DAY 24: Helsinki (NH Collection Grand Hansa Hotel)

When we woke this morning, it was actually snowing. Amazing! Just light delicate snowflakes but still, it was pretty impressive.

We had coffee at a nearby cafe and then headed off to meet our tour guide for our Helsinki Food Tour. Our guide was Lara, a very softly spoken Russian woman. Very sweet, but not really the right personality for a tour guide as she was very serious and a little shy. 

Still, she took us round the city and gave us a bit of history as well as getting us to try a lot of traditional Finnish food that we otherwise wouldn't have tried. (Some good and some not so good!)

We started off in the Old Market Hall at one of the food stalls. It's a lovely covered market with lots of seating for customers, so we will definitely come back.

1. Salmon on Rye Bread, Shrimp in Mayonnaise and Pickled Herring - it wasn't smoked salmon. I think it might have been raw, or maybe lightly cured. The bread was heavy and dull and I wasn't too keen on this. The shrimp was perfectly edible, because it tasted only of mayonnaise and dill. (They don't really use spices in Finland and the main herb is dill. Very simple flavours here.) The herring was melt-in-your-mouth soft, but a bit odd tasting as it was pickled in sherry. I wasn't a big fan.
2. Three types of caviar - (I think you may be seeing the problem here. Too much fish!) The first caviar sample was wild red salmon and presented on a blini with sour cream. This was ok. We then got to sample two more types on a little tasting spoon, and they were edible, I suppose, but I was dying for a drink.
3. Dried & Smoked Reindeer and Bear with a Cup of Tea - we had dried reindeer (perhaps a bit gamey for me), smoked reindeer (very nice), reindeer salami (very nice) and dried bear (didn't taste of anything much). We were give an cup of strong tea with spruce needle syrup for sweetening, which was very welcome.
4. Bread Cheese with Cloudberry Jam - I can't remember why it is called 'bread cheese'. I think it's because it used to be baked in the oven to keep it for long periods. It was originally made with reindeer milk but is now made from cow's milk and is much like halloumi. The sweet orange cloudberry jam was delicious. (We then watched a video of how they pick cloudberries by hand in the wild.)
5. Rye Oatmeal Pastry & Gingerbread & Glogg - we left the Market Hall and walked to the main street to a bakery called 'Gateau' (not very Finnish). They served us with an absolutely tasteless pastry made out of rye flour with oatmeal inside. (I could see how this could be a nourishing warming meal on the tundra, but you wouldn't choose it otherwise.) The gingerbread biscuit was nice and light and the Glogg was the spiced wine - but I think this was one non-alcoholic berry juice. (Jim didn't like it so I drank his as well.)
6. Milk Chocolate - We went from the bakery to a pastry and sweets shop run by the Fazer family and were given a very innocuous piece of milk chocolate (apparently their speciality). I suddenly realised we were nearing the end of our tour and we didn't have change to give Lara a tip, so you'll be pleased to know I bought something from the shop (which will probably end up being added to your Christmas presents, Barb) to get some change.
7. Sea Buckthorn & Blueberry Chocolate -  We moved on to the nicely named Xocolab, where they make chocolate in house and had a piece of sea buckthorn chocolate (which had a bit of a Turkish delight gelatin centre - very nice) and a piece of blueberry chocolate (just ordinary). I think food tours overdo the sweet things on a tour, in general. I'd have preferred some cheese or bread or something.
8. Glass of Wine - Our final stop on the tour was a rooftop bar at the Torni Hotel, which gives you a great 360 degree view of Helsinki. We could order whatever drink we wanted so I had a prosecco and Jim had a coke.

There was an American mother and daughter also on our tour, although the mother had mobility issues and pulled out of the tour half way. (Not sure what she was thinking).

After a rest in our hotel room, we ventured out to the local Christmas Market. As usual, it was lots of stalls and lights. Quite fun to walk around but nothing worth buying. It is set up in front of the amazing Helsinki Cathedral, which we will visit tomorrow.

In the evening, we went back to the hotel restaurant for a bit of a snack meal. I had parsnip soup with sourdough bread and butter, and Jim had a cheese platter and some chicken liver pate.