Who knew you could find 3 days of stuff to do in Helsinki? We really weren’t sure when we booked this, but wanted to stay 5 nights because of the deal we got at the hotel. In the end we decided it didn’t matter, that it might actually be nice to have a slower pace for once. We tend to push pretty hard when we travel. Yet we’ve still had pretty full days.

We were up early and made it down to the sauna by about 7:30. That has been a great addition to this trip. It’s only open from 6am-10am and 5pm-10pm so we’ve been trying to make it down there once in the morning and evening. Finnish saunas are not like you may be used to at home. They are a serious part of the culture here; some estimates say there’s enough saunas in this country to get all 5.4million Finns into them at one time. Most homes have their own.

First off, they’re hot. The one we’ve been using has ranged from 75-82 Celsius. That’s 167-179 Fahrenheit. Secondly, and my favorite part, they’re not as dry as you’ve probably experienced. A Finnish sauna has a pail of water in it with a ladle, and you’re encouraged to spoon as much water as you like onto the hot stones to create steam. We learned that 2-3 is great for Dan, I preferred 3-4, maybe 5. 6 ladles of water was definitely Too Much. The steam moistens the air, increases the heat, and makes you sweat more. When you’ve had enough, you take a cold shower right outside, or jump into the pool down the hall, and go back in. We’d do several rounds of this (using the shower because it was less hassle) each time we went down. There’s a resting area with a couple of couches and a deck that looks onto the lake just outside. It felt great to cool down in 55 degree weather after you’ve heated up like that. It’s been a real treat. For those of you who know my love for Harbin Hot Springs: sort of like that, but not as wet!

After the sauna, breakfast again in the hotel, and we took our time getting moving. We were out about 10:30. The tram was there when we got to the stop. The hotel is at the last stop of this line so it usually sits for a few minutes before it starts its next round. And it was empty, as you’ll see below. These suckers are long.

Our first stop was the Kamppi Chapel of Silence. What a great concept. It’s just across from the central train/bus station, and is operated by a collective of churches and the Social Services department of the city. It is non-denominational and no services are held. It is intended to be a place for silent prayer and mediation for anyone who wants to take advantage of it. It’s a very modern design with a variety of kinds of wood. We really didn’t know what to expect.

If any of you are serious meditators, you might be familiar with “the hum of the universe.” I’ve heard it many times before but usually only after supplying some consciousness. When I walked into this room the silence was so pure all I could hear was that hum, without trying. It was pretty cool. There was only one other woman in there when we got there, but as other people came in a few minutes later, of course the silence weakens and then we were ready to go. But it was sweet while it lasted.

 

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A church.

We got back to the room about 4:15pm, a nice easy day. I worked on the blog from yesterday while Dan did some planning for our day tomorrow and went down to the sauna. I finished the blog  and got down there just as he was coming back up about 6:15. I didn’t stay long; we had 7:30 reservations at a Japanese restaurant. We got sushi; some of it was great, but mostly it was just OK.

Dan caught more photos of folks on surfer boards from out window. Remember: it’s 60 degrees outside. I can only imagine how cold that water must be.