The time was ripe for our summery visit to Finland. And for once, the weather forecast seemed rather promising. The summer in Finland’s been a bit of a scorcher so far, with temperatures exceeding 30 degrees quite frequently – in fact I think it’s been the hottest summer for 80 years or something so far – often it’s even been hotter than here on the Cote d’Azur. So we were really looking forward to our trip.
We’d invited Olivier and Raphaelle, our friends from Paris along for the ride. I’m quite pleased about that, gives me a chance to repay their hospitality (we’ve stayed at Ollie’s parents’ place in Greolieres on quite a few occasions…).
After a trouble-free flight, we arrived at Helsinki more or less on schedule, on Saturday afternoon, from where my dad kindly drove us to Helsinki city centre, where we met up with Ollie & Rafa (who had arrived earlier that morning). After a quick stroll in Katajanokka (an architecturally very beautiful part of Helsinki, where my parents actually used to live), and a beer by the sea-side to slacken our thirst, we headed down towards the Senate square (certainly the most famous square in Helsinki, and one of the nicest scenic spots in town). After rather a rather lengthy photography session (and at this point I would like to point out that Olivier is even worse than me!), we headed down to my parents flat at Fredrikinkatu (stopping on the way to check out the Railway station, which is also rather well known…).
After an aperitif, it was time to head for dinner. My parents had booked a rather special place for the occasion, called Ravintola Saari. The restaurant is located on an island (actually, Saari means island in Finnish), and you have to go there by boat (even if the distance crossed is only about 50 meters!). Definitely worth the boat ride – the location is absolutely stunning, with views across the cliffs towards the Helsinki archipelago. No complaints about the food either… All in all, we spent a very pleasant evening there indeed. This was followed by some digestifs at my parents’ place.
After a good nights’ sleep, we get up, ready for a bit more Helsinki sight-seeing. I had a rather ambitious program involving both Seurasaari and Suomenlinna in mind, but decided to just go for Seurasaari in the end, after a somewhat lazy morning. Seurasaari is pretty much the perfect place to take visitors during the summer, as it combines some pretty nature trails, some traditional Finnish country-side architecture (it’s an outdoor museum), swimming (including a nudist beach) and of course Seurasaari’s most famous residents – the cute, furry brown squirrels. And the weather today was pretty much perfect for it as well. So we ended up spending the entire day there – squirrel spotting (me and Ollie took “a few” pictures again…), walking, swimming and checking out the arts & crafts fare that was taking place.
After a nice enough dinner in an Italian restaurant near my parents’ place, it was time to head west – to our summer place in Parainen, near Turku. After a just under two hours’ drive, we arrived (hipp-hurray – they finally completed the Helsinki-Turku motorway, it only took, what, 30 years or something?). The hour was rather late, so we all went to bed immediately.
We got up the next day again – not too early ;-). I was once more reminded what a restful place Rågård can be. You just never get the same kind of quiet over here in France (well, not on the Cote d’Azur anyway) – when the only sound you can hear is the wind blowing in the leaves. After a relaxed lunch, I decided to take my guests over to Nauvo for the afternoon, to give them a bit of an idea about what the Turku archipelago is like. It’s a pretty nice place with a couple of nice cafes (the nicest one was closed, unfortunately), a lot of boats, nice nature, and not much else, really… Pretty representative of the Finnish country side, I suppose? And they have a very nice beach there too (although Rafa and Mathilde didn’t seem to be convinced enough to go for a swim ;-) ).
For the evening, I figured it was time for two more authentic Finnish experiences: a sauna, and a grill sausage dinner. The grill sausage bit left our guests somewhat unimpressed I think (I can’t really blame them, French sausages are a lot better if you ask me – they actually contain some real meat!), but the sauna experience didn’t. I don’t think all foreigners actually enjoy the Finnish sauna experience, but I think they at least appreciate it as a quite unique and special custom. I hope so, anyway ;-). Anyway, at the end of the day, we spent a very nice evening together, I think, which is most important, right?
The next day, it was time for Rafa and Ollie to head back to busy Paris. But we did have time for a nice rowing trip before that, which was kind of good fun. Yet another Finnish experience ticked off the list… For the final lunch, we went to Hesburger – the Finnish version of McDonald’s. Not a culinary experience to write to the Michelin guide about, perhaps, but I still reckon their rye bread burger beats your Big Mac any day of the week ;-).
And that brought an end to our friends stay in Finland, as we took them to the bus stop. Hopefully they enjoyed their stay – I think at least it should be a pretty relaxing way to spend a weekend after a busy week at a Parisian office!
We’d invited Olivier and Raphaelle, our friends from Paris along for the ride. I’m quite pleased about that, gives me a chance to repay their hospitality (we’ve stayed at Ollie’s parents’ place in Greolieres on quite a few occasions…).
After a trouble-free flight, we arrived at Helsinki more or less on schedule, on Saturday afternoon, from where my dad kindly drove us to Helsinki city centre, where we met up with Ollie & Rafa (who had arrived earlier that morning). After a quick stroll in Katajanokka (an architecturally very beautiful part of Helsinki, where my parents actually used to live), and a beer by the sea-side to slacken our thirst, we headed down towards the Senate square (certainly the most famous square in Helsinki, and one of the nicest scenic spots in town). After rather a rather lengthy photography session (and at this point I would like to point out that Olivier is even worse than me!), we headed down to my parents flat at Fredrikinkatu (stopping on the way to check out the Railway station, which is also rather well known…). 
After an aperitif, it was time to head for dinner. My parents had booked a rather special place for the occasion, called Ravintola Saari. The restaurant is located on an island (actually, Saari means island in Finnish), and you have to go there by boat (even if the distance crossed is only about 50 meters!). Definitely worth the boat ride – the location is absolutely stunning, with views across the cliffs towards the Helsinki archipelago. No complaints about the food either… All in all, we spent a very pleasant evening there indeed. This was followed by some digestifs at my parents’ place.
After a good nights’ sleep, we get up, ready for a bit more Helsinki sight-seeing. I had a rather ambitious program involving both Seurasaari and Suomenlinna in mind, but decided to just go for Seurasaari in the end, after a somewhat lazy morning. Seurasaari is pretty much the perfect place to take visitors during the summer, as it combines some pretty nature trails, some traditional Finnish country-side architecture (it’s an outdoor museum), swimming (including a nudist beach) and of course Seurasaari’s most famous residents – the cute, furry brown squirrels. And the weather today was pretty much perfect for it as well. So we ended up spending the entire day there – squirrel spotting (me and Ollie took “a few” pictures again…), walking, swimming and checking out the arts & crafts fare that was taking place. After a nice enough dinner in an Italian restaurant near my parents’ place, it was time to head west – to our summer place in Parainen, near Turku. After a just under two hours’ drive, we arrived (hipp-hurray – they finally completed the Helsinki-Turku motorway, it only took, what, 30 years or something?). The hour was rather late, so we all went to bed immediately.
We got up the next day again – not too early ;-). I was once more reminded what a restful place Rågård can be. You just never get the same kind of quiet over here in France (well, not on the Cote d’Azur anyway) – when the only sound you can hear is the wind blowing in the leaves. After a relaxed lunch, I decided to take my guests over to Nauvo for the afternoon, to give them a bit of an idea about what the Turku archipelago is like. It’s a pretty nice place with a couple of nice cafes (the nicest one was closed, unfortunately), a lot of boats, nice nature, and not much else, really… Pretty representative of the Finnish country side, I suppose? And they have a very nice beach there too (although Rafa and Mathilde didn’t seem to be convinced enough to go for a swim ;-) ). 
For the evening, I figured it was time for two more authentic Finnish experiences: a sauna, and a grill sausage dinner. The grill sausage bit left our guests somewhat unimpressed I think (I can’t really blame them, French sausages are a lot better if you ask me – they actually contain some real meat!), but the sauna experience didn’t. I don’t think all foreigners actually enjoy the Finnish sauna experience, but I think they at least appreciate it as a quite unique and special custom. I hope so, anyway ;-). Anyway, at the end of the day, we spent a very nice evening together, I think, which is most important, right?The next day, it was time for Rafa and Ollie to head back to busy Paris. But we did have time for a nice rowing trip before that, which was kind of good fun. Yet another Finnish experience ticked off the list… For the final lunch, we went to Hesburger – the Finnish version of McDonald’s. Not a culinary experience to write to the Michelin guide about, perhaps, but I still reckon their rye bread burger beats your Big Mac any day of the week ;-).
And that brought an end to our friends stay in Finland, as we took them to the bus stop. Hopefully they enjoyed their stay – I think at least it should be a pretty relaxing way to spend a weekend after a busy week at a Parisian office!
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