We arrived in Helsinki at about 6am local time but it was still pitch black, In fact the sun wouldn’t rise for at least another three hours. After winding our way through the transfer lounge, we arrived at the immigration counter (there were only about four aisles by the way. The border officer was asking everyone where they were going so Dan was asking me how to pronounce Rovaniemi. He didn’t really need to – the border officer asked me and after I rattled off all of the places, I told him Dan wouldn’t remember them all. He laughed and made sure we knew that Rovaniemi was bloody cold. That was the first time I had made a Finni8sh person or a border guard laugh. And I have been here before. After collecting our bags, we found the Finnair Bus into town. I had thought the driver was agreeing to drop us art our hotel but it turns out he was just circling it on the map he gave us. When we got into town, there we were in railway square in the icy cold, in the dark, trying to work out which direction our hotel was in. Eventually we found it – a lot more tired looking than in the brochure. Obviously built in the 80s with a huge open atrium with hotel room doors facing inward and gold trim everywhere, it also had all the hallmarks of Russian influence, even just in the reddish colour of the wood. The room was comfortable enough, with a heated bathroom floor and bidet. The well stocked bar even had a couple of bottles of Australian Pinot Grigio.

We had booked a two night stay in the hotel so we could sleep but decided to go out for a walk instead. While a bit of a waste, it was still good to dump our things and have a shower and know that if we needed to crash, the option was there.  We wandered into town in search of food. We came across a donut shop in a shopping mall that made (George Clooney) Coffee and toasties – we chose a chicken and bacon toasties and a breakfast toastie (Ham cheese and egg).  That devoured, we wandered through the town a little more and went in search of the rock church, which I had missed seeing on my last visit to Finland. We knew we were almost there when we saw the tacky souvenir shop on the left and the group of (moistly Asian) tourists up ahead.

The Lutheran church, carved into solid rock on a hillside (one of the few in central Helsinki) by two brothers in the 1960s is spectacular. A round church, which in my humble opinion, like a theatre, is how a house of worship should be designed, not least of all because it evokes the equality and inclusiveness that religion is supposed to embody. The most magnificent part is when you look up. The wooden ceiling of spiral pieces of wood, so thin they look like matchsticks from the pews, is a beautiful contrast to the rough stone. Light is provided by windows that circle the building just underneath the dome. A simple construction that enhances the materials in the design is made all the more spectacular by the carved organ in the corner. The only disappointment was the cushion covered pews that were no doubt designed to be bare wood.

From here we headed down the hill and then along the esplanade, a pretty tree lined street flanked by Helsinki’s designer stores – from fashion to homewares and not a major runway name in sight. We were starting to fade now so left investigating the stores for a return trip. We headed toward Finland’s other famous Lutheran church – the whitewashed, green domed one built at the turn of the century and flanked by a statue of Alexander IV. They were also setting up little huts which you imagine will be Christmas market stalls when they open. From there, feeling a bit weary, we headed back to the hotel to chill for a while before heading back out.

That is when we made the classic rookie traveler mistake. When I laid my head on the pillow to just relax for an hour or so, it was 11:30am. When Dan woke me it was 8pm. Although I felt like I could still sleep for another 12 hours, we thought better of that idea and headed out to find some dinner. We found a little Mexican come pizza place on our stroll and thought that looked like a suitable (reasonably cheap) place for a meal. We ordered an entrée platter and two pizzas which was more than enough food. The entrée platter came with chicken wings, cheese stuffed jalapenos, cheese sticks, olives feta, carrot and cucumber sticks and chips with sour cream and sweet chili. The pizzas were the most interesting part – we had pepperoni and ham and pineapple pizzas but they come with blue cheese rather than mozzarella which gave them a unique but quite delectable taste. We washed it down with the local beer Lapin Kulta (a yeasty lager) for Dan and a strongbow for me. After that we headed back to the hotel about 1o:30 or so and tried to make ourselves tired enough to go back to sleep. It worked for five hours or so but given we have to check out by 11am and be out an about until 9:45pm when we get on the train for Rovaniemi, we will be forced to adjust.