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Flight Attendants / Finnair / Airlines / Airline News / Flashmobs / → All Tags

Finnair Flight Attendants Whip Up Their Own Flashmob

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.

Helsinki Travel / Food Travel / Helsinki Restaurants / Tuija Seipell / Finland Travel / → All Tags

Helsinki is Developing a Loving Feeling for Foodies

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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Coffee Travel / Food Travel / Holiday Travel / Winter Travel / Christmas Travel / Helsinki Travel / Finland Travel / Tuija Seipell / → All Tags

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

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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Holiday Travel / Winter Travel / Christmas Travel / Helsinki Travel / Finland Travel / Tuija Seipell / → All Tags

Where to Shop in Helsinki for the Best of Finnish Design

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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Travel Snapshot / Finland Travel / Trash Cans / Garbage / Talking Trash Cans / → All Tags

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

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]

Finland Travel / Trash Cans / Garbage / Talking Trash Cans / → All Tags

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

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]

Airport WiFi / Airport-WiFi-Map / HEL / → All Tags

There's Something About Finland

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 / Talking Trash Cans / Trash Cans / Garbage / → All Tags

Finns Reward You For Simple Non-Littering

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 / Music / Europe / → All Tags

Is Eurovision A Big Neighbors Scam?

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 / Music / Contests / Live Music / Websites / → All Tags

Eurovision Song-O-Mat Rocks Our World

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 / Strange Things / → All Tags

Live Your Prisonbreak Fantasy in Finland

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 / Free WiFi / Public Transportation / → All Tags

WiFi Wednesday: Nerdy Public Transportation Edition

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]