Helsinki Catchall: Random Pictures + Things We’ve Done

Sometimes I have an overflow of pictures that don’t seem to “belong” anywhere. Hence this catchall post of our time spent so far in Helsinki. (I did something similar while in Vienna and, following the same pattern, I’ll chime in with various anecdotes and information, but mostly this is a giant post full of quasi-random pictures!)

We’ve passed by the iconic Chapel of Silence (Kamppi Chapel) a number of times since arriving in Helsinki. It does cost money to go inside; with two kids in tow, paying to enter a giant wooden sphere—where the whole point is to be completely silent—feels like a bit of a waste. But from the pictures I’ve seen online, the interior looks lovely.

There are no organized services in this chapel, it’s simply designed as a place of prayer and/or quiet reflection in the heart of Helsinki.

Changing gears, here’s the futuristic interior of the subway station en route to John’s office.

Amos Rex is an art gallery with a series of “bubble” roofs that can be accessed at street level. It’s a free-for-all in terms of exploration which is SO cool!

The giant glass circles are skylights (you can look down into the gallery below and people in the gallery can look up into the street).

The tiles are surprisingly slippery! I didn’t see any skateboarders, but apparently it’s a popular spot for tricks. Makes sense.

Indy had to stop and pose with this giant Golden Arch!

Speaking of food, on John’s last trip to Finland before we headed over to Europe on this adventure, I had him bring a few boxes of the kids’ beloved KD (Kraft Dinner) to leave at his office. Imagine their DELIGHT when he brought these out of his backpack.

One night—while John and I went out for a sushi date—the kids enjoyed this taste of home.

There are playgrounds EVERYWHERE.

A big favourite has been this spinning disk (we call it the satellite dish) in a park near our apartment. There are all sorts of different ways to play with it… and I’m pretty sure Indy has tried them all!

While Indy is happy to improvise with railings, occasionally he manages to find balance beams that are expressly for that purpose.

How about an elevator selfie on the way up to our apartment!

I took the kids to the Helsinki Art Museum. It was a bit forgettable (and they’re creating a new exhibit so a big chunk of the gallery was closed), but we still enjoyed our time. After so many suggestions from readers to do a scavenger hunt with kids when visiting a gallery, we came up with a big list of things to look for in the art/architecture and this helped everyone feel more engaged. It was fun!

I picked our visiting day specifically because it was a free entry Friday (the last Friday of the month for this particular museum).

There was some impressive art!

There were also several exhibits about self-portraits. This artist (didn’t take a picture of his name, oops) drew a self-portrait every single day for TEN YEARS. Can you even imagine? They had about 100 on display and they were all so unique, done in a range of styles.

At one point there was an interactive element and guests were invited to draw their own self-portrait.

Behold my best effort. A sweet lady came up and watched over my shoulder and was so enthusiastic about my drawing abilities! I had to laugh. A talented artist I am not, but this was pretty fun.

Instead of drawing self-portraits, the kids decided to draw me.

Oh look: another day, another view of the Chapel of Silence. It looks like a giant wooden ark.

I think it was this same day that we stopped at Ekberg, the oldest bakery in Helsinki. Established, if you hadn’t guessed already, in 1852.

Indy got a lemon cinnamon bun style of thing that was yummy and Belle got a Tippaleipä (Finland’s version of a funnel cake; they’re very popular here).

We popped by the Helsinki Old Church.

Lutheran is the primary strand of Christianity in the region, so the interiors of the churches are decidedly understated compared to Catholic equivalents.

Helsinki Cathedral. It’s stunning and the steps are almost like an optical illusion—they look like a solid wall from certain angles!

This is Uspenski Cathedral, the largest Orthodox temple in Northern and Western Europe.

One of John’s colleagues gifted him a hilarious book all about Finnish personalities. Finns are notoriously quiet and reserved and the little cartoon snippets give all sorts of scenarios, along with funny (but accurate) descriptions of how Finns would respond.

Another day, more park visits. Despite the sunshine, it was cold and I was wearing ALL MY LAYERS.

Indy and I posing in front of the Helsinki sign outside Oodi Library, which is nicknamed Finland’s Living Room.

This library is enormous and it’s so much more than a repository for books. There’s a massive restaurant. There are gaming rooms. There are musical instruments available to be checked out. There are sewing machines, classes to teach all sorts of skills, 3-D printers, and so much open space. It’s a place that has to be seen to be believed. They have a no-photo policy in most areas, but look some interior photos up online if you want to be inspired!

The central staircase that you can take from the top to bottom floor is eye-catching. This photo hasn’t been colour-changed; it looks black and white from this particular perspective.

The children’s section is amazing with a giant reading nook, and even places to eat (with microwaves so you can bring food from home).

There’s a giant viewing platform outside!

The same day, we went to the Helsinki City Museum which is always free. There’s a great children’s section (called Children’s Town), but it was a bit young for Indy.

There were SO many kids.

The museum documents the history of Helsinki. Overall it felt forgettable, but without an entrance fee it’s definitely worth a visit if you have extra time to fill. (It’s right across the street from Helsinki Cathedral.)

Stroller parking!

Speaking of the cathedral… that’s a pretty cool backdrop for a tree pose.

Here’s one of my only pictures of homeschooling. We’ve worked quite a bit on Indy’s spelling and he has made some great strides.

One of the most popular tourist destinations in Helsinki is the Rock Church (Temppeliaukio) which, as the name suggests, is a church built into a giant rock. There’s an entry fee, so we didn’t go inside and were content to admire the view from above!

It’s a common venue for concerts and apparently the acoustics are incredible.

I spotted this sign in a store window and immediately snapped a picture and texted it to Nicole. She loves both wine and salads, and seems to hear a lot of epic stories (especially while in the checkout line at grocery stores).

Their garbage disposal system is high-tech. First, you separate materials into a lot of different categories: trash, biodegradable items, cartons, paper, plastics, metal, and glass. Residents have a special fob to unlock each of these tubes and once you drop in the correct items and shut the door, it sucks the items through a pipe to a central garbage sorting/recycling station. It all feels delightfully futuristic (and environmentally friendly).

St. John’s Church.

On a free admission night (final Thursday of each month) John and I went to the Architecture and Design Museum. It’s the 80th Anniversary of the Moomin characters, so the main exhibit was an exploration of the themes of home in Tove Jansson’s life and within the lives of her storybook characters.

This painting she did reminded me of Blomidon, back in Nova Scotia!

Anyone else??

They had a series of pictures of Jansson in her living environments placed next to examples of how that translated into her art.

And will you look at that—we’re back to the satellite dish!

Indy LOVES to leap over things like this; an accident feels inevitable, but he loves it too much for me to quash his enthusiasm.

Let’s do some more tree poses, but in impossibly tricky locations, shall we?

Changing pace, Belle ADORES churros, so I took the kids to a local cafe and we shared a plate of churros.

The service was so slow which wasn’t really bothering me. We had plenty of time to fill. But, to ease any discomfort, they surprised us by bringing each of us a delicious lemon-glazed doughnut filled with lemon curd while we waited.

The brush-head shoe cleaners are EVERYWHERE.

Maybe this is common outside of Europe, but I had never weighed my own produce in the aisle and attached a price sticker before getting to the checkout. The first time I saw something like this was when we were visiting Catrina in Zurich. I have to admit, it is SLICK! Can you guess which number bananas might be???

Food and grocery delivery is incredibly common here; sometimes humans do it… and sometimes it’s robots. Here’s a robot waiting very patiently (and obediently) at a red light.

And on that note, I’ll call this post done. A potpourri of sorts from life in and around Finland’s capital city.

Your turn:

• Have you ever had a robot deliver food or other items to your door? (I have not!)
• How common is the “weigh your produce in the aisle” thing?
• Have you ever drawn a self portrait?