wait for us as it was raining and there aren't a lot of cabs queued up at cemeteries. There were stands selling candles and people lit them both for their own families but also for gravestones that had no-one to care for them anymore. It was quite moving to me; the serenity and beauty of the flickering candlelight, the solemness of the actions, the act of remembering and being remembered. I'd say that would always be a good Christmas present to receive.

as it was dark & rainy I couldn't capture how pretty it was

That evening we had dinner at the well known Kynsilaukka (which is the old Finnish word for garlic) Restaurant. Everything, and I mean everything, had garlic in it. Including my martini! Even though it all sounds a bit hokey but it was very good (all the food, not just my martini). Sadly I read it is now closed.

Back at the hotel we had our own Christmas celebration. Forest and Thibault handed out gifts as our official elves. We had drinks and played the very holiday-ish game of Cards Against Humanity. We had sweets of traditional Finnish candies that housekeeping had left for us. And to all a good night.

On Christmas morning we all had a special holiday breakfast at the hotel. They had a huge buffet, champagne, etc. and the guests were all dressed up for church (I assume). We headed back to our rooms after filling up and spent a decadent day all piled in one room watching movies.

On our way to dinner that night we decided to take the #3 tram which went around a part of town we hadn't been to. Trams are a lovely way to see the sights! We excited near Senate Square which was again beautifully decorated, and made our way to Savotta for dinner.

The restaurant is made to resemble a traditional logging village, again another hokey theme, but our food was absolutely excellent!

We wrapped up Christmas with martinis and Trivial Pursuit back at the Kamp Hotel.

What are you doing for Christmas?

Helsinki photos here