Singing for Haiti

Finns love singing. With the initiative Suvivirsi the Fin Church Aid act alliance encourages people to sing together. At the same time they want to draw attention to the situation in Haiti where people are suffering from poverty and the aftermath of the horrible earthquake in 2010.

Today at 17:00 and 19:00 singers from Helsinki come together on Narinkka Square to sing for the people in Haiti. Everyone is invited to sing along. You can donate to Fin Curch Aid at the event or online (by clicking on "osallistu ja auta"). With the money the initiative helps children in Haiti to be able to go back to school.

Summer at Espan Lava

As every year Espan Lava, the stage in Esplanadi Park, offers a broad program with lots and lots of music. Check out the summer program. You can find everything from Rock to Pop, from Blues to Jazz.

Espan Lava is popular amongst locals and tourists alike. It is probably the busiest open air stage in whole Finland. And the best part is that all performances are for free. Till the end of August over 200 artists and groups from Finland and abroad perform here.

Sit down on one of the benches in front of the stage or have a drink on the terrace of Kappeli right next to the stage and enjoy the program from over there.

Bright tourists

On Senaatintori a bunch of unusual tourists arrived to take a look at the impressive Tuomiokirkko.

Everything for cycling in Helsinki

At Narinkka Square the Bycicle Center (Pyöräkeskus) is open again for the summer. Cyclist find everything they need here for exploring Helsinki by bike.

Not only can you can park your bike conveniently for a walk through the center. You can also get it fixed at the same time. Kampin Suutari takes care of quick bike maintenance such as lubrication, mending punctures and changing tires. Or just borrow all necessary tools for free and do the repair by yourself.

And for those who don’t own a bike there is of course also the possibility to rent one from Greenbikes. Prices start from 20 € for half a day.

For more information and special biking events check out the Pyöräkeskus website and Facebook page.

Here comes the sun

A sunny hello from Helsinki’s Tuomiokirkko!

Marimekko celebrates

This weekend the popular Finnish design brand Marimekko has its annual summer party to celebrate its anniversary. Today is the last chance to get their special offers for this occasion. Most products are 15 % off.

So drop by to see if there is something for you. The Marimekko stores in the center are open from 12 till the late afternoon. For more information see also their website.

Have a nice Sunday!

World Village Festival 2013

The world is a village. And for this weekend this village is Helsinki. Artists and musicians from all over the world come to the Finnish capital to perform live and for free. On seven stages the audience can enjoy music, dance, theatre, poetry, movies, opera, panel discussions, interviews, children’s program and much, much more. It’s a festival for the whole family.

The artists are from all continents and come to Helsinki not just to perform but also to share their culture. The World Village Festival starts today at 11:00 and will continue in Virgin Oil Co. after 20:00. Tomorrow the program is from 11:00 till 18:00. For more information and the program see their website.

Have fun!

Bus on demand

HSL introduced the new KutsuPlus service to make travelling in the Helsinki region even smoother. You don’t have to wait for the next scheduled bus but just order one online.

Especially for areas where busses don’t come that frequently this service is really useful. And you don’t have to change but will be brought to your desired arrival stop straight away.

When you order your KutsuPlus bus you pay right away online. The price is a bit more expensive than a normal bus ticket but much cheaper than going by taxi. E.g. a trip from Seurassari to Senaatintori will be around six Euros.

For more information on KutsuPlus also visit Good News from Finland.

Bienvenido a la Patrona!

Mexican food can be found probably anywhere in the world. And also in Helsinki you’ll find several different Mexican restaurants. But if you are searching for something special you should go to Patrona.

The small restaurant on Annankatu is one of the most popular and probably also best Mexican restaurants in Helsinki. Not many dishes are offered here which speaks for the quality and the freshness of the food. Even though they might have the same classics that you probably know from several Mexican places before their dishes always have a certain something that makes them special.

Enjoy their delicious tacos with lamb meat and an assortment of sauces to spice things up. Or go for the chocolate chili enchilada, a specialty of Patrona. And don’t worry, even if the portions seem quite small sometimes they are always filling. One of their famous margaritas or a spicy beer cocktail on the side works perfectly with the food.

At Patrona table reservations are highly recommendable. Otherwise you might have to wait quite a while to be seated.

Enjoy the Mexican kitchen!

A foggy day in Helsinki

Heavy fog from the Baltic Sea can make Helsinki look really mysterious. I took this picture a last week.

Looks like fog is something we won’t face during the next days. It rather looks like some rain unfortunately.