Art Sindlinger: First Morning in Helsinki - exploring Kallio and the area around Hakaniemi Market Square

Woke up the morning of Thursday the 9th with a few hours to use before I had to move into my booking.com apartment rental. Weather was not great, but it wasn't raining. Just kind of wet, gray, and a little cool.

I learned that the Citybox had another entrance / exit that gives a better perspective on its great location. The hotel lies along the main avenue coming up from downtown Helsinki. It is steps away from Hakaniemi Market Square, and as I learned in my previous evening's walkabout, it is only a few minutes walk up to the bars, cafes, and restaurants of Fleminginkatu and then the Harju area. When you step out that back (main?) entrance you have a direct view in one direction toward the intersection with a variety of transportation connections, and then the Kallio Church stands as the main landmark in the other direction. (Note - learned later that you can climb the top of the tower on weekends - some nice pics in that Google Maps link).

I grabbed a scooter and wandered a bit. For what it's worth dott appears to be the scooter of choice in Helsinki. Might have seen some Bolts around. And there is also RYDE. But I saw dott everywhere so that's the app I installed and went with for my Finland scooting.

The plan was to cover more of the Kallio area. Maybe some side streets, maybe some of what I had seen the night before. For the most part it was mission accomplished. I don't know how precise the 'my routes' feature of Google Maps is, but this seems generally representative of the ping-ponging around I did.

Initial impressions were that it's a nice, residential area of the city. Quiet streets. Some local schools with kids enjoying the playgrounds and parks (saw a lot of this in the few days I was there).

Also was fascinated by the geometry of some medium-sized apartment buildings.

This mural was impossible to miss. Looked it up and see that it's by a Polish street artist. Some more backstory here.

I also snapped my first of many pictures featuring the fall foilage. After this year's October trip and last year's November trip to Bulgaria I have decided that I should prioritize traveling this time of year. While we have some version of seasons in la CDMX, we do not have the same kind of color changing in the trees. I do enjoy seeing that. Nostalgia? Maybe. Regardless, it's a nice visual element when touring around somewhere new. Adds to the charm of these residential areas of Helsinki, which, I imagine would appear a bit less inviting in March with bare trees, grey skies, more slush than snow. September / October does seem like a solid time to visit.

I hopped off the scooter and then covered some ground by foot. Plan was to check out the area around Hakaniemi Market Square. The area is pretty cool. However I have to confess that I failed completely to actually enter the Market Hall. I think I tried to approach it from the wrong side and then got distracted / forgot about it / needed to get back to check out of my hotel room. But based on what I'm seeing in the Google Maps listing photos it looks a lot more interesting / local / pleasant than the more famous Old Market Hall downtown. Next time I'm in Helsinki I will make sure I figure out how to visit. I think it might be the building in the first picture below. As you can see, it was pretty quiet when I was there (Thursday morning, 10:30 ish).

Places I did notice while walking around included Dos Tecolotes. I just caught the papel picado and the calavera in the window. But looks like it has strong reviews.

Hippie Shake Records looks worth a browse if I had more time. Again, nice reviews.

And then the Asian cafe and grocery right next to each other and just down the block from yet another. I popped in for a quick look. Would be nice to have in the neighborhood.
KIM Cafe