We went for a car tour of Helsinki today. It’s a very pleasant place. The streets are wide, clean and well-maintained. Outside of the centre of town, the city gradually merges with nature. Large stands of old growth forest are interspersed with the suburbs, and buildings are constructed around nature instead of on top of it. Frequently there are large outcroppings of granite and towering pine trees scattered throughout residential and commercial neighborhoods. Large lakes and rivers break up the landscape. The outskirts of the city look like Muskoka cottage country.

We visited the expensive neighborhood of Westend, and walked along the side of the lake for a while. Then we hopped in the car to seek out Jakomäki and Kontula, which are supposed to be the “rough” part of town. Not surprisingly, they were clean, orderly and nicely forested, like the rest of Helsinki. We were hoping to see some gangland slayings, but there were none happening. Apparently new immigrants settle into these areas because of the low cost of living. I’d have to say that new immigrants should feel lucky to find themselves in such beautiful surroundings, especially compared to the slums they inhabit in Hamilton and Toronto. Jakomäki and Kontula are easily much nicer looking places than Garfield Avenue in Hamilton. 😛

After our tour, we went to Arttu’s parents’ house for dinner. We had some traditional Finnish foods, like reindeer, cooked in a cream sauce on mashed potatoes with lingonberry sauce. We had fresh salad and Finnish rye bread with cheese on the side. It was quite delicious. For dessert, we had a bread-cheese dish with cloudberry sauce and a blueberry pie with whipped cream. So far all the warnings about Finnish food have been false alarms. However, I’ve yet to have blood sausage, which Jen is determined to feed me…