Finland is my first stop in my 2017 European travel plans. It was my first time in Helsinki and Porvoo as well as in the "Baltic" states region. I mistakenly thought that Finland was "Scandinavian" country, but that designation is reserved for Norway, Sweden, and Denmark. However, Finland would be included along with Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Iceland would be considered "Nordic" countries. Just wanted to share that especially for people not familiar with that region.
The First Time I Landed in Helsinki, Finland
The weather in Finland was actually below average in terms of temperature. For the people who live in Finland, it was still warm to them, but coming from Hawaii ... 8C during the day is pretty cold for me. What trips me out is it's the furthest north I've traveled. So having come during the first week of June, I kept tripping out on how the sunlight never went away. Sunset in Helsinki is more or less around 11PM at night. I stayed up one night just to see if the sunlight would ever disappear, but it never does. I remember it getting lighter again by 3:30AM.
Overall Helsinki Impressions
For European city, Helsinki is pretty small. I flew in from Chicago to Helsinki with Finnair and the train from the airport to city center was easy and seamless.
I stayed at an Airbnb in the Punavuori around the center of Helsinki. I literally could walk around the entire city by foot in one day. There is street level trams to get you around the city faster, but it's really not necessary for visitors if you choose not to.
The one thing I noticed with Helsinki is that it lacked much of "city identity". Most European city centers would be quite known for something, but with Helsinki, as I walked around the city, I couldn't wrap my mind around what makes Helsinki .. well Helsinki. Turns out, I find out from some local Finns that Helsinki is relatively new city compared to the neighboring Finn cities like Turku (which was the historic capital of Finland).
The local Finns tell me that overall, Finland can be described as a bit bland and/or boring .. but from my point of view ... that doesn't make the people living in Helsinki anything but boring. Yes, there may not be as much interesting outdoor architecture compared to other cities like Rome, Paris, or Barcelona. However, there is a thriving creative community that lives in Helsinki and evident in seeing the kind of art at Kiasma Modern Art musuem and the Airbnb place I stay, the neighborhood of Punavuori is quite hip. I even randomly found a bitcoin machine in a women's thrift shop 2 blocks away from where I was staying. Pretty neat!
Some Places I Recommend in Helsinki:
Sori Taproom
Vuorikatu 16, 00100 Helsinki, Finland
Great place for local Finnish beer.
A21 Helsinki Oy
Annankatu 21, 00100 Helsinki, Finland
Eclectic place to enjoy and grab local Finnish cocktails.
Kiasma
Mannerheiminaukio 2, 00100 Helsinki, Finland
Modern art musuem with funky and at times, strange art in Helsinki center.
Suomenlinna Fortress
Historic sea fortress just off of Helsinki on an island. Daily short ferries get you from Helsinki harbour over to Suomenlinna Island. There's also an outdoor market where local Finns sell fish and some street food.
Overall, Helsinki can be completed with maximum of 2 days. Most visitors and travels usually pass by Helsinki on the way to neighboring Finn city such as Turku, Porvoo, or Laplands (Northern Finland). Also Helsinki is a great point to also visit Tallinn, Estonia via a one-hour ferry and the longer cruise ship towards St. Petersburg, Russia.
My Side Trip to Porvoo, Finland
While I was in Helsinki, I was able to meet up with another fellow digital nomad friend 
The place has a small town charm, with plenty of open space and area to bike around. The day that I went was still cold, but I can imagine that Porvoo would fill out especially towards end of June to beginning of August as the Finn summer getaway.
Porvoo is a nice place if you wanted to get away from Helsinki and simply see a countryside town in Finland.
The Finns Love Their Saunas
They say there's almost a sauna for every 1.5 Finnish person in the country. The Airbnb place I booked had a sauna inside the large bathroom. The night that I stayed up just to see if the sunlight ever disappeared, I took a 30 minute sauna. Having come in a little bit sick on the long red-eye flight, the moisture and heat really did help with clearing out my sinuses and helping me sleep and readjust to the new time zone.
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Have you traveled to Finland before?
What do you suggest that I missed out in Helsinki, Porvoo, or Finland in general?
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Feel free to see my full 2017 European travel plans.
Next Location >> Stockholm, Sweden
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