Another sunny day so we planned a trip to Helsinki’s eastern suburb of Vuosaari. To get there we caught a bus into Kamppi from where we connected to the metro for our journey, Vuosaari being the final stop on the line taking just 20 minutes.
Leaving the metro station we glanced in the Columbus shopping mall before walking down the tree lined avenue towards the sea approximately 1 km away. Arriving at the coast there’s a large marina with some inviting cafe bars with seating overlooking the water. This seaside area of Vuosaari is known as Aurinkolahti (Sunny Bay) and here you will find a lovely wide sandy beach stretching for 700 metres, making it a perfect spot for a dip in the sea on a warm, sunny day like this. As you can see from the above photo the beach is very inviting, it’s patrolled by lifeguards and there are plenty of changing rooms and shower blocks to use.
You will find several cafes and ice cream kiosks along the promenade but our favourite lies at the far end of the bay and is called is called Kahvila Kampela. This delightful little cafe has a large outdoor terrace overlooking the marina and the beach beyond. In the photo below you can see me relaxing on one of the comfortable sun loungers overlooking the marina.
I can definitely recommend their huge cinnamon buns which we always select to eat with our cups of coffee. One word of warning though, beware of the seagulls which perch on the roof of the cafe ready to swoop down on unguarded cakes and pastries. Even today we noticed a lady leave her cinnamon bun unattended for a few seconds to look at her phone and almost immediately a seagull swooped down and carried the whole bun away in its beak!
After leaving the cafe we followed one of the nature trails through the forest. There are several trails available and we decided to follow the longest one along gravel paths through the trees. There are a few steep sections but the walk is relatively easy and could also be taken by cyclists. We came across two covered barbecue areas where you can cook your own sausages or other food on the grill and enjoy a picnic sitting at one of the tables. Wood is usually available for the grill but if you are planning on cooking you will need to provide your own matches and utensils (tongs, etc.) and you must ensure that the fire is extinguished before you leave if no-one else is waiting to use the barbecue.
The nature trail leads to some rocky outcrops and climbing over them we were rewarded with some fine views back along the coast to the centre of Vuosaari. A group of children were using kayaks and a few people were swimming whilst others sunbathed on the rocks. Several people were berry picking managing to spot some delicious cloudberries partially hidden in the swampy reed beds. Continuing, the path passes some allotments brimming with vegetables and flowers before returning to its starting point near Kahvila Kampela.
We returned to the metro station by an alternative route along the side of the canal where there is a waterfall that you can walk behind which is fun to do so that you have a curtain of water in front of you and, best of all, you don’t get wet!
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