CallumElsdon.com

HEL of a journey

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A trip report from London to Helsinki, Finland and Tallinn, Estonia

Kiitos Suomi! A short family getaway to the eastern Nordic utopia of Finland during August of 2019. Home of never-ending blue skies, fresh air and my favourite chocolate found anywhere in the globe – this trip to the capital, Helsinki, was unexpectedly great.

Why Helsinki, you may ask, and not Stockholm, Oslo or Copenhagen? In October 2018, I flew Finnair to Hong Kong on their A350 connecting through Helsinki Airport. Although it was only a short connection, the airport impressed me having just come from the chaotic and crowded Terminal 3 at London Heathrow (alas, no Lounge access at the time). Of course when one is in Finland for only a few hours you:

  • find somewhere to eat Reindeer (sorry…)
  • try Blueberry Juice
  • savour some Karl Fazer chocolate

Having been impressed by both Finnair & Helsinki Airport (FYI: far better than British Airways!) I wanted to make a return visit to the capital for a few days to immerse myself more in the Finnish culture and to see if the country was as nice as what I had briefly encountered almost a year earlier.

This trip report will cover (links to be added once published):

  • Finnair flight AY1340 on Airbus A321 in Economy Class from London Heathrow Terminal 3 to Helsinki Airport
  • Finding your way from the Airport to Helsinki City Centre
  • Hotel Indigo (part of IHG), Helsinki – Boulevard
  • What to do in Helsinki?
  • Suomenlinna Island
  • #1 Café experience in Helsinki – Fazer Cafe
  • Day trip to Tallinn, Estonia
  • Tallink Silja Ferry ride to/from Helsinki <=> Tallinn
  • Hilton Hotel at Helsinki Airport
  • Finnair Business Lounge at Helsinki Airport
  • How to score a reduced business class upgrade for the second time
  • Finnair flight AY1331 on the flagship Airbus A350 in Business Class from Helsinki Airport to London Heathrow Terminal 3

Come join me for a trip when borders were truly open, masks were definitely not a thing and when life was seemingly more quaint.

Comments

3 responses to “HEL of a journey”

  1. nsnunag avatar
    nsnunag

    Nice, I want to know more, hope to collaborate soon!

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  2. Finnoy Travel avatar
    Finnoy Travel

    So many interesting Finland-related posts on your site, that’s really nice. Curious to read your Helsinki trip report when it has been published. Many people head to Stockholm first because Swedes are excellent in marketing their beautiful capital.

    Btw, Karl Fazer chocolate is made of real milk. Not of milk powder that many other companies use. The real milk is one of the secret of its soft taste. Some people prefer darker chocolate and find that Fazer products contain too much milk.

    Hopefully, you visited Fazer Cafe at Kluuvikatu. It’s the the real and original Fazer shop. Fazer Factory in Vantaa is also open for visitors.

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    1. Callum Elsdon avatar
      Callum Elsdon

      Thank you again! The dearth of Finland content is a combination of starting the blog during Covid & Finland being one of my last pre-Covid trip. Recently I’ve had more Finnair content thanks to their new business class and wanting to try it to LHR.

      And yes! I’ve been to Fazer Cafe twice now, it is so good!

      I will have more Finnish related content in future namely-Covering Finnair Plus – particularly from a UK point of viewFinnair A350 original Business Class to SeoulFinnair A350 new Business Class to SingaporeOver the next 8 months!

      And imho, Helsinki is better than Stockholm 🇫🇮🇫🇮🇫🇮

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