National Museum and Finlandia Hall

Two Helsinki icons in the same image.

May Day Eve – When Finland Turns to Something Completely Different

You might see something like this today in Helsinki although the photo is from the Samba Carnaval 2008. Unfortunately I don't have any May Day photos.

I’ve heard that May Day (formally vappu, informally wappu) Eve is the best day for a foreigner to experience a culture shock in Helsinki. The usually reserved, quiet and serious Finns come to the city center laughing noisily and they consume publicly so much alcohol that it is just too much for some of the people. The city is not a pretty sight after the party but majority of the cleaning is done quickly.

A few years ago BBC World Service listed many violent May Day protests from the western world and ended by saying that the people in Finland were very drunk but nothing serious happened. Large numbers of passed out teenagers are collected every vappu to places where they can safely recover.

The family version of wappu is also loved by the children and there is also the student wappu, working class wappu, political vappu etc. It is not uncommon for companies to offer a glass of bubbly to their employees during wappu Eve afternoon.

Large crowds gather by the Havis Amanda statue (see my photos of the statue) that is first washed by university students who at 6pm put a white student cap at her head. Simultaneously most people in the crowd put their student caps on as well. You are supposed to wear it during wappu but not before 6pm. My plan was to take a photo of this event but I’ve had a nasty flu since Monday so maybe next year.

Klara vappen! (= commonly heard Happy May Day expression in “Swedish” that was originally created by someone who was “speeching good Sweden.”)

Red Cottage and a Potato Field

Peace and quiet in Puu-Käpylä.

A cliche Finnish dream house is “punainen tupa ja perunamaa” (a red cottage and a potato field) and we have those even in Helsinki. I guess today many people would prefer a bit easier and more practical way of life.

Ateneum and Classic Finnish Paintings

Ateneum art museum at night.

Ateneum is the place to go in Helsinki if you want to see classic Finnish paintings.

Have a look at a few of the most impressing ones. It’s impossible to live in Finland without seeing references to these works.

• The Wounded Angel (Haavoittunut enkeli by Hugo Simberg
• The Wage Slaves (Raatajat rahanalaiset) by Eero Järnefelt (click “enlarge photo” to see it better)
• The Mother of Lemminkäinen (Lemminkäisen äiti) by Akseli Gallen-Kallela
• The Fighting Capercaillies (Taistelevat metsot) by Ferdinand von Wright

Sibelius Monument and Photography Laws

The pipes in autumn colors.

Jean Sibelius is the national composer of Finland and this monument was unveiled ten years after his death in 1967. The monument is part of the tourist track of Helsinki but I wouldn’t expect to see locals there. I’ve seen it twice and only because during both times I was in the neighbourhood and I decided to take photos of it.

The monument has influenced the Finnish laws regarding photography. Photos of permanent statues in public places may not be used commercially without paying a fee to the artist. This is known as Lex Hiltunen after Eila Hiltunen who made the monument and who drove the change of laws. You don’t need to pay if the statue has non-significant role in the photo.

In a way it seems fair that somebody can’t earn a lot of money with postcard sales while the original artist doesn’t get anything. On the other hand, the artist now earns money with the fame of another person.

Ferry Watching

Big ferries need to go through a narrow Kustaanmiekka strait.

The people in the photo are visiting Suomenlinna sea fortress.

The Best Place in Helsinki: Suomenlinna

Suomenlinna won the "Best Place in Helsinki" voting.

Suomenlinna is an old sea fortress but also a district of Helsinki where people live.

Other areas of Helsinki that did well in the voting organised by the city planning bureau were Kaivopuisto, Kauppatori, Linnanmäki and Esplanadi. Unfortunately there was no information available about the voting in their website.

A Sauna has been Stolen

This mobile sauna has just been stolen according to Helsingin Sanomat.

Sauna is an essential part of Finnish culture. Ideally you have a sauna by a lake and it is warmed up using wood. More typically people have a sauna in a city apartment that is heated with an electric stove.

After getting a good sweat at the sauna, you should cool down a bit by swimming in a lake and go back to the sauna. If the lake is frozen, you make a hole to the ice and swim. Alternatively you can roll naked in the snow. A beer tastes exceptionally good after (or during) a relaxing session at a sauna.

Finns are not that enthusiastic about saunas while they are abroad. Often they are too cold and you are not allowed to throw water to the sauna stove. That’s like football without a ball. Many Finns are disgusted when they see a foreign sauna that provides sexual services. Even if they ignore or enjoy the same services somewhere else.

One of the more recent triumphs of sauna is the Facebook and Washington D.C based Diplomatic Finnish Sauna Society of D.C.

Midnight Sun

According to their clock, it is almost midnight.

An alternative theory is that they are going to see Iron Maiden concert, Two Minutes to Midnight is one of their favourite songs and it is still early evening.

The Land of the Midnight Sun has been used a lot as a slogan to promote Finland and many other northern countries. It is a cliche but I also must admit that summer evenings, nights and mornings are so much nicer here than in more southern locations. It is not supposed to get dark during the summer! How can you manage with your depressingly short summer days?