hippichick

Hi, my hubby will be going to Finland on business and there is a good chance that myself and my 12yr old and 6 yr old will be joining him for about two weeks. This is the first time out of the US. A bit nervous about getting around by ourselves while hubby is working. Can someone help calm my nerves. (Am pretty excited about possibilities as well)

hippichick

Hi, this is hippichick again. Forgot to mention that the business trip is to Helsinki and it will be sometime in August, I believe. Sorry about the omissions.

indytravel

I was in Helsinki in June of 2002. I think everybody speaks English there, really, everybody. So many people spoke English in Scandinavia that I finally asked. Between years of schooling and a government policy to only subtitle English TV & movies they have a very high rate of English speakers. You won't have any trouble getting around during the day with your children.

The people were all very gracious and helpful. A stranger on the bus explained to me in excellent English that I was inserting my card into the validating machine backwards.

Get an all day public transportation pass and ride the 3T tram in a figure 8 around the city. You can get off and on anywhere that interests you.

Try to make time to sail the 30 minutes or so out to Suomenlinna. It's a fortress off the downtown that is very pretty to stroll around. The restaurant at the far end from where the boats docked served a very nice pizza.

ira

topping for hippichick

Intrepid

I suppose this sounds like a ridiculous comment but if this is the first time out of the US (for all of you???)..have you gotten the passports yet and are you aware of any entry requirements (which there probably aren't any)?
Otherwise, I always recommend public transport (with a good map) or at the very least taking one of the city tours...a good way to get a non-stressful overview and you could always go back later on your own.
Speaking only English is not the liability for travel in Europe that it once was and unlike some folks in this country, Europeans don't seem to mind conversing with you in English if they can. I hope you have a wonderful trip.

sannina

Finland and especially Helsinki is very nice city. Everybody speeks perfect english, public transport is really good and easy to use. There are lot to do for children as well, Helsinki zoo is on a island just 15 ferry trip away, you should defenately visit "Linnanmaki" which is an amusement park, and it's easy to reach by tram 3T or 3B. I hope you have fun in Helsinki!

veronicamaria

Hi.
As a native of Helsinki who travels a lot and has a lot of foreign visitors dropping by, I'd suggest that you take teh kids to
1.Linnanmäki amusementpark
2.Serena waterpark
3.take a ride in the pubtram "spårakoff" to take in the sights and have a drink at the same time
4.visit Suomenlinna (the fortress, also has treasurehunts for the kids in the summer)
5. take a boatride to the zoo
6. visit the marketplace
7.see the church in the rock, seurasaari
8.take a 3h boatride to Porvoo(a small city 50km away)
9. A dinner cruise in the archipelargo
10.A boat trip to Sweden(2days, with one day in Stockholm) or Estonia (1,5h trip and a day in Tallinn)
Check out the following webbsites or more information:
http://www.travelforkids.com/Funtodo...d/helsinki.htm
http://www.hel.fi/tourism/html/engli...it/lasten.html
for more info, contact me or post a message and I'll send/post more links and more precise information about what's going on
Regards
Veronica