The Finns, like the Danes and Swedes, also have a thing for open sandwiches. When we had lunch at a cafe in what was the Helsinki equivalent of Dymocks, we had a good selection to choose from. I chose the smoked ocean trout with salad, egg, dill and sour cream, and rye bread of course underpinning it all. It was delicious.

Our lunch was so delicious that we came back a few days later to sample more. This time I was more adventurous, and tried the Baltic/North Sea special of pickled herring. All the countries around the Baltic and North Sea seem to like this preserved fish. It’s not only available at lunch, but also at breakfast, and even as a snack! It’s certainly very strong flavoured, and so goes well with boiled eggs, onions and leeks, and strong, dark rye bread.