(Heaven)Sinki
Finland Travelogue — III
On our 2nd day in Helsinki, the city, to compensate for the hellish experience the previous day, rewarded us with a wonderful sight. We woke up to find snow falling right outside our window. The world around us was covered in a white blanket. The cars, the road, the parking lot, the chairs and table in our balcony, absolutely everything, was covered in fresh white powder. One of us who had lived in cold for quite sometime informed us that snowfall meant better temperatures. That titbit elevated out already awed minds. Wearing a few layers, we went in the balcony to find tiny, unique snowflakes blessing us. It was truly a delightful miracle. And we celebrated the miracle with maggi and ginger tea!
Two from our group got ready first and went out to bring us all some coffee and to check the layering, to see if it was enough for us to survive the day or did we need more layers of clothing. They were dressed n 4 layers on top, 3 layers in bottom, two pairs of socks, two pairs of gloves, snowshoes, woollen scarf and a hat. Yes, from our experience the previous day, we feared this clothing wouldn’t be enough. Thankfully, the boys came back with good news and good food. While the cappuccino had become café latte by the time we drank it, we got a tasty croissant and a light pink colored donut with berry jam filling. The donut looked so pretty in the white background of the snow that it got its own photo shoot before we shot it down our tummies.
We had a full day of activities planned at an island near Helsinki — the Suomenlinna Sea Fortress. Our checkout being at 12, we had to manage our liabilities (to those of you joining the party late — it was our 6 big pieces of luggage). While two from our group separated to drop the liabilities off to Krupa and Achal’s hotel room, the remaining three of us cleaned the dishes, bed and got ready for our expedition to the Ferry station, where the separated two would join and we would take a ferry to the Fortress.
We were aiming to take the 11.40 ferry and the bus ride from our home to the ferry station was about 30 minutes. So the 10.40am bus gave us plenty of time to buy tickets. The 11:02am bus was our last option for there were no buses after that for another hour. Even after planning to leave by the 10.40am bus, we were out of the apartment only by 11am. Our bus was 2 minutes away and so was the bus stand by walk. We ran towards the bus stand to make it in time and to not lose one full hour! Gasping for air, when we reached the bus stand, our bus was only half a minute away. We saw it approach us, slow and then go on further. We were confused and flabbergasted. How could the bus not have stopped? It was only later after inquiring that I found, that we were supposed to wave at the bus asking it to stop. Thankfully this time around, google was wrong and we did find another bus in 10 minutes. Our ferry ride was delayed to 12:20pm.
While we were struggling at the bus stand, the dynamic duo were struggling at the ferry station. In the ticket machine for the ferry, they had inserted credit card in the cash slot and the card refused to come out. After a lengthened line for the tickets and help from an official, they finally had their tickets and waited for us to arrive.
Suomenlinna is a collection of 8 islands, a little away from mainland Helsinki. We were to visit the main island with museums, shops and restaurants. The construction of this fortress had begun in 1748 by the Swedish, against Russian expansionism. It was only in 1918 that it became a part of Finland and was renamed as Suomenlinna (meaning ‘Castle of Finland’).
As I stood in open air, at the front of the ship, the cold wind assaulted my nose. But the sight that I saw in exchange, was worth that and more. The ship cracked the thin layers of ice that had formed in the sea, as it made its way to our destination. On the way we saw a cluster of islands. One island housed a pastel pink building with a snow covered roof (fairy-taleish), while another had a large, lone yellow house standing at the centre of the island. I envied those who lived in that house, in the lap of the nature and yet so close to the amenities of the city. These islands that we passed were small and charming. I wanted to record our entire ferry ride in pictures and in words. But, I didn’t have the courage to get my hands out of my gloves, to click or to type. So, I decided to capture it all in my mind to reminisce at a later date. While I stood there, waiting for my destination to arrive, but enjoying the sights on the way; I realized that this is how life should be lived. In our hurry to reach the destination, we shouldn’t forget to look around and breathe deep the flavours around us. In our 30 minutes ride to the fortress, while most people went to the enclosed area, I stood out there making peace with the cold for showing me such a wonderful view.
As we disembarked on the main island, the prettiness around struck me likes a lightening. Once again a beautiful pink building stood in front of me, surrounded by white. It was like being in a cake, with white base, pink filling and white cream (snow covered roof) and chocolate chips (chimney) on top. To add to the beauty were large fir trees and bare trees whose barks bore a mixture of brown, pastel green and white colours. Each bark was unique. I wanted to spend atleast 30 mins just observing the unique shapes and colours of each bark.
But alas, we had to move on, for there was a lot more to see and explore. As we started walking, each curve of the road unveiled a sight more beautiful than the one we passed. The streets were lined with pastel coloured houses ranging from blue, yellow, pink to green. They blended in beautifully with the white surrounding them. The expansive branches of the bare trees gave us a peak into each view, which made us all the more eager to uncover them.
We trekked through a forest filled with naked trees to reach a peach colored church with a bell, larger than all 5 of us combined, and metal chains that could bind a giant. As we walked around the church, the view from each side was wonderful. But the more fun part was playing in the snow and making slow mo videos of throwing balls of fresh snow in the sky. Our time in the church was silent and contemplative.
We, thereafter went into a museum and saw a movie about the history of the fort, but our best time in Suomenlinna was spent simply walking around the island, on its snow covered roads, soothing our eyes with the pastel shades and discovering the marvellous views. Our clothing was so perfect that we could do all of this comfortably in negative temperatures, without freezing ourselves. Our lunch at a micro-brewery was filled with stories from the morning, crispy pizzas and good drinks. It was only 3pm and all of us wanted to spend more time on this island. However, we also wanted to reach mainland before sunset as we eagerly awaited meeting the final and the youngest member of our group — Aman. Leaving the island right at the time of sunset — 3.30 pm, I once again stood on the edge of the deck to say goodbye to the beautiful fortress islands, promising it that I will be back again.
Since the other half of our troop was visiting a cathedral, the 5 of us decided to enjoy some more Glogi before heading off to their hotel. The reunion was as loud, as warm and as happy, as expected.
Finland has a car by the name of ‘Caravelle’ that fits 9 people. Our ride to the airport was very unique and very gujju. We filled one car with 9 people (one driver), 9 pieces of large luggage and 8 backpacks. There was a wall of luggage created between most of us to the extent that we couldn’t see each other’s faces or even the pompoms of our hats. When we got off the car, we greeted each other like long lost friends. Though the ride was cramped, it was extremely fun, as we talked over the walls and laughed about our gujjuness.
As had been the norm for us till now, we were extremely early for our train. But the time went by quick, and soon we were making our way into the cabins. The European train had cabins for two. After several adjustments with seats, cabins and luggage, we settled into our compartments.
Our reunion was celebrated at the restaurant in the train. Yes, you read it right. They had converted one entire coach into a restaurant. We had the unique experience of having beer on a train as we watched the snow clad villages pass by us and laughter surround us. We occupied more than half of the restaurant and gave the restaurant a lot of business. We got on like a house on fire. We reminisced old times, anticipated where and how we would see the northern lights and came up with two exotic words that would be used exclusively during our entire trip. 4 hours later, we ended the night with theplas and bhujiya sev in our cabins.
Lessons learnt:
1. There is no such thing as bad weather, only inappropriate clothing.
2. Google is not always right.
3. The world you saw in cartoons as a child, is real.
4. Always try local drinks.
5. Carry lesser luggage.
Food packets utilized: 4
Temperatures survived: upto -3 degree Celsius
Read (Hell)Sinki (Finland Travelogue — II) here
Read Entering the Arctic Circle (Finland Travelogue — IV) here
