Finland with a Twist

Are mushrooms supposed to taste like this?

My flight from Brussels to Helsinki, Finland, was at 6 a.m. I opted to stay up and out on the town until one in the morning, and then I would make my way to the airport. It was eventful.

First, I could not find which tram I was supposed to use to get to the train station. When I finally did get there, I went to board the train, and there was a man in an apparent mental crisis.

I felt for him, but it was also midnight, and I was a woman at a train station in a foreign country. My intuition pushed me towards a group of people also waiting for the train. Finally, the train arrived. The conductor got off and immediately walked over to the man.

I boarded the train and sat down. Just then, the conductor walked by. I asked if the man was okay. He told me he was there every night because he slept at the airport. Oh, I thought, I guess we will be bunk mates tonight because I did not book a hotel. I figured I would just stay at the airport.

When I got there, I was really surprised to see everything shut down. Only one man was there working on those floor cleaner machines. He spun around the airport like a ballerina in The Nutcracker, and me? I spent the night trying to sleep at the airport in Brussels.

When I finally got on the plane, I crashed hard to Helsinki. I arrived around 10 a.m. and made my way to the hostel. When I got there, I felt settled and quiet, which was nice considering I had been in an arena and backstage the night before. All this did not stop me from getting out into the city.

First, I visited the iconic Senate Square, surrounded by stunning neoclassical buildings, including the impressive Helsinki Cathedral. Next, I stopped at Market Square, which had local delicacies and crafts. Then I visited the Temppeliaukio Church, also known as the Rock Church, famous for its unique architecture carved directly into solid rock.

After some photographs of me and Santa, I went to the "Chapel of Silence." It is a very modern-looking structure but doesn't hold any holy events. It is designed to be a calming, tranquil space.

I love the idea that this womblike structure exists amongst all the noise. It is simply there to provide some peace and quiet. I walked in, lit a candle, and sat silently for an hour—a silence I didn't know I needed until I was there.

I signed up for a guided tour of Nuuksio National Park the following day. The guide and one other woman from Australia showed up. For six hours, we hiked through the dense forest loaded with mushrooms. Both of them tolerated my obsessive need to photograph every flipping mushroom.

When we returned, it was still daylight, so I hopped on the ferry and headed to the Suomenlinna Sea Fortress. You can read more about its history here. Also, if you are a paid subscriber, you can watch my take on it below.