We went to Helsinki on the sixth of September. We explored the city on the sixth and the seventh. This time, we didn't stay in a hotel but in an apartment rented through Airbnb. The building was located inside a gated compound. I mentioned the familiar feeling to Ines and my daughter, but they didn't understand it. However, when we went out to the nearby supermarket, it dawned on me that the buildings and apartment blocks were similar to those in the Russian cities of Moscow or Saint Petersburg, where I had lived.
Pictures of it are in the slide below. The picture that looks like a yellow bun is a dish made from potatoes. It can be eaten for breakfast or lunch. When we walked out in the area we were staying, we saw the first island we'd come across in Finland, located very close to the shore. Finland is the Land of a Thousand Lakes. It has 187,888 lakes larger than 500 square meters. Almost all of them have an island as well. After walking a short distance, we were also able to see a vintage car exhibition. I took a few pictures amidst my wife's fussing. I found it strange that Lipton tea packets are sold here as Russian Earl Grey.
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The next day, we joined a tour guide who was introducing us to the city of Helsinki. He said his mother was Spanish and his father was Finnish. Apparently He goes to Spain and lives there during the winter.
According to him, for nearly 300 years under Swedish rule, Helsinki was just a small village. They established a village in Helsinki to levy taxes on the ships, boats, and other vessels passing nearby. Since it wasn't very successful, they had abandoned Helsinki.
However, everything changed in the 19th century after the Russians took control. Tsar Alexander II instructed Carl Ludvig Engel, the German architect who had built the buildings in Saint Petersburg, to plan and design the city of Helsinki. This is how Helsinki, which was previously a village, became a major city like Saint Petersburg.
A statue of Tsar Romanov has been erected in the city center by the residents of Helsinki to show their gratitude. I thought he might be the only Russian they respect these days.
However, our guide surprised us by also mentioning Lenin. The other Russian whom the Finns respect is Lenin, who signed the agreement granting Finland independence after the October Revolution in 1917. Whenever Lenin fled the Tsarist regime, Finland was the first to give him refuge.
The house where Lenin stayed is on a street called Sörnäisten Rantatie. He and Trotsky also hid in the Oulunkylä district, and Lenin used the alias Doctor Müller.
It's truly amazing to see how the direct connection and a century of history between these two cities are reflected in these buildings. Our guide is standing near this statue. The inscription on the statue is written in Swedish. Although only about 3% of the population speaks it, it is a national or second official language. Therefore, you can see that almost every sign is translated into Swedish.
There were mostly small restaurants selling fried fish in the Market Square. There were also stalls selling various trinkets and souvenirs. A Russian person at one of the stalls asked us where we were from.
In many places, after we say we are from London, they ask again, 'But where are you really from?' In England, asking such a question might be considered racist or xenophobic. However, I usually just answer easily by saying I was born in Sri Lanka.
At this location, the Russian pointed to a nearby stall and said that someone fromSri Lanka was also there. The owner of that stall, which sells wooden children's toys and educational items imported from Sri Lanka, had arrived from Sri Lanka about forty years ago. Unfortunately, I have forgotten his name.
We also visited the large library and the rock concert hall there, and then stopped for a coffee. We took two very delicious types of cake and paid for them, but they didn't charge us for the coffee and tea. We found out that they were free of charge. Pictures of the library and its surroundings are in the second slide.
Although the library did not have any Sinhala books, it did have books in Russian and other languages. I specifically mentioned the Russian books because recently, a large number of Russian literature books were burned in Ukraine. We also observed that many Finns here speak English well.
Near some of the buildings and apartment blocks, a picture of an animal is engraved. Many Finnish residents were unable to read at the time. Therefore, during the period of Swedish rule, they identified addresses or their location by using the names of animals.
For example, a common way to give an address back then would be, 'We are staying in the Pig's building, which is right next to the Elephant's building, after turning by the Bear's building.
At the end of the day, we went to a restaurant for dinner. Many of the people working there were not Finnish but were of other nationalities. We also met a young Sri Lankan student who was studying at a university there.
Finns have a great interest in their farmlands and vehicles like tractors that they use on them. This 'farmer's restaurant' had a few tractors displayed inside. We ordered a dish of cooked fish, blinis, and reindeer soup. The taste of these was very similar to many Russian and German foods. The soup my wife's mother makes with venison during the winter in Germany is just like it.
The gray house in the last picture is about 250 years old. A few more articles about Finland will be written.
Ajith 10/10/2025
