We all know that sauna came from Finland. I’ve tried out assorted saunas, in Finland and outside, at spas, pools and on beaches. I’ve even been to Helsinki’s big flagship public sauna. But this time, I sauna’d the way the Finns sauna, which isn’t at spas or flagship venues or even in small sheds on … More Sauna & aquajogging: what Finns actually do at the pool
Quite a bold statement, especially for someone who has a Finnish train-related chaos story and lived in Switzerland. I do like Swiss trains – somehow they’re almost invariably timed so that you can quickly get comfortably interchange everywhere, they’re clean, quiet, efficient and the tickets are easy – any given ticket is for a journey … More Why Finnish trains are the best
This was my third trip to Helsinki (if you don’t count the one evening I spent there before getting the train to the Arctic Circle via the train wash…) and I’ve already been over to Suomenlinna three times. The “castle of Finland” (or “of Sweden” if you use Finland’s other official language) is a more … More Taking the icebreaker to Suomenlinna – or is it?
The Rebel Badge Club’s February challenge badge was fairytale-themed and one of the clauses was to go skinny dipping, in brackets, legally. That clause caught my eye. I’ve spent enough time in Icelandic showers and German saunas that I can probably do that. But where? Go down to the sea on my own after dark? … More Skinny dipping in Helsinki: women’s day at Yrjönkatu
Two weeks in advance, a sunrise swim in a geothermal pool floating in the Baltic seemed like a beautiful idea. The night before, while ill with something unpleasant brought home from Brownies, the idea of setting an alarm for 7am while on holiday and walking the kilometre and a half through Helsinki at somewhere around … More A sunrise swim at Allas Sea Pool at -12⁰
I do believe I’ve finally reached the end of my posts about Helsinki last May! This last one is about my boat trip around the bay and the islands. I said a couple of posts ago that I like to see a city from the water. If a boat trip it possible, I will almost … More A freezing summer’s boat trip around Helsinki
If you don’t know, I’m something of an enthusiast of ecclesiastical architecture. Well, I’m a fan of Norman and Gothic. St Paul’s leaves me cold and while I appreciated its Gothic grandeur, Truro Cathedral was disappointing in that it was brick and only a little over a century old. So I stopped by three churches … More Three churches in Helsinki
Here we are with another catching-up post from last summer’s trip to Helsinki and today I’m taking you with me on the blue-tinted SkyWheel. Every capital worth its title has a big wheel and Helsinki is no exception. I seem to remember making that note right back in 2014, when I had an evening in … More Helsinki’s SkyWheel – because every capital needs a big wheel
My parents have a habit, when they go to a new place, of going to the zoo. I’ve been known to do it too. For the record, Perm Zoo is terrible, one of those old-fashioned “all the animals are in concrete cages” zoos. Tallinn Zoo, a few years ago, clearly meant well but needed a … More Korkeasaari, the zoo on an island
It dawned on me that although I thought I’d finished with my trip to Helsinki back in May (give or take the videos; they’ll be making an appearance in some format or other in 2024!), I actually hadn’t, by a long way. I’ve still got plenty to say and first up is Suomenlinna, a tourist … More Why you should spend an evening on Suomenlinna
I Am A Polar Bear 