HIGHLIGHTS OF SCANDINAVIA TOUR - HELSINKI DAY 1

Hello again, my dear readers.

If you are following my posts, you might recall that after spending a week in London, we said goodbye to this amazing city to finally embark on our Highlights of Scandinavia and Baltic Cruise tour with Finland being the first stop on our itinerary.

Not going into too much detail, I would just like to remind you that the tour operator was Nordic Visitor and if you would like to read more about it, you could find it here.

Here is a very important fact about Nordic region and Finland in particular.  It has been named the worlds' happiest country for the ninth consecutive year in 2026 Worlds Happiest Country report.  Driven by high trust in institutions, social support and low corruption, Finland is closely followed by Denmark and Iceland.  The Nordic region continues to dominate the top ranking. driven by, among other factors, an excellent quality of life and work-life balance. And we were ego to see it for ourselves.

Upon arrival at Helsinki-Vantaa Airport where we were welcomed by a professional English-speaking driver (arranged by our tour operator Nordic Visitor) who drove in his private vehicle and once we reached our pre-booked hotel, Scandic Grand Marina,  helped us with the luggage.

It was reasonably early in the morning and since we had been in Europe for over a week by now and didn't feel jetlagged any more, we were ready to go out and explore the city as soon as our bags were delivered to our room.

Our hotel has a perfect position, it is in walking distance to the sea, Market Square and city centre.  We began our explorations by visiting Senate Square and the grand, neoclassical Helsinki Cathedral.

A short stroll away, we came across Uspenski Cathedral, the largest Orthodox Church in Scandinavia and one of the most visible symbols of the Russian influence on Finnish culture.

It was lunchtime somewhere so we headed to https://www.allaspool.fi/, an open all year round urban spa that includes sauna, seawater/fresh water pools, wellness facilities and a cafe.  There are estimated to be over 3 million saunas in Finland and almost every household has one.  This is one of the most vital parts of people's wellbeing and you can find them in private homes, apartment buildings, officers, factories and hotels.

Our hotel didn't have one but even if it did, my husband's medical history does not allow him to be in a room which is heated up to 90 ℃.  It didn't mean that we couldn't go inside, buy ourselves some drinks and food and take an outside table overlooking the Gulf of Finland and enjoy the sun and the joyful vibe of other patrons.

Once we left the pool, we took a stroll around city centre, admiring the style of architecture of the buildings that we walked by, crisp clear air  and the general feeling of open spaces not crammed with people, cars, dogs or bicycles.

 

For us, living within walking distance to the Pacific Ocean and its world famous Bondi Beach with its waves constantly crashing on the beach, the multitude of swimmers, surfers, runners, dogs walkers, kids and tourists  and all the noise that comes with them, walking along the embankment of the Gulf of Finland watching the almost still water lightly disturbed by a warm breeze gently rocking the boats was such a stunning contrast that we just stopped walking and stayed still for a minuted in appreciation of the beauty and serenity around us.

And with this blissful feeling of happiness we retired to our hotel and went to bed.  

Until then,

Anna

xoxoxo