One of the most prominent Finnish movie directors, Aki Kaurismäki, won the prize for best director at Berlin. The prize was awarded for the film titled ”Toivon tuolla puolen” which translates to ”Beyond hope”, though the official (?) translation is ”The other side of hope”. It is a story about the encounter of a Finnish entrepreneur with a Syrian […]
Author: Cecilia Therman
Finland got its fifth Nobel laureate: Bengt Holmström, see also the others
A day before yesterday, Bengt Holmström, a professor at MIT, was awarded the Noble prize for work in Economics together with his colleague Oliver Hart. His contributions are mainly game theoretical investigations of incentives and contract theory. Holmström, who got his first degree in mathematics from the University of Helsinki, is the fifth Finn to […]
Rock lyrics and changes in Finnish self-image
Salamatie by Robin ft. Softengine and Lähtisitkö by VilleGalle are two recent songs with lyrics that refer to Finnish rock classics. Comparing the classics with the new lyrics suggests how the ”hero” of the songs has changed in some 35 years. Here are some observations on the relationship between rock lyrics and Finnish self-image, not […]
Finnish rock classics & some other songs for singalong sessions
One of the best features of Finnish culture is singing together. A typical singing session will contain a lot of international classics from Mrs Robinson to Scarborough fair, but if you want to impress your Finnish friends, here are a few Finnish rock classics (and other ”must know” songs) that you can learn to play […]
Summer cottage culture eli kesämökki
In just about a week, most Finns who have the opportunity will disappear to a summer cottage. According to the statistics, over 3 million Finns visit a summer cottage at least once each summer. For all those wondering what it is all about, here is the ABC of Finnish summer cottage culture and a few […]
Helsinki seaside restaurants and cafés
Many of the seaside restaurants and cafés in Helsinki require knowing where to look for them so here is a list to help you find your new favourite spots. I’ve listed all the Helsinki seaside restaurants and cafés I can think of (and a few in Espoo), but if you feel an important spot is […]
To do tips for the near future: Ballet, design, music, food & cleaning
Here are a few to do tips in Helsinki for the next weeks or so: Restaurant Day, (ravintolapäivä) tomorrow, May 21st turns the city to an open-air restaurant. Anyone wishing to do so can run a pop-up restaurant for a day, on every other day, the hygiene & other regulations forbid this. This link should […]
Swimming in Helsinki: Pools, beaches & Aqua parks
As the sun becomes more generous in this corner of the world, it is time to make the most of it. Here are a few suggestions of pools, beaches, ponds, river banks, and aqua parks in the Helsinki region. The journey planner helps you to find your way to all of these locations, either by […]
What everyone new to Finland should know about Finnish Ice hockey
The Ice Hockey World Championships are currently being played in Russia (May 6th – May 22nd). This year Finns are particularly excited about them. Since hockey is a national sport in Finland, it is good to know something about the important figures in Finnish ice hockey. Here comes an attempt to summarise the minimum that […]
An evening in the life of a Finnish family: Or, Happy mother’s day!
To celebrate mother’s day this coming Sunday, here’s a taste of Finnish family life. Prologue Dad and brother have been out to get a chain saw and a wood chopping machine. Brother (soon almost 5 yrs) and sister (7 yrs) are nibbling on their before-bed snack. Brother seems very pensive. Brother: Mom, I have changed […]