Helsinki Travel Guide

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Say HEL-lo to Helsinki: Inside Finland's Deserted Aviation Museum

September 14, 2012 at 12:37 PM | by | Comments (0)

HEL-lo Helsinki! Hilarious puns on the city's airport code (HEL) aside, our man about the world John "Yes, That John" Walton has been spending some down time in Helsinki this year, and has some great recommendations all this week for things to do in the world's most northerly capital!

Who can turn down an afternoon poking around a completely empty aviation museum, with old planes just waiting for you to clamber around them?

Not us! Ee spotted the Suomen Ilmailumuseo while taking the hotel bus to a Helsinki Airport hotel earlier in the summer, so on our return to HEL, with a carefully crafted morning free, we made sure to stop off.

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Say HEL-lo to Helsinki: Yes, You Can Eat Reindeer on a Tractor

September 13, 2012 at 1:02 PM | by | Comments (0)

HEL-lo Helsinki! Hilarious puns on the city's airport code (HEL) aside, our man about the world John "Yes, That John" Walton has been spending some down time in Helsinki this year, and has some great recommendations all this week for things to do in the world's most northerly capital!

Does your country's main tractor manufacturer have its own restaurant in the capital city? If not, you're totally slacking behind Finland, because tractormaker Zetor has a tractor-themed restaurant in the center of Helsinki. Reindeer ahoy!

If you want a wide range of traditional Finnish food in a hilariously kitsch olde-tyme restaurant, with well-translated menus in a variety of languages—yes, tractors as part of the décor—you've come to the right place.

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Say HEL-lo to Helsinki: A Dip at the All-Nude Uimahalli Sauna and Swimming Pool

September 11, 2012 at 12:02 PM | by | Comments (0)

HEL-lo Helsinki! Hilarious puns on the city's airport code (HEL) aside, our man about the world John "Yes, That John" Walton has been spending some down time in Helsinki this year, and has some great recommendations all this week for things to do in the world's most northerly capital!

Splish, splosh, splash...if you're in Helsinki, go swim like a Finn: in the buff!

Helsinki's fantastic Uimahalli sauna and (inside) swimming pool complex is tucked away on Yrjönkatu, a short walk from the main railway station and the center of town.

At five euros for a single visit, it's one of the cheapest—and most authentically Finnish—things you can do in this otherwise expensive city.

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Say HEL-lo to Helsinki: Five Ways to Spend a Day in Finland's Capital

September 10, 2012 at 1:32 PM | by | Comments (0)

HEL-lo Helsinki! Hilarious puns on the city's airport code (HEL) aside, our man about the world John "Yes, That John" Walton has been spending some down time in Helsinki this year, and has some great recommendations all this week for things to do in the world's most northerly capital!

Cards on the table: we're enormous fans of the Nordic countries, and Helsinki is one of our favourite cities. Not only does it have an awesome airline (Finnair) and airport (we <3 HEL!), it's really easy to get into town and have an explore.

If you're going to or transiting through HEL at some point, try booking a day's layover, leaving your luggage at the airport and hopping on the Finnair bus that delivers you straight to the impressive Helsinki Central railway station...and then consider some of our favorite Finnish things to do.

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How You Can Help Helsinki Airport...via Pinterest

May 22, 2012 at 9:19 AM | by | Comments (0)

So Helsinki Airport is going to open a library or, rather, a "book swap." Typically we wouldn't hear about this until the book swap officially opens to the public, but the advance warning comes courtesy of Helsinki AIrport's surprise obsession with social sharing network Pinterest.

HERE is Helsinki Airport's book swap board, where they are "pinning" actual decisions for their book swap, as well soliciting comments and additional inspiration to polish out the program. From whom? From you, if you're on Pinterest and at all intrigued by the idea of helping shape a space where travelers can come for their literary fix. Want to review the floor plan? It's there. Their possible QR-coded book plates? It's there. Lots of other library porn? Oh yeah—it's there.

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Angry Birds in an Airplane! Kinda Sorta.

February 9, 2012 at 11:40 AM | by | Comments (0)

We're not going to lie, but Angry Birds might still be our favorite game to play on a plane. It can be played when in airplane mode (ahem, Alec Baldwin) and is the only game that makes us occasionally laugh aloud, all while flinging birds towards mean little pigs. Well, the creators of the game have already announced opening up theme parks designed around the game, but there's more (of course).

If you're huge fan and you've already got Angry Birds flip flops, hoodies, keychains and all those little tchotchkes, our recommendation for your next layover in Helskini is to stop pulling the slingshot and hit the new shop for your favorite characters. The Finnish masterminds behind the game have opened up a little plane-shaped Angry Birds kiosk-shop in the middle of Helsinki International Airport.

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Finnair Flight Attendants Whip Up Their Own Flashmob

October 18, 2011 at 9:25 AM | by | Comments (0)

The world loves to watch flight attendants dance. This we discovered when that Cebu Pacific video of FAs doing the safety demo to the tune of Lady Gaga and Katy Perry went viral. Who are we kidding? The world loves to watch flight attendants do anything other than typical flight attendant stuff, so when Finnair's girls got together to dance for their fellow crew at base, it would of course leak online.

The song: "September" by Earth, Wind and Fire.

The place: the Finnair Crew Lounge at what we're assuming is Helsinki Airport

Finnair has already posted it on their own YouTube, so this could be a publicity stunt, but the fact they didn't involve any passengers (or public) leads us to believe this is just what it seems; a few flight attendants got an idea, got their friends to play along and then alerted the airline to the fun, who were game to support it.

Cute! Keeping their black leather gloves on was a nice touch.

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Helsinki is Developing a Loving Feeling for Foodies

December 23, 2010 at 4:20 PM | by | Comment (1)

Helsinki is perfect for a winter holiday for those who are not afraid of snow and some nippy weather. Over this week and next, Jaunted’s Vancouver-based, Finland-born contributor Tuija Seipell of The Cool Hunter, will report on some of her recent finds in the cold temps of her homeland.

Helsinki’s restaurant culture is really starting to “arrive.” We've seen more and more great food, inventive menus, authentic atmosphere, consistency and real value begin to arrive at the city's eateries, both pricey and budget.

Recently, we found a great breakfast buffet at Klaus K Hotel, the only hotel in Helsinki that's part of the Design Hotels network. Delicacies such as smoked trout, sauna-smoked ham, special local cheeses, free-range eggs, mushroom salad, oven-baked barley porridge and homemade blueberry soup were on offer. Additionally, the printed menu’s map of Finland shows the location of the small farms where each item originates. Amazingly, the buffet is included in the room price, but costs 21 Euros if you are not a guest of the hotel. If you eat late (the buffet closes at 10), you can easily skip lunch for the day.

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Keeping Warm with Coffee: Where to Sip and Shop in Helsinki

Where: Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
December 21, 2010 at 3:04 PM | by | Comments (2)

Helsinki is perfect for a winter holiday for those who are not afraid of snow and some nippy weather. Over this week and next, Jaunted’s Vancouver-based, Finland-born contributor Tuija Seipell of The Cool Hunter, will report on some of her recent finds in the cold temps of her homeland.

So far this year, Helsinki has not managed to break its all-time December snow record of 27.5 inches (70 centimeters), from 1915. Yet. There are still quite a few days left in the month! So, while you are shopping in the wintry wonderland of Finland's capital, you will want to stop for a latte or hot chocolate and a light lunch at the very least, in the name of keeping warm. We've got a few favorite cafes of our own, and since we're in the holiday spirit of sharing...

· Café Kakkugalleria: Among the many shops in the Helsinki Design District is the Design Forum Shop at No. 7 Erottaja Street (Erottajankatu) mentioned in our last story on Helsinki shopping. It has the most diverse selection of designer wares and a bonus feature: the in-house Café Kakkugalleria (Finnish for Cake Gallery), maker of arguably the yummiest and prettiest cakes in Helsinki. Tasty quiches and other savory treats abound, too. If you really want to indulge, go to Kakkugalleria’s newest shop nearby, at No. 41 Fredrik’s Street (Fredrikinkatu), for the daily all-you-can-eat cake buffet.

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Where to Shop in Helsinki for the Best of Finnish Design

December 16, 2010 at 3:51 PM | by | Comments (0)

Helsinki is perfect for a winter holiday for those who are not afraid of snow and some nippy weather. Over this week and next, Jaunted’s Vancouver-based, Finland-born contributor Tuija Seipell of The Cool Hunter, will report on some of her recent finds in the cold temps of her homeland.

If you have only a short time to spend shopping in Helsinki, don’t worry because if there's one great thing about having a compact and highly walkable downtown core of the city, it's that you will find shops for all of the best-known Finnish brand names in a small area.

Take the city map and find the Main Post Office (Posti) and the main Market Square (Kauppatori) and then walk from one to the other, sidestepping three or four blocks in each direction, and you will have spotted most of the best shops. Along the way, you will also see quaint one-of-a-kind local fashion boutiques, global brand boutiques, coffee shops and restaurants.

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Finland's Talking Trash Bins Are Not Only Smart, But They Look Good Too

July 23, 2009 at 5:15 PM | by | Comments (0)

Earlier this week we told you about Finland's new Talking Trash Bins found in Helsinki, and thanks to a helpful PR rep for Finland Tourism we actually have a shot of the trash bins to show you.

The trash bins are far more intelligent that we are, having mastered six language (ok, select phrases in different languages) and the ability to play music (ok, it's a recording of music from a bunch of high school students). Only eight of these artificial intelligence trash bins can be found in Helsinki this summer so look carefully before you toss your trash.

Have you seen the talking trash bins in person? Send us a picture!

Related Stories:
· Now Helsinki's Trash Cans Talk To You In English, Too [Jaunted]

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Now Helsinki's Trash Cans Talk To You In English, Too

July 20, 2009 at 9:29 AM | by | Comments (0)

Trash cans that talk are an unusual kind of tourist attraction, but just the kind of thing we expect to find in somewhat eccentric Finland. When we first heard about four trash cans in Helsinki which chat away in Finnish, we craved talking trash cans that we could understand, and now the Helsinki Public Works Department has done exactly what we wished for.

This summer, eight trash cans around Helsinki will speak to you in six languages, including English, and some will even play music created by a bunch of high school students. Apparently they say things like this:

One of the sure signs of summer in Finland is that the trash bins start talking.

The idea is that tourists and locals alike will be more interested in disposing of their garbage in the correct way, but we're starting to wonder if conversing with a bin might actually be a sign of madness instead.

Related Stories:
· Talking Trash [Official Site]
· Finns Reward You For Simple Non-Littering [Jaunted]
· Helsinki Travel Guide [Jaunted]

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