Christmas in Finland

Sammy and I are celebrating Christmas in Helsinki, Finland. It's been really nice and relaxing so far because the Fins celebrate all three days, Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, and the day after Christmas. Everything is closed except the hotel restaurants.

Even though everything is closed Sammy and I have been walking around and peeking in the shops. One thing we've decided is that the Santa Clause over here looks a little different than the ones I'm use to seeing. He doesn't seem very friendly.

Scary Santa

While Sammy and I were strolling around Helsinki we stopped by the Cathedral which is the largest in Western Europe. It was really pretty, and there was a Christmas Concert playing, we wanted to go, but we weren't able to get tickets because it was already sold out.

Me and Sammy

After taking a look at the Cathedral we wandered down to the harbor. There was a old style tall ship in the slip and when we got closer to it we realized it was a restaurant. So we strolled down into the shops and found a fur shop that sold hats. So now I'm a proud owner of a fuzzy black hat!

Me in my Babuska hat!

As Sammy and I walked down the street after buying my hat we noticed that there are a lot of restaurants in Helsinki that are Michelin reccomended. Tonight is that first night that most restaruants are open and we're going to try one called Yume. Which is Japanese, not Finnish. Tomorrow night we may try a Finnish one if we get back from Turku in time.

Sammy in front of a Michelin recommended Finnish restaurant.

Sammy and I were suprised that the city wasn't decorated for Christmas more. The Fins seem to use decorations sparingly. Even though it wasn't as decorated as much as we had anticipated it was still really nice.

Main town square

While walking around the shops we also saw something that seems to be a common occurance during the holiday season...PIGS. I guess the Fins also believe that pigs are good luck during the holiday season.

Christmas window showcasing a pig

Tommorrow we are going to Turku which is the old capital city of Finland. More then...