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Helsinki


Girth

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Anyone been? I'm going there end of July.

My friend (she's Finnish) who lives there ensures I'll have all the birds after me due to my delicious accent. 

I'm going to a punk festival in the woods on the Fri. 

Other than that, what should I see/eat/drink and where?

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2 hours ago, Girth said:

Anyone been? I'm going there end of July.

My friend (she's Finnish) who lives there ensures I'll have all the birds after me due to my delicious accent. 

I'm going to a punk festival in the woods on the Fri. 

Other than that, what should I see/eat/drink and where?

No she’s not, she’s only 28.

Etc etc.

Only ever been to Helsinki with my mate Kevin. Went across on the fast boat from Tallinn for the day. Can’t remwmber coming back but I lost my jacket and wife’s camera.

There was a nice brick church that inexplicably had an iron on the alter.

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Guest Bob Mahelp

Decent city, better than Oslo, not nearly as good as Stockholm.

Like most Scandinavians, Finns come across as a bit reserved and stand-offish. At least until they get a bevvy, then they throw off a few inhibitions. Don't expect San Francisco liberalism or free love though, even when pished everything is still under control.

I've been there a few times and even though I'm a really good looking bast*rd, I found it hard to pull. The accent has no effect at all....these are Scandinavians, who all speak 4 languages and are used to hearing English spoken with 100 different accents. 

One thing to note is that, without exception, bevving stops in Helsinki at around 02.00. There are no all-night dive bars, or clubs, or lock-ins. It's the law, and they (apparently) stick to it. 

It's been a few years since I was there though so if you're lucky things have loosened up a bit.

 

 

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The first Finnish people I ever met were a couple in their late 20s who really couldn't stress enough that the accent would get me my hole as, when and how I wanted it should I ever visit Finland. 
I was just trying to eat my tea at the time as well. 


Did you get your sausage wet?
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Suomenlinna, an old military fortress, is worth a visit for a few hours. Overall, I found Helsinki to be nice but a bit dull. 

It's expensive, but I'm sure you knew that already. If you're looking to save a bit of money eat your main meal at lunch time - lots of restaurants have set menus at lunch which are reasonably priced. 

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I lived in Tampere for a few months, it was the middle of winter and fecking freezing!

Headed north to Oulu and Rovaniemi which was absolutely stunning. Like has been said the Finnish are quite reserved but do like a bevvy.

They used to head down to Helsinki and do the boat trip to Talinn to bring back cheap booze.

Helsinki is a nice albeit and expensive city. Fazer chocolate is the shizzle though.

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On 6/7/2018 at 18:27, Bob Mahelp said:

Like most Scandinavians, Finns come across as a bit reserved and stand-offish.

Even stand-offish enough that most wouldn't regard themselves as Scandinavian - nor would many Scandis.

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7 hours ago, Highland Capital said:

I see there's a train to St Petersburg that takes three hours.  I'd be quite intrigued to make a day trip.

We went the other way - St Petersburg to Helsinki.  Just over three hours and very reasonably priced if booked in advance. Think it was around 56 Euros for both of us. 

The major draw back is that you will need a visa, and the process is a bit of a pain in the arse and quite pricey. Look instead at getting the ferry - it'll take longer but if you can get a ferry you might be able to stay in St Petersburg up to 72 hours without getting a visa. I'm not quite sure how it works and what restrictions are in place, but it's worth a look 

A few hours in the day isn't enough for St Petersburg - it's an absolutely stunning city. 

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32 minutes ago, Highland Capital said:

Folk on Tripadvisor say it was done while on the train.

The rules might have changed but this was the score in 2016.

http://www.tramontanetravel.com/blog/travel-from-helsinki-to-st-petersburg-ferry

Current info from train company,

https://www.vr.fi/cs/vr/en/abc_russia

And this,

http://www.st-petersburg-essentialguide.com/russian-visa.html

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Guest Bob Mahelp
On 11/06/2018 at 09:03, Michael W said:

We went the other way - St Petersburg to Helsinki.  Just over three hours and very reasonably priced if booked in advance. Think it was around 56 Euros for both of us. 

The major draw back is that you will need a visa, and the process is a bit of a pain in the arse and quite pricey. Look instead at getting the ferry - it'll take longer but if you can get a ferry you might be able to stay in St Petersburg up to 72 hours without getting a visa. I'm not quite sure how it works and what restrictions are in place, but it's worth a look 

A few hours in the day isn't enough for St Petersburg - it's an absolutely stunning city. 

Reading the link, this only applies if you're a citizen of a Shengen country.

So it doesn't apply to Uk citizens.

 

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