HELSINKI - FINLAND

I visited Helsinki on business so decided to stay for 5 days and have a bit of a holiday to justify the journey (& carbon). I had been there before for work but had not really explored beyond the main tourist locations.

I decided to stay in a hostel mainly because, having just returned from a ten month cycling trip with my son, I had rediscovered the benefits of hostels over hotels - meeting more interesting people, better value for money, good information on places to go that I would be interested in going. The Euro Hostel is in a really nice harbour area within walking distance of the centre and the most interesting bit of Helsinki.

I ate out in some good places but Helsinki is expensive even by European standards. One of the best places was a cellar called Zetor (meaning Tractor). It has a tractor in the foyer and serves traditional wholesome Finish food. Prices are good. It is just around the back of the main Theatre about half way down Mannerheiminti street.  Just around the corner there is a very good pizza / pasta italian place named Vespa - prices also reasonable. The cheapest places to eat are kebab places to the south of the main Mannerheiminti street beyond the Kampi (shopping mall and underground bus station). There is an interesting art-house cinema in the same area.

One of the best places for a night out and a drink I found to be Molly Malones (Irish Pub needless to say). It has live music every night upstairs at no charge. It is just off the main station square to the north.

The cathedral is pretty attractive and the harbour is really nice with large cruise ships going off all over the baltic and cafes / restaurants overlooking the cobbled streets around it. You can take a ferry across to a small fortified island in the bay which used to be the Arsenal for the army. The main circular fort is now a superb (expensive) restaurant that I highly recommend for a special occasion.

Helsinki is a bit conservative for my liking but very relaxing and pretty. The people are helpful and polite. Karaoke has apparently taken off here but seems to be limited to weekend evenings and I can't say I saw / heard much sign of it during the week.

Helsinki is fairly small for a capital city so it is easy to walk around and it has good public transport - trams, buses and trains as well as taxis.

If there on business I usually stay at the Raddison near to the Kampi (there are two in the city fact) which is comfortable for the price.

The station building was designed by the reknowned Finish architect Ariel Sarrinen along with several other attractive Helsinki buildings.

Most Fins speak English but the most useful words to know are:
Hei = Hello
Kitos = Thanks

The average cost of a beer is about 5 Euro.