Saturday afternoon interlude in Helsinki - shopping & wandering in the Kammpi area

The middle part of my Saturday in Helsinki was fluid. My original and overly aggressive plan for Saturday was to take a train to Tampere for a day trip, similar to what I did with Porvoo. Tampere would be a 90 minute train each way. And I had a hockey game to see at 5pm (next post in the queue). So while I would have loved to have seen some of Tampere (like the Stable Yards), I made the executive decision to bail and spend more time in Helsinki. This decision was easier to make as the VR train service offers insurance so you can cancel your trip and pay like 10 euros instead of eating the 70 or 80 euros it would be for the round trip. I bought the insurance, canceled my ticket, received my refund. Very nicely done, Finland.

Back to what I did do on this Saturday. The first part of the day was spent visiting Puu-Vallila and biking around the city. I returned the bike to a station near Kamppi. I should say, with the help of a nice local who saw me struggling I was able to return the bike. Helsinki's City bikes are known to be a bit challenging to return to their docks. I had no problems with my first ride. But I wasn't getting it at Kamppi. This younger woman and her like 7 year old came over to save the day. I thanked them and then turned to the Kamppi commercial center.

Found it was having a little NHL experience on the plaza in front. Pretty low key when I was there. Not sure if this kind of thing happens regularly or was scheduled deliberately to coincide with the HIFK v Ilves game I was going to later that afternoon.

Inside the mall I buzzed through a few different places before I was presented with my first MUJI encounter. I now see that MUJI has made it to the US, with some stores in NY and Boston having opened up since 2017 (i.e., after I left). MUJI is not in Mexico and was not on my radar. This place is a retail experience. Even moreso in the moment as I thought it was some unusual Helsinki secret. They do have other locations in Europe and I probably walked by the one in Lisbon without realizing it. Regardless, I was legit astonished at what I was seeing. It's like Ikea + Container Store + Crate & Barrel + Old Navy + Zara fused into a more stylish version of all of them combined. Whoa. Did not actually buy anything. But if I do make it back to Helsinki with Judy this place will be on the short list of things to do when we're there.

The mall overall was quite nice. Good vibes / feel, and more than a few restaurant options, such as these.

Eventually I popped back outside and saw a Lidl across the way.

Had to duck in there for a survey of the snack options. Saw some fun things that didn't disappoint. But refrained from buying either of them.

Was compelled by the bakery section. Pulled a few of these out of their little containers to come home with me.

Noticed that the Taco Bell seemed to be delivery vehicle central. Wondered if that's where the guys were eating, or if they were anticipating a wave of imminent orders. Either way, there's a Taco Bell in central Helsinki, fyi.

Don't know what these guys were all about, but they had a beer pong set up and were playing Fight for Your Right to Party at volume, but in the least aggressive and obtrusive way possible.

Couple more vibe shots, including the silent chapel.

Decided to take a slightly different path back to the apartment. Had been to / through Bulevardi and the Design District enough times at this point. So I wound up heading south along Kasarmikatu and the plaza around the Winter War Memorial caught my eye. Glad I passed this way.

Back at the apartment I tucked into these guys that I pulled from the Lidl bakery. (Had already chomped the pig-in-a-croissant-blanket immediately upon exiting the store.) One on the left was some kind of bacon and cheese deal. Middle one was legit delicious. Think it was called Hawaiian something. Unclear why. But it was great. Last one was a pretzel bun kind of thing. Fine, but definitely the runt of this litter.

Now time for a brief rest before heading to the hockey game.

Quick Review: Burger Company (Porvoo, Finland)

In researching Porvoo I saw Burger Company highlighted within Google Maps. 4.7 rating, more than 300 reviews. Must be pretty good. So I pinned it and planned on stopping there for lunch during my day trip. It's a solid 15 minute walk from the bus terminal which I now use as my reference point for all of Porvoo. And it's in the opposite direction of most of the priority sights you'd want to see in a brief visit. So in retrospect, it was a questionable call to target Burger Company for lunch in the first place.

It is set in a nice, residential area on the far east side of what you might consider downtown Porvoo. So the approach was pleasant enough.

The guys working the counter / kitchen were friendly in taking my order. I can't find a specific menu to point to, but there are some pics in their google listing that give you a good idea of what they offer. Looks like a mix of staples and specials. I'm pretty sure I ordered some kind of spicy crispy chicken 'burger' that promised either sriracha or chipotle flavor. Got the combo with fries and some funky orange soda. There was one other dude sitting at the counter seating in the window, so I figured I'd give us both some space and sat at a little table wedged between the door, counter, and soda fridge.

But after failing to make myself comfortable I decided dude and I would have to deal with our mutual proximity in the window. Definitely a better spot. Nice little view. Dude finished up pretty soon, so I had the window to myself, and high hopes for my meal.

Unfortunately it was just okay. First couple of bites were decent. But then the bun started to disintegrate a bit, turning into a flaky and mushy layer that blended into the chicken breast. Sloppy. The first couple of fries were decent, but seemed to go cool pretty quickly and then didn't have much flavor. I probably left half of them on the tray.

Looking more closely at the reviews and pics on its google listing, I'm seeing a lot of praise for things I did not order. Skagen fries. Burritos. And some of the actual burgers sound pretty good. "Mexi Vibes" has my attention. But I didn't want to eat a huge meal that would put me to sleep, nor try anything potentially funky that could put me in an awkward situation on the bus ride home (I mean, look at those Skagen Fries). Played it safe with the spicy chicken and came away with a 'meh' feeling. Can't win them all. If I ever find my way back to Porvoo for multiple days, perhaps staying in an Airbnb in this side of town, I would likely give it another go. Maybe for some take-away dinner. But it's not a great option for a quick daytrip. I miscalculated.

Checking out Puu-Vallila, Helsinki's wooden house district + some biking around the city's parks

Saturday would be my last full day in Helsinki, so I wanted to cover some ground. First thing I did was head out to Puu-Vallila, aka the Wooden House District. It makes a lot 'must see' lists for its distinct history and character. My takeaway after checking it out is that it's cool if you're planning to spend more time up in the broader Vallila area, but not necessarily worth the trek if you're just flying through this particular subslice of Vallila. It's a lazy analogy, but from what I'm reading it sounds like Vallila has vibes like parts of Brooklyn did in the early 2000s (thinking Carroll Gardens up through Williamsburg). It also sounds like coming to Helsinki and spending a long summer weekend focused on Vallila specifically could be fun. For your reference and consideration I'll share a few links from MyHelsinki.

* Up & coming Vallila

* 7 Vallila "must dos"

* 72 hours in Vallila

What I did was take the tram up to spin around Puu-Vallila for maybe 20 minutes before hopping on a City Bike to head back downtown.

For orientation, let's see where Puu-Vallila is within the city. It's a bit north. Again, my apartment is marked by the southern-most heart icon you see in the image below and Puu-Vallila is that red pin up north.

Getting up there was straightforward, but took some time. Two trams, twelve stops, and ~35 minutes.

Another delightfully quiet tram ride. And, fyi, that little blue terminal you see in the pics below is how and where you pay for your ride. Dead simple and convenient.

I hopped off the tram at Vallian kirjasto, just like the app told me to. It's right on the southestern edge of the district, as you can see marked by the red pin in the first image below. Second pic is what I saw when I hopped off this lovely Saturday morning.

I snapped some pics of the perimeter as I looped around to the main area.

Soon enough you get a glimpse of the traditional homes that are the area's calling card.

This green building here is Pikku-Vallila, which appears to be very well reviewed. Perhaps if you were coming just to see Puu-Vallila it would be a good idea to swing through during this pub's limited opening hours and enjoy a pint or coffee on the sidewalk.

Snapped a few more pics that caught my eye. Foilage, solid color facades, bright blue sky. Very nice.

And that was it. As you get out to the nothern point of the neighborhood where Maekelankatu and Sturenkatu intersect you find a generic, wide open intersection. Underscores how Puu-Vallila really is a rather small oasis within the broader Vallila zone.

Rather than tram it back to the center, I decided to get one more ride out of my City Bike pass. Picked one up and generally pointed myself toward the center via the paths along the ... ponds? lakes? ... bodies of water that lie right in the middle of the city on either side of the train tracks that run down into the center of the city. You can see them below in the first image. Following image is my route, kinda, indicated by the darker blue line.

I only snapped a few pics. Again, I was enjoying the ride and didn't want to hop off every 30 seconds to take pictures. But you can get the idea of how it was. Really pleasant.

Altogether that accounted for about 1h 45m ish and it was time for the next stage of the day, which would be a bit of wandering / shopping in the Kammpi area.