Day 72.

We are back out on the sightseeing trail.  After a nice local Finnish breakfast, we walk into the City Center.  On the way, we need a bathroom break so we stop in the Finnish Target (Tokmanni).  We walk in the hallway and the first thing we see is a huge display case with handguns, automatic guns, rifle and machine guns.  Hmmm…apparently the Target stores in Finland sell more than just ordinary household items.  Well, it turns out that the display was for a different store next to Target and that so that you have to go to two different stores to buy your laundry detergent and machine guns.

Our first stop is the Ateneum Museum – Finland’s National Gallery.  My favorite are the landscape paintings depicting both winter and summer scenes.  We see the painting of The Wounded Angel being carried by two boys.  John & Justin later inform me that it is ranked the 44th best painting in the world.  Go Finland.  We also see the painting The Fighting Capercaillies which depicts two Capercaillies (look like turkeys or roosters to me) squaring off to go at it.  The museum markets this as one of the most popular paintings in Finland but alas John and Justin inform me that this one did not make the world ranking list.  

On the way to the next stop, we pass a restaurant named the “Social Burger Joint.”  We have a good laugh and joke about whether there is an Anti-Social Burger Joint where you are aren’t allowed to talk during the meal. We don’t see one but 30 seconds later, a teenage passes us wearing sweatshirt that says “The Anti-Social Social Club.”  An amusing coincidence?

Next stop is the Silent Chapel (Kampri Chapel).  The building itself is very unique.  It is a little hard to describe.  It is made entirely of wood and the outside looks like a roundish, oval, egg-shaped, cubelike thing with a flat top.  Got it? Maybe better if you look at the picture below.  The inside has no lights – just the natural light from the ceiling windows reflecting off the wood that covers the ceiling window but is hung four feet down so you can’t see the window but get the light.  Ok, my attempts to describe this unique building are not going so well and there were no pictures allowed inside so you’ll just have to take my word that it was of the more interesting architectural design shapes we’ve seen.

On the way to the next stop, we pass the largest Evil Empire (aka McDoinalds) arches I’ve ever seen. They had to be 10 meters tall. The kids look at us and say “lunch?” It’s only 11 am and we had breakfast so I’m able to successfully suppress the Evil Empire revolution before it gains momentum. We explore the city on foot for the next hour taking in the array of buildings, architecture, stores and restaurants.  As the clock ticks 12:00, we happen to be passing a Taco Bell.  The teens are more prepared this time and the Taco Bell Revolution realizes the sweet taste of victory and tacos.  Alas, we realize it is not possible for the adults to squash every American fast food revolt that erupts from the gang of hungry teens especially after they’ve been walking all morning.

We reach the harbor and wander among the outdoor market tents.  We end up at the Vanha Kauppahalli which I am actually able to translate without Google.  I learned previously that Vanha means old and took a guess the “Old Market.”  It is an indoor very long thin hallway that runs up and down filled with food vendors.  Saffron and Leanne had staunchly boycotted Taco Bell and are now rewarded with an authentic Finnish lunch.

Next we go to the Finnish Cathedral.  In the Senate Square in front of the Cathedral, there is a person dressed up in a gigantic Panda Bear costume that you pay to take a photo with.  Total tourist trap but Ashley is all about all things Giant Pandas so there is a strong ROI on this one.  It is actually quite hot out and the kids start to worry that the person in the Panda suit might pass out from heat exhaustion at some point.

The Cathedral is Lutheran which is the predominant religion in Finland.  It is grand and impressive on the outside and the inside boasts an impressive symmetrical layout.  The two beams cross each other in the middle in the Finnish Lutheran cross (as opposed to forming a lower case t in the Roman Catholic cross).  The five-domed church is similarly designed with the floor extending in all four directions from the middle. Next we visit the equally imposing Russian Orthodox Cathedral.  The outside feels more imposing and grandiose as your approach from below than the Lutheran Cathedral but the inside feels slightly smaller.  

Next stop is the Helsinki ferris wheel.  As has become our tradition, we attempt to go the highest point in the city we are visiting to get a layout of the land.  More often, it is a ferris wheel but also finds us in the form of a skyscraper floor or a tower.  The kids take their ride of the ferris wheel as a reward for the cultural museum and church edification of the day.

On this night, Magnus and Nicola have arranged an authentic Finnish sauna experience for us.  We meet up with them at the Loyly Sauna but this is no ordinary sauna.  The Sauna is actually a sauna combined with a restaurant/bar with an outdoor sundeck overlooking the Baltic Sea.  We enjoy a relaxing cocktail outside taking in the tranquil Baltic sea.  We then venture into the sauna part down below.  The sauna rooms are constructed entirely of wood with a huge wood burning furnace in the middle.   There is a huge pile of logs outside that are fed into the sauna.  

We walk in and the term walking into a furnace blast seems very apropos. Man, it is hot and the sweat immediately starts pouring forth.  The sauna is fairly crowded (ok, acknowledging that our group accounts for 11 people alone).  Magnus says to me “watch, this is how you can tell who the Finnish people are.”  I’m intrigued and watch as he gets up, cranks open the lid on top of the furnace and dumps ladles of waters on the hot rocks. Holy crap, steam goes hissing through the air and the temperatures seems to triple within a minute.  The hot air burns your lungs to breath.  Soon enough, the other people start rushing for the sauna exit.  As guests, we are compelled to tough it out.  Soon enough, there are the 11 of us and 3 other people left.  Magnus says to me pointing at the three people, “see, those are the Finnish people.” 

Having outlasted the other non-Finnish tourists, we ourselves rush for the exit.  Here is the best part — when you leave the sauna room, you can jump in the Baltic Sea to cool off.  Even though it is late August, the water temperature is 15 degrees Celsius. I’ve totally adapted to the metric system where I think of temperatures in Celsius without having to convert them to Fahrenheit. I actually had to look up the conversion for this blog and so the temperature of the Baltic is 59 degrees Fahrenheit.  Yes, that’s cold but it felt great plunging into the sea after the hot sauna.  Amazingly, after the cold plunge, everyone is ready to go back to the sauna. This cycle continues several times until we’ve sweated out I’m guessing in the neighborhood of 5 KG.

Pure joy hits every face in our clan. We have dinner on the outdoor deck overlooking the water. Our kids are extremely happy to have other kids to talk to at dinner as are we grateful to be able to hang out with our amazing same-aged friends in their home country.

So relaxed after our sauna night, we now totally understand why Finland is usually ranked at the top of the Happiest Country on Earth.