A soap box full of glory

A lot of brave and creative men and women went down the hill in their self made vehicles on the third Red Bull Soap Box Race in Helsinki. Here are some pictures for you.

Downhill in summer

You don’t have plans for today so far? Then hurry to Kaivopuisto and follow the third official Red Bull Soap Box Race in Helsinki.

From up here the teams will start their race for glory.

The event started already at 8 this morning. But don’t worry you didn’t miss that much so far. The most important thing is still to come: the race.

At 12 all teams will present their self made vehicles in the opening parade. Then at 13.00 the first race down Tähtitorninmäki will start and the first teams will compete against each other. Approximately at 17.00 there will be a winner.

If you already want to take a look at the teams and their soap boxes or want to get more information on the event check out their website.

Have fun!

Rock the weekend at Stone's

A great place for the weekend but also for a drink during the week is Stone’s.

It has one of the best and most wide selections of tap beers you can find in Helsinki. Among them you find also pretty unusual stuff like American steam beer and other quite exotic brews. If you can’t decide ask the staff to recommend you something. They are happy to help you and also let you try one or two beers.

Apart from the beer they also have really good food which is surprising for a pub. Check their menu and try one of Stone’s burgers, a small snack or one of their delicious desserts like the coconut cake. The menu changes relatively often and the food is always good.

If you decide to come here more often or even just want to spend several hours here it might make sense for you to apply for their customer card. You get it for 5 Euros right away and save up to 2 Euros starting from your first drink. There are always two really good beers and also some other nice drinks on offer.

Stone’s is located right in the center between Aleksanterinkatu and the main station. You easily get there and back home at any time. Busses, trams, trains and taxis leave right around the corner.

Enjoy!

Delicious Finland

 

You’d like to try food from all the different parts of Finland and like to find out what Finnish cuisine has to offer between Uusimaa and Lappland? Then you should head to Herkkujen Suomi (Delicacies of Finland) this weekend.

It is a food fair on Rautatientori where farmers and small companies present their products to the public. Every tent represents one area of Finland. You can try samples or buy whole meals. 

Take your time to wander around all the stands and try some of the delicious and mainly homemade food.  You also find a beer tent where several Finnish microbreweries have their best beers on tap.

Herkkujen Suomi is open today and tomorrow throughout the day and the entrance is free.

Enjoy!

Experience art

Do you have any plans for tonight? No? Good! Now you do. Tonight is Helsinki’s Night of the Arts. This is organized every year as part of the Helsinki Festival.

During that night art takes over the streets of the capital. You can find performances, exhibitions, theater plays, music and much more in the most unusual places and most unexpected ways.

The list of events for tonight is very long. The whole program can be found online. There is something for everyone. If you don’t want to browse through everything sort the events by neighborhoods, genres or time.

You can even be an active part of the Night of the Arts yourself. Help for example building a giant domino route through the center or show your talent on the open stage.

Most events are for free. The program started already early in the morning and will last until late in the night.

Have fun!

It’s a little bit Fanny

If you are into light, fresh and healthy dishes and like to enjoy that in an airy and bright ambience Fanny might be the right place for you. The glass pavilion in Sinebrychoff park offers breakfast, lunch, dinner and on the weekend also nice brunch for its customers.

The prices are average for the center of Helsinki. Especially for vegetarians Fanny has a lot to offer. No matter at what time of the day you will always find a salad bar with a wide selection of vegetables, fruit, nuts and everything else you desire. But Fanny also has something to offer for fish and meat lovers. Check out their website to see their menu. You can find the daily lunch offers on their Facebook page.

More value for the lunch break

Did you know that most Finnish companies support their employees’ lunch financially? In a lot of companies you receive up to 20 lunch vouchers every month. Depending on the company they can have different values. In most cases they are worth around 8 Euros each. Around two third of the value is taken directly from the employee’s salary. The rest is paid by the employer.

In most companies you can decide how many vouchers you want to receive per month. If definitely makes sense though to always take the full amount since you can not only during lunch hours but also at any other time with them. Most restaurants have special lunch offers around 8 to 10 Euros and almost all of them accept the vouchers. And even in some supermarkets you can use them.

What you should know though is that you can’t pay any alcohol with lunch voucher and that you don’t receive any change if you pay with them.