Saturday 20 January 2024

A balmy -12c today. Too cold for snow but Flashy’s old Alaskan bank robber neck roll came out to go under the trapper hat. He looks like something out of South Park. You can tell when it gets below -6c, you can feel it on your cheeks.

However, off we went by trusty tram into the ferry terminal area to marvel at the frozen sea and wander about the outdoor market with the locals. A couple of the tents were serving refreshing beverages and the two famous Finnish dishes – meat pies and hot dogs.

We noticed a number of men, women and kids emerging from the public sauna and immersing themselves in the icy sea water. We forgot to bring our reindeer-skin mat to sit on in the sauna, so had to give it a miss. Went to a nice bar for a coffee and a beer though. A pint of the local brew was very good.

Since the sun was out in full, even if only for the next three hours, we went for a walk to build up the step count. A visit to a nearby Orthodox Cathedral was - as expected. One per trip is enough, I reckon.

Now off to find the indoor market. We did. It was an expensive collection of shops and little restaurants/café/bistrot sort of thing. Beautifully laid out but expensive. We did have a nice lunch of traditional Finnish salmon soup (lohikietto), although here of course, they just call it salmon soup and an Irish coffee with a cinnamon bun. Lady P bought a pastry which is only made by one baker in Helsinki. Fried sweet pastry a bit like a donut (tippaleipa) – how good is that going to be?

There are a lot of sales on in the shops at the moment. Flashy keeps getting confused, as the Finns put out their advertising signs saying “Ale” No “S” very confusing when one is desirous of a cooling drink.

Anyway, we finally found a dress shirt for the Chaine formal dinner, picked up a couple of Bordeaux reds and a loaf of bread and headed home to make chilli and garlic pumpkin soup.

-12c outside. They closed the beer garden!

Lady P checks the temp on her flash watch (you'll have to zoom in). Also note it is well past 11 am, so a beer is in order.

 

Salmon soup, large cinnamon bun and an Irish coffee

Blue sky, sunshine, locals promenading along the Esplanadi

The Finnish version of a donut