The world's most public sauna

Have you been to Helsinki's only free sauna? It is called Sompasauna and is located in Sompasaari a few hundred meters away from the Kalasatama metro. Sompasauna is run by volunteers and hence completely free to use.

Timo Wilderness made an excellent video about the place. Check it out.


And come to Sompasauna as long as it is still in its location. And if you have an idea or suggestion where a new location for it could be in the next year and want to help rescue the world's most public sauna, leave a comment below or get in touch with the Sompasauna peopled directly through their website.

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!

Hauska laskiainen!

Today is Shrove Tuesday, or how they call it here in Finland Laskiainen. Did you already slide down the hill today at Kaivopuisto? Or did you skip that due to the rainy weather?

Well, in any case you shouldn't miss out on a delicious if also a little unhealthy laskiais pulla. The pastry with either jam or marzipan and loads of whipped cream can be bough at supermarkets, bakeries and cafes.

Enjoy and have a nice laskiainen!

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.

VisitHelsinki Christmas Calendar

December has started. To make the time until Christmas go by faster VisitHelsinki has made a Facebook Christmas Calendar.

 

Every day a new Helsinki picture will be uploaded together with some interesting information about the city and especially its history and Christmas traditions.

Make sure to not miss any of them. Have a nice Christmas time!

Stockmann's Christmas window

The Christmas season was officially opened yesterday by the major of the city and Santa Claus. This also of course brings the traditional Stockmann Christmas window back as well.

At the corner of Keskuskatu and Aleksanterinkatu Stockmann has again set up a beautiful scenery with music. Kids love it but it is also a sight worth visiting for adults to get into the Christmas mood.

Drop by on your walk though the city and have a good start into the week!

Hyvää isänpäivä!

Today is Father's Day in Finland! Time to celebrate all those wonderful, loving and caring dads all over the country.

It's gonna be rainy and many shops are closed. So perfect conditions to spend a family day inside together or at least give your father a call.

Herring from the Åland Islands

The traditional Baltic Herring Market is in Helsinki again. As done for centuries (since 1743) also this year farmers and fishers from the Åland Islands came to Helsinki on their small boats to sell their products at Kauppatori in the heart of Helsinki.

You can buy wool, handicrafts, the famous saaristo leipä, of course the famous Baltic herring as well as many other home made products directly from the boats.

In addition a small archipelago village has been erected on the docks this year. On Friday also a special market square dance will be held at Havis Amanda. The market is still on until Saturday. Don't miss it!

Iconic Finnish food you must try

There is some Finnish food you should definitely have tried. The most iconic ones have now been listed on Visit Finland.

Have a look at the delicious Finnish delights. Have you tried some or maybe already all of them? What's your favorite?

This was Vappu 2015

Vappu was again a blast. And the weather also played along just fine. Taken into account that both the day before and after were rainy it couldn't have been much better. Here are some impressions of Vappu 2015 in Helsinki.

How was your Vappu this year?

Picknick day

Do you have everything packed? Or are you already at Kaivopuisto? The big Vappu picknick at the Kaivopuisto park at Ullanlinnanmäki is going on right now.

It is the place to be. The rest of the city is going to be there as well. So grab some food, some sparkling wine and a blanket. And maybe an umbrella just to be save and head out there to celebrate Vappu and the beginning of May outside with thousands of others.

Have a great day!

Off to Esplanadi

Today Vappu starts. And the place to be for that is Esplanadi. At the lower end of the park people gather to see Havis Amanda get a white cap.

Havis Amanda is the woman on the fountain. And every year on April 30 she gets a white cap exactly at 18.00 from the students of the city. At the same time everyone else also puts their caps on. It is always very busy. So if you want to see something try to be there early.

Have a great start into Vappu!

Some Mämmi?

Have you had some mämmi over the Easter holidays yet? It's the probably most traditional Easter dish you can find in Finland. And it unfortunately has a bad reputation especialyl among foreigners.

But don't let the look scare you away. The brown rye mash might not look too appealing but it can be surpisingly good. And not all mämmis are the same. Some self made ones might really surprise you. Some even come with different tastes like vanilla or caramel.

And of course you should not eat mämmi just on its own but always with some cream and sugar on top.

So be brave enough and give it a try. You might be surprised.

Don't be late!

Dailight Saving Time started last night. Did you already adjust all your clocks, watches and phones to the new time? Better take care of it today before showing up at work an hour late tomorrow.

And beware! There might be small trolls and witches ringing your doorbell today, give you a branch with colorful feathers and demand candy in return. So if you open the door, have some candies ready.

Have a nice Sunday!

Happy sleighing!

Today is Laskiainen. One could say it's the Finnish way of celebrating carneval. And it's a celebration especially for kids - and for students. 

Kaivopuisto is the place to be today. Students from all the universities around the city come here today to take advantage of the last snow and sleigh down the Ullanlinna hill. They also compete on who built the best and nicest looking sledge. It all starts today at 13.00 and officially ends at 17.00 (before the crowd moves on to continue celebrating in some clubs in the center).

If sleighing down the hill with a can of beer in your hand on a Tuesday afternoon is not what you had in mind for today then rather get a delicious Laskiais Pulla. The sweet pastry is filled with either jam or marzipan and topped with a lot of whipped cream.

Whatever you decide to do, have a great Laskiainen!

Hyvää ystävänpäivää!

Today couples and lovers around the world celebrate Valentine's Day. But did you know that in Finland it's not mainly about love but all about friendship.

So it doesn't neccessarily have to be anything heart shaped to give away today. A card or a small present to the ones you care about fits perfect for Ystävänpäivä (Friendship Day).

Enjoy the day and have a great time with your friends and loved ones!

Enjoy your tart

Today is February 5, Johan Ludvig Runeberg's birthday. And Finns celebrate that day with flying flag to honor their famous poet.

But even more important than the flags are the Runebergintorttut (Runeberg tarts). You can get them in almost every cafe as well as in supermarkets. Runeberg tarts are made from almonds, flavored with rum or arrack and decorated with raspberry jam in a sugar ring.

Don't forget to have one of those today to celebrate one of Finland's most important writers.

Christmas food

Do you have everything ready for Christmas Eve? And do you know what a Finnish Christmas dinner consists of?

In contrast to Christmas food in many other countries Finn have lots of fishy and cold dishes for Christmas. That includes lots of salmon and hering. But there is normally also always some Christmas ham. What shouldn't be missing as well are casseroles made from carrot and rutabaga.

For more Christmas food and recipes check out thisisFinland.

HelsinkiIn wishes you Hyvää Joulua and Merry Christmas!

Hyvä itsenäisyyspäivä!

Happy Independence Day! Today is one of the most important Finnish holidays. The day where the country got its independence from Russia in 1917.

Unfortunately this year it falls on a Saturday. So no extra free day this time. But keep in mind that except for a few supermarkets everything is closed today. So enjoy the day with the family at home (the weather is anyway not supposed to be that great today). 

And of course don't miss the president's big reception tonight. This year it is back in Helsinki in the newly rennovated President's Palace. The whole event will be covered live on Yle 1 starting at 18:15.

Have a great day and a wonderful weekend!

Sunday is Father's Day

Every year on the second Sunday in November Finns celebrate Isänpäivä (Father's Day). This day honors all fathers and their role in the family as well as in society. 

Father's Day is not such an old tradition. In Finland it was officially established as a flag day in 1987.

How do you celebrate Father's Day? Well, whatever your plans for Sunday are, a visit or a friendly call will definitely make him happy.