Helsinki in 12 stops

There is nothing better for re-discovering your city, the same as a tourist do, that trying to find things that you didn't think they were there before.

This is what we have done in my favourite flickr group "La Vuelta al Mundo". In different parts of the world, we have been looking for the same 12 objects, trying to show the city where we are living.

I have to admit it, while I was reading the list of objects, I was thinking: this is not possible, Helsinki does not have this.

But, as it has happened before, Helsinki has surprised me and now, I know new small pieces of this city that always have been there, although I was not aware of them.

Do you want to visit Helsinki with me?

The first treasure was a bell tower. As a Spanish, I am used to see them everywhere, but here is not so easy. They have churches, of course, many of them with towers, but I haven't seen any of them with a bell singing in the heights.

But they have. At least one. And it is located near the Lutheran cathedral, just in a place I have been passing by all the time.



We continue with signals in the streets.



These are located in an island that is part of Helsinki, Seurassari. It is an open air museum where you can find many typical Finish buildings at their real size. You can also feed the squirrels or enjoy a walk surrounded by nature.

And following the sea sore, I found the third treasure: a bridge.

At the end of this bridge you can take a boat that bring you to one of the many islands just in front of Helsinki. A pleasure.

And when the sun sets, the best time for it, I started to look for my fourth treasure: a kiss.



There are lovers everywhere, this for sure, but not so many kissing in the middle of the street.
At least not in Helsinki and just in front my camera.

What I was able to find was a coloured door.

My treasure number 5 was in an old ship container that is being used now for hiding the trash containers in one of my favourite pubs Korjamo.

Do you come with us for a jazz evening underneath the starts?

Also we can go shopping. Helsinki is well known for the Finish design, but there are many other things to discover. As the shop that counts as my treasure number 6: a window shop.



Here you can find beautiful objects hand made by Finish artists. I would buy everything.

And not far from there my treasure number 7: a fence.



Don't you love the light that we have in Summer?

We have light until really late at night. During June, there are days when it is not even dark.

This is why it is possible to take this picture at 10 pm.

When I found my treasure number 8: an hydrant, I could not believe it. There is not such a thing in the new buildings, but I found an old one just between both Cathedrals. Can you seen the Lutheran Cathedral in the back?

Treasure number 9, found me. We were in a park, listening a concert and she was there, dancing with her baby.

I clicked and there it was my unknown girl.



Half an hour later, he was not unknown any more. Raquel, if you are reading this, your little girl is the prettiest in the world.

One of the most difficult treasures was the mail box.

In Helsinki, the postman has every building key, so you receive your letters in your front door. But this fancy restaurant put this mail box only to make me happy.

Treasure number 11 was a cultural one. We had to find letters on the ground.



My Finish is really bad, if this is Finish, but the funniest thing is that I used to pass by thousands of times over them and never seen them before.

And the last challenge was to take a picture of a vespa.



Helsinki is not a place where everybody has a motorbike, like Barcelona. Winter is really cold and Summer is not always so sunny, so the only two wheels kind of vehicle that we have here is a bicycle.

But as only looking for something you can find it, this is my treasure number 12.

Do you like this new point of view for visiting Helsinki?

If you like it, just click here and following the links you can travel all around the world and check how my colleagues of LVM see their cities in 12 stops.

I wish you enjoy it, Espero que lo disfrutéis, buccaneers.

LVM is a group where we speak in Spanish, but if you want to join us, I will be happy to translate our challenges to you. It is the funniest way to visit your city with other eyes.