Vanha kirkkopuisto (Old Church Park) is a pleasant small park on Bulevardi, very near to Mannerheimintie and Esplanadi. The park has a smallish wooden church on one edge, and trees here and there to provide shade on hot summer days.

One thing makes the park rather peculiar: it is an old graveyard, and you can still see gravestones among people bathing on the sun or having a picnic. Nobody has been buried there since 1919. The park is also called as “the plague park”, as there are stories that people killed by the plague in 1710 were buried here. Some historians have opposed this views, and they claim that those poor people were buried farther away from the edge of the city.

There is a well-stocked grocery store on the other side of the road at one corner of the park, so you don’t have to bring anything with you (except money) to have a fast picnic.

Vanha Kirkkopuisto, Lönnrotinkatu 6, Helsinki, Finland

Café Esplanadi is well known for its huge sweet buns, giant sandwiches, big big salads and competitive prices. The flip side is that there is always a queue and the cafe is really noisy at some times.

The portions are not just huge, but they taste good, too. Try Finnish “korvapuusti”, a cinnamon roll that is very traditional to Finnish coffeeshops.

There is no service to speak off, you queue to the counter, ask the staff to pick the buns for you and then pay at the cashier. After that you are on your own, except that you don’t have to carry anything to the trashcan.

They have opened a restaurant on the basement of the cafe, so they can serve those of us that fancy more intimate settings or warm food.

Café Esplanadi, Pohjoisesplanadi 37, Helsinki, Finland, +358 9 665 496

Today, I’ll hop on our car together with the rest of the family and drive to northeast for five to six hours to reach Polvijärvi in Northern Carelia province. As regular readers already know, I’ve been born there and my parents are eagerly waiting to see Aapo. For me and Sanna, the trip gives an escape of the daily chores — something that I’m looking forward to; moving in and getting everything in place has been exhausting. Our grand plan is to do nothing. Or at last we haven’t planned anything.

Hopefully the weather stays nice. It is still too warm for the season, and at least the forecast promised the warmth to continue over the weekend. There’s nothing bad in a crisp freeze, but now there’s no risk of black ice on the roads and I can drive without worries about slippery surface. The winter tires have spikes — yes, they are legal in Finland — and they are brand spanking new, so we are well prepared for the possibility that there would be ice on the road.

The days are quite short on these altitudes, so we have to leave today early to catch as much daylight as possible. Driving in dusk or during the night is tiring for the eyes, and I’ll be cranky for the rest of the day.

Chico’s All American Bistro is, as the name implies, an American styled restaurant chain that serves the basic stuff, such as pastas, tex mex, sandwiches and other meals usually found in the US (or at least in the stereotypical view of a restaurant in US). Sometimes, these portions are really tasty in the US — unfortunately Chico’s has lost most of the freshness and the innovativeness found in the States that is needed to set the meal apart from the rest.

Instead, Chico’s is just fine place to get your stomach filled with a reasonable cost and effort. Don’t expect anything too fancy and you won’t get disappointed.

The restaurant in Tapiola is located in fact in Pohjois-Tapiola, one kilometer north from the main Tapiola shopping area. The stroll to the shopping center is pleasurable during summer time, as you can walk through vast parks that surround Tapiola. The pleasure on winter depends, of course, on your clothing.

Chico’s, Louhentie 2 (in Pohjantori shopping center in Pohjois-Tapiola), Espoo, Finland, +358 9 455 1182

Tung Hing is very well hidden Chinese restaurant in Tapiola. If you don’t know its exact location, you are deemed to fail finding it. That’s too bad, as it is one of the best Chinese restaurants that I’ve tried in Finland. The secret of finding it is easy: locate K-market Aslak. There are stairs that ascend near the main entrance of the shop, seemingly to nowhere. Climb the stairs, pass the barber shop and turn left (there’s no other option), and you’ll see the gate to the restaurant.

The special thing in Tung Hing is that the various portions actually taste different — in some Chinese restaurants, it really doesn’t matter what you order, you’ll always get the blandish generic chopped meat in a sauce and rice. That’s not the case here, the chefs use spices and there are both mild and spicy portions available.

Apart from the food, the decor is very traditional for a Chinese restaurant. The service is swift, as usual. Sometimes you may even spot a smile on a waitress.

Tung Hing, Länsituulentie 7 (on top of K-market Aslak), Espoo, Finland, +358 9 455 5738