I was finally able to make my much awaited trip to Finland. Not sure why I never found the time to visit while I actually lived in Northern Europe, but it was definitely a much needed cool-cation this time around. I only needed 3 days off and was able to have a very relaxed holiday around the 2 cities. There were tons of flights to choose from Frankfurt. I guess it is one of the advantages of living close to Germany's best connected airport.
Helsinki
I had no idea Helsinki had a 1 hr time difference from Germany. So I thought our flight arrived way ahead of schedule, but it was slightly delayed. By the time I pulled up to the airbnb, it was well after 11pm. Thankfully the instructions were super clear and everything was in order.
I did know ahead of time that Helsinki doesn't really have a historic city centre, being a relatively new city. So I focused my effort on just relaxing, cooking (finally some home made meals!), doing laundry, and of course, shopping! The weather was not so nice throughout my stay, but it didn't bother me that much since I'm already trained to function/sketch under overcast weather in London. Since I don't really have luggage space for even extra cups, I gave up on Iittala and Marimekko, and somehow ended up picking up 2 pairs of Fiskars scissors at the danger of getting confiscated at the airport. I also picked up some random small Moomin merchandise from the supermarkets (reflectors, tea bags, small towel, etc) Basically anything I could squeeze into my one bag.
The crowd was tiny at both the main Lutheran cathedral and the orthodox cathedral, so I could just pick whichever place to sketch. (Could actually see the Lutheran cathedral from Uspenski)
This one was actually done after I came back from Tallinn. I noticed that a lot of official tourism photos of the main Cathedral and Senator Square are from this angle, so...I wanted this angle!
Tallinn
Tallinn is definitely the more picturesque of the 2 neighbours. I had a somewhat grueling 2 hr ferry ride because there weren't many actual sofa seats. Most were just chairs...which is not what I was used to. The ferry itself was also very crowded given the summer tourism season.
I particularly liked this overview of Tallinn. I tried to keep it as simple as possible, and emphasized the red roofs. There were actually multiple "balconies" where you could look down at the lower city from the upper Toompea.
After a sleepless night in the city centre hotel (there was some karaoke bar that opened until 2am, and people were still talking loudly outside until 4am) I gave up my original plan of going to the art gallery and taking an afternoon ferry. Instead, I sketched the cute city gates with faces and hopped on an earlier ferry with a cabin reservation. It was definitely the best 40 euros I've ever spent. I've never had such a relaxing ferry riding experience. I basically boarded the ferry, went straight to my cabin, used my phone to unlock and just lounged around until the ferry docked in Helsinki. I thought I only booked a bunk, but the reservation was for an entire room w/ 4 beds (2 lower beds could be converted to sofas) No chaos, no people, just some nice sea view and a comfy bed (and bathroom!) I definitely felt much better after getting off in Helsinki
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