The Old Folks Home

[ozexpat]

@vehve i spotted that on my domestic flight just before landing so i could not read it

@ChickenCanoe not economy - I used 90,000 frequent flier miles for the round trip ticket

 

[vehve]

CC, then I'll continue

At Market Square, you should try a lihapiirakka (minced meat and rice baked into a lightly deep fried crust) or a munkkipossu (sort of like a donut filled with jam). You can get them at the orange tents that are usually set up there. Most of the stuff they sell there is pretty touristy though. In fall, there's a week long sort of a festival there, the herring market. Black bread and different herring products are sold then. Fishermen from all over the Finnish archipelago gather to feature their products.

Close by to the south (300 meters) is the site where the Guggenheim museum will be built, if it gets built. And 300 meters to the east you can find the Uspenski cathedral, a Orthodox church, probably the prettiest religious building in Finland. The Esplanade begins from Market Square as well, it's a pretty park area. There you can find the Havis Amanda fountain. And 100 meters underneath the park there's a huge manmade lake that will be taken into use next spring. It will be used to cool down buildings in the summer, sort of a reverse system to the remote heat that msot of the buildings in Helsinki are heated with (coolant water from the various power plants in the area). Really cool systems, if you're into engineering. Move one street north from the Esplanade, and you'll be on Alexander street, the best shopping street in Helsinki.

 

[vehve]

Oh, and the fort outside Helsinki is pretty cool too, Suomenlinna or Sveaborg. Great place for a picnic.

 

[tntchix]

I might have to break my fear of flying,

I wanna go to Finland!

 

[vehve]

Tnt, you should. Helsinki is a wonderful travel destination to spend a long weekend. Loads of things to see, a lot of nice restaurants. It's best in Summer though, and one reason it's not a more popular city for tourists is that it's a bit expensive. Another great thing to see in Finland is Lapland. You can easily spend a week or two there in Winter if you like skiing and other snow related activities. In the summer Lapland is pretty beautiful too, but there's less to do. It's mainly built around winter sports. The nightless night is pretty cool though. And if you want a active holiday in Finland, the archipelago is beautiful. Renting a boat is a nice idea, you can spend a month sailing around there.

 

[tntchix]

*planning a way to get to Finland someday*

 

[vehve]

You could always swim...

 

[Peep_Show]

WDBDTT;Not sure, I thought he was pretty good at behaving himself. I must have missed something somewhere.

Must've been on another site. Bama was doing great and actually being the voice of reason on New Year's Eve on the threads I was following.



Diva -
Great avatar! "Guardians of the Galaxy" rocks!

 

[tntchix]

You could always swim...

Ha! I would drown for sure. I can't even put my head underwater long enough for a lap in the pool. My lung capacity stinks.

 

[Beer can]

Must've been on another site.   Bama was doing great and actually being the voice of reason on New Year's Eve on the threads I was following.

I agree. Must have been something I missed or something they took down. They took one of my posts down and gave me a infraction for that night for posting a pic of a bottle of Tim Smith's (from tv show)moonshine I was finishing off. I guess they didn't like the name on the bottle (the name of the town he lives in) and I'm not repeating the name.