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!!
We've not been to Helsinki, I imagine it to be quite expensive, how did you find it? We love Eastern Europe and your pictures of Tallinn are stunning x
Hi Josie, Helsinki can be quite expensive - especially when eating out! We stayed in this really good value hotel which is just a 10-minute walk from the centre (Best Western Premier Hotel Katajanokka) which served a buffet breakfast so we tended to fill up on that in the morning, then pay the money for a big meal for dinner. Meals generally ranged around 25 - 30 euro each, but there were cheaper places to eat you just had to root them out! Clothes and presents on the other hand, were amazingly expensive! But still worth the trip - I would like to go back and visit in the summer! (Helsinki and Tallinn)!
We've not been to Helsinki, I imagine it to be quite expensive, how did you find it? We love Eastern Europe and your pictures of Tallinn are stunning x
ReplyDeleteHi Josie,
DeleteHelsinki can be quite expensive - especially when eating out! We stayed in this really good value hotel which is just a 10-minute walk from the centre (Best Western Premier Hotel Katajanokka) which served a buffet breakfast so we tended to fill up on that in the morning, then pay the money for a big meal for dinner. Meals generally ranged around 25 - 30 euro each, but there were cheaper places to eat you just had to root them out! Clothes and presents on the other hand, were amazingly expensive! But still worth the trip - I would like to go back and visit in the summer! (Helsinki and Tallinn)!