Ok, are we ready for a second (and final) dose of Helsinki waffling? Well, here we go:
I managed to find a book shop whilst in Helsinki called Rosebud Books and found some pretty interesting children's books! They looked so different from the usual fare we have in the UK I wanted to buy them all! But instead I settled for this one:
Taikalasi comes with a a sort of 3D magnifying glass...
So when you first look at a page it looks like this:
But when you use the 3D magnifying glass you can see hidden illustrations underneath...
Which just blew my tiny mind. Now don't get me wrong, I have seen this sort of technique before, but not employed in such a way - the book has a gorgeous design/aesthetic to it and you can really pore over all the details in it.
Taikalasi was created by Agathe Demois and Vincent Godeau.
I now have a few photos of Finnish sweets/food to show you. Now some of these I tried, some I just looked, and some just had hilarious names - hence why I looked like a sniggering nerd as I took pictures of them in Finnish supermarkets.
Ice cream sandwiches that sound so cute and were yummy!
We think these were liquorice ice creams.
Karl Fazer is a famous brand of chocolate in Finland - or so I gather as there was A LOT of it in the shops! And it was delicious - they had so many different varieties! Such as salted popcorn, raspberry yoghurt, chilli & crispies, apple & caramel - all very tasty!
And finally I show you this very rugged-looking sandwich that was accompanied by a rather rugged-looking TV advert. It tasted pretty good. And rugged.
So there we go! Thats all the Helsinki photos I'm going bore people with! It was a great trip and I would recommend anyone to go - but maybe more in the spring/summer time when its warmer, but still, awesome place to go!
Hei, or Hi! This time last week I had just returned from a wee jaunt in Finland's capital, Helsinki! I really enjoyed it, I never imagined going to Finland, so it was kind of pretty awesome to have a chance to go there. We also took a boat over to Tallinn, the capital of Estonia (another place I never imagined going to) which was a very picturesque city, I would love to go back in the summer time and see it in the sun!
Anyway, I just took a few photos whilst I was there, so here is a selection of things that I saw (I'm mainly showing pictures of food and bits of design that took my fancy - apparently these are the things I enjoy photographing when abroad)!
First up, a cute logo for a pet shop.
Some giraffes enjoying a cup of tea on the balcony of the Natural History Museum.
The Temppeliaukio Church aka The Rock Church - this was probably my favourite church from Helsinki, it was so different from the very decadent ones I've seen in the past. It was simple, but it gave you the feeling of being in tune with nature - due to all that bare rock I can only presume! There should be more churches like this.
Rivers that were frozen over and Helsinki Cathedral.
Cute seal logo I spotted on a Silja Line ferry - travelling over to Sweden!
Some interesting typography just sitting on a wall near the hotel we were staying at.
Nice design on the side of a long distance train in Helsinki station.
We took a 15 minute boat ride to Suomenlinna, just off the coast of Helsinki city centre - which is a (now no longer in use) sea fortress which has played a part in various wars throughout history, but is now a popular tourist attraction!
Whilst on Suomenlinna I really enjoyed an art exhibition they had on at the time,
... featuring the work of Pive Toivonen. I'm afraid I couldn't find too much information on this artist, but I found this YouTube video which may give some more insight into her:
I will be digging around for some more information about this lady - her work is awesome!
Now we're in Tallinn - it felt like you were walking in a fairytale, or in a town that would be in the world of Harry Potter. It was lovely, a lot of places were closed up because it was a Monday, but I can imagine it would be a fantastic place to go and explore in the summer. Although we did find a quaint little medieval cafe in the town square which served Elk soup, which was delicious and warming on a cold day!
Ok, I will stop with the slideshow for now! But I will be back talking about some interesting children's books I found whilst I was in Helsinki and of course, any interesting food I found!!
