My 5 most romantic places in Helsinki are….

Spoiler alert - if you haven't read The Englishman yet, don't read this!

1. The statue of Eino Leino in Esplanade Park. This is one of the traditionally romantic places in Helsinki, where lovers share kisses, and indeed this is where The Englishman and I had a passionate moment or two.

2. The South Harbour. For some reason, I’ve always liked harbours, and the one in Helsinki seems to go from strength to strength. In the days of my romance with The Englishman, the South Harbour was still a working place, and tourists only congregated in the area between the market square and the Silja Line Olympic terminal. The Englishman and I too strolled many a time along the harbour wall hand in hand, wishing we could stay that way forever.

OK, this picture is a couple of decades too
old for my story,
still it looks pretty lovely, doesn't it?

3. Below Stockmann’s clock on Alexanterinkatu. Outside this iconic Helsinki department store is the place to meet anyone, whether it is a romantic rendezvous or just a meet-up with a friend. 

4. The most romantic place for me in Helsinki must be the the private club and restaurant The Helsinki Bourse Club (used to be called Adlon). It was where The Englishman made his first proposal of marriage (note: first proposal – a girl needs to be asked more than once to accept!). This gleaming Art Deco place on Fabianinkatu 14 is still open for lunch, and it also hosts private parties. 

Again, I'm using historic images...

5. Hesburger. Not your obvious choice, I agree, but this Finnish home-grown burger place was after all where The Englishman made his marriage proposal concrete with a ring…branches are found all over the city nowadays.

The sleet was still falling and even though it was only twelve o’clock, and in spite of the bright Christmas lights, the street looked dark. Kaisa spotted the sign of the new hamburger bar opposite and started running towards it, dragging Peter behind her.

‘It’s not McDonald’s but they do a rye burger,’ she said.

Inside Peter looked around the small space. ‘You sure this is OK?’

The place was called Hesburger and being new, it was fairly full. As usual people stared when Peter and Kaisa entered. She looked at Peter. ‘Yes, we just want a quick bite, yeah? And it’s raining.’

After some translation of the menu, they got the bags of food.

‘Let’s sit by the window,’ Kaisa said and nodded to one of the red plastic tables and chairs.

Peter looked at Kaisa across the table. He hadn’t touched his burger.

‘Aren’t you hungry?’

He reached across the shiny tabletop and took her hand. His fingers felt cold against her skin.

‘You know I love you.’

Peter’s mouth was a straight line. His eyes were wide. He looked almost scared. Kaisa’s heart sank. Had he heard from the Navy Appointer? Was this bad news?

‘I know.’

Peter pulled something out of his pocket. It was a small black box. ‘This isn’t quite the kind of place I imagined I’d do this, but..,’ He looked deep into her eyes and opened the box to show her the contents.

Kaisa saw gold and glittery stones. She looked up at Peter.

‘And I really wanted to ask your father first.’

If you enjoyed this excerpt and want to read the whole novel, click here.

Best places to share a kiss in Helsinki?

A Helsinki Sunday supplement, called NYT (Now) has today a feature on the best places to have a kiss in the city. In their opinion the five most romantic places are:

The Ferris Wheel at Linnanmäki amusement park - but only after it's dark and only when you're right at the top.

Munkkiniemi Beach…in the car!?

Seurasaari Bridge. This is a pedestrian bridge which crosses from pretty Tamminiemi, where the President has his residence, to a conservation area, the island of Seurasaari. It's a pretty wooden bridge, where Kaisa and Peter also shared a kiss or two.

The Helsinki train station. Obviously.

Photo: Finlandfyeah.tumblr.com

Picture by City of Helsinki

The Number 3 Tram. Trams are always romantic, and this one is of the old-fashioned model, which travels all around the city from the South Harbour and the Market Square, via Mannerheim Street and the Opera House, Finlandia House in Töölö back down via the Western side, past the Railway Station and up and down the hilly part of Helsinki, Ullanlinna.

Sadly the NYT magazine left out the place where Kaisa and The Englishman shared their most passionate kisses, by the Statue of Eino Leino in the Esplanade Park. Obviously in my opinion this has to be the place to have a romantic rendezvous in Helsinki...

It became embarrassing to stay inside the restaurant without ordering more food or drink, so they got up and once again braved the cold weather in Esplanade Park. At least it had stopped snowing. They sheltered from the chill wind by the statue of Eino Leino, the Finnish poet. Kaisa tried to remember some of his romantic works, but all she could recall was a verse from a poem about old age that she had to study at school, ‘Haihtuvi nuoruus niinkuin vierivä virta’. Kaisa translated for the Englishman, ‘Youth disappears as fast as a river flows.’ She looked up at the imposing figure, with its heavy cape, and wondered if the great man was trying to tell her something. The park was deserted and they were standing in the shadow of the statue. Kaisa was sure no one would be able to see them, and relaxed a little.

‘You’re lovely,’ the Englishman said, and he took Kaisa into his embrace. She forgot all about the poem, or being cold, or her boyfriend’s family. She felt safe in the Englishman’s arms. Peter took Kaisa’s face between his hands and kissed her.