This may surprise you, but Helsinki has more to apparently offer than a super chill Teddy Bear Museum.  While I was there a friend of mine suggested visiting Suomenlinna Island Fortress which is also a UNESCO heritage site so you know the bar is already pretty high.

You start by taking a short but scenic ferry to the island from Helsinki’s main port area and it costs about 4 Euro.

The island itself is essentially entirely a fort you are free to roam around.  There are cafes and shops scattered and some you have to do some solid exploring to find.  We ended up in a small restaurant/microbrewery called Valimo which had some great wok.

We spent most of the afternoon wandering the island taking photos and exploring some of the fortress tunnels.  It was fascinating.

It can end up a bit tricky with no lights the deeper you get, I suggest a small flashlight or just make sure your phone is charged to use it.

After wandering the fort long enough to get tired we found a good spot to take it easy and relax for awhile to play with the dogs we brought with us.

There is not a ton more advice to offer on this site beyond it is very lovely, has a rich history and be sure to go when the weather is decent as rain will ruin a trip out here.

Also you should explore the grounds thoroughly beyond the paved paths, some of the best lounge locations we had to walk where there was no clear direction.

Another thing of note is that apparently people live here which sounds awesome in a fantasy/Hobbiton sort of way until you imagine the difficulty of just wanting to see a movie or something.  Bit of a balance I suppose.

That’s all for now you crazy kids, keep on trucking!  Here’s a couple more pics I couldn’t work into the article naturally.