Impressions of HELSINKI, Finland - History, Shops and Prices!

Hi everyone! This is episode thirteen of my Baltics plus Finland series in which I travel to Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia and Finland. In this video, I explore Helsinki, the capital of Finland in winter. Throughout the vlog, I provide my impressions of the city, as well as information in relation to history, culture, sport and other interesting bits!

The video starts with me walking around the harbour area where I briefly talk about the history of Finland in general and Helsinki in particular, as well as providing other interesting facts. I then walk towards the Uspenski Cathedral where we admire the beauty of this brilliant Helsinki landmark.

We then head to the city centre and spend some time at Senate Square, browsing the Christmas markets next to the Helsinki Cathedral. Following this, we visit some shops and malls in Alexandersgatan, notably the Kluuvi Shopping Centre and the Kämp Galleria to get an idea of clothing prices in Helsinki.

After realising the prices are a little bit outside my budget range, I decide we are better off admiring some more architecture, passages and monuments in the city. We stumble across a passage called Gamla (although further research seem to suggest this is called Wrede Passage). This leads to Esplanadi Park (or Espa) where we notice several monuments and where I talk more about Finland in the nineteenth century. Finnish friends - I need your help with identifying the relevant statues and who they are, so do let me know in the comments!

Walking back to Alexandersgatan we notice several more luxury shops and I decide to have smoothie at a juice bar opposite the Citycenter Mall. After receiving a nutritional kick, we explore the mall where we encounter a group of people singing a beautiful song. We then head down to a supermarket in the mall to observe more prices and I try a budget Helsinki snack.

As we explore the mall further, we stumble across more interesting shops as well as a metro station, where another supermarket is located. Here I decide to buy another item of interest, which I am a bit nervous to try...watch to see the result!

The Helsinki Railway Station is our next stop, where we walk through the terminal and I find out how much a ticket to the airport cost. We then walk briefly down Mannerheimintie, the main street in Helsinki, where I also provide more of my impressions of Helsinki. After crossing a few more streets and pedestrian areas, we arrive back at the Christmas markets, where the vlog ends.

I hope you enjoy this vlog of Helsinki! If you're looking to the visit the city yourself in due course, I hope this is informative and gives you an idea of what to expect.

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Happy exploring!

Willie