Helsinki, Finland: Part 2

Posted on April 15, 2024  •  18 minutes  • 3702 words

After a great reset for our first week there, we were ready to venture out a bit more…and we were now armed with bikes and Max getting better by the day. Although, still not to be trusted near traffic, due to his lack of stopping quickly…and then falling off the bike.

We started off the week with painting, as Dan had taken Sam to get some paints a few days ago. He was very excited for this and shared shockingly well.

It was awesome to see him using techniques that he had learned from Grandma McConnell almost a year ago and was then excited to show her ALL his paintings. This was his favorite. When Grandma asked Sam what the floating ghost was up in the trees, he responded “That’s you Grandma!”

We went to a new park that had a giant rope climbing structure. Ben and Max never came off and Sam spent most of the time doing laps of the playground and had me count, but to only notify him every 10.

We didn’t stay as long as I had intended to, but surprise surprise, I was getting cold, which was a bummer and all kids were having a blast. I had found a cafe nearby, so we headed there for a snack. It was really small and the owner was so nice. She didn’t have much to chose from, but was currently making more things and we aren’t picky. The kids all picked the salmon and asparagus pie and tea and I went with a coffee.

When they were done, she called them up to show them what she was making. Cinnamon rolls! She asked if she should sprinkle sugar on top. Dumb question, but I’m sure she knew that.

She did that and then put them in the oven and I knew we were going to have to stay for when they came out. There was a little plaza outside, so the kids could ride their bikes (minus Ben who had a flat tire that morning), but he took on the challenge of helping Max learn to start by himself. Right when we started riding bikes, I had told Ben and Sam that Max was going to need a lot of encouragement with this being a big bike and sort of new to him again. Weeks later, they still ride up to him and tell him ‘great job Max! You are doing so well!’ Many falls, but Ben was right there to help him up. I finally called them in when I saw her pull the cinnamon rolls out of the oven.

Back at home, it was an afternoon of reading. All of a sudden, we’ve been getting so many books off the hold lists and Ben is tearing through them. Something clicked with Sam and he wants to read ALL the time now. He’s so hooked on The Last Firehawk series, just as Ben was, and Ben has taken over a lot of the reading with him, just because he wants to read the books again.

And Max too…he has decided that Dragon Masters is his series and he gets to read them with Mom and Dad. Brothers can listen, but he reads! Ben reads so much at night and in the morning that it’s hard for me to keep up with reading. We love talking about book, but it’s turned into more of him telling me about the book than a discussion. And if a new Last Firehawk has come in, not even lunch can get in Sam’s way!

Typically, Dan tries to get home around 4:30pm to take the kids out for a bike ride. Sometimes all 3 go and sometimes he’ll go with the older two so they can cover more ground. It’s a great way to get more energy out of the kids and have them come home hungry for dinner…and I get some alone time, which usually is me getting dinner ready.

And they have been reporting back cool places for us to check out later.

One of the days, I took the boys on a bike ride using Dan’s bike. Or I should say, they took me on one. They fully led the way and picked all the places to show me and where to stop.

We went all along the water. Had it not been so cold, we would have probably gotten off bikes and walked around a bit.

Conveniently, they took us past a cafe that has a fire pit where you could buy marshmallows inside to roast. (They had found it with Dan, see photo above). I bought the marshmallows, but they didn’t roast the same way the American ones do. We found this to be the same in Turkey too. I guess you really need the high fructose corn syrup for one to puff up nicely over the fire.

A look back at the adorable cafe, right on the water.

This is probably 9:30pm or later.

We had some days this week where we went out to a cafe for cinnamon rolls and brought our books or journals.

We aren’t quite to the point that everyone can be busy by themselves, but we are getting there. Lots of searching and sampling of cinnamon rolls as we have decided we need to find the best one in Helsinki!

We had bought celery to make split pea soup, but had lots of extra. I also had raisins and peanut butter, so ants on a log for lunch. I knew they liked them, but I had ecstatic kids! We ate them 3 days in a row.

We were making regular trips to the Kauppahalli for salmon and this night, we stepped it up a bit. We did had 900 grams of salmon and we weren’t going to waste any! Ben really honed in on the best way to do it and was quite the little sushi maker.

Max and I were in charge of organizing it on our platter, while Sam was making the carrot sushi. What is carrot sushi? We bought a carrot sharpener, a kitchen gadget that looks like a giant pencil sharpener, and used the ‘shavings’ to make little cones that Sam filled with rice, salmon and other things. They came out so well. See upper right.

We did find out that 900 grams was too much for us, but we did our best. To be fair, I asked for 800 grams. I did ask at the shop how long we had to eat the salmon and they said it can stay in the fridge up to 5 days since it’s so fresh! So sushi for lunch tomorrow too.

Getting better with chopsticks, but not fully there yet.

Again, most of this week was sort of doing normal stuff. Yes, we explored a ton on our bikes, but still enjoyed no pressure of seeing all the touristy things yet. We found an amazing Danish store called Flying Tiger that sells random stuff. Some dumb, but all you feel like you want. The kids used their money to get little nerf blasters and dinosaur excavation kits. We went 3 times in a week.

Max used the box of the nerf blaster as his armor. They are very desperate for toys and are constantly pulling things out of the recycle.

I got a morning to go work at the coffee shop. When I came home, this was the snack Dan prepared. Herring, his tube fish egg stuff, peanut butter and brie. Very good thing we don’t have picky eaters!

We stumbled upon these in the grocery store and they have been a family favorite. They have been named ‘pumpkin tomatoes’ due to the ridges and are quite sweet. Kids are saving seeds.

Another Turkish dinner and another spill out the end.

I needed a morning for work and with it a Saturday, Dan took the kids out for a walk so I could set up my extra monitor and work from home.One way to see Sam’s face it to have him wear a hat. Actually, the only way these days.

Dan is so awesome about sending my photos of their adventures and makes me so happy to see them so happy just being outside with Dan…which usually lasts longer than with me since I’m a wimp with the cold.

Not wanting to cook, we picked a noodle place just around the corner. Sam was struggling with listening, so I took the listeners over to get a table while Dan stayed back with Sam. He turned it around and they showed up right as the table was ready. We had a table right were you could watch the guy stretch the noodles and we were all mesmerized by it. There was even a mirror above so you could see better.

You got to pick your shape of noodle and then watch them being made. Pretty cool. Ben went with triangle, Sam/Max went with thin, I did wide/flat and Dan did medium.

It was so good and just what you’d want with snow falling outside.

One thing I will never fully get about some parts of Europe is the shower integrated into the bathroom. I’m sure there are reasons, but the floor is always wetter than you hoped for after…even with the squeegee.

Sometimes you forget what a little butt he can be when he sleeps so sweetly. Although, Dan always reminds me when I say it.

Sunday we took advantage of a lazy morning. Sam and Dan were up early, so they made some baked french toast with dates. It was delicious.

Dan wanted some catch up work time, so the kids and I did a walk. There was a little snow on the ground and it was cold, but we were feeling okay.

Ben and Sam really wanted to show Max the marshmallow place (he missed out last time due to the fact it was clear he needed a nap). I played dumb on the walk so they could think they were surprising me too and their sense of direction is spot on, so they didn’t need any help.

I did ask that we started going through the cemetary right by our place. It was so quiet and peaceful with the snow all over the ground and very few people.

It wasn’t much, but the kids were thrilled.

We took our time getting there and I decided that we should go in to warm up for a bit. Kids claimed they weren’t cold, but I was! We got a cardamon roll and a hot chocolate to share. The place was very small and packed. Cute little wooden tables and benches.

Warmed up enough, I bought sausages and marshmallows to roast outside. I can’t express how awesome (and cute!) this place is. Right on the water, small tables scattered about, picket fence painted to match the building, some swings, bike parking and a fire pit.

On the way home, Sam kept adding to and adding to a snowball…then carried it all the way home. I told him he could keep it on the porch.

Very grey day, but didn’t seem to bother anyone as there were tons of people out walking, biking and running.

Spring is really trying here, even if mother nature has other ideas in 2 days.

The next day I was going to check out another bike. This place was 5 miles away and in a direction I hadn’t been at all. I ran it there, loved the bike and completely froze on the ride back. Got inside to take a shower right away, much to the dismay of the kids who wanted to see the bike right away! Later that day, I went down with Sam to see the bike. Photo credit to Sam.

We had an afternoon where it started to snow. Dan just made it home in time to still really be able to bike on the trails. It started coming down hard during dinner and never stopped throughout the night. Note: today is April 22, a month into ‘spring’. We woke up to SO much snow and the happiest kids! Not wanting a day trapped inside, or wet kids from playing in the snow all day, we went to the Finnish National History Museum. The walk there was very snowy as sidewalks had not been cleared AND it was still snowing.

We got there, gave ourselves a shake and stomped out our boots.

But not before some playing in the snow right out front as we got there 5 minutes before it opened. I figured the 8 minute walk would take 20 minutes, but we were faster than expected. Probably because I didn’t want to get cold.

I paid the entrance fee (kids free!), put our coats in the coat closet and started on the first floor. There was a whole exhibit on bones and it was fascinating! Bones of so many different types of animals from small to huge! Max with a manatee.

A hummingbird, a humpback whale, snakes, a narwals, monkeys, and so much more. I never realized nor thought about it really, that snakes (or at least the ones we saw) have rib shaped bones the length of their body. I wonder if they grow more bones as they grow longer, or if they are born with all the ribs. Maybe screen shot from a creepy movie?

This trip to the museum was one of those days that you dream about when your kids are younger or don’t exist yet. Everyone listened, they all had their journals and were taking notes or drawing, we played ‘find the x’ in some of the exhibits, kids telling me ’thanks’ for brining them to the museum. It really was magical…which had me worried about tomorrow, but I wasn’t going to think about that yet. They were sweet with each other, pointing out things or picking up Max so he could see better. I didn’t want it to end, but at the same time, I wanted it to end before someone lost it.

It was done so well, as we made our way through different scenes of animals. Grizzlies catching salmon, wolves hunting, animals hanging on the savannah, Australian animals (which we knew a lot of thanks to Auntie Erin’s choices for books at birthdays).

So much drawing and note taking was done. AND when they shared their drawings with each other, the compliments were flying!

The last room was the history of the world and dinosaurs, always a hit. I asked Ben how old the world was and he remembered from when we learned about it in Edinburgh!

After we had bundled back up, we saw a small room off the side that had more hands of stuff and a room with books and blocks. I read to them a bit and there was no stopping the building. One kid would hold the block another kid was standing on, so they could get blocks higher and higher.

Instead of heading home, we went out to lunch and the magic continued!

They all got salmon toast and I got the most delicious toast with avocado, arugula, pickled onions, roasted tomatoes, toasted garbanzo beans and beet falafel. Even Ben pointed out ‘Mom, it has all your favorite things!’ It did and I loved it.

Still snowing on the walk home.

I let them go crazy with the snowball fight as we were heading home and not a big deal if kids got wet. Most important rule: if you hit Mom, you can’t through anymore the rest of the day. Not an issue as they were running off ahead.

They played when we got home, did some math and then I offered a National Geographic show. Ben chose The Search for Alexander the Great’s Tomb and they all were excited to watch it. Spoiler alert…tomb not found. Tacos for dinner and Ben and Sam ate more than I did.

After dinner, they cleaned up! No arguing on who got to sweep or wipe down the table, just 110% working together. Maybe the snow was laced with something and it infected them when they ate it on the walk to the museum? Reading and then bed.

It was the best day. Generally they do so well together, but there is some bickering or not listening to me and this day had none. I mean none! I was in a state of pure bliss when Dan came home and wanted to cuddle with them all until they fell asleep. I know we have good days and bad days, but I’m going to bask in the glory of this one for a while.

Feeling so good about yesterday, I wanted to test out the laced snow theory. We did school in the morning, ate nachos for lunch and walked to the Helsinki Art Museum (HAM).

This is the next day and the snow is almost gone! I think it was about 6-8in total for the 1+ day storm and gone so fast! Why is their a seagull on the building? I don’t know, but that’s the HAM.

Free entrance for kids again! We started through, each kid armed with their journals. I’m not a very creative or imaginative person, so sometimes I just feel like I can’t understand anything with modern art.

I tried to talk with the kids about it’s not necessarily a literal thing to see, it’s more what it makes you think or feel. I know that’s cliche a bit, but I have no idea how to talk art to kids. Ben had to see a shape or something, Sam was using his imagination a bit more.

It wasn’t big, but it was perfect for us.

The original…

and Sam’s drawing.

The big win was the kids’ area!

Lots of paper and pencils and a couple floor puzzles, that Max and I did over and over.

It was Moomin themed. Moomin we have learned is sort of the national cartoon on Finland. The characters are adorable and the museum had a section about the artist. Tove Jansson; her career history and some of her early works as well as photos of murals she had done in the children’s hospital,

Ben’s drawings of Moomin characters

We stayed for quite a bit, really no reason to leave as it was windy and cold out, kids were in heaven with SO many colored pencils and characters around to draw. And we came after lunch, so we were still pretty full. On the way out, we loved the art over the escalators…Unidentified Hanging Object.

Snowball fight on the way home.

After dinner the kids were a bit crazy, but no one seemed to be getting hurt, so we rolled with it. ‘Goggles for SAFETY!’ insists Max.

No injured kids and another amazing day!

Dan and Sam were up early, so they did another rendition of baked french toast…this time with apples.

The next couple days were normal days. Lots of reading, school work, bike rides and lunch, then waiting for Dan to come home to do another bike. Dan took the kids to the kids’ museum one day while I worked and we squeezed in trips to the Kauppahalli, which we seem to do 2x a week now. I decided to save some dinner prep time and do poke bowls, not sushi. I found a Japanese market to get edamame, sesame oil and wasabi. It was heaven!

The next night, Friday, I found a pizza place with insane reviews (VERY good pizza confirmed) that would be a nice bike ride. And because it’s still light until about 10pm, no issues biking home after. It was by the water and we could see the ships that go to Tallinn and Saint Petersburg.

And the restaurant had a mini soccer court game that was hard to tear them away from.

Max downing an insane amount of oatmeal with a massive spoon.

I had booked the kids and I on a 2 night cruise to Stockholm. The main reason for its existence seems to be to load up on duty free, but I thought it would be a fun thing to do and then Dan could get a couple days of undisturbed work; he couldn’t come because of teaching. The ship didn’t leave until 4:30pm, so we took advantage of the nice weather and did a bike ride. We all started out together, but then we split off so Max and I could practice his starting and stopping while I ran beside him; I had left my bike at home for this reason and so I could get a run in. The routes along the water were beautiful.

We just hugged the shore for a bit as we headed out around the cemetary, then did a u-turn to head back and meet Dan, Ben and Sam at an old building turned into a bakery. View from right out front.

The bakery from the outside…

and the inside.

And the adorable cafe right next door.

There was a hill outside that Ben and Sam were doing loops on and Max found a little kid push car that he was attempting to ride down the hill. The small plastic wheels weren’t cooperating. It was so nice, that we just hung out for a bit, not wanting to leave. I had got a cinnamon roll to tide us over. Dan offered the kids the long way home or a stop in the little makers’ market, but they picked the bike ride. Max and I headed home to start making lunch. Bonus to buying oranges here…almost all have been blood oranges!

I finished up packing, it was very easy as we each just had an extra pair of socks, underwear and a shirt, plus all the art supplies the kids needed, and started the walk to the terminal. Dan came with us, partially incase there was so issue of me taking kids without the father.

Even the man hole covers are cool in Finland!

The first part of the walk was through town, then about 30 minutes along the water to get way out to the ship.