AN INTRODUCTION TO FINLAND

 

 

Finland is one giant health spa. There are more saunas than cars, tap water is said to be among the cleanest in the world, and the air is refreshingly pure with over 75% of the country covered in forest.

 

Once the airline tab is paid, Finland is surprisingly economical. Compared to some other Scandinavian countries like Iceland or Norway, it’s practically a bargain. And Finns are known for their honest, no nonsense, and straightforward dispositions—qualities that reassure both the stressed or unstressed traveler alike. 

 

Finland awaits those who are tired of overly crowded or overly hot (temperature wise, that is) tourist destinations in Europe. Summer in Finland is for tossing on a light sweater, attending one of the gazillion music festivals, or spending the light filled nights on a peripatetic stroll. On a drive from Helsinki to Old Porvoo, the landscape is fairy tale heavenly with banks along the highway bestrewn with birch trees and wildflowers. And since travel is educational, one learns that grade school children are given xylitol gum after lunch—xylitol being great for teeth. It’s made from those silvery-in-moonlight birch trees and was even used as a sugar substitute during wartime shortages. 

 

 

 

 

For an intro to Finland, there’s the understatedly chill and elegant capital city Helsinki. It brings to mind Zurich or Vienna in the way that everything works and almost always runs on schedule. Along with contemporary architecture, there are neighborhoods of well maintained art nouveau buildings. 

 

The design museums are outstanding whether it’s the prosaically named Design Museum or The Ateneum with the oldest and largest art collection. As The Economist recently pointed out, Helsinki is “awash with games developers, including Rovio, maker of “Angry Birds,” and Supercell, creator of “Clash of the Clans.” After some gaming, you can hike into the countryside and pick berries, mushrooms, herbs, or anything else edible to your heart’s content, since there’s an “everyman’s law” that allows the public to forage. 

 

Inspired by nature, the Finnish design aesthetic is famous worldwide from Iitala “design objects” (as the website states), to chunkily abstract gold Björn Weckström jewelry to oversize Marimekko florals to the architecture of Alvar Aalto and the furniture of designer Eero Aarnio that embraces the bold, organic, and convex. The primary colors spark joy. And if the design aesthetic looks Ikea-familiar, well, guess where those Scandinavian designers got so many of their ideas? And that’s just for starters. 

 

A mini guide to do, see, stay: 

 

 

 

HELSINKI

 

 

Hotel Lila Roberts is about a five minute walk to the center of town. The hotel is also a few minutes away from K-Market, an impressive grocery store with, for example, a multitude of beers, popular faux alcoholic beverages, all kinds of premade tourist friendly foods, and a ton of products that contain berries, and where this writer stocked up on xylitol toothpastes and Jenkki xylitol peppermint gum. 

 

Lila Roberts is remarkably tranquil, though the standard size room was minute. For an extra twenty euros a night we upgraded to a very roomy suite. The best breakfast buffet ever with berries here there and everywhere, and Finnish specialities like Ruisleipä dark rye, and Karelian small rye pastries filled with porridge or potatoes.

 

South Harbor is a bay and popular harbor area that’s adjacent to the downtown park. A multitude of informal outdoor restaurants and shops are packed with locals. A great place to stop for a bite to eat and pick up one of the ubiquitous reindeer t-shirts for only ten euros. Reindeers and the beloved Moomin cartoon characters are unofficial national emblems.

 

Lapuan Kankurit textile shop. Specializing in fine linen and wool textiles, this downtown shop has patterns that tend to reflect nature: birch trees, tree trunks, wildflowers. The linen tea towels and bath towels are ultra absorbent and the designs are high artistry, whether you’re stocking a sauna or looking for that perfect tablecloth, blanket, scarf, or bathrobe. Yes, they do offer international shipping at reasonable cost.

 

 

 

 

Café Strindberg. In the center of town along the main drag that borders Esplanadi Park, you’ll find the outstanding Café Strindberg. This is an order at the counter place, where you can happily rest undisturbed for a spell or longer. With a view of the park, it’s a cozy place to stop midafternoon for a sandwich and coffee to fortify oneself for further hours of exploration. 

 

Stockmann Department Store. This large chain is a design lover’s paradise. The top floor features contemporary furniture, porcelains, bedding and home decor, all with a Finnish design flourish. You can find everything at this one stop extravaganza shopping experience, from coffee shops to souvenirs, cosmetics, and clothing and accessories for all genders and ages. Note that made in Finland items are great value and most often colorful and happy making. 

 

 

 

OLD PORVOO 

 

 

An hour’s drive away from Helsinki is Old Porvoo, with its tiny streets of fat cobblestones and traditional squat wooden houses that fishermen once called home. 

 

Runo Hotel. This 1912 art nouveau building is considered the best hotel in town, and for good reason. Cozy wooden floors (and the kind of Scando decor that inspired universal copycats), some rooms with fireplaces, and even seltzer makers and clothes steamers included too. An abundant breakfast buffet with little placards describing the ingredients only in Finnish underscores how few English speaking tourists visit the country, or maybe ask about food ingredients.

 

 

 

 

Fryysarinrant Restaurant. Overlooking the Porvoonjoki River in Old Porvoo and housed in an old mill, is an excellent restaurant that specializes in escargot along with standard fare, with the option of outdoor seating overlooking the river. The cheerful server, Eetu, explained in perfect English—English being a mandatory subject starting at age nine—that on a trip to Tuscany, the owners became enamored of snails and now regularly feature escargot on the menu. 

 

Varlaxudden recreational area. This is a twenty-nine acre forest where on a clear day you can see forever—or at least across the Gulf of Finland to Russia. The forest is fantasy mystical with huge magic-door boulders, and where it would seem perfectly natural to be greeted by Ents (those talking trees in Lord of the Rings). Parks and forests in Finland are safe and revered.

 

J.L Runesberg House Museum. I never miss a house museum if I can help it. Here in Porvoo (about a ten minute stroll from Old Porvoo) is the well preserved home of the country’s most famous poet, who also authored the national anthem. The affluent Johan Ludvig Runeberg (1804-1877) and his family lived here, and there’s a small guest shop with his poetry in Finnish—no English translations (I asked), a reminder of the refreshingly non-commercial vibe of Finnish tourism.