If you go to the Kauppatori (Outside Market) at this time of year you will find that it is The annual Herring Market. Always held during the first full week in October, the market has been happening just about every year since 1743. I decided to go and have a look this year as it is usually a wonderful atmosphere. Of course this year was slightly different because of the pandemic. Usually lots of little fishing boats are set out along the harbour, selling all flavours of spiced herrings. This year I counted only about 10 fishing boats all clustered at one end of the harbour and this year they did not allow customers to taste the herring before buying. But non the less the atmosphere was although less crowded, very much the same as in past years. The herrings are sold in little plastic tubs weighing about 250 grms, of which the fish content is about 150 grms. The price is usually this year about 8 euros (A bit expensive I think), although they do reductions if you buy 3 tubs, the cheapest I found was 5 euros per tub. They sell all kinds of flavours from garlic herrings to the usual "Glassmaker's herring" to Mustard, onion or dill herrings, I have seen Brandy herring and even coffee spiced herring in the past but this year the flavours seemed quite conservative. There is always a competition to find the best herring between the different sellers or the newest taste. Also you can find sweet Archipelago breads and other spiced preserves. The normal market is always worth a visit at any time of year, well except for winter when there can only be 2 or 3 tents set up in the coldest of weather. Now they were selling all kinds of Autumn products from Sea Blackthorn juice to apples and mushrooms. All in all a nice visit.

Helsingin Kauppatorilla oli paljon tilaa kulkea aamulla, muutama lenkkeilijä ja turisti siellä täällä. Kahvilatelttoja oli paljon, ja kaikissa niissä oli todella hiljaista eli rauhassa sai olla. Suosittelen käymään, mikäli meren ja kalojen haju ei häiritse! Tuotteet olivat jossain teltassa melko hinnakkaita, mutta luultavasti jostain saa myös halvemmalla. Helsinki's Market Square in the morning was very spacious, a couple joggers and tourists here and there. There was a lot of cafe tents and all of them were very quiet so you could be in peace. I recommend to visit the Market Square, if you don't mind the smell of sea and fish! The prices were quite high in one tent, but probably cheaper in some others.

Kävimme Kauppatorilla aamulla ennen kymmentä, jolloin torin kahviloissa oli paljon tilaa. Hinnat ovat hieman korkeita, niin kuin osasi odottaa. Torilta löytyy myös mm. erityisesti ulkomaalaisille turisteille suunnattuja käsitöitä. Kauppatorilta on myös hyvät laivayhteydet esim. Korkeasaareen ja Suomenlinnaan. We visited the Market Square in the morning before ten, when there was plenty of space in the cafes. The prices are quite high like you can expect. You can also find different kinds of crafts targeted for tourists etc. There’s also great ship connections to the Korkeasaari Zoo and Suomenlinna for example.