day 045

// stacks of soup ready to be served at a soup-only shop in hakaniemen kauppahalli.



// pretty gold cup and saucer at the arabia musuem.



// another one.



// bisque porcelain with designs inside and out.



// display of new flower designs by fujiwo ishimoto



// the handsome face across from me at fancy dinner #4 of helsinki.



// me, in my go-to lbd.

day 044

// a favie breakfast: rye, butter, cured salmon, cloudberry jam, cheese, squeaky cheese



// some sightseeing at helsinki cathedral



// fancy dinner #3 of helsinki ... just look at that massive mountain of butter!

day 043

// moved into apt #2 of helsinki



// this is just the kitchen, dining and living areas. there were also a separate sitting room, bedroom and large bathroom. cool digs.



// did some scouting of local design houses. hello, marimekko!



// as well as a few small local shops. here, pino.



// dinner: finland's own hesburger. soooo disappointingly bland and unsatisfying, even with the extra dipping sauces.



// it was necessary to supplement with some kebab.

day 042

// we went to stockmann to check out their crazy days sale, where if we couldn't find something, we probably didn't need it anyway



// apparently, their mascot is huhuu, which we thought was a little silly



// until we met him!! who doesn't love huhuu?!



// another home-cooked meal after a long day of shopping

day 041

// breakfast made with provisions from juuren puoti: rye bread, cloudberry jam and local butter



// and we took a break from fine dining that evening, with some home cooking

days 39 and 40

// we settled into our first helsinki apartment quickly. this would be our home for the next four days.



// the other side.



// 5 degrees out. not bad.



// first order of business, a fancy dinner out.



// i know, how very downton of us.

// // //



// the next day, we encounter our first finnish soup at juuri. it may be difficult to gauge the size of that bowl, but let me tell you, it was large and deep.



// and just next door, a cute little neighborhood grocery (juuren puoti) with local and organic goods, which was surprisingly a newish concept there.



// cute iron signage.



// and we finished the day with a fancy dinner #2 of helsinki

eating in heaven-sinki

here's a look at some casual traditional food we had in helsinki. again, i'll let aj cover all the fancy stuff when he's ready.

breakfast ... we picked up some tasty basics from a small local market (juuren puoti) our first day and made our own breakfast. rye bread, butter, cloudberry jam and milk. so good.





and later that week, we also added cheese, squeaky cheese and smoked salmon to the mix. the squeaky cheese is that slice of fried cheese you see, which is actually called leipäjuusto. it's a finnish type of cheese that is curdled and then baked or grilled. it can be eaten cold on its own, but we warmed ours up a bit in a pan and ate it with cloudberry jam. you'll know why it's called squeaky cheese once you chew on some.



we hear that lunch is the main meal in finland. and the most popular lunch item is soup. what, how is a bowl of soup enough for your main meal? because their bowls of soup are massive.



and they come with a surprise ... surprise! tons of veggies on the bottom.



on our last day in helsinki, we went to a spot that is open only for lunch and does only bowls of soup. they have three to choose from, and the seats where constantly being filled.



our two bowls.



my salmon soup was super good.



and again, a surprise at the bottom! there was so much, i couldn't finish it all.



and oh, this soup shop is located in hakaniemen kauppahalli, or hakaniemi market hall, where you'll find butcher stalls, baked goods, prepared foods, fish, etc. here, we have some finnish roast.



and some flintstone bones. people actually buy these, though the butcher slices them up with a bandsaw so they're more manageable. i assume they use them for soup.



we also made a stop at hesburger, finland's largest burger chain. the branding/packaging is fun, but otherwise so not worth it. not at all satisfying. you can skip it.



we had some good meals though. a highlight was the butter at olo. here's my fat pat of butter, which was also super creamy and delicious.



and here's where it came from. our server brought over the mound of butter, scooped out a chunk and smacked it down on my bread plate. the best. more places need to do this.

heaven-sinki

you might have caught snippets of our adventures in helsinki on my other blog, but in case you haven't, it's worth a quick look. i won't repeat any of the stuff over there, here.

we were in helsinki for a whole week and stayed in two different apartments. we would have stayed in just the first one, but the rest of the week was already booked.

here's a peek at our first apartment, which was actually a stand-alone hotel room. we'd highly recommend it for your next helsinki visit.



and here we are, clearly posing for two different pictures.



and our second apartment. very spacious, but not quite as fun.



as we made our way around, we thought it seemed liked a pretty dead town. apparently, everyone and their mother was at stockmann for their crazy days. two times out of the year, they hold sales where you can get something crazy like 5 tubes of toothpaste for $2. i just made that up, but you get the idea.



stockmann is finland's largest department store, and it's said that if you can't find it at stockmann, you probably don't need it.



agreed, they had all kinds of stuff there. including trolli choco banana. i was tempted to buy some, but knew it would pale in comparison to tokyo's finest.



and during crazy days, all their mannequins are covered in huhuu costumes, the window displays are draped with huhuu banners and the store is filled with huhuu balloons. who is huhuu you ask? that's who. and look at who got to meet huhuu.



and just outside on the tram platform, do you see what i see?



let's take a closer look ... a child dressed in a rainbow stripe snowsuit. i want!



and in the same general neighborhood, we come across this. i'd like to be a fly on the wall at one of their joint happy hours.



we also did a bit of traditional sightseeing. my family should recognize this, the helsinki cathedral behind senate square.



and some design sightseeing at marimekko.



and some non-traditional sightseeing, like this public restroom that was converted into a karaoke bar. i bet the acoustics are awesome.



stay tuned tomorrow for some everyday food we had. just wouldn't seem right lumping food with public restrooms.