Helsinki: the City where You Recharge Your Batteries (Part 1)

        

         

   Have you ever been to Finland? Or at least to Helsinki? If you haven't, the first thing you should know is that, although it's not your usual mainstream destination, like Paris, London, or Rome, the Finnish capital surely has its own charm. And yes, there is more to it than saunas and freezing temperatures. We won't count Santa Claus and his reindeer, as we are not in Lapland this time. :) The second thing you should know, as I decided to point it out in the title, is that I surely recommend it if you are after relaxation and recharging your batteries, but probably not as much if you are after high adrenaline and looking to party hard.

                            

         

      Helsinki is a city that is not overpopulated  or suffocated by traffic. It is safe, with wide and clean roads, close to nature (parks, forests, lakes, sea), showing impressive architecture both in classic and modern styles. As a matter of fact, Finland is very resourceful when it comes to modern and contemporary design. 

                                     

        

     Culturally and historically speaking, Finland is a complex nation. From the Middle Ages, it became and integral part of Sweden following crusades, and later became a part of the Russian Empire at the beginning of the XIXth century. In the end, it became an independent state after the Russian Revolution, in 1917. Therefore, Finland is geographically located between Scandinavian countries and Russia, but its language is of the Uralic family. And surrealistic, if you ask me. :) Expect long words, double vowels and consonants, umlauts, and basically a language that bears no similarity to others (apart from Estonian, as far as I know). Did you know that 'terve' means 'hello', 'hyvaa' means 'fine', and 'kiitos' means 'thanks'? Oh, and 'please' doesn't exist. Plus, Swedish is an official language also in Finland, so expect all signs in all public places to be written also in Swedish. 

          What about the people? Finns are mostly blonde, with fair skin, and light-coloured eyes. They may not be as bubbly as the Italians or the Spanish (or the Romanians on a good day :P ), but nevertheless they don't lack friendliness, and surely are very polite, helpful and correct. And what impressed me especially is the way people help and support each other in neighbourhoods and small communities, be it with babysitting or any other chores. In my opinion, an evolved nation is one where people trust and help each other. Dear Finland, you'd have a lot to teach Romania! 

            Before we start exploring the city in part 2, I will invite you to dinner. Finnish dinner, that is. 

                   

You will be on a fish diet. You will eat fish every day, especially salmon, but not only. It can be salmon soup (for colder days), but also fish or seafood salads, or fish with potatoes, mushrooms of all kinds, and horseradish. I was also told that reindeer steak is very good, but I didn't want to try it. As I've always been against hunting, I would have felt bad. What will Santa drive afterwards? Poor Rudolph & company! :'( Another interesting dish that I liked is the rice pie: a thin pastry filled with tasty rice, and topped with egg paste.

                        

 For dessert, they have lots of scrumptious looking cakes, with cream, chocolate, caramel, and not only. Coffee is also very good and of several kinds. And for chocolate lovers, I highly-highly recommend to try the national Finnish brand of chocoalte, Fazer. They have loads of types of chocolate, with all the possible flavours, and I was also told that they are constantly inventing new stuff. ;)
             Speaking of food, you will also discover that Finns have their meals much earlier than 'continental' countries. They start work at 7 or 8 in the morning, which leads them to have breakfast at about 6 a.m., lunch at about 11, and dinner around 5 p.m. The early bird catches the: a) salmon; b) reindeer; c) Fazer! :D

           In part 2, we will proceed to discover the city and what I definitely advise you to visit. I didn't manage to see exactly everything I planned, but I already saw about 85-90%. And who knows... I might return someday. I surely would not mind! ;)