16.01.11 – Munkkiniemi is a beautiful neighborhood in the western section of Helsinki known for its architecture and the history of the communities urban development plan led by the famous Finnish architect, Eliel Saarinen, in the early 1900s. The area is situated by a large bay, where the Baltic waters push into the coast of Finland, and easily accessible, the 4 Tram ends at a nice little cafe, Café Torpanranta, by the water. I headed out with a friend Mikko to meet Jaana and the kids to try to walk on water 
The water off Munkkiniemi is very popular this time of year for skating, ice fishing, cross country skiing or like we were doing, to just go out for a walk. Because the water is so far inland and there are two large islands just to the South, the ice is well established and safer to walk on. You still need to be cautious, it’s best to follow other people’s tracks, because every once in a while you’ll find a “soft spot.” Apparently there are sometimes little streams of water that flow above the ice but just below the surface.
We played it safe and followed other tracks almost a kilometer out towards the center. If we wanted, we could have continued all the way to Espoo, a suburb of Helsinki, but we weren’t feeling that adventurous. It’s a great feeling to be out on such a flat an open area though and every once in a while you need to just stop, look around and take in the beauty of it all.
We walked back to a different section of the beach where Mikko showed us a beautiful building his father had designed in the 1960s. We could have easily stayed and enjoyed the neighborhood but we were all chilled to the bone so we headed back home. I’ll definitely be heading back to see more.
Related Articles
- In Search of Pitkät Kalsarit (tbeidler.wordpress.com)
- Finnish Swimming Hole (tbeidler.wordpress.com)
- Baptized in the Wintery Baltic (tbeidler.wordpress.com)
