Where Paavo Nurmi ran

Next to the Olympic Stadium in Helsinki the Finns honor one of their greatest runners of all times. Here you find the memorial of Paavo Nurmi.

Between 1920 and 1928 the middle and long distance runner won a total of nine gold and three silver medals in Olympic Games. The so called “Flying Finn” set 22 official world records at distances between 1,500 meters and 20 kilometers. During his peak he was unbeaten at several different distances.

No wonder such a prominent spot was dedicated to him later. His statue stands right in front of the stadium where he trained for some of his biggest victories while and also broke a few world records. Come and pay a visit to him if you are in the area. 

The Rhododendron Park

The blooming time of the rhododendron is long over. Their beautiful red flowers are at their best in June. But even during this time of the year the Rhododendron Park (Alppiruusupuisto) in Haaga is a perfect destination for a nice Sunday walk.

The park was founded and still functions as a plant breeding experimental site of the University of Helsinki. Simultaneously the eight-hectare area is a park open to the public. The first rhododendrons have been planted here in 1975. Meanwhile several different species grow some of which were created on this site and are internationally well known to handle temperatures of up to -40 degrees.

Many paths and duckboards as well as some look-outs make it possible to explore most parts of the park in a comfortable way and are also accessible for wheelchair-users without problems.

Have a wonderful walk and a nice Sunday!

The blue light beam is back

The nights get dark again these days. This is not just a bad thing. Now the lights of the city can be seen again and with them the so called sininen viiva (blue line). It was installed last year to celebrate 135 years of electricity in Helsinki. The blue laser beam connects Observatory Hill (Tähtitorninmäki) all the way across Kopernikuksentie, Unioninkatu and Siltasaarenkatu with the Kallio Church.

You can see it every night from 18:00 to 02:00.

Park your man

Bruuveri at Kamppi Kauppakeskus offers women a perfect solution for a relaxed shopping weekend in the center: The first official “miesparkki” (men parking).

Go shopping and leave your man here!

Instead of having your husband or boyfriend follow you around to each of the countless shops that might have a really good offer right now, you just leave him here and pick him up later. But don’t leave him too long. The way back home might become a challenge for both of you otherwise.

Have a nice weekend everyone!

Cold, windy and beautiful

After a warm first half of September the temperatures dropped rapidly. This morning we had just 2° here in Helsinki. Even though it will get a bit warmer again during the next days we will have the first minus temperatures during the night.

So enjoy the open sea as long as this is still possible. Go for a walk along Helsinki’s and Espoo's waterfront and experience the rough but beautiful fall landscape. 

3D on the next level

At Verkkokauppa.com you can try the Oculus VR and decide for yourself if this could be the future of gaming.

The high-tech goggles allow you to travel through a 3D world in 110°. Instead of looking at an ordinary monitor that tells you where to look you can now move your head around and explore the world around you in a natural way.

Till Sunday you can try it for free at Verkkokauppa.com in Länsisatama. Experience a ride on a wooden rollercoaster that feels surprisingly real even though you are actually just sitting on a normal chair. You find the Oculus VR demonstration in the gaming department on the 3^rd floor. It’s worth a try!

A ride to the past of Helsinki

Amongst others the Korjaamo Culture Factory is also home to Helsinki’s Tram Museum.

On the first glance this tiny museum doesn’t seem to be impressive at all. Three old tram cars are lined up for the museum’s visitors. But the small screens next to each of the exhibits bring the trams back to life. Amongst lots of interesting information on those machines pictures of old Helsinki and the trams in action are shown. After clicking through the slides and reading about their history you will see the trams with different eyes, pay closer attention to small details and can easily imagine how it would feel traveling through the city on them.

The entrance to the museum is for free and it is open daily from 11 to 17:00.

Not so golden Rax

Rax offers an all you can eat buffet for a very reasonable price of a bit under 10 Euros. For that money you get pizza, sausages, chicken wings and more as much as you want. When it comes to size and volume this is definitely a great deal. Especially since you can find Rax in pretty central locations throughout the capital region. Unfortunately this is the only upside and what you gain on the quantity side you loose on the quality side. The food you get there is greasy and the taste is below average. So if you pay any attention to healthy, delicious and good food better stay away from Rax.

I normally try to avoid reviews about mediocre places in Helsinki since I believe it makes more sense to tell you about what is really good here in the city. Rax can be found everywhere in and around Helsinki though that I thought some of you might have wondered what’s up with it.

To find recommendations for some of the best restaurants and cafés in Helsinki click here.

A perfect day for mushroom picking

The weather is beautiful today and since we had quite a bit of rain during the last days this Sunday should be perfect for mushroom picking.

And that can be done anywhere in the woods around Helsinki. Just bring a knife and a basket and start your search. Once you spot the first ones it gets easier to find more. But be sure of what you pick and if you have some doubts rather leave them.

Have a great Sunday!

Big discounts at Sokos

This weekend you can still get great deals at Sokos department store in the center. With an S-membership card you get a discount of 15% on everything.

Also check out their special mobile club offer. If you subscribe to their SMS mailing list you get a discount on one item of your choice of 30%. Subscribing is for free. You just send a free text message to 18313 with the word SOKOS2. Show the confirmation text at the counter and get your discount. With the text SOKOSSTOP2 to the same number you unsubscribe from the list again.

Enjoy your weekend!