I am now in middle of a 4 day trip, that will cover Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania & Poland.
The highlight of the trip is Lezjask to be by the Yurtzeit of Reb Elimelech. Originaly when I booked the tickets, I was planning to also be in Belarus, however in the current situation I don't wonna try.
You can even say its 7 countries in 5 days, since I was flying through France and return through Amsterdam, however since I won't leave the airport, I won't count it.
Finland is a pretty modern country, there is almost nothing history there, its history as an independent country actually goes back a little more than a century, when they declared independence from Russia.
I checked here and other forums what to do in Finland but nothing major, however I have a habit that whenever I visit a new country, I wonna give a look at the Jewish community, or by attending a Minyan, or by visiting a jewish attraction, Cemetery, etc. Officially on godaven.com there is listed a Minyan Shachris, but when I was there, there was only 2 people. The Rav told me that, weekdays it's very hard, but on shabbos there is approximately 40 people, and Yom kipur approximately 300 attend it. There is also a chabad, but they also dont have a minyan.
The Jewish community is also very new, compared to any Eastern or Western European city. So nothing of historical significance.
I davend Shachris at the Jewish Community of Helsinki, it also serves as the Jewish school.
After that I went to the Terminal to buy a ticket for the Tallinn ferry, buying online a few days in advance you can save a few EUR, however I wasn't exactly sure when I will be able to go.
The cheapest option is to take the day cruise to Tallinn which is 10 EUR, for the Round Trip plus a tour in Tallinn. You don't need to use the round trip ticket, (Hidden City alert....)
I am actually writing this part while I am on the Ferry. Its pretty smooth, much more convenient than a flight.
For anyone who has a long stopover in Helsinki, I would recommend to buy the Day pass for Zones A, B, C this includes unlimited rides between these zones for the day, which includes the airport to City Center train, which a single fare is 4.10 EUR, and the day pass was 11 EUR.
That also includes the Ferry from Helsinki to the Suomenlinna island which is on the UNESCO list. When I wanted to go there, I was told I need a minimum of 3 hrs to explore the island, and I had to catch the ferry to Estonia, so I was afraid I will miss it. I would say, if you go straight from the Airport to the the City Center and from there you take a Tram, than the way from the Airport to the Ferry terminal is about an hour, I would give for the ferry going and back plus approximately 4 hrs to explore, that would be about 5 hrs. An hour to get back to the airport.
So if you have a stop of 9 hrs you will be good. At your own risk...
The Helsinki Transport didn't accept Amex, it was a hassle for me, plus the machine doesn't give change, so I had to run back to the airport to break a 20 EUR bill to have exact change.
I was just walking around near the water, visited the Stockmann, which is like Macy's at Harold square but with a Food section.
I took the 3pm ferry, it actually left a few minutes earlier, you have to be there 45 min before departure.
To be followed.. אי"ה