We were only able to rent our car for 1 month and we had to get it back to Helsinki Airport on September 11. So this morning we organized all our gear into our 3 suitcases, not a simple task, dropped off our car, and took the bus into town.
We had cashed in our Airmiles to stay 4 days at the Hilton Helsinki on the Strand. Sounds fancy, eh! Unbeknownst to us the hotel is in the midst of renovation and we arrived to the sound of jackhammers. And our room faces the office building next door and not the ocean.
Hilton Helsinki Strand
But the noise doesn't carry to our wing, and it is centrally located, just across from the Hakaniemi market, metro, and tram station. And our room is very spacious.
If you look closely you'll see this boat docked near our hotel is called Saunaship. In the summer you can charter it to cruise and sauna at the same time.
After checking in, we walked down to the kauppatori, or main market square on the harbour, past the Helsinki Lutheran Cathedral,
sort of the Sacred Coeur of Helsinki, ostentatious on the outside, but spare on the inside (because Lutheran), and then past the Orthodox Church, with its Coppola on the outside, and it's richly decorated interior.
The kauppatori was full of fruit stalls selling lingonberries and blueberries and various souvenir stalls.
In the background, lingonberries in season
We had a spicy lamb sausage on a bun with coleslaw relish here for supper.
Afterwards, I was too tired to go out, but Leo walked the downtown, reported it was very lively, with everyone on the streets having drinks and enjoying the pleasant evening. And he brought back tarts from Fazer, one of Helsinki's longstanding cafes/bakeries/chocolatiers.
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