tampere, helsinki - a stark change

This weekend I went to Tampere and Helsinki. First I met up with Xinyi in Tampere.

Was expecting Finland to be a place with nice architecture but turns out it looks like every damned other Scandinavian country.

Went to Sara Hilden Art Museum, unfortunately, I didn't take any pictures because I forgot to, and the art was not so impressive.

Tampere Cathedral

After that I took a train from Tampere down to Helsinki, and had to pay to cross into the Espoo region where Shearn was staying. The rest of guys arrived 2 hours after me.

Spencer, Jinghan, Justin, missing Daryl and Shearn here.

In the morning we went to the Helsinki Market Square. It was quite small, but I'm guessing that's because its in the winter. Then we entered the Market Hall, mainly to escape the cold.

Market Hall

Inside the Market Hall, it was full of shops selling all kinds of food. From the leafy greens to Christmas coffee blends, the Market Hall catered to nearly every type of palate.

Christmas coffee (Really damn awesome)

IMO, the Vanilla and Banana Toffee Coffee were the best flavours, but I didn't buy them.

Harbour

The guys bought a seafood platter to share, and a bowl of vegetable soup to drink. Good for keeping morale high in the winter.

Shop sells soup

The dilemma of the Finnish sushi chef making sushi for a Japanese couple. It's like I'm making prata for the Indians to eat.

Leaving the Market Hall, we walked around the area.

Helsinki Cathedral

Hall 2 photo

Justin acting cute but nobody wants to be the female.

Uspenski Cathedral in the background

Bridge of Love, but this is found everywhere in Europe

This guy playing bottles filled with water.

Taidemuseo Helsinki

 

Ice skating rink in the middle of the city!

Dinner at this 9.50 euros Turkish buffet in Kamppi. Great value for money!

We then went to watch Top Gear Live in the Messukeskus. The theme of the show was "What if the London Olympics was motorised?" And so, the subsequent photos will be about daring stunts and modified vehicles.

Motorcycle stunt ramp

They drove the stage in!!

The London Bus drifting.. lol

More motorcycle stunts

Ben-Hur with scooters

Precision driving

Car showcase

Fire on cars... well typical stuff.

Moving hurdles. The guy has to jump over the car as it moves to him.

My favorite, Motorcycle Polo.

So Finland wins Great Britain, no biggie.

The Finnish audience was a boring lot. When they played the Nokia ringtone instead of the Finnish national anthem, nobody laughed except the few of us. Asking for trouble.

On Sunday, we travelled to Suomenlinna, supposedly the #1 attraction in Helsinki. But it was rather boring.

Ferry to Suomenlinna, covered by our Metro ticket

Dive into the cold Finnish water?

Glass floor showing the underground tunnels of Suomenlinna, which was once a sea fortress.

We left Suomenlinna, feeling cheated. Whilst passing through the streets, we saw a procession at the Helsinki Cathedral. Today was the day the Christmas light up started! and small kids were going to walk through the streets.

Cute kids in cute little costumes. I wonder if they will ever remember.

Old people in oversized costumes. They will definitely remember.

Old people with dogs in oversize costumes. We will never forget.

Angry Birds, soon to become the Finnish national anthem.

uh, who are you and what are you doing at a Christmas parade.

Santa in a modern sleigh.

Finland is pretty boring in the winter. But as always, it is good to meet with friends! This trip changed my perception of Germany, because Finland is so damn expensive, especially when 2 pizzas here cost 3 euros but only 1 euro in Hamburg. And they don't have many airports to fly out from! I really feel for the people who stay here, but it's okay, exchange is ending for them soon. I still have 2 months to go!