HELSINKI FOR THE YOUNG AND EAGER

Helsinki’s location by the Baltic at the interface between East and West gives it a unique charm. The Russian architecture and Slavic melancholy of the Senate Square together with a Scandinavian standard of living, cleanliness and efficiency reflect the mix of eastern and western cultures at its best.

For young people, Helsinki, also known as the White City of the North, offers fast-paced action, metal beat, top design, high tech, machine music and a vibrant bar culture. Helsinki doesn’t have any identity problem; it doesn’t try to be Paris or London and yet it is extremely trendy, lively, original and popular among young people. And it is always abreast of the times.

In the 21st century, this European City of Culture has developed into a centre for machine music and design, pulsating with Arctic energy. The cityscape combines various styles of architecture, including pure Scandinavian design, the high-tech towers of Ruoholahti and the Orthodox Uspenski Cathedral with its golden cupolas.

Even though Helsinki is a metropolis it has retained some of its original village characteristics. For example, on a winter’s day people go ice-fishing on the sea ice just off the centre. Moreover, the city is also extremely safe. According to an English travel book, Insight Guide Finland, the Finns are the most dynamic but least understood people in Europe. The soul of the Finns is still in the woods. Their capital is like its inhabitants: intriguing and interesting.

Open-minded Helsinki

Helsinki has been characterised by multiculturality ever since it was founded in 1550. Colourful ethnic rhythms can be heard at the International Cultural Centre Caisa, whose café is open from early morning till late at night.

Various subcultures coexist in an open and tolerant atmosphere. The Kontula Skatepark, opened in 1999, is popular among skateboarders. Practice sessions are allocated according to age and skill: in the mornings the large hall is available for under 14-year-olds and in the afternoons for over 14-year-olds. The skateboarding subculture is strong, and the Finnish skateboarders are proud of their national identity and critical of commercial skateboarding culture.

The level of consumer awareness is very high among young Finns and eco-consciousness has emerged as an important concern of the new millennium. Ecological and ethical concerns are reflected in conscious choices: for example, customers at university cafes request fair-trade coffee. Freegans are anti- consumerists who look for their food in waste bins.

Straight-edgers have made a deliberate choice to live without drugs and alcohol. Parkour is a sport involving creative and continuous movement where fences and benches are regarded as opportunities rather than obstacles. Electronic music enthusiasts gather together at the Koneisto Festival. Live action role play (LARP) is also a popular hobby.

Tom of Finland

The self-affirmation of rainbow people is reflected by the spirit of Pride. Gay people also know how to party and in fact many heteros have found their way to gay bars, such as Lost & Found, because of their vibrant and tolerant atmosphere. Helsinki also boasts the biggest straight-friendly gay club in the Nordic countries, called dtm (Don’t Tell Mama), which mainly plays poppy music. On Saturdays, there is a women’s bar on the first floor. Con Hombres attracts Eurovision Song Contest fans. Other popular gay bars include Fairytale and Hercules as well as Nalle Pub, situated in the Kallio district and favoured especially by lesbians.

Mann’s Street in Mannerheimintie Street draws gay men aged 40- plus and Room Albert Bar is the place for leather gay men. Incidentally, Tom of Finland, the gay icon famous for his drawings of leather-clad men, was born in Finland. The gay bars of Helsinki are truly unique and their location close to both Stockholm and Tallinn makes them genuinely international. Sauna Vogue is the only gay sauna in Finland.

The University of Helsinki is a top European university that also attracts students because of its extensive choice of
leisure activities. It has over a thousand degree students who come from outside Finland. The University of Art and Design is one of the leading institutions in the field. Young designers draw inspiration from the diversity and pure colours of the metropolis.

Like Paris or Stockholm, Helsinki is characterised by the different nature of its various districts. True local patriots
never leave their neighbourhood. Students like to go bar- crawling around Kallio, a former working-class district with reasonably-priced bars. The Stella Star Bar serves beer for two euros during its happy hour. It is also a venue for heavy-metal club events such as Club Rock Hell and Psychotropic Zone. The Café Bar Rytmi is known for its good choice of music and art exhibitions and also offers a pleasant ambience and free Internet access.

Kallio also has several inexpensive ethnic restaurants, such as Kapris with its designer wallpaper and Turkish landscape paintings. The Kallio district is however gradually changing. The trendy Kola Bar, attracting style icons, is a clear sign of this. Liberté is a music bar with live gigs.

Karaoke and cans of beer in a plastic bag

Finns usually start their night out by pre-partying. They don’t head for the bars until ten or eleven at night. Cinderella, who turned back into a poor maid at midnight, wouldn’t fit in here! Most bars stay open until four or five in the morning. Party animals start feeling peckish late in the evening and form long queues in front of hot-dog stands. Germans regard Finnish sausages as vegetables because they are so much lighter than their European cousins. Finns are known as calm people, but don’t enter into a conversation about ice-hockey with them in
the queue.

Finnish women are used to getting what they want rather than waiting for someone to approach them with pick-up lines. And many shy men even expect women to take the initiative. Men are not in the habit of calling out to the next table; they just watch and wait.

Like the Japanese, Finns are keen on singing karaoke. The most popular songs tell about longing and forlorn love. Slavic melancholy can be found in the Andorra complex, partly owned by the filmmaker brothers Aki and Mika Kaurismäki, or at the Juttutupa Restaurant in Kallio. In its basement, Andorra houses a cinema and the Dubrovnik Lounge & Lobby Bar. On the ground floor you can play pool or snooker at the Corona Bar and even
meet Ville Valo from the Finnish rock band HIM there. The Finnish-themed rustic Zetor has tractors parked inside and there is also a life-size model of a cow that can be patted. Just less than a century ago, domestic animals roamed freely in the streets of Helsinki. Zetor has a nostalgic atmosphere, reminiscent of the Cold War times of the 1980s when Helsinki served as the location for Moscow-scenes in James Bond films.

Zetor, located in right in the centre, as well as Onnela in Fredrikinkatu Street play Finnish pop hits. The popular Sävel Bar can be found in the Hakaniemi area. There are a number of famous bars in the city centre, such as Helsinki Club, Vineyard Lounge and Studio 51, where you have to be prepared to queue up to get in. The rich and the beautiful go to Soho in the Punavuori district. The Arctic Ice Bar is truly unique as it is built of ice. Rose Garden has funk gigs.

The Sauna Bar features a bar as well as a sauna. Small galleries, such as Parasit3, display innovative exhibitions. Good home cooking can be found everywhere and gourmet meals are available at a reasonable cost. Eating reindeer might make some customers a bit uncomfortable – reindeer are after all Santa’s friends. Finnish cuisine has influences from both East and West. Some of the Finnish specialities are ‘rahkapulla’ (tarts filled with lemon and vanilla flavoured quark), ‘viili’ (gelatinous yogurt-like sour milk) and Karelian rice pasties.

Contact information of some bars and nightclubs >>

Kaivopuisto Park is a venue for various concerts in summer. The Tuska Festival is dedicated to lovers of heavy metal music and takes place in the park. Metalheads from all walks of life let loose at the event. Finnish metal music has frequently hit the world charts. Nightwish with its frontwoman Tarja Turunen, who is also a student at the Sibelius Academy, has burst onto the world scene several times. Metal people get together at Tavastia, Nosturi and DARX – all bars that stay open until three or four in the morning.

A popular pastime on a summer day is to buy a plastic bag filled with bottles or cans of beer from a corner shop and sit down on a rock to drink it. Plastic-bag beer is a common tradition among students. Finnish down and outs are usually well-behaved and can often speak foreign languages. In this country of high social security many of them have jumped off the treadmill voluntarily.

Darling buds of May

Finland has four distinct seasons. On the first of May, the buxom female-shaped statue Havis Amanda, which was originally considered indecent, dons a white student cap in celebration of spring. May Day is first and foremost a students’ festival in Finland. The entire city has a raucous atmosphere. Drunken people outnumber the absolutely sober ten to one. Other crazy Scandinavian customs can’t compare with May Day in Finland. You might see law students frolicking all naked, or students of technology climbing on trees or swimming in the sea by the Market Square.

After the long winter, it’s time to rejoice at the spring, sun and young love. During the May Day celebrations it’s hard to get a taxi and the queues are legendary. Relationships are being developed via text-messaging, which is no wonder as Finns send the highest number of text messages in the world. People have both become betrothed and got separated via text- messaging.

The café in Esplanade Park opens its terrace in May, which is a good spot for admiring the park view or beautiful women passing by. It’s worth paying attention to the street life of Helsinki as the city is regarded as one of the trendiest capitals in Europe, further livened up by its various subcultures. Moreover, a beer or cider on a terrace always marks the start of the summer.

Finns, famous for their high work ethic, become more relaxed and might even start chatting with passers-by while enjoying the wonderful weather. With the first warm days in spring, people leave work early, take off their shirts and soak up the sunshine. People in high spirits gather in parks, such as Esplanade Park, spread their blankets on the grass and add another layer of sun lotion.On May 29, Helsinki is filled with thousands of running women.
One might almost think that a fire has broken out somewhere, but in fact this is a women’s fitness event, Naisten Kymppi. The ten-kilometre event also has a separate series for Nordic pole-walkers.

Cafes and shopping

Finnish coffee is lightly-roasted yet very tasty. Finns drink the most coffee in the world, on average 450 millilitres per day. Thus Helsinki could be called the global coffee capital. The consumption of coffee is perhaps related to the level of literacy: Finns are the most literate people in the world and it’s always nice to enjoy a cup of coffee while reading.

Those interested in the Cold War should visit the Urho Kekkonen Museum at Tamminiemi. It depicts the era of the Soviet influence on Finland’s political life. The museum has a café and you can also feed tame squirrels in the grounds. The Market Square is a perfect place to have a coffee and doughnut but beware of the seagulls that tend to get too friendly. You can find a launderette and a sauna at Café Tin Tin Tango in the Töölö district. The café of the Kiasma Museum of Contemporary Art offers Internet access.

Free Internet access is also available at the Lasipalatsi Film and Media Centre and at the Helsinki City Library. The Internet is part of the Finnish way of life. Dating sites on the Internet are especially popular among the younger generation. Finns are also world-record holders in using library services.If you take a ride on the T3 tram you will see all the major sights of Helsinki in one go.

The style-conscious will find designer clothes at for example Lumi Accessories, Limbo, Ivana Helsinki, Hanna Saren and KoneHelsinki. Finnish food specialities can be bought at the Stockmann department store and the Hakaniemi Market Hall. Myymälä2 is a basement gallery where you can often find unique creations by young designers. In summer, there is an open-air flea market at Hietalahti as well as a swimming beach.



Contact information of some cafés >>

Contact information of some shops >>

Not for flirts

It is easy to move around in Helsinki by public transport. If you happen to step on somebody’s toes, just say ‘oops’. The Finnish word ‘anteeksi’ (sorry) is reserved for much more serious offences.

At the Yrjönkatu Swimming Hall you can swim either with or without a swimming costume. There are separate pool hours for men and women, though. The fact that President Tarja Halonen might share the pool with you shows how safe and democratic the city is. Public saunas can be found everywhere in the city. Nakedness is not a taboo for Finns even though not all Finnish women have posed for Playboy.

You can try swimming in an ice-pool, i.e. in an opening cut in the sea ice, at the Rastila Camping Site. An American exchange student compared ice-pool swimming to the Lemmings computer game where everybody fell through the same hole, making the same plopping sound. You can even go for a swim night-time at the Maritime Fortress of Suomenlinna or take a picnic there. You can also go picnicking on the various other islands off
Helsinki.

The inhabitants of Helsinki are extremely self-assertive and proud of their city, and for them the neighbouring city of Espoo, renowned as the Nokia centre, is just a state of mind. The English travel book Insight Guide Finland considers the Finnish capital as being similar to Finnish women: reserved, modest, elegant and ironic. You can build a lasting friendship with it but it is hard to flirt with.

Read more (pdf): http://www.hel2.fi/tourism/Matko_esitteet/DNO_sexyurban.pdf

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