Not wanting to waste our last day in Helsinki, today’s itinerary included some ‘culture’ first up followed by some history and (more) walking this afternoon.

We had been given the tip (thanks Alison) about Helsinki’s famous library, the ‘Oodi’ and discovered it was only a short tram ride away.

Oodi is the Finnish word for ‘ode’ and so it is therefore described as an ode to “Finnish culture, equality and freedom of expression.”

The building itself is stunning, inaugurated in 2018 after a design competition held in 2012 awarded the architecture to a Finnish firm (ALA Architects) over some 543 competitors.

“Oodi is what you want it to be. You can meet friends, create art, read and relax.”

Indeed you can do all of these. We sampled the excellent café on the ground floor with a great selection of sweet treats but also a hearty lunch buffet and then we wandered through the spaces on the first floor where everything from sewing machines to 3D printers to sound studios and instruments are available to use for no charge, just like borrowing a book from the library!

The second floor houses the library’s 100,000 books in a beautiful light filled space complete with nine living trees and various smaller areas being well utilised by quiet readers around its periphery.

The children’s section encourages shoes off and a climbing wall, tunnels and floor equipment for those times when there is too much energy to indulge in the more sedate activity of reading. Whilst there I saw many families switching between the two effortlessly, a little bit of play, read a book then back to the climbing wall. Prams were lined up along the window, many of them occupied by sleeping babies whilst their siblings played and read.

You can probably tell I am super impressed with Oodi. What a wonderful concept and a direct contrast to the ‘disposable’ culture that has permeated many of our lives.

Tearing ourselves away from the Oodi we caught a tram down to Market Square and just made the next sailing of the little ferry that services the island fortress of Suomenlinna.

Originally constructed by the Swedes in 1748 as protection against the Russians, it was surrendered to the Russians in 1808 prior to the occupation of Finland by the Russians the following year. After Finland declared its full independence in 1918, Russian forces left and it was maintained by the Defence Department until they turned it mostly over to civilian control in 1973. Today it is a popular picnic and walking spot with both tourists and locals.

The ’star fort’ style of fortification was heavily influenced by Vauban and it became a World Heritage site in 1991.

We spent a couple of hours wandering around taking photos and reading its military history.

There are about 900 permanent inhabitants on the island which houses the Nordic Arts Centre and a theatre. Other interesting facts, a minimum-security penal colony exists on Suomenlinna whose inmates work on reconstruction projects (only after pledging non-use of controlled substances) and in 2015 drones were trialled to deliver parcels between the island and mainland. (The two aren’t connected I don’t think. 😊)

I managed to convince Russell to visit one last landmark, the impressive Uspenski Cathedral which dominated the skyline as we returned from the island. It is the largest Greek Orthodox church in Northern Europe and required a bit of a climb but the view both of the cathedral and from the cathedral was well worth it.

We have tried to do Helsinki justice in our short stopover, quite honestly it has been a pleasant surprise. Some of the blogs I read previously gave the impression it was a bit bland but we really enjoyed our stay.

Tomorrow, an early start and off to Paris!

When doing my aforementioned research for the RTW award ticket, the best options for getting out of Australia (using points) were via Tokyo then Helsinki to Charles de Gaulle (CDG). This is what I had booked initially but when I called Qantas later to add another flight I changed the dates to allow us a stopover in Helsinki. Why not?

A friend of ours had just visited Finland and gave me some great tips which in the end really helped us make the most of our short stay in Helsinki – thanks once again Alison!

We arrived mid afternoon and were entertained by our very jovial driver during the 30 minute ride to our apartment in central Helsinki which proved to be compact but more than adequately furnished for our needs – major requirement = kettle for boiling water, I had my own tea bags – and we quickly found the local S market for milk and other basics.

We had thought we would take it easy this afternoon and chill out after the frenetic pace in Tokyo but the increasingly blue sky outside enticed us to do otherwise. We strolled around cobbled streets, found ourselves at the wharf and then made our way toward Kiasma, the Museum of Contemporary Art where we were to meet our guide for tomorrow’s excursion.

It was brisk, probably low teens, but invigorating after thirteen hours on the plane and the Finns were out and about enjoying the great conditions as well. They had 15 cms of snow only five days ago and there were piles of slush in evidence.

At this point our feet began reminding us that they had taken a beating yesterday and we caught the very convenient tram back to our apartment, proud of ourselves for navigating the system 😉

The tour the next day was with Taiga Times who offer several excursions out of Helsinki and we had chosen the ‘Archipelago’ tour which involved a drive to Porkkalanniemi National Park, a gentle stroll through the forest and then a traditional Finnish lunch cooked over the fire by the sea. It turned out to be a great way to see a little piece of nature not too far from Helsinki.

Jeff, our guide, originally from Canada, owns the business with his Finnish wife whom he met in Australia! This enterprising young couple are committed to ‘promoting sustainability and an authentic nature experience’ and it shows. Jeff’s knowledge of the local plant and animal scene made the walk extremely enjoyable. He also informed us that there are moose in the park and it is currently calving season so if we were very lucky….. we weren’t but the seascape at the end of the walk more than compensated.

Vestiges of snow remained in crevices and the birdlife was varied. This is a major migration route and Jeff said that if we saw anybody else today they would probably be birdwatchers, it is such a significant area.

Once we arrived at the camp site we were amazed to see piles of wood stored in large weatherproof structures complete with an axe and saw to cut them into smaller sizes for the nearby wood fire/BBQ. Apparently this is the norm in Finland and no one would think to take the tools, they are part of the camping experience at all National Park camp sites. There was a a clean(ish) drop toilet nearby as well, what else do you need?

Jeff gave us 40 mins to explore by ourselves (with the warning not to go ‘swimming’) whilst he prepared our lunch with the supplies he had carried in in his backpack.

The other couple with us, Gabor and Elisabeth from Hungary were celebrating Elisabeth’s birthday so we wished her a combined Finnish/Hungarian/Australian Happy Birthday and toasted her with our blueberry juice 😂