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My Escapes Finland Helsinki Cold Helsinki Business Trip Digging Deeper to Discover Hidden Attractions

Digging Deeper to Discover Hidden Attractions

March 9, 2014
June 10, 2015

Helsinki is not at all boring and if you dig beyond the main attractions, a nuanced collection of urban treasures will open in front of you.
Here's my take on Helsinki's hidden attractions!

You obviously have to walk around a lot to discover the hidden treasures of this city and to understand more about local architecture.

So, I did walk around...


Street in Helsinki

A street view in central Helsinki

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Some of these photos were taken in the break between the two parts of the single-day conference. They let us go late in the afternoon - after lunch.


Helsinki old tram

An older tram just crossed the intersection

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I took advantage and explored the central area. And I got so carried away that I could barely make it back in time for the next session!


Ornamented building

Beautiful building in central Helsinki

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It seems, the built-in human statues depicting men holding objects or part of the facade itself is quite trendy in Helsinki.
Here below you can see another interesting example (which reminded me of those male figures at the railway station, although the style is different).

Helsinki fire station tower

Erottaja Rescue Station

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One can wander hours and hours on the streets of Helsinki and still find more and more targets to imortalize with the camera.

So, I came across this reddish-coloured fire station, which seemed to have functioned rather as an ambulance center. Several ambulances were going in and out of the yard...

It didn't look like a place where visitors roam, but rather a building in use for public services.
I've seen photos of the beautiful views from up there. If you have the change, go visit the fire tower.

Beside the Central Railway Station, which is my top architectural favourite, this fire station tower is my second most favourite attraction.

To find it, go to the Korkeavuorenkatu 26 street address... talk about long Finnish words...

The building is frequently referred to as the Korkeavuorenkatu Fire Tower, but officially the tower's name is Erottaja Rescue Station.

The same street had some other rather unusual buildings, including the thick-walled grey one below.

What comes to my mind is that probably due to extreme cold, the older buildings have such massive thick walls in Helsinki.


Decorated pillars

My favourites were those decorated pillars

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But it may simply be a characteristic of local architecture. If you know more about this thick-walled architectural style, just feel free to comment at the bottom of this page.

Thick-walled building

Fortress-like thick-walled

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The Korkeavuorenkatu Street ("katu" means "street" in Finnish) was a cobbled one.

Helsinki is one of those very few EU big cities that have lots of cobbled streets. It's an adventure driving on these, especially downhill during wet cold weather!

And Helsinki has several slopes (including in this area), extremely cold weather, plenty or rain, ice, snow... so, I can imagine how it must feel for the drivers.

Null problemo - the ambulance is just across the street!

I used to mountain bike on such cobbled roads and at first it was fun, until I rode across wet rocks!

As I was strolling these streets, it was getting quite cold.
The piercing Finnish winds can cut to your bones and they can emerge suddenly. My coat was barely able to protect me.

I had to rush back to the next IMC sessions and it was quite an adventure finding the right way.
I managed to get myself a bit lost (which I enjoyed indeed, considering the views all around me), but I really had to find my way back fast...


Photos below are of further places that I caught on camera on my 2 full days while in the Finnish capital. I hope this helps you create an idea about how beautiful it is!
It's not just massive flat architecture, but finesse and delicacy and colour as well.


Playful decorations

Playful decorations

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Thick orange house

Thick orange house

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Redish building

Not far from the port area

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Beautiful towery building

I was perplexed by the beauty of this building

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Towery building from closer

Look a little closer to observe the modernized parts

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Complex old building

Complex old building

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Old and new buildings

Old and new side by side, not much contrast!

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Somewhere in central Helsinki

Somewhere in the very middle of the city

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Sloped road

Quite a slope...

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Hietalahti Market

The Hietalahti Market was closed

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Escape Hunter

About the Author:

Escape Hunter, the young solo traveler in his early 30's explores the World driven by curiosity, thirst for adventure, deep passion for beauty, love for freedom and diversity.
With a nuanced, even humorous approach to travel, an obsession for art and design, Escape Hunter prefers to travel slowly, in order to learn and "soak up" the local atmosphere...



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