Summer in Helsinki
24 Jul 2023 - Austin Shen
Summer in Helsinki was one of my favourite things of this year so far. The longest days, perfect weather (which is not 40 degrees that we’re used to from Perth), lake swimming in tasty fresh water, long runs in nature, the public sauna, and happy people everywhere. Nights where the sun wouldn’t entirely set, and instead we’d get this beautiful twilight glow that last until morning. Easy long days and late nights with friends - such a good time. Absolutely makes sense that Europe does no work in their summer!
Ruby and I snuck in a trip to Sweden to celebrate our 1 year anniversary! There was a bit of drama getting there - I didn’t bring my passport to the ferry terminal. I was so incredibly excited for the overnight cruise. The boat was to leave at sunset, giving us perfect views of the islands around Finland, and arriving in Stockholm nice and early the following moring after a relaxing sleep in our comfortable cabin. We would then have the entire day to explore the new city, no airplanes or airports required – what a way to travel. But as we queued to board, we noticed that everyone, even the local-looking people around us, were pulling out their passports. And sure enough I got to the front, they rejected my foreign drivers licence as ID, and didn’t let us get on the boat. Ruby had her passport so she went on without me lol. That was a joke – I made her miss her nice cruise over as well. Anyway it was fine in the end. Afterwards we relaxed at a cafe, booked flights the next day to get to Stockholm by mid-day, enjoyed the rooftop sauna and a nice dinner that evening.
The couple of days in Stockholm over the weekend were a treat. We watched a Swedish top-league football match between top teams – great atmosphere, packed stadium, and high-quality football. Then, we visited a few museums too as you do in Europe. The only one I can remember is the Nobel Prize museum, which was very educational. That night we stayed at a nice hotel, and had the best breakfast buffet there the morning after. The next day was a relaxing one too – we just walked around town enjoying the yummy baked goods, coffee, and vintage stores. To wrap it all up, we managed to board the return ferry (I noticed they didn’t check our passports this time), enjoyed beautiful sunset views of the islands with a long drink in hand on the lookout deck, delicious steaks for dins, and a comfortable sleep in a cosy cabin as we slowly made our way back to Helsinki.