Northern Europe
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Beach life at Munkkiniemi, Helsinki
Another warm, sunny day so a day at the beach was planned. We took a No.4 tram to its terminus at Munkkiniemi. It’s a very pleasant suburb of Helsinki with an attractive bay, a peaceful spot with a long seafront walkway alongside tall reed beds and wild roses. Nearby you will find a ‘Mattolaituri’ meaning…
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A guide to Linnanmäki Theme Park, Helsinki
Located on a hill not far from the centre of Helsinki you will find a theme park called Linnanmäki, translated into English this means ‘castle on the hill’. Unlike some theme parks where you have to buy a ticket to enter, at Linnanmäki visitors can either purchase a wristband, a multi ride ticket or pay individually…
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Delightful Tampere, Finland
We took an inter-city train from Helsinki to Tampere. VR Finnish trains are very comfortable and smooth, run on a wider gauge than English trains and have an upper deck. We booked seats upstairs so that we could enjoy the best views along the 90 minute journey. Tampere is Finland’s third largest city and is…
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The Church in the Rock and National Museum of Finland, Helsinki
The rain was heavy when we woke but not to worry, there are always interesting places to visit in the city even if the sun isn’t shining. Our first stop was at the Temppeliaukio Church also known as the ‘Church in the Rock’ located in the Töölö district in the city centre. The church opened…
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Töölö Lake and the Winter Garden, Helsinki
After taking the bus into Helsinki we decided to walk towards the Finlandia Hall and take a stroll around the Töölö lakeside. On a sunny day there’s no better place to be, walking through this urban park in the city centre. There’s a double width path to accommodate both cyclists and walkers/ joggers without getting…
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A day in Turku, Finland
Our younger son’s birthday and a day out in Turku located on the south west coast of Finland was the plan, it’s Finland’s oldest city and former capital. We booked seats on a Pendolino service departing around 9.00 am. The train was very clean and comfortable for our two hour journey and arrived on time.…
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Guide to taking a ferry to Suomenlinna Island, Helsinki
From Helsinki’s bustling marketplace (Kauppatori) boats depart to Suomenlinna Island taking around 15 minutes. The HSL ferry is operated by Helsinki Regional Transport (HSL) and all HSL tickets and travel cards are accepted. If you need a ticket, be sure to buy one before boarding the ferry as they are not sold on board. Ferries…
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A walk from Hakaniemi to Helsinki’s Market Square
Part One: We planned a walk from Hakaniemi to the Helsinki’s Kauppatori (market square). Getting there was easy as we took the metro from Kamppi but you could also hop on one of the trams. Located in the square is the Market Hall (feature photo above) which opened in 1914. On the ground floor you…
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An evening in Haukilahti, Espoo
Part Two: Haukilahti is a small coastal town located in Espoo, west of Helsinki. It has an attractive marina, yacht club and some inviting cafe/bars. It’s not very far from where I’m staying and I came here this evening with Suvi from Destination: Everywhere, a Finnish blogger who I’ve been in contact with through my posts…
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Day trip to Porvoo from Helsinki
Waking up to bright sunshine dazzling our eyes, we realised it was going to be a lovely day for a trip along the coast to the old town of Porvoo. We had booked tickets on Onnibus who offer inexpensive fares on their comfortable coaches which depart from Kamppi. It only takes 45 minutes to get there and…
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Helsinki sightseeing: Seurasaari Island
Seurasaari is a small island a short distance from Helsinki which is approached by an ornate wooden footbridge. Getting there by public transport is quite easy, bus No.24 leaves from Eira and we boarded the bus from outside the Sokos Department Store on Mannerheimintie near Kamppi. The bus takes around 30 minutes but it’s also…
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Helsinki walk: Löyly along the waterfront to Eira
We started the day in Hernesaari, an up and coming district of south west Helsinki, formerly docklands and now home to a cruise harbour and some high end apartments. We were here to visit Löyly a new, upscale public sauna, bar and restaurant (see feature photo above). It’s designed to give the appearance of a…
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Helsinki walk: Sibelius Park to Hietaniemi Beach
Another of our favourite Helsinki seaside walks is from the Sibelius Monument. Getting there by public transport is easy, we took the No.24 bus from outside the Sokos department store near Kamppi and rang the bell to alight as soon as we saw the Sibelius Monument on the left. Sibelius Park is in the Töölö…
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Senate Square, Helsinki
I’d heard that a military parade was taking place in Senate Square so we decided to go along and see what was happening. Arriving at the cathedral, people were already starting to gather on its steps. Over the years we’ve attended various different types of events here, and the stone steps provide an excellent viewing…
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Farewell Finland
I shouldn’t be sad that we had to leave southern Finland and return home today, not many people are so fortunate as me to be able to go away for an entire month. I did have a heavy heart though as we gathered our belongings together before taking one last forest walk in the warm…
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A short break in Hamburg – Day 1
After taking a connecting flight to Heathrow from Leeds/Bradford Airport we had a second short BA flight into Hamburg. I had not visited Germany for many years and it was to be my first visit to this northern city. Transferring into the city centre was very easy as trains connect the airport with Hamburg Hof…
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Exploring Hamburg
Breakfast in our hotel was excellent, as well as the usual cooked dishes, fruit and pastries, a chef was on hand to prepare waffles for us topped with fruit and whipped cream. I couldn’t resist the temptation of returning for more as they tasted delicious, so a brisk walk was necessary to walk off these…
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A walk along the Alster in Hamburg
After being tempted to eating rather too many waffles for breakfast, a long walk seemed to be the answer so we headed to the lake front in the centre of town. This is the Alster, the central point alongside the harbour pier and main shopping centre. We had walked along there the previous day so…
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A weekend in Tallinn
We spend each summer in Finland and usually take a trip over to Tallinn in Estonia. This year was no exception, we booked tickets with Linda Line on their morning ferry which takes only 90 minutes between Helsinki and Tallinn across the Gulf of Finland. Landing in Tallinn, the ferry terminal is only a 10…
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Guide to visiting Tallinn’s Open Air Museum
After eating breakfast in our hotel, we caught a trolley bus out to Kopli Bay, a 30 minute ride away to the home of the Estonian Open Air Museum. It’s located overlooking the bay and occupying a large site providing an insight into old Estonian life. A rural village has been re-constructed within a forest…
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A weekend in Berlin – Day 1
We had spent the night at the Travelodge, Heathrow Central as our flight was one of the first of the morning to depart Heathrow. We had originally booked our outbound flight with Germanwings, however, with less than 48 hours prior to departure, we received an email from Germanwings informing us that our flight had been…
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Reichstag Dome and the Brandenburg Tor, Berlin
We had breakfast at 7.45 am as we had pre-booked a visit on-line to the Dome of the Reichstag building at 10.30 am. The hotel’s restaurant was attractively decorated and smoked salmon, scrambled eggs and pastries set us up for our morning sightseeing. We walked to the nearby U Bahn station and, like the previous day…
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Charlottenburg Palace and Spandau, Berlin
After a short lunch stop we boarded a train from Berlin’s Hauptbahnhof to Charlottenburg, an affluent suburb of Berlin where the beautiful Charlottenburg Palace is located. A walk along wide, tree lined avenues with imposing buildings standing proudly, led us to the Palace. It was a cold yet sunny afternoon, perfect conditions for a walk through…
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Potsdam, Sanssouci Palace and Tiergarten, Berlin
Another lovely sunny morning. On finishing our breakfast our plan was to inspect the largest remaining stretch of the Berlin Wall located near the ornate bridge beside the River Spree. The pieces of wall have now been decorated in modern art / graffiti and plaques explain the historical significance. A train to Potsdam was next on…
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