HYDERABAD: The aerial view from the aircraft window before you land at Vantaa airport, Helsinki, appears to be a chintz fabric swaying with colours. Those red-yellow-pink spots are trees changing hues as autumn gets ready to culminate into icy winter. The temperature dips sharply with sudden pale blazes of sunlight illuminating streets and the architectural wonders the capital city of Finland is dotted with. My cab heads to Design District lacquered in ruska dusk.
I have booked a BnB in the heart of the city. It’s a cosy single room with a large window overlooking the building complex brushing the city sky. After a good night’s sleep, the next morning I head for sightseeing before I move to Sysmä, a picturesque town where I am supposed to be for a writers Residency. Since all the major attractions were in the vicinity, I just had to take a walk.
Market Square
Located at the South Harbour of the eastern end of the Esplanade Park, the Market Square is Helsinki’s most famous open area market bordering the Baltic Sea where vessels come and go to the neighbouring countries. You can get innumerable keepsakes, souvenirs, jackets, coats, fur caps and wooden toys.
But careful the items are overpriced! You’ll have to bargain! There are food vans as well. Must try items are reindeer meatballs and baked salmon served with molten cheese and iceberg lettuce. And you can’t miss some carts selling boxes of lingonberries, raspberries, and other Nordic berries. What I liked the most about this area are the cafés lining the bay.
At Goodio Café, I loved sipping my coffee prepared with coconut sugar and oatmeal milk. From the glass door, I could see the season’s first snow softly landing on the mast of a ship docked at the harbour. Like the London Eye, you can see the giant SkyWheel and the statue Bad Bad Boy od a child peeing. The adjoining area Senate Square is rich in neoclassical architecture with intricate windows, gates, and lamp-posts. It’s designed by German architect Carl Ludvig Engel between 1822 and 1852. The area houses important landmarks of the city. You can see the grand Helsinki Cathedral, sitting atop a high set of stairs from which you can see the entire plaza.
The church is almost a blank canvas from inside minus the opulent decorations other European churches are known for. Just five minutes from there is Uspenski Cathedral built in Russian style with a redbrick facade complete with golden cupolas. It is built atop a knoll overlooking the bay area.
After a buzzing day, I went to the much famous Fazer Café in one of the nearby lanes Kluuvikatu Street for a cup of coffee and apple tart. The 127-year-old cafe has a warm ambiance complete with brilliant lighting. I still had some time in hand and decided to check the local shops in the area. For glass jewellery and traditional wooden necklaces, I recommend Okra. They have pieces designed by Finnish artists. I liked artist Nina Lehos’s sterling silver garnet-like stone earrings. The store is just opposite to the Helsinki Cathedral and the staff really warm and friendly. Another hidden gem in the Senate Square is Craft Corner, a store of handmade items by Finnish artisans. I really liked the Moomin mugs and handwoven rugs. I head for my BnB leaving behind a glittering cityscape.
Suomenlinna Fortress
It’s a world heritage site on an island. I took a ferry from Market Square for €Euro 5. You need to have at least three-four hours to explore the huge area dotted with old structures, dry docks, museums, and cafés. It was built in the mid-18th century when Finland was part of Sweden. There are several museums like the Toy Museum, Ehrensvärd Museum, Submarine Vesikko, Military Museum’s Manege, and Customs Museum. But these are open only till summer i.e., September 30. But even then the fortress has beautiful areas worth visiting and clicking photos, especially the rocky passages that look like the dark forts of Winterfell of GOT fame surrounded by birch, aspen, poplars and other trees.
Art Matters
My next destination was Kamppi area to see the egg-shaped church which is also called Chapel of Silence and is an architectural wonder. You can just sit silently and pray though no services are held there. Next, I headed to Kiasma Art Museum which has a contemporary modern Finnish art on display. It’s a prime architectural landmark with excellent white interiors. The Kiasma Café serves delicious lunch till 3 pm.
For €Euro 10, I enjoyed eating Cabbage Casserole with Crushed Lingonberries.
Though exhausted, I headed for Ateneum Art Museum near Helsinki Central Railway Station, which in itself is a piece of art. It has the largest collection of classical artworks in the country. The art-writer in me was happy to see Vincent Van Gogh’s last oil painting ‘Street in Auvers-sur-Oise’, Cezanne’s ‘The Road Bridge at L’Estaque’, and Finch’s ‘The Wellington Racecourse in Drizzle’. What really caught my eyes was Finnish artist Eemil Halonen’s opus ‘Girl’ made more than a century ago from one single piece of wood. The young woman in an Oriental dress has downcast eyes with a defiant smile.
Book Affairs
Before heading for dinner I explored the 125-year-old bookstore Akateeminen Kirjakauppa which is one of the best in Europe with excellent interiors and a hugely varied collection. While I purchased Finnish writer Sofi Oksanen’s novel ‘When the Doves Disappeared’, the poet in me longed for the translated version of Finnish poetry. Luckily, when I came back to Helsinki again on October 26, I found an anthology of ‘Contemporary Finnish Poetry’ by Herbert Lomas for as cheap as €Euro 5 at Rosebud Books stall at the grand Helsinki Book Fair – a must-see literary event for all. Next, I headed for Juuri, a modern Finnish restaurant for sapas, small portions of food. My pick – Lamb with Jerusalem Artichokes and Baltic Herring with Mustard.
The next day I head for Sysmä, a quiet quaint town with much to offer.
In the Woods
The postcard-perfect forests glisten as the cold breeze steals their red-yellow leaves carpeting the road ahead which meanders into a landscape dotted with rye fields, and wooden Scandinavian houses. The three-hour bus journey seems a quick tour to my childhood memory of Russian folktales. The dying daylight at 4 pm draws my attention to white dots in the grey-blue sky - cackling geese flying homewards, perhaps. I arrive in Villa Sarkia, an international writers residency named after famous Finnish poet Kaarlo Sarkia (1902-1945) who stayed in Sysmä for some time. The large two-storeyed wooden house has an impressive collection of books, a modern-Finnish kitchen and large windows near which I set my table to work.
The multi-coloured tree-tops in the distance glaze from behind the glass. A forest! Yes, that’s where I’d go during my stay for relaxing walks after long spells of writing. And then there’s beauteous lake Päijänne near which there are comfy wooden cabins, a perfect place to spend holidays. I recommend Taina Blomqvist’s Tervalepikon Torpat wooden cottages complete with cosy interiors, large beds, kitchen, and fireplace. She offers the space on a decent rent. She says, “In summer one can go in the forests for berry-picking and in autumn mushrooms.” She has a guide for poisonous and non-poisonous varieties. And you can’t call your Finnish experience complete till you use the super-relaxing sauna, a part of Finnish tradition.
Lake Love
In the vicinity of the residence, a beautiful cafe-shop Kahvila Lintan Kammari sells pretty scarves, scented candles, lacy covers and an array of delicacies like cinnamon rolls dusted with pearl sugar. Just near it is a bookshop made of logs Sysmän Kirjakauppa selling Finnish books and stationery. Later, with a friendly local Tarja Tapiola we went to visit Sysmä’s Museum of Local History and Culture, located in the parish barn. She introduces us to an old man Veikko Hyöky, who shares tales of his childhood as a refugee child in Sweden.
It’s a bit too cold inside the huge stone-walled museum which has objects like dresses, utensils dating to the pre-historic era under the gaze of yellow bulbs. Unfortunately, the accordion museum in the city was closed. What I loved the most in Sysmä is a cruise on the waters of beautiful Lake Päijänne. The library manager Riita Kuisma was kind enough to organise it. Sailors Jorma Sainio and Markku Lepistö, who run cruises, took us along with two journalists on their boat ‘Jenni–Maria III’ to a bank, 20 minutes away from the town, where we docked, grilled turkey sausages, ate sandwiches, and had coffee around a bonfire.
Markku has many stories up his sleeves. He tells the tale of a hermit he penned as a book, Toivo Pylvänäinen, who lived for 45 years in a hut on a small island all by himself. By the time we reach the deck, it’s stone dark. The stars above glitter ready to settle into another winter, another season.