One day in Finland: Turku to Helsinki (Europe’s best trains)

[@AnnaMaria-123]

Lovely video. I hope you liked Turku ☺️ You should come back in the summer time, the river and Turku archipelago is beautiful🙂

[@patrickuotinen]

0:45 I don't know when this was shot, but since 15 December the trains to Helsinki have been leaving from the Turku central station. Or some departures from Port of Turku. But of course, if you wouldn't have walked to Kupittaa, you would have missed Turku Cathedral.

[@ClairesFootsteps]

It was on the 2nd December 😊 and yes, I'm glad I got to see some of the city!

[@unhurriedwithchugs5828]

I love your videos and this one too, but I couldn't hold back the laughter when you filmed "the SNOW" 😅

[@ClairesFootsteps]

Hahaha, if it's any explanation, I'm British 😂 even this much snow is cause for excitement here!

[@unhurriedwithchugs5828]

Yes, I love this feeling of excitement in myself and others for small things like early signs of winter 😊 I didn't mean to be mean 😅

[@ClairesFootsteps]

@@unhurriedwithchugs5828 haha no you weren't it's all good! I'm very easily pleased 😁

[@SK-nw4ig]

Helsinki chatedral looks plain? Not to a Finnish eye. Also never heard it been called ikea anything. I love how you walk through the city of Turku and there is no one there :D

[@ClairesFootsteps]

I was told this by a Finnish tour guide last year 😅 haha yeah Turku was quiet, it was a weekday + quite cold out!

[@marialovholm217]

New follower❤ i am half swedish and half finnish. I love your research about the places you go to! The viking lite ferrie is the newest one i beleive. Have a nice trip ❤

[@ClairesFootsteps]

Thankyou, lovely to have you here and I hope I'll see more of both Sweden and Finland in next year or two! Yes i love learning about the different places I go to, history is fascinating!

[@Poshpanda-09]

Are You walking pass the castle? 😮

[@Pizzonia123]

You got to visit the most beautiful city in Finland, and it's not even a close competition. So I would say taking the ferry via Turku is very much preferred to just going straight to Helsinki :) And yep, they changed capitals exactly because Turku was too close to Sweden, so Russia was afraid that there would be too much "Swedish influence" if the capital stayed there.

[@anttikalpio4577]

You’re visiting Southern Finland when life really sucks here. Helsinki and Turku are my favorite cities in the summer, but December really sucks. It’s cold, wet, dark and depressing outside. Next time, please reach out to some of us locals. I’d be happy to show you around when wheater drives people inside.

[@ClairesFootsteps]

Haha I'm a bit strange and really love visiting Nordic countries in winter. But I would also like to visit in summer! Thankyou, yes I love meeting locals when I travel, just didn't have that much time on this trip :)

[@perolden]

There are trains from the ferry terminal in Turku, it is 70 meters, 1-one minute walk, here are som of them 3 t07:49 - 10:49 08:05 fra Turku Port 2 t 55 min07:54 - 10:49 08:10 fra Turku Port 3 t 6 min07:49 - 10:55 08:05 fra Turku Port 3 t 6 min07:49 - 10:55 08:05 fra Turku Port

[@hauskalainen]

The Ikea cathedral? How dare you! It is beautiful outside but rather plain on the inside. Very Lutheran

[@ClairesFootsteps]

I was told it's called this by a Finnish tour guide 😅

[@patrickuotinen]

@@ClairesFootsteps I've lived most of my life (and I'm more than 50 years old) in Helsinki (and currently in Turku), but I have never before heard, that it would be called "Ikea cathedral". I assume, that the tour guide made it up, because they didn't know much about it. Instead, they could have for instance told, that it is actually quite pompous to be a Lutheran church, but it was made so, because when Finland was taken by Russia from Sweden, and Helsinki was made the capital instead of Turku, the Russian emperor wanted to have an impressive, monumental centre to the new capital. The church was originally more colourful (yellow and white walls, like some of the surrounding buildings still have), but later it was painted with white and light grey.

[@ClairesFootsteps]

@patrickuotinen thanks for the info and sorry if I offended, that wasn't my intention at all!

[@timoterava7108]

​@@ClairesFootsteps Don't worry - nobody was/is offended. It's just a Finnish law, that we must be offended, if somebody is comparing a Finnish monument with a Swedish cheap chain shop...😉 I can confirm, that I have never ever heard, seen ot read anybody using the name "Ikea cathedral".

[@patrickuotinen]

@@ClairesFootsteps No worries, I wasn't offended. I just think that your guide hadn't done their homework.

[@JanNyman.]

I would recommend visiting the Helsinki Zoo if you ever have time preferably during the summer months when you can take the ferry to the Island and it´s more pleasant outside.

[@ClairesFootsteps]

Thanks for the recommendation, that's cool it's on an island!

[@Levin.Hoffmann]

Finland is my favourite nordic country but their winter is so cold i can't deal with that haha 😅

[@ClairesFootsteps]

Hahaha I didn't find it too bad!

[@HezuFoto]

FYI, that rail maintenance in Turku is now over and since last sunday (Dec 15th) trains to/from Helsinki again go past Kupittaa station and select services the terminus is Turku harbour. However, Turku central railway station is still under renovation and its functions have been moved nearby event centre Logomo (a former rail engine/car workshop). And one note on the universities in Turku: after the great fire of Turku, the old Acedemy of Turku was moved to Helsinki to became the modern University of Helsinki, the current universities in Turku were then established only later, the Swedish-language Åbo Akademi in 1918 and Finnish-language University of Turku in 1920.

[@MetsisJ]

Yes, because of construction of new rails the trains to the Helsinki direction departed a good time from the Kupittaa station which is located in the east central part of the town, not in the outskirts. However as @HezuFoto points out, the work is now done and trains to both the Helsinki and Tampere directions depart by the pedestrian bridge next to the event arena Logomo. The old main railway station is no longer used, and a new one is to be built close to that pedestrian bridge, across the event arena. There is a train connection directly from the harbour to Logomo. Extending your trip to begin from the harbour instead of Logomo costs you probably less than 1€ (the railway company uses so called dynamic pricing, so prices vary). However, the fare just from the harbour to Logomo with a train is higher than with a local bus.

[@ClairesFootsteps]

Thanks both for the info! I didn't know about the train from the harbour, although it was good to see some of Turku 😊 this was filmed on 2nd December so before the works stopped but good to know they have now 👍

[@Barflax]

You missed that near Tallink-Silja terminal next doors to Viking terminal i'ts a train station that you could take the train to Helsinki/Helsingfors. Well as pointed out earlier maybe back to earlier now.

[@ClairesFootsteps]

Aha I didn't realise this, good to know! Although I enjoyed a walk through Turku too :)

[@Barflax]

You've 2 train trips in Sweden that you must take some time, 1st the train from Stockholm to Narvik, 2nd the "Inlandsbanan" from Mora to Gallivare or the other way, a 3 days trip, the 2nd part of this trip is to long, it best to split in 2 parts. You should do this trips in the summer so that you may see the midnight sun there above the Artic cirkle. Yup I've seen that in Narvik. I've traveling by train from Turku Satama to Helsinki/Helsingfors but that was many years ago and that was on the old slow route.

[@ClairesFootsteps]

Thankyou for this, I've added both to my list - think I'm going to have to do another Nordic/ Lapland trip next year 😄 Wow that's super interesting that that used to be a night train, it barely took 2 hours now!

[@Barflax]

@@ClairesFootsteps That train from Turku to Helsingfors was a day train but the train from Stockholm to Narvik/Norway is a night train. Inlandsbanan is day trains. In Finland I think you can take a train in the summer from Helsingfors to Kolari along the Torneo river up north, Haven't done it myself yet.

[@TimoLaine-pv5ph]

Minor correction, Turku was never found, it was just born in a place easy to defend and accessible for trade. All other Finnish cities have been founded by kings.

[@holoholopainen1627]

Have You ever heard of music called SANDSTORM - by DARUDE ! That IS The most watched Helsinki video - and You surely do regonize - The White Church by The Senate Square

[@ClairesFootsteps]

Oh I didn't realise that was Helsinki, just watched again and yes can see it clearly! Used to listen to that song all the time 😆

[@holoholopainen1627]

@ClairesFootsteps NICE - Yes IT IS Helsinki ! Have You ever taken The Helsinki METRO ? If not - You May see The brand New METRO - on KZbin - as BOMFUNK MCs - FREESTYLER ! After watching IT - everybody do know - How Do The RUN IT !

[@mattilahde5220]

You travel everywhere without airplanes?

[@ClairesFootsteps]

No I do still fly, but I try to travel by train/ ferry/ sometimes bus whenever I can and take these long overland journeys 🙂

[@villekoskela9073]

I have booked that Kupittaa hotel many many times

[@TheJuupajoopa]

Buy Pilkkihanskat to keep your hands warm and able

[@ClairesFootsteps]

Great tip, thanks

[@IbBromberg-sg5bn]

There are a train from the ferry terminal. No need to walk cross town.

[@ClairesFootsteps]

It was good to see some of Turku though 😊

[@IbBromberg-sg5bn]

And it is not a soona. It is sAuna

[@ClairesFootsteps]

My pronunciation isn't great at the best of times 😅

[@tanjanikola9489]

Global warming definitely has an impact on the amount of snow - in the south we may get very little (too warm), or absolutely loads (warm sea temperatures create more moisture in the clouds), and the temperatures can fluctuate above and below zero, creating chaos (first we get snow, then rain, so it melts a little, and then it freezes over to ice, and finally a bit more rain to make the ice super dangerous to walk on). I prefer proper winters!

[@distinctions5714]

In past newspaper 8:56 s from 1850 found news 33 time no snow in Finland winter. Its nothing to do with climate warmin.

[@SK-nw4ig]

@@distinctions5714 Yes, it is the coastal climate tha does that. Sometimes snow, sometimes not.

[@ClairesFootsteps]

😬 yeah it sounds like it's changed a lot in recent years! What's it like in January and February?

[@tanjanikola9489]

@@ClairesFootsteps Winters in the south especially are anyone's guess. Sometimes we have the fairyland (Narnia) winter and the sea ice is frozen over, but we can go through several mini-springs with thawing, then freezing over again and a lot of grit on pavements because of the ice. We never really had that issue when I was a kid, but then - 10°C was a normal temperature. We can also get heavier blizzards now, as the warmer sea temperatures create more moisture in the atmosphere. In the middle of Finland, it is more likely you will have a proper winter. The coast is unpredictable now.

[@mikkorenvall428]

In a fact, that is not a City Courthouse in Turku, it's a former University main building and today used by Court of Appeal. City Court in Turku is much more modern building. And behind the Christmas markets in Helsinki you see the main building of Helsinki University, better known as Aalto University.

[@ClairesFootsteps]

Oh understood! I just got my info from a quick look on Google

[@saaraa7876]

University of Helsinki and Aalto University are two separate universities, the building at the Senate Square is indeed that of the University of Helsinki. Which of course is the old University of Turku.

[@nemo78]

I'm a finn and Helsinki is my least favourite of nordic capitals. It's ugly and quite uninviting. If you want to visit some of the largest cities in Finland, Tampere would be my choice. But in my opinion you'll find the essence of Finland outside of the bigger cities.

[@erwin.mosselmann]

C'mon girl, no Vampires in Turku. Not so sure about Helsinki, thou.