Leading the competition

The Finnish Leijonat have had an amazing start into this year's Ice Hockey World Championships.

As the only team in the competition Finland has won all group games and starts into the quarter finals on Thursday against Denmark as the clear favorite.

You can watch all Finland games on MTV3. All other games are shown on pay TV. So just head to a bar close by and watch from there.

Enjoy the rest of the games and don't miss the finals on Sunday!

Hyvää vappua!

It's Vappu time again. And as every year today, on the last day of April, the celebrations officially start with putting the cap on the Havis Amanda statue at Kauppatori exactly at 18:00.

Be there at least half an hour earlier if you want to see anything. And don't forget to get your sparkling wine beforehand. Alko closes at six and won't be open tomorrow.

Have a fun and sunny Vappu!

City bikes are coming back

Good news for all cycling enthusiasts - and even more those who don't have an own bike. Starting from May 2nd Helsinki will have a bike sharing system again.

You can then borrow yellow city bikes (called Alepa Fillari) at one of 50 stations around town. In the beginning around 500 bikes will be available. But until 2018 the number should be raised to 2000.

To borrow a bike you have to register to a season pass: 5 € per day/10 € per week/25€ for the whole season (until end of October). Once you purchased this pass you can borrow any bike at any time at any station and use it free of charge for the first 30 min. After that time extra charges apply. But let's be honest, who needs a bike in Helsinki for longer than 30 min?

To register to the service and find out more about prices, stations and other details, check out the City bike website.

Enjoy cycling and have a nice week!

Finns love reading

Finns love to read. When I arrived here I was surprised how popular it was. At least in comparison to my home country I had the feeling that everyone read books here.

A recent study from the Central Connecticut State University now supports my impression. It came to the conclusion that Finland is actually the most literate nation in the world.

You can find the full ranking and more information on the study on washingtonpost.com.

Enjoy the day and for the sake of this amazing result go grab a book tonight.

Useful Finnish passport

Did you know that the Finnish passport is one of the best to have worldwide? In a study of the British immigration lawyers Henley and Partners the Finnish passport ranks as the third best one in the world.

It allows entering 175 countries without a visa. Only the German (177 countries) and Swedish (176) are better. 

For more information read the full story on Yle News.

Let it snow

After a mild December and a few freezing days last week it is time for the snow now. Just throughout the last two days Helsinki got some additional 15 cm and is covered under a thick white layer.

And more snow is to come today throughout the whole day. So rather leave your car at home and calculate some extra time for traveling anywhere. Even though Helsinki's public transport is well prepared, a few delays can't be avoided. Detailed information on delays and cancelations can be found on HSL's website.

Have a nice and snowy day!

Straight connection between airport and train station

Since late December the direct connection between the airport and its new train station is open. So far passengers had to take shuttle busses connecting the two terminals with the entrance to the station next to the car park. Now two new elevators have been taken into use that lead straight to the underground platforms. The elevators are located between terminal 1 and 2.

Shortly additional escalators will open as well, making the connection even more comfortable.

If you want to charge your HSL travel ticket before boarding the train, make sure to do that before going down to the platform though. Ticket machines downstairs so far only sell regular one-way tickets.

New opening times

The new year has brought a few changes is national law. One that might interest you most is that now there are no regulations about opening times for shops and hair dressers anymore since January 1. Shop owners can now decide on their opening times completely on their own.

E.g. the S-market at Sokos is now open 24/7. It might make sense to check out your local shops and supermarkets for extended opening times.

Have a good start into the first working week of the new year!

Hyvää itsenäisyyspäivää!

Excatly 98 years ago Finland got its independence from Russia. December 6 is the most imporant holyday in Finland and all stores and shops are closed.

One thing you should not to miss today is the live broadcast the big celebration at the president's palace. Finland's most important and glamorous people are invited to shake the president's hand and join the big party.

The event will be shown live on Yle 1 starting from 18:15. You can watch it on tv or in the online live stream.

Helsinki - the Christmas city

First of Advent is around the corner. Now Helsinki turns into a true Christmas city.

There are lots of fun and christmassy things to do around this time of the year. The guys from VisitHelsinki put together a nice selection of things you definitely should not miss here during the Christmas season.

Have a look yourself and get ready for the most wonderful time of the year! Have a nice weekend!

The challenges of finding a job in Finland

If you are an expat in this country you know how tough it can be on the job market. My good friend and fellow blogger Kathrin Deter wrote an excellent blog post on the situation for foreigners and gives valuable advise how to improve your chances for success nonetheless.

Read the whole post on her blog Luminoucity. What is your experience? Do you agree with her? Do you have other tips and suggestions? Post your thoughts and ideas on her page. 

Looking forward to your comments!

First signs of Christmas

A look around the city reveils that it is not long until christmas anymore. The big shopping centers Forum and Kamppi already took out the Christmas decoration.

The famous Christmas lights in Aleksanterinkatu are still to follow though. They will light up this Sunday in  the opening of the Aleksanterin Christmas Street. Don't miss it!

Helsinki this week

Did you know that there is a free magazine on things happening in Helsinki every week?

It is called Helsiki This Week and gives you a whole lot of useful information and interesting articles.

You can find it at the tourist information, museums and hotels. Or you can also just check out their online version providing the same information and many useful links.

Brighter mornings

For those of you who missed it, last night the clocks were set back by one hour. Now we are back to standard time which means that Finland is in the GMT+2 time zone again.

That means from now on the mornings are going to be a little brighter again (at least for a while). And even better, this Sunday has 25 hours. So enjoy the long free day before going back to work tomorrow!

One of Europe's most competitive economies

There is no doubt that the Finnish economy is suffering after taking strong hits first through the downfall of Nokia and then through the political crisis with neighbor Russia.

But things are not always as bad as they might appear. In fact the World Economic Forum ranks Finland as one of the ten most competitive economies in Europe (rank 4). Reasons for the good result are the country's strong fundamentals, characterized by strong institutions, an excellent education system and a strong capacity for innovation.

For more information visit the WEF's website.

Finland's neighbors

Finland is often referred to as the country where east meets west. This is due to the geographical location as well as Finland's shared history with its two neighbors Sweden and Russia. And still today both of those countries not only play a role in Finnish politic. They have influenced especially the look of Finland's capital Helsinki.

Quite often you can find remarks or landmarks connected to one of the two. In one spot in town you can even spot both at the same time. And that is at Kauppatori.

As one of the first statues the Stone of the Empress was erected here. It was built in honor of the Russian emperor Nicholas I and his wife Empress Alexandra Feodorovna arrived here when they visited the city in 1833. The engravings are in Latin and translated mean "To the Empress Alexandra on the occasion of Her first visit to the Finnish capital XXIX May X June MDCCCXXXIII". On top of the statue you can see the Russian two-headed eagle who was removed in 1918 when Finland got its independence but was put back in 1971.

Right behind the statue you see the Embassy of Sweden. It was originally built in 1839 and only in the 1920s turned into an embassy. The Swedish architect Torben Grut has the building undergo some heavy changes and designed it to look like the Stockholm palace. The big Swedish flag on top of the building still sometimes makes some cruise ship tourists wonder which city and country they just arrived to.

Midnight streetfood

Could there be anything better then a nice street snack after a night out in town? Of course there are tons of small grills all around town. But if you fancy something a bit more tasty and a bit less greasy you should head to the main station.

Apart from the established grills you find food trucks here every night of the week. And among them are some really good ones that you might know from the Helsinki Street Food Carnival already.

Give it a try and have a fun weekend!

Kekkonen's Brew

Urho Kekkonen is a legend in Finland. He was both Prime Minister and President of Finland and through his policy of active neutrality managed to keep Finland's independence from Russia and the opportunity to at the same time keep close ties to the NATO countries in the west.

Now the Saimaan Juomatehdas brews and sells two new beers in his honor. In collaboration with arki design they created Kekkonen Keskioulut and Juhlaolut. They can be bought from selected supermarkets around Helsinki now.

Give it a try and have a drink in the legendary president's honor.

Be prepared for Friday

This week's Friday is going to be a quite extraordinary day. The biggest strike in decades in going to take place throughout the whole country. As a protest against the new government's austerity measures many employees will not show up for work. Schools and daycare centers will shut down, the railway network won't work as well, along with dozens of other industries.

So be prepared and don't rely on public transport and rather reschudel any important appointments to another day.

For more information on the strike stay tunes on YLE News.

Stockmann or Brooklynn?

Did you pass by the Stockmann Department Store at Aleksanterinkatu/Mannerheimintie during the last two weeks? Then you might have noticed a major change at the building. Almost everything that used to say Stockmann has been changed to the name "Brooklynn".

Did a company with such a long history and important meaning for Helsinki really change it's name? The answer is no. Stockmann is just running a huge campaign with the Brooklynn theme and even went that far to change the name at their main entrance for that time.

The campaign which features the famous borough of New York City with related fashion, food and events will still continue until the end of September. After that everything will go back to normal and Stockmann will get its old signs back.