Because it was selected as one of the top ten food markets ever by Food Lover’s Guide to the World from Lonely Planet, my expectations for the Helsinki fish market were running high and the rest of me was running late.
Finland was my first pass at discovering Nordic cuisine and its current incarnations, but the wheels were coming off my travel wagon. I’d been on the road a few weeks already; lost my ipad; got in a fight with an Italian airport lady who accidentally (on purpose?) lost my luggage; phone died; and then I almost punched a cabbie. Knowing the market closed in an hour and determined to see it, I set out on foot with my notebook and the vague memory of a map I had read before my modern communications flat-lined. Old school nav: go south, and the fish market is on the water, because where else would it be?
Soon I found white pop-up tents on the pier, a ferris wheel, and the old, historic covered market sitting winningly on the shore under a blue summer sky that let me know, along with the squawking seabirds, that everything I needed in Finland was right here.
In this self-assured city that seemed a blend of St. Petersburg and Seattle, the outdoor market was strangely similar to the ones I habitually visit in the states. Always a sideways tent vulnerable to a big breeze; or a loaded stall where the vendor has wandered off for a coffee or some change; locals looking for dinner and a chat. But here, oompa bands played on the esplanade near the market square, cafes were packed, and an elegant landmark church reminiscent of Russian aristocracy stood amongst progressive manufacturing operations and tech start-ups. The market stalls sold grilled salmon and sautéed vegetables; crunchy little fried fishes from the day’s catch; warm, skinless new potatoes; bay shrimp sandwiches; coffee; cakes; knitted toys and handicrafts. Take this recipe for Lemon Aioli by Nancy Silverton, add a tablespoon of fresh chopped dill weed, get yourself a fresh piece of salmon and grill it, and you are almost on the dock with me, barefoot in the midnight sun.
No way this market closed early – it stayed open for hours after I got there, enough for me to visit all the stalls, buy strawberries and cloud berry jam, and talk to the bear meat salesman about (what else?) bear meat. The indoor stalls were crafted in an old-fashioned wooden style that would have been easy to blast out in favor of something more efficient, but here they are –
sturdy and holding authentic, artisan goods without much pretension or spin. Just a good old Scandinavian market – one of the best in the world I’m told – where you will most certainly and most happily find something fishy.
Kauppahalli (“covered market”)
South Harbour, Helsinki, Finland; Mon–Fri 8am–6pm, Sat 8am–4pm, Sun (summer only) 10am–4pm
Helsinki Cathedral
Bear, elk & reindeer meat
something on his mind.
And for the record, I did scoop my beloved NYT on the story of how cool Helsinki is right now – by a whole week.
New York Times-36 Hours in Helsinki-July 2016
http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2016/07/07/travel/what-to-do-36-hours-helsinki-finland.html?contentCollection=weekendreads&action=click&pgtype=Homepage&clickSource=story-heading&module=c-column-middle-span-region®ion=c-column-middle-span-region&WT.nav=c-column-middle-span-region&_r=0
July 1, 2016
Finland looks great – and this post really brings it to life. Wonderful write up and great photographs.. It is very cruel to eat bears though – and until this practice is banned I am boycotting that country.
July 1, 2016
I have it on good authority that you need a license to kill a bear, and then you have to use all of it, hence bear soap. No relation to the Bear Claw pastries of Denmark, however. I agree it is sad – maybe meatless Monday this week?
July 1, 2016
Sounds like you had quite the adventure! I want to hear more about the cabbie you almost punched. : ) And the food, too, of course.
Welcome home.
July 2, 2016
I’m with Jacob Epstein about bear-eating, but cloudberry jam? I wish I had some of that for my toast and were enjoying it in Finland right now. I was right with you on this one, smelling, tasting, staying up all night… Where are you going next, Gypsy?
July 4, 2016
Hello, hello! I think I gotta go back! But there’s Copenhagen calling me, and Iceland, and the cherry blossoms of Kyoto and the cacao plantations of Ghana. Guess its lucky my phone is still busted …..