Jaunted

Airport WiFi

There's Something About Finland

March 25, 2009 at 10:56 AM | 1 Comment

The last time we were in Helsinki, we honestly believed it was enchanted. Stumbling off a flight from New York, we entered a well-scrubbed terminal with bright yellow trays at a clean cafe and cheery flight attendants zipping from one end of the terminal to another on scooters.

Had we tried to boot up while we were savoring our coffee and plotting to become Finnair frequent flyers, we would have found another delight: As of November 2008, wireless Internet is free in the terminals at Helsinki-Vantaa Airport thanks to Finava, the national civil aviation administration. Now your fingers can fly with as little resistance as you do!

Had a fantastic experience in an airport recently? Tell us about it.

Related Stories:
· Free WiFi at the airport in Helsinki - Finally [Life2Go.net]
· Live Your Prisonbreak Fantasy in Finland [Jaunted]
· Airport WiFi Map [Jaunted]

Finland Travel

Finns Reward You For Simple Non-Littering

August 22, 2008 at 9:33 AM | 0 Comments

Yes, Finland is a country that can produce nightmare-inducing rock bands like Eurovision 06 winners Lordi. But they can turn around and be sickeningly polite and friendly, too. The latest ain't-that-nice story out of Finnish capital Helsinki is the installation of talking trash cans.

From today, four very special garbage cans will be placed around the city for the enjoyment of locals and tourists alike. When you place a piece of rubbish in one of them, it will play a recorded "thank you" message from famous locals. For example, the mayor says (in Finnish, of course):

It is great that you care about the city. Cool, isn't it.

Which, if we could just understand Finnish, would certainly entice us to keep feeding it with more rubbish.

Related Stories:
· Helsinki Rubbish Bins to Thank Users for Not Littering [AFP]
· The Nightmares of European Children Have Just Begun [Jaunted]
· Helsinki Travel coverage [Jaunted]

[Photo: Matti Mattila]

Eurovision

Is Eurovision A Big Neighbors Scam?

May 14, 2007 at 12:00 PM | 0 Comments

Greetings to all who spent last night watching the usual odd servings of how-could-they-ever-think-they'd-win finalists in the Eurovision Song Contest. From Germany's jazzed up Roger Cicero explaining how women rule the world to Ukraine's weirdly-dressed-up song, "Dancing Lasha Tumbai," which curiously was the favorite to win.

When it came down to judging time--Europeans can call or text to vote for anyone except for their own nation--it was even more apparent than normal that the more neighbors you have, the more votes you get. Even when a tiny country gives you a top vote, you get the same number of points as if the whole of Germany or France vote for you. Poor old England got nearly no votes (their entry's quality was questionable too, but that goes for nearly all of them), and former eastern bloc countries with plenty of small neighbors did well. And the winner? A (we personally think) not particularly stunning song from Serbian singer Marija. Media explosions about votes from neighbors has reached higher levels than ever this year, so maybe a new voting system is on the cards for Eurovision 2008 in Belgrade.

[Photo: flickrwegian]

Related Stories:
· Eurovision: Need Good Neighbours [Times UK]
· Eurovision Song-O-Mat Rocks Our World [Jaunted]

Eurovision

Eurovision Song-O-Mat Rocks Our World

May 2, 2007 at 9:15 AM | 0 Comments

With the 2007 Eurovision Song Contest getting to semi-finals and finals in Finland on May 10 and 12, it's time we started watching to see which of the 42 competing nations will take the crown from last year's winners, terrifying Finnish metal band Lordi.

If you want a preview on who might be your own personal favorite, check out the official website's Song-O-Mat. Answer the questions about the kind of song you'd like--for example, you can choose a male or female singer or a group, the language of the song, the geographic location of the artist, whether you want the tempo to be quick, slow, moderate or breath-taking, and what you'd like the topic of the song to be: "about something that matters/just a jingle/about human relations."

We took the quiz and came up with the Belgian entry, "LovePower" from The Krazy Mess Groovers, which so far has come in at #5 on the list of Song-O-Mat results. That does sound a little more likely to win than the Ukrainian "Dancing lasha tumbai" (currently last on the list) or the German number which features a guy singing a tune that translates to "Women Rule the World." Let us know what you come up with.

Related Stories:
· The Nightmares of European Children Have Just Begun [Jaunted]
· We Want Eurovision Tickets! [Jaunted]
· Eurovision Song-O-Mat [Official Site]

Hotels

Live Your Prisonbreak Fantasy in Finland

March 30, 2007 at 3:15 PM | 0 Comments

As long as we're on the Helsinki tip, we should fill you in on a wacky new hotel opening in Finland's capital city. The Best Western Premier Hotel Katajanokka is scheduled to open in May, but that's only half the story.

The hotel bills itself quite nicely, if we do say so:

Hotel Katajanokka is architecturally unique and surrounded by a beautiful park. It has 106 rooms as well as restaurant services, conference facilities, and an idyllic summer terrace.

What they've left out of the description is that until 2002, the 19th century building was a prison. We hear that there will be fewer rooms than there were cells, so things will be a little more spacious. But will there be bars on the windows?

Related Stories:
· WiFi Wednesday: Nerdy Public Transportation Edition [Jaunted]

WiFi

WiFi Wednesday: Nerdy Public Transportation Edition

March 28, 2007 at 9:30 AM | 0 Comments

After that big bus-and-subway lovefest, we've turned our eye to WiFi-friendly public transit. Helsinki City Transport is leading the charge with newly installed LANs onboard select city buses and trams.

Now, we're just as sketched out as the next metro rider when we see someone clacking away on, say, the New York subway. But something about Scandinavia--and especially Finland--has us thinking connecting on the tram is A-OK.

Look for the "WLAN - avoin internet" sign at the front of an arriving tram or bus to make sure it's got the interwebs hook-up. If you're stuck on a carriage that doesn't yet have the service, avail yourself to some of the other plentiful public places in Helsinki with free WiFi: the city-center office of the Helsinki City Tourist & Convention Bureau is a good place to start.

[Photo: LHOON]

Related Stories:
· Helsinki City Transport [Official Site]
· Free WiFi coverage [Jaunted]
· Public Transportation Love-Hate [Jaunted]

Eurovision

We Want Eurovision Tickets!

December 8, 2006 at 9:30 AM | 0 Comments

Ever thought you might need to get in contact with an organization called Lippupalvelu? Believe it or not, this is simply the Ticket Service of Finland, and you definitely need them if you want to head to 2007's Eurovision Song Contest. The events kick off in May.

You couldn't have forgotten last year's winners, Finnish band Lordi (in fact they could still be featuring in your nightmares). Knowing that these kind of surprises await us these days at Eurovision, who wouldn't be rushing to get tickets? Phone sales start December 10, and tickets will be available over the internet from December 12 at a mystery website--either they're just not publicizing it yet or the webmaster at Lippupalvelu hasn't got his act together. Perhaps he's still trying to spell the domain name correctly.

[Photo: cote]

Related Stories:
· Eurovision Tickets On Sale [Visit Finland]
· Coming Soon: Eurovision Action Figures [Jaunted]
· Nightmares of European Children [Jaunted]

Flickr

He's got the HEL Looks

July 25, 2006 at 10:54 AM | 0 Comments

Sorry, we can't resist those stylish Europeans. Especially when they are Finns in need of some droogs! O, my brothers, HEL Looks is real horrorshow. Viddy well!  Sorry, we'll stop.

HEL Looks is a site, like Still in Berlin, that chronicles Helsinki street fashion. Remember, they've got a small window of time when they don't have to cut open a seal and wear it for warmth over there, which makes their fashion choices all the more impressive, we think.

Related Stories:
·   Around the World in 80 Pants [Jaunted]

Flickr

Cool Town, Winter in the City

March 21, 2006 at 2:51 PM | 0 Comments

Some quality urban photography is on display at lwsdm's photostream over on Flickr. In these waning days of winter, it's easier to digest photos of starkly quiet and beautiful cityscapes. We're far more amenable to things like that we when don't have to traipse through the snow.

We particularly like her photos of Helsinki, where she's based. It's a more rounded view of the city than the one that Conan had on offer--fewer reindeer--but just as interesting. Is it too much to ask for New York to paint their subway cars orange? It's not that far off for the redbirds that used to run express on the IRT.

[Image via lwsdm/Flickr]

Related Stories:
·   Conan in Finland [Jaunted]