Light Intensity Drizzle, 3°C

Mannerheimvägen 13

Finnish History

Ever though the time in Finland is only an hour different to Sweden and Denmark, it is taking us a few days to adjust. The lack of daylight and dark rooms isn’t helping either. Today we didn’t get up till almost 8.30, except Matthew, whose body clock has the ability to wake him at 6 no matter where in the world he is, and no matter what time he went to bed.

After breakfast we came back to the room so Thomas could have an extended sleep in his bed. We found out that parents sleep their babies outdoors in Finland in winter. This is primarily because the days are so short and there is such a short window of exposure to sunlight.

We visited the National Museum of Finland which was a great way to spend the afternoon. They had a number of sections dedicated to Finnish history including paintings, artifacts, household items etc. Some of the jewellery from the Russian times were quite spectacular. I was also amazed at how powerful Sweden was for most of the middle ages and ruled everything from Germany through to Russia.

The highlight for the kids was an entire kids section where they could do a range of activities. They hitched a cart to a house and then saddled it up. Emily found some olden day dolls to play with while the boys built a fort with toy bricks. They also had a working typewriter which everyone used.

We visited another lot of Christmas Markets before heading to dinner at Savotta which was highly recommended for local cuisine. Unfortunately it didn’t quite live up to its reputation and we found the meal quite ordinary and very pricey.

Powered by Journey.