Helsinki

So last weekend we took a marathon journey of 3 hours to Helsinki, to spend the weekend with host mum's non-identical twin brother and his family, with a party for his youngest daughter's second birthday on the Sunday. Never had I considered how awful a car journey could be, squashed between two child seats in the back. Not only that but there was the delightful background of Peppa Pig playing on either side of me to keep the kids quiet. I really don't want to experience that again any time soon! Though worse was to come on the Sunday morning. We popped out to Ikea and because the elder daughter and cousin was coming along, guess who was in the boot of the car? Yes, twas poor me. The return journey to the house was worse because I was literally packed in with our purchases, effectively trapped, so much so that I joked if the car crashed I would definitely survive. 

Anyway, Helsinki. I'd been there before with the previous family who did not want me.  We did a very quick drive by of some of the sights and then I spent the evening shopping there with the mum, but it was much nicer this time by myself. I took the bus from the brother's house, about 30 minutes from the city centre. The bus stop is in a central square by the train station and from there it's pretty easy to find the landmarks, like Stockmann and the three blacksmiths statue beside it, a famous meeting place. I also returned to beautiful Senate Square with the magnificent white church overlooking the square, atop a good 50 steps. It was marvellous to stand in the light rain and look out over the city towards the sea from those steps. 

Helsinki could definitely be added to my favourite cities list. It has fewer people, wider streets for ease of walking and a light, beige sort of colour unlike the perpetual grey of London. And let's not forget that wonderful harbour. You can watch the ferries come and go between Stockholm, explore the huge market for food, furs and handicrafts and look up at the Russian Orthodox church set against the sky in the distance. There's also the parliament buildings and the president's 'palace' or 'castle' - a small square building at the end of the block. Not exactly inspiring. 

I enjoyed walking through some of the endless streets on my quest to find the Natural History museum - it had been closed an hour by the time I got there, but there were some great giraffes drinking tea on the roof - and sitting by the harbour watching the people around me for a time. 

I was somewhat loaded with purchases coming back on the bus, including a fantastic reindeer skin from Roveniemi for my floor, in its own special drawstring bag. But altogether it was a great day despite the frequent downpours, which had people sheltering in shop or mall entrances for ages.