Helsinki’s Open-Air Museum: Seurasaari

Finns love to be surrounded by nature. Most families own a remote cabin on a lake (there are close to 200,000 lakes in the country, so there’s plenty of room for everyone). So it stands to reason they have an island devoted to their love to being outdoors.

Helsinki’s open-air museum (Seurasaari) houses structures that were brought from around Finland as a representation of life in previous generations. While the island is always free to explore, in the “on” season, there’s an entry fee for the museum, which consists of dozens of wooden structures.

Before we crossed the bridge to the island I went down a little path to look at something. A few seconds later I turned around and spotted Indy: I leave him alone for two seconds and he’s guaranteed to find something to climb!!!!

He was very proud of himself and had a lovely view!

There are no bicycles on the island, but there were plenty of strollers!

I’ve posted this picture before but I LOVE it!

The kids weren’t overly patient in letting me stop to read signs, but I managed to glean a bit of information!

These are tar boats. By the 1700’s, tar was Finland’s main export. These boats could accommodate up to 25 barrels of tar; fully loaded, they could weigh in excess of four tonnes!

This is a cache and people would climb a ladder to access the meat and other items stored inside to prevent bears and other animals from causing damage.

Belle caught Indy jumping off a stump mid-flight…

Here’s his requisite tree pose for the day.

This is the instant I was taking pictures of said tree pose (he wants photo evidence every. single. time) and he stopped to point toward Belle. A SQUIRREL was running across her shoe! I wish I’d had the camera pointed at her in that moment. She certainly yelped in surprise.

A church.

This telephone booth was a big hit with both kids. It was designed in Sweden and was functional on the island until 2007.

We made do with a cell phone and pretend conversations though, at one point, I FaceTimed Belle! My kids have never used a pay phone in their lives (and likely will never get to do so).

Indy was pretending to laugh at something funny the person on the other line was saying… except there was no other person.

It’s outdoor selfie time.

And here comes the rest of my crew.

This giant tree was irresistible.

The highlight of the island, for me at least, was Kekkonen’s Fitness Stairs. Urho Kekkonen was the President of the Republic until 1986 and would go jogging every day on Seurasaari. His route would take him by these steps and every day he would try to jump to the top step in a single leap. (Not quite as crazy when you learn he had been a professional high and long jumper).

At the age of 74 he could still reach the second-highest step. #LifeGoals… maybe?

Indy attempted it many times and did indeed reach the second-highest step. I was relieved we left without any injuries. The plaque next to the steps clearly states any jumping is to be done at your own risk.

Pictures never do these action sequences justice…

Here’s a screen grab from the video I took of his most successful attempt. Six steps isn’t too shabby at age 11! In terms of homeschooling, I’ll call this track and field practice for the day.

At one point we spotted a man fishing and he was happy to provide all sorts of information about local fishing regulations and Finnish culture. (They LOVE to eat fresh-caught fish.)

I was a big fan of Seurasaari and can see why it’s such a popular destination for Finns.

• Would you attempt to jump up seven stairs?
• Have you ever used a pay phone?