A 20-something's Travel Experiences

I was in Helsinki, Finland. It was winter, it was freezing, and I was travelling solo for the first time.

I had decided to take a tram and explore out of the city centre for the day. I had been up to the old Olympic Stadium and Museum and had just got back on the tram to return to the city. All of a sudden, to my left, something catches my eye. Despite being winter, there was a low sun in the sky and it was reflecting off a body of water. Without thinking too much, I had got off the tram and headed into a park that I later discovered was Hakasalmenpuisto. The area was so peaceful and quiet with only a few dog walkers for company.

Stopping for a moment – the winter air too cold to stop for long – I relished in the tranquillity of the place. I was in awe at how there could be somewhere so quiet and yet so close to a bustling city.

The water on the lake was so still, disturbed only by a few ducks. I walked along a dirt path slowly as I tried to force my frozen hands into using my camera. There wasn’t a lot to see in terms of spectacular scenery; winter had pretty much killed off all the trees and plants. But that didn’t matter: to me, it still seemed like the most beautiful place I could be at that moment.

I walked a lot farther than I had intended; vaguely aware I had deviated from the main road that would take me back into the city centre.
By now I had walked the entire length of the park and decided to just walk the rest of the way into town. I discovered little parts of the area I wouldn’t otherwise have. I felt like I was finding the real, uncut version of Helsinki rather than the areas all tourists visit.

I finally found myself back in now familiar streets as it was starting to get dark (in winter the sun has set by four). Common sense told me to take my weary, cold body back to my hotel to rest and heat up. But I decided to take myself out for the evening. So I went, off into a local bar to warm up, eat typical Finnish cuisine, meet some locals and experience a night out Helsinki-style.

Thinking back, that afternoon gave me a strange feeling of elation. I realised your best times travelling do not need to be doing something wild and exciting. Sometimes the best times can come from something as simple as a walk in the park. It doesn’t always matter what you do in a new place; it matters how it makes you feel. In Hakasalmenpuisto, I felt like anything was possible if I just went out and discovered it.