Getting ready for our fall adventure- first stop Helsinki

Everyone,

We are getting ready for our fall adventure.  We are heading to Helsinki (via Frankfurt) on Tuesday September 23, arriving on September 24.   We will be spending a week exploring the city.  Finland has been ranked the "Happiest Country in the World" for the last eight years by the World Happiness Report.  Social support, high levels of trust in the community and close connections to nature are key reasons for its consistent high ranking.  This all sounds good to us.  A visit to Helsinki rounds out our Nordic adventures as we visited Oslo and Stockholm in 2023.  We were also in Copenhagen in 2011.

View of Helsinki

Helsinki has a population of around 690,000 with 1.6 million in the Metropolitan area.  It is a city of art and design with over 600 art nouveau buildings. Allan is very excited to hear that Finns consume the most coffee in the world and that there many great cafés in the city.

On October 1, we fly from Helsinki to Athens (via Copenhagen).  We were in Athens in May and are spending the first three and last three days of our time in Greece in the city.

Athens

We are looking forward to our return to Athens and will be staying in two different neighbourhoods this trip. 

We will be traveling to four new islands in the Cyclades group before returning to Athens.

First is Sifnos, known for its culinary scene and traditional pottery.  Its permanent population is around 2600. 

Kamares, Sifnos, where we will be staying.

On October 7, we head to Milos, known for its volcanic beaches and fishing villages.  We will be staying in Adamas, the main port.  The population of the island is around 5300.

Milos

Our third island stop is Tinos.  We arrive on October 11 and will be staying in Tinos Town (also called Chora).  The population of the island is around 9000.  Tinos is known for its religious importance and unique marble architecture.

Tinos

We head to Syros on October 15.  Syros is known for its neoclassical architecture and has a rich history as the capital of the Cyclades.  It has a population of 21,200, making it the largest population in the Cyclades islands.  We are staying in Ermoupoli, the capital of Syros.

Ermoupoli, Syros

We return to Athens by ferry on October 19 and then depart for Toronto on a direct flight on October 22.

We will be visiting Helsinki for the first time.   We are looking forward to our return to Athens and exploring four new Greek islands.  We found our time in Greece in May very relaxing and the blue skies and sea has lured us back.  We are continuing our affinity for travel to islands and coastal cities.

Please check our blog from time to time to follow our adventure.  I'll most likely do the first post from Helsinki on Thursday September 25, once we have a chance to settle in.





Comments

  1. PaulSeptember 24, 2025 at 10:08 AM

    I do a lot of vicarious travel, especially valued when someone leaves as detailed post as you do. Have a great time. And happy new year.

    ReplyDelete

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