The Nordic countries are an intriguing lot. What makes them so progressive? How can they be exemplary by so many measures? We visited Helsinki for 3 days to see for ourselves what the capital of Finland is like.

Impressions of Helsinki

The first impression of Helsinki was of the airport. The interior was very architectural, with lots of blonde wood in a modernistic Scandi style minimalist design. It was the descent to the train station that was particularly extraordinary. It was like entering a concrete bunker. It turns out that Finland (which shares a border with Russia) has built a network of bunkers to shelter its population in case of emergency or nuclear disaster.

Helsinki is a city built for cars and cold weather. They have wide streets, well-sealed housing, and large gutters with heat tracing to prevent the water from freezing solid in the downpipe. It’s very clean, safe and well organised. After coming from London, the lack of litter on the street, graffiti on the walls and the distinct lack of smoking and vaping was striking.

The architecture in Helsinki is a mix of more modern type buildings, the more usual European styles as well as some with a particular Russian influence as Finland was previously part of the Russian Empire.

My favourite modern building in Finland is the Helsinki Central Library Oodi. It has a very striking design. This building is not just a library, it’s a place where people can meet and use the many resources that are available. There are lots of lovely areas for working, including private meeting rooms, and an insulated audio/video room. All kinds of things can be borrowed and used, including instruments, poster sized printing machines, binding and laminating machines, sewing machines, mannequins and a serger for sewing, 3D printers, etc. It made me think that these freely available resources give even the poorest residents opportunities starting with a warm, safe place to study or work. Surely this allows everyone a chance to fulfil their potential.

Surprisingly, the Finns love their bidets, as we found bidet hose setups in many toilets. They also love their lunch buffets. I think this is less about overeating and more about ensuring that they get a good amount of vegetables with their meal.

The Finns are a trim and fit looking population. Any overweight people I saw in Finland were clearly tourists! Finns are also quite reserved in nature.

There are a number of languages on food packaging in Finland. There were 6 different languages listing the ingredients on my rye biscuits. Amazingly, these languages were Estonian, Finnish, Danish, Norwegian, Russian, Swedish and German. English was not one of the languages on the packet!

Travel Tips for Helsinki and Cost

• Everyone speaks English to a high standard.
• Comfortable shoes are advised for walking on the cobblestones.
• Don’t buy anything from the touristy outdoor market stalls near the Old Market Hall.
• The end of August is a great time to visit. There were no crowds and the weather was gorgeous!

For our 3 day trip, our itinerary is as follows;

Day 1 – Morning – Helsinki walking tour and a wander around the city. Afternoon – ferry trip across to Suomenlinna Sea Fortress.

Day 2 – Nuuksio National Park – a train then a bus ride from the centre of Helsinki stopping at Haltia. Either use the HSL app or purchase an all day ticket at the train station.

Day 3 – Porvoo – a charming, picturesque town. We went by Omnibus. Tickets can be purchased online or at the convenience store at the Helsinki bus station. For the return journey, tickets can be purchased from the driver.

We were heading to the Baltics after Helsinki but if not, Tallinn in Estonia makes a fun day trip as well. We caught the Viking ferry, which takes about 2.5 hours to get to Tallinn. The ferry is huge and includes restaurants, gambling areas and two live bands!

When spending, we do shop around to get the best deal. Some examples of costs,

• Accomodation (self contained AIRBNB) – $120AUD/night or £61/night
• 1 bowl of salmon soup and 1 reindeer sausage hotdog at an outdoor market stall – $29AUD or £15
• Ferry to/from Suomenlinna – $4.9AUD or £2.5 one way per person
• Train from Helsinki airport to city centre – $6.8AUD or £3.5 per person
• Bus one way to/from Porvoo – $20AUD or £10 per person
• Lunch in Porvoo (cheap but tasty local place) – $42.1AUD or £21.5 for two

The Finnish Psyche

One interesting aspect that may help explain the Finnish mentality is the concept of sisu. It is a Finnish word or concept that doesn’t translate directly into English. It’s about strength of will and extreme perseverance in the face of adversity. A kind of resilience, bravery or grit. To have sisu is to keep trying when everyone else has gone home and given up on a task that is crazy or hopeless to undertake. “Sisu will get you even through granite.” is a Finnish saying.

With this kind of mentality at the core of the population, continued success is a sure thing for this country.