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Lappeenranta - Helsinki Day 17 - 28-June

I have decided to take the early train to Helsinki, last evening I had all the time to explore the sights in this small town, and now I am looking forward going to Helsinki. It's monday so it should be busy again. The walk to the trainstation confirms that. A lot of construction workers are working on the road through the city centre breaking everything open. Trucks and cars are trying to find a more suitable way to their destination. The train is quite full and I have to pay about €6,- for my seat reservation to Helsinki. Strange because yesterday I could travel the double distance for €5,50. Maybe sundays are cheaper.

Travel details: Lappeenranta - Helsinki Trainride: Intercity Departure:8:35 - Arrival:11:26 Distance: 278 km

The ride goes right through the forest area again and the intercity stops at a village with 1 station and 4 buildings. There is no platform so people board the train from the grass. I also see wild rabbits hopping around and wild pheasants. But no reindeer, according to the person sitting next to me, we are too far south to see reindeer easily. But moose might be around in these regions.

Helsinki
The arrival in Helsinki, first we pass Pasila again and after 1 minute we are already in the central station of Helsinki. So I have been pretty close to the centre on my last train journey. The station is quite a nice building and the city doesn't look bad either. Not much decorated buildings but there is a nice atmosphere around the town. I immediately find a map and look for the hostel. I can only check in after 15:00 but I try to get in earlier. I was just thinking that lately I didn't get lost anymore while walking to a certain destination. And then you will see that I walk the wrong way 6 times in a row. There are a lot of crossings were more than 4 streets meet, and then you easily walk the wrong way. But eventually I get to the hostel and I check in without any problems. The breakfast is €6,- and for some stupid reason I buy this expensive breakfast for 3 mornings.

The railway station of Helsinki.


The other side of the railway station shows modern buildings and a busy street.

The hostel in question is the Academica Summer Hostel, the rooms are okay, the beds make a lot of noise and there are no communal but private showers (that's the first time since Oslo). The hostel works with keys and for a dorm room they have only 1 key. Well if you stay in your room it's not much of a problem but to access other things like the communal kitchen or the TV-Room you will need that key as well. But it's easy to work around this problem. The TV-Room is also the only "meeting place" in the hostel. There is no common room where you can meet-up with people, but the TV room works fine. And there are roommates of course.

Time for a walk in the city, I have already seen a lot with getting lost and I first want to try to find the way to the trainstation. This route is pretty easy and from the train station it's very easy to find your way through the city. The main sight in the city is the big white cathedral. A lot of tourists are standing on the square taking pictures of the large building. After a climb on the stairs you reach the entrance of the church building which looks pretty from inside. Japanese people are taking pictures of everything inside. I decide to leave my camera in my bag.

The cathedral of Helsinki, a popular tourist spot and it's not easy to make sure you don't have any touring cars on the photo.

Going outside you can see big ferry ships a bit further away, so this place shouldn't be far from the docks, and after a short walk down the street you end up at the market place with a view to the sea. The market is just a big tourist attraction, they mainly sell souvenirs, fish and strawberries (just like in Norway and Sweden strawberries are sold here everywhere).


Strawberries from Finland. These are sold everywhere.

The tourist info is nearby as well and across the street there is a "Visit Finland" office, the tourist office for Finland itself where you can get free posters (which I forgot about). After a bit of more walking I get back to the hostel and have some discussions with people in the TV Room. Back in my room I meet my new roommates, one is visiting a conference about something with soil (not interesting, but apparently they have a free buffet) and the other one has been to the cinema. The movie costs €18,- in Finland. And I thought it was getting a bit cheaper over here.