I had wanted to go to Scandinavia for a while. It was definitely on the “to do” list. But it was a fair bit down that list, until my friend Livia from Nova Scotia ended up on exchange in Finland. Knowing someone in Scandi presented an opportunity, and it shot way up the to-do list. I booked my flights at late notice and jetted off to Helsinki the day after I finished my job at Law Firm.
I booked a flight with Finnair (to make it a more Scandinavian experience) out of Heathrow Airport.
Now, London Heathrow is Europe’s busiest airport, probably one of the world’s most busiest. Yet it only has 2 runways. They are planning to extend, and I hope they do, despite the protests by the environmentalists. There’s only so much waiting on the tarmac to take off, behind dozens of planes (Finnair have screens in the plane which show you what’s going on ahead of the plane thanks to a camera on the nose) you can do before you get a bit fed up.
Once in the air, the trip was smooth, although I did have my first taste of Scandinavia’s rather conservative attitude towards alcohol. I was surprised, upon ordering a vodka and OJ on this certainly international flight, that I was asked for 5 Euros. It was 11:30 in the morning, I said the OJ will be fine, and enjoyed the strangely un-Finnish hot curry for lunch.
It was a cloudy morning and I didn’t see much out of the plane. About half way through, when I noticed a gap in the clouds, I looked through and was thrilled to see a massive long Bridge, clearly visible form high up. It was the Oresund bridge-tunnel, connecting Denmark with Sweden. As soon as we passed, the clouds reassembled, and we didn’t break through the clouds again until seconds before hitting the tarmac in Helsinki. The moment we broke through the clouds, I was amazed as to just how much white there was everywhere. The land was completely covered with lots of snow, only the runways at the airport were just barely cleared. We landed smoothly and taxied towards the terminal, as snow plows whizzed around us on the tarmac.
We disembarked using the stairs, and the moment I stepped outside, I knew I was somewhere much more arctic than I was used to. As the snow hit my face and the cold breeze chilled my skin, I ran in to the bus to the terminal.
HELSINKI
I caught the Finnair airport bus to the city and the moment I stepped off the bus, I had a bloke talking to me.
“Excuse me mate,” he said, “are you Australian?”
Turns out he was an Aussie too, and had been working at a farm in somewhere in Finland, doing something with horses. He seemed excited to see the Aussie flag, pointed me in the right direction, and recommended the local Aussie Bar. I went on to the station to meet Livia (who had visited London just a few weeks earlier) and we hiked through the snow to our hostel at the Olympic Stadium.
The next couple of days were spent wondering Helsinki, checking out the buildings and taking in the rather different atmosphere of everything being snow-covered. We caught a boat through the frozen harbour to the islands of Suomenlinna, where we wandered in the peaceful, quiet villages, enjoying the sights of the frozen sea all around.
We visited the Swiss embassy to take care of Livia’s passport business, and enjoyed frozen supermarket meals, the words on the packing of which we could not understand. We went out to a number of bars, from Aussie to Irish to metal bars. Not sure what a traditional Finnish bar is like... didn’t really see any. The bar crawl was largely inspired by an Aussie girl we met in our hostel who was trying to find a bar job. I thought she was really brave, having decided to move to Finland and make a living, without speaking a word of Finnish. Naturally I was happy to help out by coming along to a few pubs.
TAMPERE
Livia and I headed North of Helsinki on a train, and the density of civilization soon thinned out. On the train we saw snow, frozen lakes, trees and more snow.
Upon arrival in Tampere, a small city a few hours North of Helsinki, we were greeted by Livia’s English and Dutch friends who had come to hang out with us in the town for the day. We explored the city, but soon the freezing cold was too much for us and we headed to the train station.
I was impressed by the consistency of the snow; I had never seen snow like it. All the snow I had experienced in the past melted or at least became muddy slush when it was trampled over or driven over lots. Here, it was so cold that the snow stayed powdery, even on the roads. It just turned a strange shade of light sandy brown.
JYVASKYLA
We caught a train further up north, to Livia and her friends’ temporary home of Jyvaskyla.
It was a pretty small city and all of the international students seemed to live in one of 2 student villages composing of a series of high rise buildings. The apartments were tiny but more than adequate. Livia and her network of exchange students made me feel right at home, and invited me to all their social gatherings, including a reggae party at the uni the first night. The next few nights were spent partying with the international mix twenty year olds and spending the days hiking through the snow to the uni or to the town’s sights.
Ice skating seemed to be a big part of life here. Probably, because there is not much else to do when everything is covered with snow and ice. The huge lake in the middle of the town is one giant ice skating rink, I think 3 kilometers in distance around. But smaller icerinks are everywhere, including right in the student village. I borrowed some skates from a Dutchman and gave it a go as well... third attempt this winter but still no good!
TURKU
After 3 nights enjoying the student lifestyle, it was time to move on. I boarded a train to Turku and four hours (and a lot of snowy scenery) later I was on the Southwest coast of Finland.
Upon disembarking from my train, I had a few hours to kill before I had to be in the port. I could catch a bus from the station to port, but that would leave me just sitting there. So instead, I strapped the backpack in, and went on a long walk through the city centre, along the frozen, snow covered, river and eventually to the port. It was a nice evening for a walk, after all, it was about +0.8C.
VIKING BOAT RIDE
The ship was a large ferry and the crossing was overnight. The actual ride was very smooth and it was barely noticeable that we were at sea. So no sea sickness! I had my own cabin and after dinner and some duty-free shopping, I soon retired to my cabin to rest, exhausted.
I had expectations of it being a bit of a party boat, but it was mainly just families and middle-aged couples, who weren’t doing much partying at all. I imagine a Saturday night in the summer might be quite different. It was probably a good thing I got an early night, because at 6am the crew woke me up by banging on the door, as it was almost docking time!
STOCKHOLM
I disembarked just as the sun was coming up. We were at a port somewhere in the city, and there were buses waiting to take passengers into the city centre. I didn’t have any Swedish Kronor and couldn’t be bothered negotiating a solution so I just decided to walk. My backpack was starting to get heavy (thanks to a recent addition of a one litre bottle of Finlandia vodka from the boat) but what the hell. So I walked and walked and, after getting lost and getting directions, I eventually found my way to City Backpackers.
It was one of the best hostels I have ever stayed in. The main reception shares its space with the cafe, which serves strong coffee and delicious sandwiches. Beyond the cafe reception area is a courtyard which I imagine would be great in summer. The rooms were nothing special but the common areas were plentiful and very social. And the location was perfect, right in the city, near shopping, eating and public transport.
I spent my few days wandering the city and the old town, going from island to island (Stockholm is apparently a third parkland, a third water and a third developed) and riding the tunnelbana.
VIKING SAUNA
I didn’t think I would be capable of getting into the water of a frozen lake through a hole in the ice. It was an interesting challenge, and if the Finns can do it, so can I, I decided. I was a bit scared but descended the ladder into the water, and it was surprisingly bearable. For a few seconds anyway. I wasn’t as brave as the German blokes who went in butt naked - they weren’t even worried about shrinkage!
This was in the middle of a forest near t he outskirts of Stockholm. One of the hostel staff took us to this forest on some local buses, guided us through a 20 minute walk through the woods, to find a beautiful frozen lake with an old wood-fired sauna hut on the banks.
We spent hours hanging out in the sauna, jumping into the lake, and chilling out in the sunshine on the banks, enjoying the beautiful scenery of the sparkling icy lake in the woods. After enduring the freezing water, it felt like nothing could make me cold. I even walked happily bare foot on the snow on the lake It does help knowing you have a hot sauna to warm up in!
JUMBOHOSTEL
I left City Backpackers and caught a commuter train and bus out to the airport (I was to cheap to pay for the airport coach or train), where I checked in for a night in the very unique JumboHostel. I was a bit annoyed about leaving my newly found friends and heading out to the airport where there was nothing to do but I had promised myself that if I was ever in Stockholm I would stay in this Boeing 747 which has been converted into a hostel.
It was actually probably the most luxurious hostel I had ever stayed in. I booked a 3 person dorm but got a 2 person room to myself. The sheets were made, there was a towel waiting for me and there was a flat screen TV on the wall. You don’t get that in hostel dorms every day!
Overall though the place (despite being sparkling clean and new) was dead! It didn’t really have any charm once you got over the novelty of being in a plane, and there wasn’t really anyone around or anything to do. Would be perfect for a first night after flying in late, though.
INTERNATIONAL TRAIN
I checked out of the Jumbo and headed back into the city. I boarded an X2000 train and spent the next 5 hours watching the scenery go from white to green as I headed to Denmark.
The final part of the journey was going over the Oresund Bridge, which I had seen from the plane days earlier. You couldn’t see much but it was certainly an interesting way to cross an international border; crossing a strait half way by massive bridge and half way by tunnel, with a man-made island in the middle.
COPENHAGEN
I thought it would be warmer in Copenhagen as I was significantly further south than Stockholm. But as I emerged from the station I was hit by piercing cold wind and drizzle. I was happy to get to my surprisingly high rise hostel. It was a massive building with some 14 floors and many rooms on each one. It was no typical backpackers; with families, conference attendees and big groups of Germans amongst the typical backpacker riff raff.
As it turned out, I ended up in a room with 2 other Melburnians. One was working in a classy hotel in London and full of stories of celebrity guests, and the other was a guitar playing making a living in Copenhagen busking. So although Being with Melburnians posed to be uninteresting, it was actually quite the opposite.
My days were spent sightseeing, and I even took in a museum (due to bad weather of course). My nights were spent drinking though somehow I managed to end up in an Irish pub both nights. It doesn’t matter where you go in the world, you always seem to pulled in by those Irish.
Overall, Copenhagen seemed the most relaxed of the Scandinavian cities I had seen, and had a really good vibe about it. It wasn’t as pretty as I had thought. Don’t get me wrong, there are some really amazing sites, but you do have to look for them amongst a surprisingly industrial city.
RETURN TO LONDON
Copenhagen airport is a quick train ride from the city. The airport was undoubtedly the nicest airport terminal I have ever been in. Once through security, you are greeted by a huge terminal area with boutique stores, dim mood lighting, quiet relaxation zones, and even a teenage lounge. Not a bad airport to have to wait for your plane.
My BA flight back to London was great. Despite the rain I had endured in Copenhagen earlier that day, it was a completely clear night, and as we flew over Denmark, Germany and Belgium I had a clear view and stared out of the window at all the lights of the various cities passing underneath.
Once we crossed the English Channel, the lights became more compacted and brighter, showing the dense population of Great Britain.
Unfortunately, once over the Thames estuary, we started circling. And did so for about the next twenty minutes, as we waited for our turn to Land at Heathrow.
Environmentalists object to the building of a third runway at Heathrow, but I wonder if they’ve considered the pollution caused by the repeated circling of planes waiting to land?
Eventually we broke the cycle, and approached London to land. As I was getting ready to watch the light-up sights from the sky... cloud cover! Typical London!
NEW LIFE
The day after getting back I started my new job in a great company. Not working in a law firm makes for a more relaxed life, and I’ve finally got a job that is both interesting and really utilises the things I am good at. It allows me to use my legal education and experience with some of my more techy skills, and best of all, involves a bit of travel. I am finishing writing this blog instalment on a train from Newcastle in the North of England, as I had back to London on a sunny day, enjoying the sights of the green fields, and the trees finally starting to go green after a long, cold winter.
Now, London Heathrow is Europe’s busiest airport, probably one of the world’s most busiest. Yet it only has 2 runways. They are planning to extend, and I hope they do, despite the protests by the environmentalists. There’s only so much waiting on the tarmac to take off, behind dozens of planes (Finnair have screens in the plane which show you what’s going on ahead of the plane thanks to a camera on the nose) you can do before you get a bit fed up.
Once in the air, the trip was smooth, although I did have my first taste of Scandinavia’s rather conservative attitude towards alcohol. I was surprised, upon ordering a vodka and OJ on this certainly international flight, that I was asked for 5 Euros. It was 11:30 in the morning, I said the OJ will be fine, and enjoyed the strangely un-Finnish hot curry for lunch.
It was a cloudy morning and I didn’t see much out of the plane. About half way through, when I noticed a gap in the clouds, I looked through and was thrilled to see a massive long Bridge, clearly visible form high up. It was the Oresund bridge-tunnel, connecting Denmark with Sweden. As soon as we passed, the clouds reassembled, and we didn’t break through the clouds again until seconds before hitting the tarmac in Helsinki. The moment we broke through the clouds, I was amazed as to just how much white there was everywhere. The land was completely covered with lots of snow, only the runways at the airport were just barely cleared. We landed smoothly and taxied towards the terminal, as snow plows whizzed around us on the tarmac.
We disembarked using the stairs, and the moment I stepped outside, I knew I was somewhere much more arctic than I was used to. As the snow hit my face and the cold breeze chilled my skin, I ran in to the bus to the terminal.
HELSINKI
I caught the Finnair airport bus to the city and the moment I stepped off the bus, I had a bloke talking to me.
“Excuse me mate,” he said, “are you Australian?”
Turns out he was an Aussie too, and had been working at a farm in somewhere in Finland, doing something with horses. He seemed excited to see the Aussie flag, pointed me in the right direction, and recommended the local Aussie Bar. I went on to the station to meet Livia (who had visited London just a few weeks earlier) and we hiked through the snow to our hostel at the Olympic Stadium.
The next couple of days were spent wondering Helsinki, checking out the buildings and taking in the rather different atmosphere of everything being snow-covered. We caught a boat through the frozen harbour to the islands of Suomenlinna, where we wandered in the peaceful, quiet villages, enjoying the sights of the frozen sea all around.
We visited the Swiss embassy to take care of Livia’s passport business, and enjoyed frozen supermarket meals, the words on the packing of which we could not understand. We went out to a number of bars, from Aussie to Irish to metal bars. Not sure what a traditional Finnish bar is like... didn’t really see any. The bar crawl was largely inspired by an Aussie girl we met in our hostel who was trying to find a bar job. I thought she was really brave, having decided to move to Finland and make a living, without speaking a word of Finnish. Naturally I was happy to help out by coming along to a few pubs.
TAMPERE
Livia and I headed North of Helsinki on a train, and the density of civilization soon thinned out. On the train we saw snow, frozen lakes, trees and more snow.
Upon arrival in Tampere, a small city a few hours North of Helsinki, we were greeted by Livia’s English and Dutch friends who had come to hang out with us in the town for the day. We explored the city, but soon the freezing cold was too much for us and we headed to the train station.
I was impressed by the consistency of the snow; I had never seen snow like it. All the snow I had experienced in the past melted or at least became muddy slush when it was trampled over or driven over lots. Here, it was so cold that the snow stayed powdery, even on the roads. It just turned a strange shade of light sandy brown.
JYVASKYLA
We caught a train further up north, to Livia and her friends’ temporary home of Jyvaskyla.
It was a pretty small city and all of the international students seemed to live in one of 2 student villages composing of a series of high rise buildings. The apartments were tiny but more than adequate. Livia and her network of exchange students made me feel right at home, and invited me to all their social gatherings, including a reggae party at the uni the first night. The next few nights were spent partying with the international mix twenty year olds and spending the days hiking through the snow to the uni or to the town’s sights.
Ice skating seemed to be a big part of life here. Probably, because there is not much else to do when everything is covered with snow and ice. The huge lake in the middle of the town is one giant ice skating rink, I think 3 kilometers in distance around. But smaller icerinks are everywhere, including right in the student village. I borrowed some skates from a Dutchman and gave it a go as well... third attempt this winter but still no good!
TURKU
After 3 nights enjoying the student lifestyle, it was time to move on. I boarded a train to Turku and four hours (and a lot of snowy scenery) later I was on the Southwest coast of Finland.
Upon disembarking from my train, I had a few hours to kill before I had to be in the port. I could catch a bus from the station to port, but that would leave me just sitting there. So instead, I strapped the backpack in, and went on a long walk through the city centre, along the frozen, snow covered, river and eventually to the port. It was a nice evening for a walk, after all, it was about +0.8C.
VIKING BOAT RIDE
The ship was a large ferry and the crossing was overnight. The actual ride was very smooth and it was barely noticeable that we were at sea. So no sea sickness! I had my own cabin and after dinner and some duty-free shopping, I soon retired to my cabin to rest, exhausted.
I had expectations of it being a bit of a party boat, but it was mainly just families and middle-aged couples, who weren’t doing much partying at all. I imagine a Saturday night in the summer might be quite different. It was probably a good thing I got an early night, because at 6am the crew woke me up by banging on the door, as it was almost docking time!
STOCKHOLM
I disembarked just as the sun was coming up. We were at a port somewhere in the city, and there were buses waiting to take passengers into the city centre. I didn’t have any Swedish Kronor and couldn’t be bothered negotiating a solution so I just decided to walk. My backpack was starting to get heavy (thanks to a recent addition of a one litre bottle of Finlandia vodka from the boat) but what the hell. So I walked and walked and, after getting lost and getting directions, I eventually found my way to City Backpackers.
It was one of the best hostels I have ever stayed in. The main reception shares its space with the cafe, which serves strong coffee and delicious sandwiches. Beyond the cafe reception area is a courtyard which I imagine would be great in summer. The rooms were nothing special but the common areas were plentiful and very social. And the location was perfect, right in the city, near shopping, eating and public transport.
I spent my few days wandering the city and the old town, going from island to island (Stockholm is apparently a third parkland, a third water and a third developed) and riding the tunnelbana.
VIKING SAUNA
I didn’t think I would be capable of getting into the water of a frozen lake through a hole in the ice. It was an interesting challenge, and if the Finns can do it, so can I, I decided. I was a bit scared but descended the ladder into the water, and it was surprisingly bearable. For a few seconds anyway. I wasn’t as brave as the German blokes who went in butt naked - they weren’t even worried about shrinkage!
This was in the middle of a forest near t he outskirts of Stockholm. One of the hostel staff took us to this forest on some local buses, guided us through a 20 minute walk through the woods, to find a beautiful frozen lake with an old wood-fired sauna hut on the banks.
We spent hours hanging out in the sauna, jumping into the lake, and chilling out in the sunshine on the banks, enjoying the beautiful scenery of the sparkling icy lake in the woods. After enduring the freezing water, it felt like nothing could make me cold. I even walked happily bare foot on the snow on the lake It does help knowing you have a hot sauna to warm up in!
JUMBOHOSTEL
I left City Backpackers and caught a commuter train and bus out to the airport (I was to cheap to pay for the airport coach or train), where I checked in for a night in the very unique JumboHostel. I was a bit annoyed about leaving my newly found friends and heading out to the airport where there was nothing to do but I had promised myself that if I was ever in Stockholm I would stay in this Boeing 747 which has been converted into a hostel.
It was actually probably the most luxurious hostel I had ever stayed in. I booked a 3 person dorm but got a 2 person room to myself. The sheets were made, there was a towel waiting for me and there was a flat screen TV on the wall. You don’t get that in hostel dorms every day!
Overall though the place (despite being sparkling clean and new) was dead! It didn’t really have any charm once you got over the novelty of being in a plane, and there wasn’t really anyone around or anything to do. Would be perfect for a first night after flying in late, though.
INTERNATIONAL TRAIN
I checked out of the Jumbo and headed back into the city. I boarded an X2000 train and spent the next 5 hours watching the scenery go from white to green as I headed to Denmark.
The final part of the journey was going over the Oresund Bridge, which I had seen from the plane days earlier. You couldn’t see much but it was certainly an interesting way to cross an international border; crossing a strait half way by massive bridge and half way by tunnel, with a man-made island in the middle.
COPENHAGEN
I thought it would be warmer in Copenhagen as I was significantly further south than Stockholm. But as I emerged from the station I was hit by piercing cold wind and drizzle. I was happy to get to my surprisingly high rise hostel. It was a massive building with some 14 floors and many rooms on each one. It was no typical backpackers; with families, conference attendees and big groups of Germans amongst the typical backpacker riff raff.
As it turned out, I ended up in a room with 2 other Melburnians. One was working in a classy hotel in London and full of stories of celebrity guests, and the other was a guitar playing making a living in Copenhagen busking. So although Being with Melburnians posed to be uninteresting, it was actually quite the opposite.
My days were spent sightseeing, and I even took in a museum (due to bad weather of course). My nights were spent drinking though somehow I managed to end up in an Irish pub both nights. It doesn’t matter where you go in the world, you always seem to pulled in by those Irish.
Overall, Copenhagen seemed the most relaxed of the Scandinavian cities I had seen, and had a really good vibe about it. It wasn’t as pretty as I had thought. Don’t get me wrong, there are some really amazing sites, but you do have to look for them amongst a surprisingly industrial city.
RETURN TO LONDON
Copenhagen airport is a quick train ride from the city. The airport was undoubtedly the nicest airport terminal I have ever been in. Once through security, you are greeted by a huge terminal area with boutique stores, dim mood lighting, quiet relaxation zones, and even a teenage lounge. Not a bad airport to have to wait for your plane.
My BA flight back to London was great. Despite the rain I had endured in Copenhagen earlier that day, it was a completely clear night, and as we flew over Denmark, Germany and Belgium I had a clear view and stared out of the window at all the lights of the various cities passing underneath.
Once we crossed the English Channel, the lights became more compacted and brighter, showing the dense population of Great Britain.
Unfortunately, once over the Thames estuary, we started circling. And did so for about the next twenty minutes, as we waited for our turn to Land at Heathrow.
Environmentalists object to the building of a third runway at Heathrow, but I wonder if they’ve considered the pollution caused by the repeated circling of planes waiting to land?
Eventually we broke the cycle, and approached London to land. As I was getting ready to watch the light-up sights from the sky... cloud cover! Typical London!
NEW LIFE
The day after getting back I started my new job in a great company. Not working in a law firm makes for a more relaxed life, and I’ve finally got a job that is both interesting and really utilises the things I am good at. It allows me to use my legal education and experience with some of my more techy skills, and best of all, involves a bit of travel. I am finishing writing this blog instalment on a train from Newcastle in the North of England, as I had back to London on a sunny day, enjoying the sights of the green fields, and the trees finally starting to go green after a long, cold winter.
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