Getting to know a little about Finland via Helsinki

BY LAWRENCE FERBER

A couple of things strike when the winter days are only a few hours long: depression and creativity. The latter certainly trumps the former in Helsinki, Finland. For a while now, design has been a selling point for Scandinavia’s cultural black sheep—furniture, clothing, housewares, even a specific design district—yet I’ve long been compelled to visit by many elements that seemed unique, and, well, “off,” as if the whole country is wearing, or enclosed within, a specially altered pair of glasses. Amongst them: Tokyo/London-esque street style (see website www.hel-looks.com), contemporary art, Alvar Aalto’s wavy modernist architecture, and the dryly humorous films of Aki Kaurismäki. Oh, and let’s not forget the sauna, which was invented in Finland.

I arrive on one of the shortest days of the year, in December — mind you, sunlight dominates nearly 24/7 in summertime — driving through streets that bring to mind Vienna and Kiev. I check into one of Scandinavia’s finest hotels (and its first luxury property), Palace Hotel Kämp (www.palacekamp.fi), located smack dab in downtown. Famed chocolatier/pastry café, Fazer, is just across the street, and Helsinki’s biggest shops—including department store Stockmann (www.stockmann.fi), housewares heaven Littala (www.iittala.com), and Marimekko (www.marimekko.com), makers of the iconic long-sleeve striped shirt—are within mere steps (in general, Helsinki is pretty compact). While Kämp is cushy, I find the nearby boutique hotel Klaus K (www.klauskhotel.com) a visual stunner, a strange crown of thorns hovering above its check-in desk, with 137 rooms broken into a handful of themed concepts and designs/colors.

The design district is a no-brainer for first day exploration (www.designdistric.fi), and a free expandable map/guide is available throughout the city. I begin with furniture store Artek (www.artek.fi), home of Alto’s iconic 1930s chairs/stools, while Design Forum Finland (www.designforum.fi) makes me ponder credit card debt with its locally made wares. Small square stones that serve as ice cubes, silk-screened Beanies, and endless glassware.

Designer Hanna Saren’s shoes have walked NYC’s streets compliments Carrie Bradshaw, and Saren’s namesake Helsinki shop (www.hannasaren.com) is cute and minimalist, with women’s and men’s couture/shoes on hand, as well as Peruvian-made Mision Misericordia sportswear. Treasures of Wasteland (www.seccoshop.com) repurposes refuse—from LPs to auto parts—into ridiculously cute and functional accessories and home decor. A handbag incorporating a rotary phone was literally off the hook, y’all! A few small but intriguing galleries also pepper the district, while CD shop Stupido (www.stupido.fi) is Finland’s best: try out local artists like Belle & Sebastian-esque Sister Flo, lesbian genre-hopper Siiri Nordin, and sumptuously shoegazey Pooma.

A striking work of modern architecture itself, the Museum of Contemporary Art Kiasma (www.fiasma.fi) contains several permanent and temporary exhibitions, and a theater. I spent a couple of hours checking out Perestroika-era multimedia works (a hipster’s wet dream!), and Kiasma’s small but dense store, picking up a handful of Finnish graphic novels, Pippi Longstocking postcards, and more. Then on to Temppeliaukio Church (www.taivallahti.kirkkohelsinki.net), a strikingly different house of worship. Circular, quarried out of natural bedrock with a giant dome overhead, it’s a popular spot for concerts, and in fact a way-gay chorus rehearses for that evening’s recital as I snap photos.

FYI, English is spoken throughout Finland (their hard-to-grasp native tongue hasn’t quite caught on internationally). Two English-language books published by designer-created Bulgaria Magazine (it’s akin to VICE Magazine: www.bulgariamagazine.palvelukeskus.net) serve as invaluable, photo-packed insider’s guides to both hip and traditional musts Special Edition: Finland A-O, and A Book About Helsinki. Pretty much every insider tidbit I gleaned from locals was also found within these tomes. Free English-language monthly Six Degrees(www.6d.fi) is also worth picking up, as is Kasino Magazine (www.wearekasino.com).

Being gay is no big deal, either. Check out www.qlife.fi, an official, free multilingual queer website/guide to Finnish cities. A local friend-of-a-friend takes me on a bar/club crawl my first night, explaining that each attracts a different age demographic: 20s and under at DTK (aka Don’t Tell Mama, owned by Finland’s National Gay Rights organization: www.dtm.fi); 30s and 40s at Hercules (www.herculesgayclub.com); and 50s+ at Mann’s Street (www.mannsstreet.com). The two-level Lost & Found (www.lostandfound.fi) advertises itself as a “hetero-friendly” gay club, and it’s a favorite amongst local celebrities like goth-rockers H.I.M.

At watering hole Room Albert (www.roombar.fi), I savored a Glögi, a sweet mulled wine in which raisins and almonds swim. It’s available pretty much everywhere during the colder months, and quite pleasing. Then we swing by Con Hombres (www.conhombres.fi), a bar dedicated to Eurovision-style music. Yes, the Eurovision Song Contest is a big, really gay deal here in Finland, falling somewhere between Sydney’s Mardi Gras and American Idol in its popularity and kitsch/camp appeal, as is the beyond tacky/headache-inducing folk-dance music genre, Schlager.

Finnish liquor is well worth a discussion and hangover, too. Wheat-distilled Koskenkorva (aka Kossu); Fisu, a frightening fusion of Fisherman’s Friends throat lozenges and vodka; Salmari, a soil-black union of ground salty licorice candies and Kossu; and sweet Lapponia, distilled from Lapland’s bulbous, golden-orange Cloudberries.

Website www.eatandjoy.com is an invaluable reference for navigating Helsinki’s bar and restaurant scene. As for the food, fish like the Vendece and Lavaret are popular, but none so much as herring (summer sees a Herring Festival), prepared in dizzying ways, from creamy to pickled. Carnivores can sample moose, bear, and reindeer (not my favorite), while strange, beautiful domestic berries include the tart Sea Buckthorn and bursting red Lingonberry.

While I enjoyed hearty, traditional Finnish dishes like liver with onions at gorgeous brasserie La Société du Cochon (www.cochon.fi), two dining experiences proved unforgettable. Russian restaurant Samovar (www.samovar.biz) , with its top-notch food, a crazy little band, plenty of vodka and a contender for world’s best Baked Alaska. And Savu, a “Tar” restaurant where everything is smoked with a tree sap-derived tar (imagine the world’s most intense hickory smoke barbecue) including liquor shots presented on a paddle in wooden cups, horse pâté, and tar syrup-drenched pancakes. By this amazing meal’s end I felt, and smelled, cozy as a fireplace.

The airport’s shops provided prime last-minute souvenir shopping, from an outlet devoted to Finland’s favorite children’s character, Moomin, to food items like Tar Syrup and Cloudberry jam. I scanned the jars, and loaded my cart with literal tastes of this one-of-a-kind destination, which I hope you’ll immerse yourself in, too.

See Helsinki’s official tourism resource www.visithelsinki.fi for more info.

Past And Present on the Rocks

For years, Finland was desired and frequently conquered territory, Sweden and Russia amongst its invaders and procurers. Yes, life sucked for the Finns, who starved and were bullied around for centuries during these tug-o-wars. UNESCO World Heritage site Suomenlinna Island, reached quickly by ferry, serves as reminder of those dark times. Its fortress, built in the 1700s, is now a popular tourist attraction well worth a half-day’s visit. Today a permanent home to some 900 residents, Suomenlinna’s draws include a visitor’s center, several museums, English-language tours of the fortress remains, and rustic cafes and restaurants including the adorable Café Vanille.