FINLAND

I’m a huge fan of Norse mythology and vikings, so ever since I was a teenager I wanted to make a trip to Scandinavia. Finland was our first stop on this trip in 2013. We caught a cheap flight from Barcelona to Tampere, where we started our two week adventure over this region. We spent 4 days in Finland.

We bought an Eurail pass to travel through Finland, Sweden, Denmark and Norway, but my favorite trains were the ones in Finland (they were the least crowded and had wifi!)

TAMPERE

We stopped here mainly because thats where our flight arrived. Its a nice place with a large channel of rapids that runs between red brick factories. We spent an evening walking around it.

A place that caught our attention was the great Orthodox Church, with this tall onion-shaped cupolas (seriously, thats how they’re called) typical from Russian architecture (Russia is still on my bucket list).

HELSINKI

On our second day, we took a train to Helsinki, the beautiful capital of Finland. We mostly walked around downtown, where we saw the Senate square, Uspenskin Cathedral, the Design Museum and Helsinki City Museum.

But my favorite place in Helsinki was the Kamppi Chapel of Silence. It’s a round building made of beautiful wood in a minimalist style. We visited it on the afternoon and was closed, so we came back the next day to see its inside. Totally worth it.

SUOMMENLINA

From market square (where you can eat reindeer meatballs and delicious fresh salmon) we took a ferry towards this island, where a sea fortress stood to protect them from foreign invaders.

This place has several medieval structures, a nice beach to make a picnic, and some hobbit-like houses which made us feel in the Shire.

TURKU

On our fourth day we arrived to Turku, where we would take a ferry towards Sweden the next day. We walked through the city and ate Makkaraperunat (try and remember that one) which is a typical street food made of grilled sausage, fries, pickles, onions, ketchup and mayo (those last ones may vary).

We walked next to Turku castle on our way to the ferry, as well as large churches. We took the day ferry because it was cheaper. It’s a 10 hour ride, where we were able to see the archipelago, Mariehamn and the Åland Islands (even though it rained the whole journey). It’s a long way, so I highly recommend getting a cabin (the cheapest one is fine if you’re not very fussy).