The Christmas chocolate is already here

Yes, it's already time. The supermarkets have put the Christmas chocolates, candies and sweets on the shelves. This will of course annoy some. But if you plan on travelling abroad or are just here as a visitor at the moment you now have the chance to already take some of the good stuff with you. Maybe as a nice souvenir or for your Christmas abroad.

Check it our - or ignore it for a few more weeks :)

Red Espresso

Have you every tried red espresso, cappuccino or latte? No? Well, then it is time. At Fazer Cafés around town you now have the chance to try them.

But what is red espresso really? Actually it is rather a tea than a coffee. Rooibos is prepared in the same way as normal espresso. The result is a hot beverage that has a little hint of both tea and coffee. The versions with milk, like cappuccino and latte, which have the same red color as the espresso, remind a bit of Chai Latte.

Give it a try. And if you go for a cappuccino or latte, try it with cinnamon and honey. Enjoy!

Herring and more from Åland

The boats from Åland are in Helsinki again. As every October farmers and fishermen from the Archipelago between Finland and Sweden come to Helsinki to sell their fresh products straight from the boat. The so called Silakkamarkkinat (Herring Market) is held already for the 272nd time this year and is the oldest traditional event in Helsinki.

And despite the name you can get much more than just herring here. Also other delicacies from
Åland like pickled fish, handicraft from the island and of course the traditional archipelago bread can be found here.

The market is still on until Saturday. Don't miss it!

Early Crazy Days

Stockmann's Hullut Päivät (Crazy Days) start again. From tomorrow until Sunday there will be lots of great deals again. If you are planning on getting something there, check out their offers beforehand online and arrive early. Some things might be sold out in no time. And keep in mind that this time Stockmann opens its doors at 7:00 already.

If you want to avoid the huge crowds of Stockmann at Aleksanterinkatu in the city center, consider to rather visit some of the smaller Stockmann stores around Helsinki. They have the same offers and are much more quiet. You find a list of them on their website.

Happy Crazy Days!

First real fall days

After a gray weekend there seem to be a few more cloudy days ahead during this week.

Don't let that get you down and have a great week!

Helsinki on Ello

HelsinkiIn can be found on the new add-free social network Ello now under ello.co/helsinkiin. If you also have an account already go ahead and follow.

Since Ello is an invitation-only service, at least at the moment, you might not have been able to join yet. In that case you are in luck. Comment on this post and win an invite to Ello.

Looking forward to seeing you on Ello!

Food, food, food for 10 €

Yesterday Syö Helsinki started again. For the next two weeks 35 restaurants around Helsinki and Turku offer selected dishes for just 10 €.

Among the participating restaurants are the Hard Rock Cafe, Woolshed, Sumo, Mille Mozzarelle, Santa Fe, Basecamp and many many more.

Syö Helsinki continues till October 16. For more information on the offers and all participating restaurants take a look at the City Syö website.

Enjoy!

Helsinki - the beautiful capital of Finland

And here is another great video of this beautiful city made by the guys at VisitFinland.


Enjoy and keep in mind that it's just a few more hours till the weekend starts!

Finnish style burger bun

Finns love rye bread. It tastes good and it also is much more healthy than white bread. But did you know that in Finland you can even get your burger with rye bread?

And not just at the Finnish Hesburger chain but pretty much all burger places, including McDonalds offer rye bread as an alternative to the usual burger buns. If you want to give it a try, then look out and ask for ruisleipä next time you order a burger.

Enjoy!

Tech news from expats for everyone

If you are into technology you've go to check out the new TechXpats Podcast from Helsinki. It's produced by a bunch of tech interested expats from the captial area. Every Wednesday they come together to talk about the lastest stuff happening in the tech szene. But they also talk about expats' life here in Helsinki.

Here are a few words from them directly:

Being expats ourselves, we decided to focus on the latest etch news, but also incorporate advice and information for other expats - as we're all aware of how difficult it can sometimes be when moving to another country and adapting to living in a whole new environment and culture. We regularly recommend apps and sites that can help people in their day-to-day lives, as well as take and answer listener questions on all things tech. In the coming weeks we will also be starting a weekly feature on startups. This will focus on not just local startups, but startups from around the world, from both locals and other expats.

We've got some really great guests and features lined up for future episode. So as we keep recording and producing, our podcast will hopefully become better and better (we're all still quite new at all of this), and we'll be able to help and entertain more and more people out there!

 

This week they indeed already have an exciting guest on the show. Adam Christianson from the MacCast podcast www.maccast.com will be discussing with Stephen, Ken, Guillermo and Anu.

Visit their Facebook, Twitter and Google+ page where you can also get in contact with them directly and ask questions or give feedback. Also check out their first episodes. You can get their podcast through iTunes or Feedburner.