Ehrensvärd's trail: Nature and fortress

Ungern bastion

Ehrensvärd. This name might sounds familiar to you. He is indeed the creator of the fortress of Suomenlinna just outside Helsinki. Augustin Ehrensvärd was also the commander of the Swedish Archipelago Fleet from 1756 to 1766, and from 1770, until his death in 1772. In the small town of Loviisa (16.000 inhabitants) just 90km East from Finland's capital, you'll find the 2km long Ehrensvärd's trail going around the fortress of Rosen and Ungern. On the way, visitors will learn more about how the fortresses were built from stone hammering to the 18th century fortress, and about the local fauna and flora.

Symphonic water show in Lahti

Every summer the city of Lahti offers a synchronized music show twice a day at the fountain next to the small lake Pikku Vesijärvi (litterally the small water lake). The fountains built in 1997 was offered by the energy company Lahden Energia to the city. It counts 600 nozzles and the biggest can reach a height of 30m. It is the largest musical fountain in the Nordic countries. During the months of October and November, 250 color lights add more magic to the show in the dark autumn nights.

A paradise for cake lovers

In Finland, cakes are amazingly good but quite pricy. In Helsinki, a slice can be up to 8€! But no worries. This article will tell you about a place you absolutely need to visit!

Berry pie with vanilla sauce

Located a few meters from the bus station of Porvoo (50km East from Helsinki) in a 19th century white stone building, the discreet café Cabriole is a paradise for cake lovers. It is very difficult to make a choice in front of more than 10 different kinds of colorful home-made cakes: passion fruit, berry, fudge, lime, white chocolate and raspberries, Sacher and many more.

Sea, sun and beaches in Helsinki

Beach of Hietalahti

In Helsinki, the sea is never far from the neighborhoods. The capital of Finland counts 26 beaches, 13 are under the watch of rescuers. The largest beach is located in Hiehtaniemi, just a few minutes of walk from the busy bus station of Kamppi. Urban young people love to come here for enjoying the sun with a good book, listening to their favorite music, swimming or playing volleyball with friends. Another reason of its popularity is the fact that the beach is covered of sand and not stones like on most of the other beaches.

Cruises: don't fall in the traps!

Silja Symphony heading towards Stockholm

Helsinki is ideally located in the Gulf of Finland, close from Saint-Petersburg (Russia), Tallinn (Estonia) and Stockholm (Sweden). A lot of boats are schuttling back and forth between Finland's and Estonia's capitals from early morning to late evening 7/7. The cities are just separated by 130km of water. It is the perfect destination for some shopping (especially alcoholic beverages as the prices in Finland are really high), enjoying a spa massage or having a walk in the picturesque old town. Going to Stockholm means for many people partying on the boat in the clubs and bars until late. Some of them won't even disembark. Since a couple of years, the company St Peter Line is offering visa-free trip to Russia for a stay shorter than 72 hours.

This article is not about telling you which trip is the best, which company is the cheapest. No, it's about the traps that you should avoid.

New in Helsinki

There are a couple of novelties in Finland's capital this summer. The most visible is undoubtedly the 40m high Finnair Sky Wheel at the Southern harbor. After a year and a half under renovations, the old market hall has reopened its doors just a few days ago with old and new shops. The little island next to Suomenlinna, Lonna is finally open to the public. AmazingFinland went to all of them and is writing about them. Are they worth a visit?

Watch out for birds!

Very aggressive male bernacle 

In May-June birds are nesting a bit everywhere. As nature is never far from the urban life, some birds might create their nest in unappropriate places. They need peace. When you see a goose with an aggresive behavior (showing the tongue, running over people, opening wings, biting or flying to the face), it means that there is a female with eggs or babies very close. It is extremely important to explain the situation to children and prevent any attack. The wingspan of a adult bernacle can be up to 2m. In Helsinki, they are particularly numerous on the islands such as in the zoo of Korkeasaari, Suomenlinna, Lonna and Seurasaari which are very much visited by families.