Anyone interested in trying out the sauna, now you have a unique opportunity to pick from a variety of saunas: woodburning saunas, saunas by the sea allowing a dip into the water etc. The first Helsinki sauna day which is celebrated next Saturday, March 12th aims to open up private saunas to any interested visitor. […]
Finnish vocabulary for grocery shopping
Trying out food products in a new country can be fun, but also frustrating when you have no idea what the different options mean. If you want to take a short cut, here are some basics that come handy in the supermarket. You can also consider this your first Finnish lesson. The suffix -ton […]
Warm clothes & winter gear available for very low prices during March
The Salvation army flea market at Koulutanhua 6 in Laajasalo is having a final sale with -75 % on everything. This will continue at least through March. In case you need a warm winter jacket, they have plenty of fur coats / sheepskin coats and ”ordinary” winter coats as well as a selection of skis […]
Skiing in Helsinki – last chances for this year
Few things are better fun than cross-country skiing. When you feel your heart pounding as you glide through a beautiful landscape, and get your lungs full of crisp winter air, you certainly feel alive. Soon the season is over but probably for one or two weeks you still have a chance! Here are a few […]
In case you are cold…
It is difficult to enjoy the winter if you are cold. Wool will keep you warm up to about -5 degrees Centigrade but after that it is difficult to be comfortable without borrowing something else from our animal friends. My recommendation is a Joutsen down jacket. They are very good quality, made for this climate […]
Take a joyride on the hillsides
Right now the conditions are perfect for snow sliding. So grab a pulkka or a liukuri and head to the nearest hill. In case you do not yet have one, you can find them at Etola, Tarjoustalo/Tokmanni, Anttila, Prisma or Citymarket, for example. Some good places in the city centre are Kaivopuisto, the venue for […]
Tips for the sauna I: Snow fun with the sauna
A traditional way to enhance your enjoyment of the sauna is to go and roll in the snow. The way it works is as follows: 1) Warm yourself properly in the sauna 2) Run outside, use flipflops to protect your feet if you like 3) Dive in the snow and roll around quickly 4) Run […]
Finns do it naked: Or, what to expect in a Finnish sauna
In March 2015 the student newspaper of Turku University published an article titled Dear Finland, 12 things we don’t understand about you. In the article, which I found both fun and informative, the writer laments that no-one had warned her that Finns go to the sauna naked. In order to avoid this kind of confusion […]