Day 10 – Tuesday, October 11, 2022

We had breakfast at our hotel and headed to the airport for our journey back to Seattle with a layover in Helsinki, Finland. We landed in Helsinki around 4pm and took the train to the city center. We checked into our chic Holiday Inn hotel and searched for a late lunch.

I stumbled on a Chinese handmade noodle shop with great reviews. The menu sounded exactly what we wanted and needed. And, boy did it live up to the reviews! The handmade noodles were fresh and delicious in soup or wok-fried.

We headed to the design museum located in the design district. This area was filled with boutiques and cafes but we just mostly admired the old buildings. The museum was pretty disappointing tho. I wouldn’t recommend but maybe their renovations in a few years will improve it.

We hit the mall afterward to do some more shopping and then found a vietnamese place for pho before calling it a night.

Day 11 – Wednesday, October 12, 2022

Using electric scooters, we started our morning at Helsinki Market Hall and had breakfast at Story. My banana pancakes with apple and caramel were pretty tasty. The banana made the cakes soft and a little chewier.

We wandered to Market Square and explored the harbor for a bit on foot. There was one of the prettiest public bathrooms I’ve ever seen and this cool sauna + lake dip facility.

We then ended up riding our scooters around further to sightsee Helsinki a bit. We went to Senate Square and Huvilakatu (a street with colorful art nouveau buildings).

We ended up biking around Kaivopuisto park, which was a nice waterfront trail.

We eventually went for lunch at Fisken på Disken inside a really nice shopping center. This restaurant was known for its fish soup and it did not disappoint! The salmon soup was delicious! The salmon was smoky, the soup was creamy and the garnishes, dill, and dried onions were a perfect complement. We also had white wine mussels and fish and chips dishes. Both were also very good and the perfect final meal on this trip.

We also went into this huge Muji home goods store that was beautifully designed. I think Helsinki is a great place for home goods shopping. I wanted to buy everything.

We took the train to the airport and boarded our flight back to Seattle. A day in Helsinki is definitely enough but it’d be great to pair it with a quick northern lights jaunt in Lapland, Finland.

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After almost three weeks away from home, this was a special trip given the fact that I didn’t get to travel internationally (besides Canada and Mexico) in the past three years due to the pandemic. This trip was a sense of normalcy and pre-pandemic life. I could feel the excitement and joy I get while traveling to a new foreign country again.

Scandinavia was everything I expected but actually more. I didn’t really know Norway had such impressive beautiful landscapes until recent years. Copenhagen exceeded my expectations in every way —food, charm, and shopping. And overall, their interior design aesthetics is exactly what I adore. I expect to be back one day as there were more places in Norway I wanted to see and hike (Trollstigen, Trolltunga (Tongue Rock), and the Lofoten Islands) and I’d also want to give Stockholm, Sweden a visit. Until next time…