129. Regional Travel #3.0 - Revisiting Helsinki
I visited Helsinki in August with my wife. So, why not return for another visit in September? I actually planned this second trip back in April, to see a show by one of my favorite bands - The Black Angels - during the middle of their European tour.
It was a quick trip. I took the early Allegro train from St. Petersburg to Helsinki on a Saturday morning, and the return train back to St. Petersburg on Sunday afternoon. With only 3.5 hours travel time each direction, there was no need to use vacation days.
I tried to squeeze as much fun as possible into 30 hours. In addition to the concert on Saturday, I visited the Helsinki City Museum, Finnish Museum of Natural History, Helsinki Art Museum, and the National Museum of Finland. I also walked to the north of the city center and saw the Sibelius Monument and the Olympic Stadium from the 1952 Summer Olympics. I took my time with all of these activities. The city center is relatively compact, so there was a minimum of time wasted on getting from one place to the next. Two of the museums and the concert venue were within two blocks of my hotel, for example. I also revisited some things from my previous visit: Senate Square, the waterfront, Uspenski Cathedral, and several of the culinary gems.
I'm not sure whether I will return to Helsinki for another visit in the next seven months, but I've had a wonderful time on both of my trips this fall, so who knows? More blog posts will follow soon that cover the highlights from my weekend in Finland.
Helsinki's impressive Parliament House:
Uspenski Cathedral was closed during our first visit, but I was able to go inside this time:
I didn't eat a reindeer this time, but you'd better believe I went to a Nepalese restaurant and ate a bunch of Karelian pies for breakfast!
My hotel, in the Kamppi neighborhood of downtown Helsinki:
Back at Helsinki's train station:
And home again at Finlandskiy Station, St. Petersburg:
It was a quick trip. I took the early Allegro train from St. Petersburg to Helsinki on a Saturday morning, and the return train back to St. Petersburg on Sunday afternoon. With only 3.5 hours travel time each direction, there was no need to use vacation days.
I tried to squeeze as much fun as possible into 30 hours. In addition to the concert on Saturday, I visited the Helsinki City Museum, Finnish Museum of Natural History, Helsinki Art Museum, and the National Museum of Finland. I also walked to the north of the city center and saw the Sibelius Monument and the Olympic Stadium from the 1952 Summer Olympics. I took my time with all of these activities. The city center is relatively compact, so there was a minimum of time wasted on getting from one place to the next. Two of the museums and the concert venue were within two blocks of my hotel, for example. I also revisited some things from my previous visit: Senate Square, the waterfront, Uspenski Cathedral, and several of the culinary gems.
I'm not sure whether I will return to Helsinki for another visit in the next seven months, but I've had a wonderful time on both of my trips this fall, so who knows? More blog posts will follow soon that cover the highlights from my weekend in Finland.
Helsinki's impressive Parliament House:
Uspenski Cathedral was closed during our first visit, but I was able to go inside this time:
I didn't eat a reindeer this time, but you'd better believe I went to a Nepalese restaurant and ate a bunch of Karelian pies for breakfast!
My hotel, in the Kamppi neighborhood of downtown Helsinki:
Back at Helsinki's train station:
A view from the train of Vyborg, Russia:
And home again at Finlandskiy Station, St. Petersburg:
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