10 things we learned in Helsinki

1. Finland used to be ruled by Sweden, then Russia, before gaining independence. Fun fact – they also supported Nazi Germany during WWII….whoops!
2. The city has a huge bunny problem. With thousands of these cute creatures overrunning the city, local politicians and newspapers mention the problem as often as possible.

Helsinki Bunny. We thought we were lucky to snap a pic until we saw 100's more
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Helsinki Bunny. We thought we were lucky to snap a pic until we saw 100's more19-May-2009 19:06, OLYMPUS IMAGING CORP. u1030SW,S1030SW , 5.1, 18.2mm, 0.01 sec, ISO 800
 

3. Very little happens in Finland (see # 2)

4. Normally, Finns are a quiet and reserved people who follow the rules and seem somewhat cold to outsiders.
5. Finns like to drink… a lot. When drinking, # 4 is totally invalidated. In fact, take everything I wrote and reverse it.
6. Finns will use anything as a urinal. After a night of heavy boozing, yellow streams flow throughout the city.
7. Signs are indecipherable… seriously, don’t even try.
Huh?
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Huh?19-May-2009 18:38, OLYMPUS IMAGING CORP. u1030SW,S1030SW , 4.5, 5.0mm, 0.003 sec, ISO 800
 

8.The general public not only tolerates Death Metal but embrace it as the prevailing musical genre.
9. Saunas are an integral part of the culture. Many enjoy a nice cold beer while taking a break from the heat.
Who doesn't enjoy a cold beer break during a sauna? I sure do!
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Who doesn't enjoy a cold beer break during a sauna? I sure do!20-May-2009 21:50, Canon Canon EOS 400D DIGITAL, 5.6, 300.0mm, 0.008 sec, ISO 1600
 

10– Helsinki is actually a really cool place to visit. Many, many thanks to our wonderful Couchsurfing hosts, Jad and Marika, for giving us the insider’s scoop on their city.

6 Comments

  • friscolex says:

    Bunnies, crazy! Who knew? And didn’t they drop euro pennies? Like they round everything up to 5 euro cents? Or is that a nasty rumor?

  • bo says:

    finland post is simply amazing. especially the beer pic.

  • Randy says:

    Drinking with Finns is always a great experience

  • Alejandra says:

    Skinny fin with beer, funny!

  • Oyvind says:

    “Fun fact – they also supported Nazi Germany during WWII….whoops!”
    Well, Soviet tried to occupy Finland in 1941, Nazi Germany did support the fins resistance. But in october 1944, the fins did beat the Nazi occupation-attempt. So…

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Continuation_War <— 1941-1944
    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lapland_War <— 1944 – 1945

  • Marika says:

    Hey guys,
    I forgot for a bit this fucking blog exists… Anyhow, have had blast now reading about your adventures. Glad you enjoyed the crazy Hell…sinki! And yea, bunnies still there, as well as the bow hunters.
    Friscolex asked abt the Euro cents: it is, unfortunately, not a nasty rumor but true. Though you can use the cents if you have exactly 5cents. Beats me.