Although breezy, I was grateful for the bright and sunny day after the horrible rain the day before. Two members of our group decided to join me for an audio bus tour of the city. We climbed aboard the bright red Panorama bus at the Esplanade Park, a short walk from the Market Square and Sightseeing ticket office for the 11 am tour. Once nestled in our seats we were instructed to put on our seat belts, headphones, choose our language and enjoy the ride. A deep sultry male voice came through the headphones providing us with some interesting information about the city in English although I was tempted to hear it in another language.
The bus took us through the city center, pass the Finlandia Hall, the Opera House and the Temppeliaukio(Rock) Church. After about 40 minutes or so we had a brief stop at the Sibelius (composer of Finlandia) Monument to stretch our legs and capture a few pictures before we were off again for Esplanade Park. I would recommend the bus tour to anyone with lots of small children and individuals with limited mobility.
Back at Esplanade Park we were confident we could now navigate around the city and took bus 24 headed for Seurasaari Open Air Museum Island. We laughed and giggled like school girls while pointing out locations from our tour of the city. At Seurasaari, we learned about past Finnish way of life while exploring various buildings that were relocated to Seurasaari from other parts of Finland.
The highlight of my visit to Seurasaari Island was the discovery of Ravintola Seurasaari. In a quaint café, on a hill with a nice view of the water below. There I feasted on a yummy open face sandwich called Skagenröra(Swedish Shrimp Salad) and sipped on warm tea. The restaurant staff was very polite while suggesting a few items for us to try and even assisted with taking our photo. Given another visit, I would try the meatballs and mashed potatoes served with ligonberry sauce or the salmon soup.
After a delightful meal we headed back to the city via bus 24 and had a quick tour of the Kiasma museum. At Kiasma I learned everything and anything could be art and one has to be extremely open-minded and receptive to the exhibits.
Did you know…
Members of the Lutheran Church in Finland have to pay a church tax? The tax is taken directly from a person’s pay check.
Over 60% of Finns are members of the Lutheran Church.
There are over 2 million saunas in Finland?
The President house is used for administrative purposes only and the president lives elsewhere.
The bus took us through the city center, pass the Finlandia Hall, the Opera House and the Temppeliaukio(Rock) Church. After about 40 minutes or so we had a brief stop at the Sibelius (composer of Finlandia) Monument to stretch our legs and capture a few pictures before we were off again for Esplanade Park. I would recommend the bus tour to anyone with lots of small children and individuals with limited mobility.
Back at Esplanade Park we were confident we could now navigate around the city and took bus 24 headed for Seurasaari Open Air Museum Island. We laughed and giggled like school girls while pointing out locations from our tour of the city. At Seurasaari, we learned about past Finnish way of life while exploring various buildings that were relocated to Seurasaari from other parts of Finland.
The highlight of my visit to Seurasaari Island was the discovery of Ravintola Seurasaari. In a quaint café, on a hill with a nice view of the water below. There I feasted on a yummy open face sandwich called Skagenröra(Swedish Shrimp Salad) and sipped on warm tea. The restaurant staff was very polite while suggesting a few items for us to try and even assisted with taking our photo. Given another visit, I would try the meatballs and mashed potatoes served with ligonberry sauce or the salmon soup.
After a delightful meal we headed back to the city via bus 24 and had a quick tour of the Kiasma museum. At Kiasma I learned everything and anything could be art and one has to be extremely open-minded and receptive to the exhibits.
Did you know…
Members of the Lutheran Church in Finland have to pay a church tax? The tax is taken directly from a person’s pay check.
Over 60% of Finns are members of the Lutheran Church.
There are over 2 million saunas in Finland?
The President house is used for administrative purposes only and the president lives elsewhere.