Carnival in Helsinki

Only a few blocks from where I live we have Linnanmäki, a nice amusement park that opened its gates for the first time on May, 27th in 1950. Linnanmäki means Castle Hill and doesn´t have a castle but is very well situated on a hill, so you can see it already from a distance. Especially one of Linnanmäki´s oldest rides, the wooden rollercoaster Vuoristorata (build in ´51) can be spotted from as far as the city center.

The park has currently 40 rides and of course you gotta pay to use them. Admission though is free, so you can go there to just check out the place or have some cotton candy and feel like a kid. Lintsi, as the locals call it, is open from April to October. Since I moved to Helsinki I never made it there but last weeks Valokarnevaali (= carnival of lights) finally lured me in. The carnival is always the last attraction announcing the park´s closure until next April and is highlighted by fireworks on Sunday. No question I teamed up last Friday with my girl and two friends to give Lintsi a go. Here are some pictures from this beautiful autumn evening:

Obviously one of the roller coasters, this is Tulireki.

I´m convinced they formerly used this hell of a ride to train Russian cosmonauts!  

This isn´t an UFO but a granny magnet called Panorama Tower. Nice views!

On Sunday I went to Töölönlahti with my girlfriend to see the fireworks. A good choice, as it was the perfect spot to enjoy the short but beautiful spectacular. Taking pictures wasn´t easy but I´ll include one here anyway. I like the reflections on the bay and the way the explosions look just like a firey grimace.

And to give you the feeling you would have been there yourself, here comes a little clip from last night´s fireworks that I found on YouTube:


Thanks to pir3 for uploading this!

Make sure to check out:

linnanmäki.fi (Choose English if needed)