Earlier this month I had the amazing opportunity to travel to Finland in partnership with Finnair, and have been so excited to share with you guys every detail of this incredible trip…
The nordic countries have been high on my list to visit for years. Most of my ancestry comes from Northern Europe, and yet I’ve never traveled there. So when Finnair invited me to attend the premiere of their East and West Side Story film in Helsinki and take a little press tour of the country, I was sooo definitely in!
I have quickly though that I feel really lucky to be able to have these kinds of opportunities, and have such a supportive partner who had to pick up a lot of slack while I was gone, but knew it was an opportunity I couldn’t pass up.
Flying Finnair. Finnair recently opened up their direct flight routes from SFO to HEL and it sure is heavenly. I don’t know how many opportunities I’ll have to fly business class to the other side of the world again, and I felt so spoiled. Honestly, just flying economy without kids is a full on spa day for me, but this was a whole other level. Marimekko kits, slippers, down blankets, and pillows. Delicious cocktails I need to recreate like the double blueberry (blueberry juice + blueberry liquor). On the flight back I discovered the Ingmar Bergman film collection, and then spent the rest of the flight completely devouring his work. Have you seen any of his films? I think I need to do a whole post about them. They’re intense, brilliant, and beautiful.
Helsinki is the capital of Finland. Turku, where we visited on the second half of our trip, used to be the capital during Swedish rule. But during Russian rule Turku felt too Swedish, so the Russians built Helsinki to be the new capital closer to Russia, and modeled after St Petersburg. I’ve never been to St Petersburg, but Helsinki definitely had a very Eastern European feel about it. Also all the pink buildings and streets were beautiful to wander through.
I went on a design tour in Helsinki on the second day. We visited Arabia and Ittala factory. Both are famous Finnish brands of pottery and glass and have been around for decades. It was a really inspiring place to see.
There are public saunas as well, and the one we went to at Loyly was one of the very nicest. Private saunas are nude, but public ones often if they’re co-ed will require a bathing suit. After a lovely meal at the restaurant, you can heat up for a while in the smoke or regular sauna (I think I stayed maybe 10 minutes), and then because Loyly is built right on the harbor, you just dip right into the Baltic sea to cool off. Then you sit, have a beer, chat a bit with Finnish dudes, and repeat.
If you’re in the Portland area they have a Loyly there as well- go check it out!
Another thing I loved about Helsinki was how walkable everything was. I had a couple hours to wander around on the last day and could easily explore much of the city. My favorite part was the harbor area where there was a local market everyday full of most varieties of berries than I ever knew existed, and the design district where you can find cute boutiques and Finnish candy stores. I’m obsessed with the design of these Salmiak Finnish candy (although my taste buds can’t quite handle the salty licorice flavor yet).
The venue was incredible. What an amazing idea to have a premiere party in an airplane hanger. I’m quite sure any future premieres will be disappointing after this one. We mingled chatted, and then watched the premiere of the film. I really enjoyed it and at 13 minutes long, wished I could have seen more of the captivating story about this chance encounter. You can watch the whole thing here, I think you’ll really like it too. After, there was a party at a local club they had rented out. We finished the evening ordering some late night pizza close to the hotel.
Turku Castle
One of the main highlights of Turku, and their biggest tourist attraction is Turku Castle. It’s Finland’s oldest castle, built during Swedish rule 700 years ago. When it was first built, the Archipelago waters were much higher, and the castle was built on an island right off the shore from the central part of the city. As the waters started receding, the castle’s grounds gained more and more land until it eventually connected to the shore and the rest of the city. It’s a beautifully historic building.
We had some amazing food while we were in Turku. On the first day we visited a brand new seafood restaurant called Bassi in a beautifully restored historic building (pictured here). Another evening we dined at Smor, a beautiful Swedish. I highly recommend both. One afternoon we went beer tasting at a The Koulu Brewery which used to be an all girls school. I loved seeing how they transformed it while leaving behind little important details.
On the last day we did my very favorite thing of the whole trip. We drove about 30 minutes outside of the city of Turku to the Herrankukkaro sauna. It’s an incredibly unique place. A traditional fishing village on the Archipelago waters that connect to the Baltic sea separating Finland from Sweden. It houses the largest underground smoke sauna in the world. You can only reserve the sauna for a group of 7 or more and it includes a hour or so session in the smoke sauna, and a traditional finnish dinner of several kinds of fish, root vegetables, potatoes, and meatballs.
Great piece! But I have to ask…your black booties??!! What brand/type are they??
They’re from Clarks! So comfortable and versatile. Here’s the updated style (mine are a couple years old) https://amzn.to/2Iw99MH
Love this report. And you look fabulous. I especially love your pink dressed
-up look.
thanks!
Sounds like a pretty cool trip! And look at your form jumping off that dock! Wow, girl!
Thanks! It felt so good!
Just a beautiful country! And I must ask where you got your trench coat.
It’s from Madewell, but several years ago
What a great opportunity with Finnair! The art and design in Finland look amazing. I hope to visit one day too! 🙂
Charmaine Ng | Architecture & Lifestyle Blog
http://charmainenyw.com
You’d love it!