Midsummer in Iceland via Finland

[tdimdad]

Inspired by Skyring's trip report to a book-crossing event in Tampere, Finland, I decided to dip my toe into this pond and see what would it be like to journal some notes here.

A rough itinerary is a couple of weeks in Finland seeing family & friends, including a quick overnight visit to Göteborg (Gothenburg), Sweden. Then a few days in Iceland as a bucket list item. And gradually finding my way back home.

Time to start on a beautiful morning in Sydney.



AY291 is an A330 service. My first time in their PE cabin and it was a nice one. I liked the seat (even when my leg rest didn't work) and the seat pitch. My elderly seat neighbour was on their way to Poland but didn't speak any English. The FA got the hang of it soon and did very nice job in gesturing and making safe bets on behalf of the passenger.

The menu is below to make you suitably hungry.



The aircraft also had two funky features in the bathroom: heaps of space (double the usual) and a window. Very cool!


On my connection from LHR, I spied an emergency checklist card. Out of interest, I wanted to have a quick glance. The acronyms are Greek to me but for those in the know this might open up.


Now it's time to sleep off the jetlag, stay in the daylight and get going with the activities.

 

[tdimdad]

One of the joys for me is catching the local trains. The most common model for long-distance routes in Finland are intercity trains which are double-deckers, built by a joint venture of Skoda (Czech) and Talgo (Spain) and introduced in 1998. Their top speed is 200 kmh but they usually do only 160 kmh. Another model is an Italian designed Pendolino which usually does up to 200 kmh (max is 220 kmh). In the timetables, the train numbers are prefixed with 'IC' and 'S', respectively.

An IC train interior. All tickets come with a seat reservation and the train is sold out when all the seats have been booked. No standing passengers in these trains. The seating in this "2nd class" (they call is 'Eko class') is spacious and comes with recline and a sizeable tray table. It'd be comparable to a simple PE cabin in an airplane.


Time to get onto the local goodies. What better way to start your visit than with a classic fish soup and rye bread. In my case, though, it was a gluten-free adaptation of the traditional archipelago loaf, a rather dense and flavourful, slightly sweet, bread which contains malts.


For dessert, sea buckthorn cheese cake. Sea buckthorn has risen to fame over here and is one of the "superfood" berries, very rich in anti-oxidants.


And then a dessert for the dessert: a punnet of farm fresh new season strawberries enjoyed in a sunny spot. The season will usually peak in late June and the absolutely best strawberries you'll get by visiting a farm. Many of them let you into a field to pick your own. The joys of life!

 

[Seat0B]

I’m looking forward to reading about your travels @tdimdad. Hoping to add Finland and Iceland to a cruise next year and looking for pointers.

 

[tdimdad]

My Finnish segment is mostly just pacing along my old backyard with only few touristy activities. Iceland is new to me and may look more like what you'd be looking for.

But if you want to ask about different aspects of Finland, I'm n more than happy to fill you in with what I can, either here or through direct messages.

 

[Flyfrequently]

Inspired by Skyring's trip report to a book-crossing event in Tampere, Finland, I decided to dip my toe into this pond and see what would it be like to journal some notes here.

A rough itinerary is a couple of weeks in Finland seeing family & friends, including a quick overnight visit to Göteborg (Gothenburg), Sweden. Then a few days in Iceland as a bucket list item. And gradually finding my way back home.

Time to start on a beautiful morning in Sydney.

View attachment 389319

AY291 is an A330 service. My first time in their PE cabin and it was a nice one. I liked the seat (even when my leg rest didn't work) and the seat pitch. My elderly seat neighbour was on their way to Poland but didn't speak any English. The FA got the hang of it soon and did very nice job in gesturing and making safe bets on behalf of the passenger.

The menu is below to make you suitably hungry.
View attachment 389320
View attachment 389321

The aircraft also had two funky features in the bathroom: heaps of space (double the usual) and a window. Very cool!
View attachment 389322

On my connection from LHR, I spied an emergency checklist card. Out of interest, I wanted to have a quick glance. The acronyms are Greek to me but for those in the know this might open up.
View attachment 389323

Now it's time to sleep off the jetlag, stay in the daylight and get going with the activities.

On board with you @tdimdad
Happy travels

 

[SuePa]

I’m looking forward to reading about your travels @tdimdad. Hoping to add Finland and Iceland to a cruise next year and looking for pointers.

Iceland is amazing - the food, the people and especially the scenery.
Looking forward to following along, @tdimdad

 

[Seat0B]

My Finnish segment is mostly just pacing along my old backyard with only few touristy activities. Iceland is new to me and may look more like what you'd be looking for.

But if you want to ask about different aspects of Finland, I'm n more than happy to fill you in with what I can, either here or through direct messages.

Thanks very much. I will be doing more detailed planning in 6-8 months for a trip in Sept/Oct 2025, so I may well take up your kind offer of info in a while.

 

[tdimdad]

Heja Sverige! Go Sweden! (as cheering your team to the win in a game)

Time for a little sidetrip to Göteborg (Gothenburg, Sweden) to see friends. I've been in Toastmasters for quite some time and during the pandemic, most clubs met online. It opened up the opportunity to visit clubs all over and I ended up joining a club that's based in Gothenburg. This is now my third visit to attend a meeting in person and almost becoming like an annual tradition.

This post is long and in two parts (posts). TL;DR: Circular economy is far ahead, library has neat features, meatballs and cinnamon buns rule, city living in the old town Haga. Later I'll do a separate post about the transit itself.

RECYCLING
I stayed in a friend's place. One thing where Sweden has long been light years ahead of Australia is recycling and circular economy. This is the rubbish bin setup my friend had in their kitchen. This a very common arrangement which I've also seen at friends' places in Finland (and had something similar going while still living in a Finnish apartment block in the early 00's - we had five waste streams in the complex).
My friend lives in a nice outer suburb of Gothenburg. Think of Victoria Point in Brisbane, Northern Beaches in Sydney, etc. The rubbish is taken to a neighbourhood collection point, similar to the photo below which I took in 2019 in Stockholm.



I also got to visit an office hotel. This setup in their kitchen was no surprise...
Notice the bottle collection. When you purchase a drink bottle, the price includes a deposit which you'll get back when returning the empty bottle. In Finland the deposit is 20c (€) for small bottles and more for larger ones (e.g. 1L or 1.5L). the bins are for biowaste, plastic and burnable waste (i.e. refuse waste which will be burnt for energy).



LIBRARY
I also visited the local library in Mölndal. Like many libraries up there, it was built for spending time in. The interior design and features invite you to linger around. Of those I've visited in Australia, the only one which I've seen to get close is Green Square in Sydney.

It's perfectly OK for families to take their kids to the library to read books while the parents go and do the weekly shopping (guilty as charged...). And why not when the place is littered with seating all over, e.g. like these.


When it's accompanied with a place for your outer clothing, it's easy to settle in.


Many public buildings are also designed for active movement. It's very common for the lifts to be tucked away, instead you will be directly taken to the stairs. This photo is from an entrance to the library. Similar design idea of using active forms of movement by default is commonly used.


MEATBALLS AND CINNAMON BUNS
If you want to eat like the locals, you go and get yourself meatballs with lingonberry, mashed potato, gravy, garden peas and pickled (or fresh) cucumber. And sorry, IKEA does not count!!! Don't even think of getting away with that...
What better place for that than the Stora Saluhallen (big market hall), if you manage to find a vacant seat among all the locals who are here for lunch. Think of e.g. South Melbourne Markets or the indoor side of Queen Victoria Markets in Melbourne.




On the sweet side, cinnamon buns with a coffee are quintessential. Perfect for a 'fika', a coffee break between the main meals. Gothenburg is known for 'jätte kanelbullar', i.e. giant buns. One would easily fill your larger dinner plate. Best found in the old neighbourhood of Haga.

 

[tdimdad]

Part 2 of Heja Sverige!
(Seems each post can have max 10 photos / attachments)

CITY LIVING
Haga is a nice mix of older buildings and now also new ones. What makes it a great place is how the neighbourhood still retains its character. The same applies across most suburbs: the new developments are done in line with the existing character and spacing of the buildings. There's a lot we could learn about town planning in Australia from our friends up here. What's cool is that it does not need to come at the expense of efficiency. In fact, many European cities seem to run more efficient infrastructure than most locations in Australia: denser public transport networks, shorter distances, access to shops and services, etc.

Old apartment buildings. This style would have been around since somewhere 1600's. These ones are probably from the 1800's.


Newer blocks. The building on the left had a plaque on the wall indicating that it belongs to the city council's housing company. Without actual knowledge, my guess is that it might be public housing.


Most city blocks in the inner city areas form closed courtyards. Each building would have their own section there in the middle of the block. We had those also where I grew up and I've spent countless hours running around (and between) them with friends. It's also a great place for the elderly people to go out and get fresh air & sunshine and see neighbours without a need to go somewhere specific.


A bonus: the tram & bus stop shelters in the inner city seemed to have a little park on top of them. Would be great for birds, etc. That would also shield them from the effect of sun on a warmer summer day. This would be highly practical in Australia, cooling down the shelters.

 

[VPS]

Part 2 of Heja Sverige!
(Seems each post can have max 10 photos / attachments)

CITY LIVING
Haga is a nice mix of older buildings and now also new ones. What makes it a great place is how the neighbourhood still retains its character. The same applies across most suburbs: the new developments are done in line with the existing character and spacing of the buildings. There's a lot we could learn about town planning in Australia from our friends up here. What's cool is that it does not need to come at the expense of efficiency. In fact, many European cities seem to run more efficient infrastructure than most locations in Australia: denser public transport networks, shorter distances, access to shops and services, etc.

Old apartment buildings. This style would have been around since somewhere 1600's. These ones are probably from the 1800's.
View attachment 390002

Newer blocks. The building on the left had a plaque on the wall indicating that it belongs to the city council's housing company. Without actual knowledge, my guess is that it might be public housing.
View attachment 390005

Most city blocks in the inner city areas form closed courtyards. Each building would have their own section there in the middle of the block. We had those also where I grew up and I've spent countless hours running around (and between) them with friends. It's also a great place for the elderly people to go out and get fresh air & sunshine and see neighbours without a need to go somewhere specific.
View attachment 390008

A bonus: the tram & bus stop shelters in the inner city seemed to have a little park on top of them. Would be great for birds, etc. That would also shield them from the effect of sun on a warmer summer day. This would be highly practical in Australia, cooling down the shelters.
View attachment 390009

On every survey I've had from my council I have recommended green roof on bus stops.

 

[SuePa]

On every survey I've had from my council I have recommended green roof on bus stops.

Do you think they would survive the hot summers?
I can't see councils coming around to water them, but I love the idea.

 

[VPS]

Do you think they would survive the hot summers?
I can't see councils coming around to water them, but I love the idea.

I know there are some in Australia - I think it just requires some innovative thinking and proper planting.

 

[tdimdad]

FAVOURITE SPOTS IN GOTHENBURG

Some afterthoughts on my favourite spots in Gothenburg. This time around, the weather was very un-touristy: 12C, rainy and windy. Like a miserable winter day in Sydney. Combined with a rather short period of my own time, I bunkered indoors doing boring things. But from earlier trips and roaming around in sunshine, some favourites emerge. If you want to do a quick trip but get an idea of the city, I'd recommend 1.5 days: arrive in the morning and depart the next evening.

All of the locations mentioned below you can easily reach by tram or bus. There's no need to hire a car for the city alone. Take an airport shuttle bus to the city (about A$17 one-way) and then pay your way using a Visa/Mastercard (unless you want a transport pass).

You can reach Gothenburg also from Copenhagen and Oslo by train or bus, or driving.

Gothenburg City Museum (Göteborgs stadsmuseum)
A nice setup, hosts multiple exhibitions. Their Viking era display is definitely worth visiting for the artefacts and comprehensive cross-section of the local history from that era (the photo shows 1000 year old Viking swords). The region was one of the main hubs for the Vikings and the museum does good job in displaying it.
The city as such was founded in 1621 and the museum covers the development over time in a comprehensive way. You can speed through the museum in an hour but if you want to study and take in the local history, reserve an easy 3-4 hours.



Botanic gardens (Göteborgs botaniska trädgård)
One of the places I try to visit in every city is their botanic garden or similar. They are usually a beautiful and tranquil oasis, breaking up the trip and giving the brains rest. Besides, it feeds from all of the narrative about how good greenery is for the human mind.
These gardens are quite large so you'll get to do some walking. It has several different segments and is organised well. I'd book 2 hours for this.



Slottsskogen ("Castle's forest")
A forest area nestled in between the suburbs. A fantastic place to spend time outdoors and enjoy a glimpse of the southern Swedish nature. 1 hour minimum but you could easily spent several hours here.



Trädgårdsföreningen ("Garden society")
This is like an inner city botanic garden. A large park with green houses and various segments. Makes for a nice stroll, including swans and other birds at the waterfront. While at it, you should keep walking through Kungsparken and perhaps you'll end in Haga for a coffee. A few steps further would also be Järntorget, the centre of the labour union movement in the city. 1 hour for the gardens.



Churches
I've been through four different churches. If you like stopping by to see places of worship, these will offer you some variety. The text below is in the order of the pictures (top left, top right, bottom left, bottom right). If you happen to be visiting Haga, three of these churches are right next to you. If you want to tour through all four by foot in one go, reserve some 2-4 hours depending on how quick or relaxed your pace will be.

Hagakyrkan - A suburban church in the inner city, striking visual contrasts.
Oscar Fredriks Kyrka - Another inner city suburban church. Neo gothic style of architecture and the most colourful and spendid of these four.
Masthuggskyrkan - A seafarers' church up on a hill with fantastic 270 degree views toward the sea and across the city.
Cathedral (Domkyrkan) - A surprisingly simple interior for a cathedral. Leaves plenty of room for your own thoughts. If you have been to e.g. the Helsinki cathedral (Helsingin tuomiokirkko), you'll find many similarities between them.



OTHER THINGS?
Remembering that Gothenburg is an industrial port city, there will be much more to see. Volvo head office & factory has been a dominant factor in the city life and has their own museum / display. There are also many other places to wander through and take in, if you want to immerse yourself in the city. You could start at the top of Avenyn by the art museum and concert hall, then pop into the city library for a look, and wander through the city centre to Barken Viking and marvel the colourful highrise building next to it. Perhaps then towards Stigberget and Majorna neighbourhoods.

If you have kids in tow, Liseberg is the largest amusement park in Scandinavia, founded 100 years ago and still very popular. On a rainy day, small kids would probably enjoy spending time in a local library even if the books were in Swedish.

ACCOMMODATION
There are heaps of options around the city centre. The largest hotel operator is Scandic and they are a reasonably priced, solid mid-range option (3-4 stars). You'll find also many other known players in the city but the big upper-scale chains have quite a small footprint in the city. If you want half a step up from Scandic etc, then Radisson Blu is an option to consider.

Locationwise, a great central location with plenty of transport, eateries and shops around would be along Östra Hamngatan and near the Cathedral (Domkyrkan).

 

[Seat0B]

Really enjoying your commentary @tdimdad.

 

[tdimdad]

HELSINKI AIRPORT + FINNAIR

There are a few things I like about Helsinki airport (HEL). The design and layout is simple and easy to understand. The distances can be quite long, though and the central area can become a bit congested during rush hours. They also have some very cool touches like wooden design elements, good noise control, birdsong and images of nature in bathrooms, etc.

For my sidetrip, I caught an intercity train to Helsinki, intending to connect to a local commuter train for the airport. However, lightning had damaged some equipment, leading the trains to run late. Mine departed 30 mins late but was delayed further en route. Lucky I had reserved plenty of spare time instead of optimising my schedule.

At one of the earlier stops, I pre-empted the potential further delays and went to see the conductors (train guards) asking for alternatives. They decided that the best option is for me to hop off the train at a scheduled stop in the outskirts of Helsinki metro area and catch a taxi from there. That would same me at least 45 mins compared to the train's ETA & subsequent connection. So, I got a taxi voucher and was in the terminal 40 min later than originally planned, just in time for a quick dinner in the lounge.


This taxi had also moved with the ages and the driver ID was displayed digitally on the screen. Gone are the old musty cards hidden away somewhere in the sunvisor.


One great thing in the intercity trains is the facilities for families with kids. There's one floor dedicated for small kids and you cna also book a family pod for your trip.


The Finnair lounge in the Schengen area has the best views, right toward the intersection of two runways. You get to see all the action while enjoying your food / drinks. That lone plane at a gate on the right was my transport being made ready for pax to join.
The lounge is about the move to a new, roomier location. I have no idea where to but hope they can retain the great views.


No questions needed, no argy-bargy, no interlopers: the access to priority security is controlled by gates and your BP.
This time around, it was very quiet in the terminal. By using the priority entry I managed to overtake whopping four other pax in the queue.

The GOT airport has the same idea of gated access to security, different implementation: the entry to escalators which take you to the screening has three gates, one of them designated as the priority lane. From there, it's physically separated all the way through to the scanner and allowed me to skip some 20 mins of queuing. Thumbs up for that!


Look at the decals in the walls and ceiling, decorating the departure gate area. The photo does not do justice to them but they enclosed the areas and provided good visual guidance to where the entry is.


A simple design thing which I want to call out is the AY boarding pass PDF. If you have the BP emailed to you after the OLCI, and then enlarge the QR code for scanning, the view on the phone has just the bare minimum what you need: QR and when to be at the gate.
When departing from GOT, the gate agent also made great use of what's visible: instead of calling for groups 1-2 to board, they called "if you have 'Priority' marked on your BP, you are welcomed to board now". Very simple, yet very clear and unambiguous.


Finally, a nice little extra feature onboard. The HEL-GOT ride was on E190 and the exit row has a very handy extra armrest for you. I ended up using it continuously.

 

[Lat34]

This is awesome timing @tdimdad ... We are heading to Iceland (2 weeks) then Finland (3 days) after Into the Midnight Sun cruise starting next week. Already picked up some terrific info from above plus @Skyring

 

[Seat0B]

This is awesome timing @tdimdad ... We are heading to Iceland (2 weeks) then Finland (3 days) after Into the Midnight Sun cruise starting next week. Already picked up some terrific info from above plus @Skyring

This sounds very similar to our plans for early September 2025, so I hope you might also post a TR so I can ride along and learn. We are cruising from Reykjavik to Oslo via several ports In Iceland, GreenlND, Faroe Islands, Shetland, and several ports in Norway, with time in Iceland before, and time in Finlan, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia after, so I am really keen to learn from others here.

 

[Seat0B]

Reading my post above, I should also probably be keen to fix up my typing skills! Sorry for all the typos - fat fingers on a mobile phone

 

[tdimdad]

UNESCO World Heritage - Old Rauma

The third oldest town in Finland, Rauma, was officially founded in 1442. Already before that it was a busy commercial hub through the Medieval age. Located on the coastline, shipping has always been important, and since the WWII it's had two shipyards which have built ferries and cruise liners plus research and navy vessels.

The old town centre has been preserved and is now a UNESCO World Heritage Site, one of the six on mainland Finland (and one natural site off the coast). If you already are in the western Finland, it's well worth adding as a part of your itinerary for the day.

My previous visit to Rauma was a school excursion when I was 10, or so. While doing my military service, I visited the local coastal artillery base a few times but there was never leisure time for any local tourism. So, it was high time that I'd finally revisit the town.

The old town centre is a living museum: people live there, local shops occupy retail premises, and it's all maintained very nicely. You are free to wander around like on any city street and take in the meandering streetscape and quirky details. There's a recommended 2 km walking route looping via key museums. I was surprised how large the area was - not just a few blocks but the old town centre has been preserved in full. I ended up spending three hours exploring the Old Rauma.

The streets are filled with colourful wooden houses, most from the 1800's. In the old times, the poor families would have had 1-2 rooms while the well-off ones even 4 rooms for themselves.



The wealthiest family in the mid-1800's was in the shipping business, owning six vessels carrying import and export of goods. They had nice, posh quarters.


Rauma had two churches in the Medieval ages: Holy Trinity and Holy Cross. Holy Trinity burnt down in the 1600's and has remained in ruins ever since. The Franciscan monks built the initial Holy Cross church in the 1400's and the current stone church is believed to be from about 1520 - right in time before the reformation took place and Finland started to convert from Roman Catholic faith to Lutheran (which has been dominant across Scandinavia and Finland ever since).


Museums are great when they have tiny little tidbits that reveal about the history. The cover page of a local newspaper on 1 April 1911 has an ad for legal services by Risto Ryti and his business partner (top of left column). Little did people know at that time that 30 years later he would be the Prime Minister and President during the war times.
We can also see that one of the largest banks of the time was paying 5% interest for savings accounts and 3% for what now are called transaction accounts. That savings rate sounds pretty familiar even today...


Rauma is known for its intricate lace work. It's very complex and takes an eternity to craft e.g. a table cloth. A museum guide suggested that a round cloth, 20 cm across, with a simple pattern would take a few months, if you work an hour or two a day.


Being a coastal town, you also get to see wonderful views from the Kiikartorni viewing tower. A bit of a climb up but well worth the vista.


Maritime education has also been an important part of the town. The local maritime museum also has a ship simulator which you can test out. Even when I was commanding only a mid-sized fishing boat, it was surprisingly tricky to navigate through narrow passages between islands. I was almost on the rocks a few times...


Sea men were always well known for their tattoos. In fact, there were no tattoo parlors in Finland in earlier times, so anyone with a tattoo was immediately identified as a sailor who's visited faraway ports. Nice to see that being presented with a doze of humour.

 

[ellen10]

Really enjoying your trip report and wonderful photos!