Postcards from Helsinki
For the Finns, the holidays might be winding down, but the tourists are just getting up steam
By Sami Takala
The rest of us may be crawling reluctantly back to work, and the kids will be back in school before they know it, but try telling that to the foreign tourists who turn up in Finland just as the party (and possibly the weather) is breaking up.
The Finnish capital in summer is terrific - and a bit clichéd, too.
At least it is on postcards.
Helsingin Sanomat lapsed into the cardinal Finnish sin of "What do they think about us?" and handed out free postcards to tourists, and then pushily asked to see what the holidaymakers had written home.
The messages refer to lovely people, karaoke, bilberries (or blueberries if you insist), and... icebreakers.
Well, they probably are rather an exotic sight in the middle of town in August.
You can read what they had to say - they were all very polite, as you might expect - in the picture captions.
Now if only they'd come in November instead. Helsinki does a lovely November drizzle and sleet...
Helsingin Sanomat / First published in print 3.8.2010
Links:
City of Helsinki Tourism Website
SAMI TAKALA / Helsingin Sanomat
sami.takala@hs.fi
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| 3.8.2010 - THIS WEEK |
Postcards from Helsinki
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