The Second Honeymoon in Finland

On the last night before left Finland, I said to my husband ‘we should come to Finland for honeymoon if we know it before’. He joked at me ‘Now it is our second time for honeymoon in Finland.’

Yeah, it is a nice country full of forests, lakes, and saunas. Here are just a few examples of the popular attractions that we like most.

If you want to hold the wedding ceremony, I believe that both the Cathedral and Temppeliaukio Church are wonderful. The Cathedral is a distinct landmark in the central Helsinki, with a tall green dome surrounded by four smaller domes. The church represents the neoclassical style with long history. It looks attractive and gorgeous. The Temppeliaukio Church is very special that it is quarried out of the natural bedrock. It doesn’t have the spire and bell tower as the normal church. The interior walls are created by the rock and the dome is made of the copper wires. This church is often used for concerts, because of its excellent acoustics. It is simple, nature with unique charm and deserves to visit!

If you like sports, you can try canoeing in Espoo. We tried almost 1000 meters in the lake and went to the island for rest. We drank tea, ate snack, chat and enjoyed the nice views. In Finland, all of the islands are free open to the public. If interested, you can also pick berries roadside. Another choice is to the Levi’s adventure park. It tests your physical strength and inside courage. When I went to the third rank, my legs were shaking on the swing. The coach encouraged me to continue. I moved step by step nervously and nearly fell off on the last step. At that moment, I felt the power of love from the hand of my husband.
If you love animals, there are the reindeer, polar bear, husky dog, and wild boar in Finland. The most interesting was to see the alpaca in a farm, looks like the new Chinese character囧. It was also the first time for us to ride on the horse in the forest. People swung by the horse walking rhythmically. I imagined that we went back to the eighteenth century like the British aristocracy.
If you like fairy tales, Lapland has the mysterious Christmas Village. We visited the Santa Claus and sent a crystal gift for him. He wrote the wishes on our Expo passport, which also means the footprint of 2010 expo reached the Arctic Circle. Both my husband and I were missing the little baby during the travel. It was fantastic to send the postcards from the Christmas post office.

Next time we want to try the Glasshouse on the peak of Levi. Lying on the bed, you can look at the stars from the glass of dome. In winter, there is aurora across the sky. What the graceful feeling! Another part is the SPA for me, water park and science center for my baby in Vantaa. Who can imagine that I am able to lift the car? It is true in the science center and I want to take my baby to experience more. Taking a ferry to Suomenlinna Sea Fortress and so many other things are also on my plan.

Happy time is always short! It is pity that we have limited time to visit Finland. Hopefully we will come back in the near future.

My Trip To Helsinki

I am appreciate to be invited visiting Helsinki with my mother arranged by Helsinki City Tourist & Convention Bureau.  We enjoyed a 3-day trip in Finland which show a friendly and vibrant country with unique cultural traditions and cultural history. (more…)

July 17th, Espoo Day

Espoo city is sister city with Shanghai.  It is very near Helsinki just about 20 minutes by coach, it is also famous for the Nokia Headquarters.

We took the Kayaking to visit Helsinki archipelago by followed the Natura Viva.  Kayaking is a quite special boat with the willow leaf sharp, long and narrow.  We put on life jackets, waterproof apron, got into the boat.  Waves hitting the boat along, paddles left about the right look with breath, balanced force, boat slip forward to obey.  It is very easy to control. (more…)

July 16th, Helsinki Day

We experienced a ride around the city with Helsinki Expert’s Audio City Tour in Mandarin.  This bus sightseeing tour takes about 1.5 hours.  It is very convenient to see the most important sights of Helsinki, which including Helsinki cathedral and Senate Square, Uspenski Cathedral, central railway station and etc, short stop at Sibelius Park.  We enjoyed the different architectural styles and unique history during 1.5 hours. (more…)

July 15th, Vantaa Day

After arrival at Helsinki-Vantaa Airport, we met Mrs.Liisa Laine-Tirronen, Tourism Secretary in city of Vantaa Business Development.  She gave us a warm welcome and took us to visit Flamingo Entertainment  which is located near the airport. (more…)

It’s open and it’s fabulous!

Teemu Kurkela, lead architect of the JKMM Kirnu team

The first time I saw Kirnu in January, they were just putting on the scale-like surface shingles. The site was filled with concrete, steel, dust and yelling in several languages. Now, 5 days into Expo, Kirnu is the breath of fresh air it was designed to be. Round in form and light in color, it brings forward the cool, yet exciting features that we Finns so love. And it has already captured the hearts of around 10% of daily visitors to the Expo!

WDC in Kirnu

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Only 3 days to go – Expo 2010 Shanghai!

This is very exciting! The grand opening of the Shanghai World Expo is in only 3 days and I am absolutely thrilled. Unfortunately I am not able to attend due to the fact that the opening coincides with my yearly duties as the official May First Lady. The Finnish students give me one of those white caps and everything. It’s all very festive!

But my good friend EMMA tells me that there is a big Finnish delegation flying out for next week. The Cities of Espoo (where EMMA is from) and Shanghai will renew their sister city agreement and Espoo will host a very interesting seminar titled Creating Better Life on May 5th. How wonderful is that?!

On the 6th May Finnish and Chinese travel professionals will meet and network to learn more from each other.

This is just the beginning. I welcome all the participants of the Invitation to Helsinki… no, of the EXPO, to come and visit me in Helsinki. I know it will be worth your while!

Don’t worry – the green will come!

We’ve had a wonderful winter here in Helsinki this year. Some might argue that it has lasted long enough, but I don’t mind enjoying the snow and its beauty for a while longer. The good news is that we’re well on our way to long, lovely sunlight afternoons when you can have a coffee outside, wear your brand new sunglasses and get a few freckles. Don’t forget the sun block, people! (more…)

Future Forward – Travis Price

An indefatigable explorer of myth on a lifelong quest to engage the spirit of place, architect Travis Price likens landing in Helsinki, recently named the 2012 Design Capital of the World by the International Council of Societies of Industrial Design (Icsid), to “entering a vast strawberry field of embedded design.” Says Price, “I found myself floating between products and buildings and digital technology and food and full living culture where everything was simple but not simplistic.” In contrast to this Nordic simplicity, he discovered an almost Asian influence expressing itself in such disparate sources as the Byzantine Uspenski Orthodox Church or a swath of baroque Marimekko fabric. Finland lies in the merging of those two worlds; it’s the emerging crossroads of the world.”
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