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The Magazine for Helsinki Airport Travellers l 2/2009
A WALK
ON THE
WILD
SIDE
THE SOUL
OF
THE
SAMURAI
HOW
7,800 BAGS
CATCH THEIR
FLIGHT
HAPPINESS
A PRETTY
BUBBLE
OR
A WAY OF LIFE?
ECO-SCIFI’S
RISTO
ISOMÄKI
viaservice:
shops, restaurants, gifts, souveniers etc.
NEW LOUNGE & SPA
OPENING AT HELSINKI
AIRPORT IN DECEMBER.
The most relaxing place between heaven and earth is opening soon at Helsinki airport. Come and pamper yourself at our high-class Via Lounge & Via Spa. You might
wish you could wait a bit longer for your next flight. Read more about our new spa
at www.finnair.com/spa. Spaaah...
THE FAST AIRLINE BET WEEN EUROPE AND ASIA
contents
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Editorial: The Path to Happiness In Figures At Helsinki Airport Sleep On It – It Works One of
The Best Cities in The World Airports for Ladybirds Got time? Why Do Airlines Form Alliances?
Arrivals My Moment in Finland Step by Step Six Gateways To Arctic Magic A Plane That Flies on
Solar Energy Multi-disciplinary Ideas Royal Glitz Around Helsinki A Deer Friend A Simple
Key to Being Happy
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features
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COVER: Happiness .............................................................
It’s elusive, it’s fleeting, is it ever even real? Our feature might
help you on the road to a permanent state of joy.
22
Soul Of The Samurai
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Climate – A Real Whodunnit ..........................................................................
What was it like to be one of Japan’s sword-wielding elite? And what did his family think?
Scifi writer Risto Isomäki wonders if the case against CO2
draws attention from other threats to our world.
A Walk On The Wild Side
A city boy spends a night where bears and wolves might stray
– just half an hour from home.
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How 7,800 Bags Catch Their Flight
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viaservice
While you’re sipping coffee waiting for your flight your luggage is taking a remarkable journey of its own.
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Luxury and Personal Service A Vase Inspired by the Saami Dress Treats for Every Palate What’s in
Your Bag, Montana Jones? First Steps in Helsinki World’s Most Northern Pottery Waiting for
Departure A Taste of Big Game Buy It Here Restaurants and Cafés Lounges VIP Services
Hotels Air Freight Services ATMs Authorities Business Flights Car Hire Conference Services
Currency Exchange and Banks Hair Salon Internet and Work Facilities Lost and Found
Medical Services and Pharmacy Parking Customer Service Storage Services Tax Free Refunds
Taxi Operators Tour Operators Tourist Advice Travel Agencies Travel Insurance
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VIA HELSINKI The Finavia magazine for Helsinki Airport travellers 2/2009, ISSN 1798-2782, date of publication
22.9.2009. Published by Finavia, PL 50, 01531 Vantaa, tel. +358 (0)9 82 771 Editor-In-Chief, Irmeli Paavola, Finavia
Managing Editor, Tiia Soininen, Mediafocus Oy Editorial, Mediafocus Oy, toimitus@mediafocus.fi
Art Director, Lasse Rantanen Graphic Design, Jaska Poikonen English Editor, Joe White Translations,
AAC Global Advertising Sales, toimitus@mediafocus.fi Printed by Libris Oy Paper, Galerie Art Silk
Circulation, 50 000
V I A HELSINKI
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“Happiness is not a station you arrive at,
EDITORIAL
Irmeli Paavola
The Path to Happiness
Are you unhappy? What is happiness? We look
at these and other questions in this issue of Via
Helsinki.
Yet those who have no time to venture as far
as Lapland can also enjoy pure wilderness. Near
Helsinki lies Nuuksio National Park, a short 30
minute drive from Helsinki. Happiness is also
having something to look forward to.
After reading the article on samurai life (p.22),
I kept thinking, what would a samurai answer if
We also learn that happiness is having an
he were asked what makes him happy? Having to
amazing intellect and a creative mind, as shown
look death in the face almost every day, I expect he
in our in-depth interview with the internationally
would stare back with his sharp, dark eyes and say
noted sci-fi writer and environmental
that happiness means dying
consultant Risto Isomäki, who has
honourably. Yet when we
Happiness is
asked passengers the same
ultimately a state approached the issues of climate
change and nuclear power from a
question, they gave very
of mind and
perspective. Isomäki seeks and
different answers. Maybe
therefore always novel
identifies new and revolutionary ideas
you were one of those we
attainable by
for a living. Some of them might even
interviewed?
everyone.
one day become reality.
It is amazing how broad
Whereas Isomäki’s happiness relates to
a concept happiness is. We, who work
large, globally significant issues, happiness
every day for the best possible passenger
can also be about something very small. One
satisfaction, are happy that the new
such small thing is my guinea pig, Onni, a
extension to Helsinki Airport will soon
name that means luck or happiness in Finnish.
open. We want to bring you happiness
He waits for me every day when I return
by making sure that once you have
from work and welcomes me with a happy
dropped your luggage on the
squeak. When night falls, Onni follows
conveyor belt at check-in, you can
me to the bathroom when I brush
rest assured that it will meet you at
my teeth. He shows with small
your destination.
gestures and touching loyalty, how
important I am. Onni makes me
Although carefree travel is a
happy just by being there.
happy thing, many of us think
happiness is the lovely time we will
The most genuine, simplest form
spend at our destination. Finland’s
of happiness is when nothing external
beautiful Lapland is a place where
is needed to achieve it. Mystics and
many find happiness, and it is only an
philosophers claim that happiness is
hour’s flight from Helsinki. Happiness
ultimately a state of mind and therefore
may come from rambling amidst
always attainable by everyone. For me –
the magnificent autumn colours of
and for you.
Lapland, or swishing down white
snowy mountain slopes. Or when
Let’s enjoy and cherish all the
we gaze up at the night skies arching
things that make us happy!
above and contemplate the magical
northern lights and sparkling stars.
4
V I A HELSINKI
but a manner of traveling.”
– Au t h o r M argaret Lee Runbeck
Lilliput and the giant
The Vatican, the city-state located in the middle of Rome
in Italy, is the world’s smallest sovereign state. It stretches
over a meagre 44 hectares, with some
800 inhabitants. The world’s largest city
is Mumbai, India, with an estimated 13.9
million inhabitants.
www.world-gazetteer.com
Sleep on It –
It Works
In
Figures
If a problem seems too difficult to
FRANCE IS NUMBER
Facts that
hold water
Some 10,000 years
ago, during the last iceage, Helsinki was buried under a layer of ice
3 kilometres (nearly
1.9 miles) deep. Today,
71 percent of our planet is covered
in water, less
than 1 percent of which
is drinkable.
In Helsinki,
the water is
pure enough to
drink straight
from the tap.
France is the most popular
travel destination in the world.
In 2008, it was visited by
nearly 80 million tourists. The
most popular destinations in
France are Paris and Nice.
Human
beings
consists of
percent water, so a person
weighing 65 kg carries
litres of
water in his
or her body.
At Helsinki Airport
Service from nearly 30 scheduled
and charter airlines
Flights to 120 destinations around
the world
1,100 weekly scheduled flights
and 700 domestic flights
Direct flights to 10 destinations in
Asia
A daily flight to New York.
solve, try sleeping. Letting time pass will
help you find a solution to a problem
you have encountered before. However,
when faced with a new problem, only
REM(Rapid Eye Movement) sleep will
increase your creativity, say University of
California San Diego scientists. Most of
our dreams occur during REM sleep.
Test subjects were given the same
problem to solve in the morning and the
afternoon and took a break between the
tests. Those who had REM sleep during
the break improved their performance by
40 percent in the afternoon. According to
scientists, REM sleep improves creativity
because it stimulates the formation of
connections between ideas unlinked to
each other. This may be caused by changes
that occur in the brain’s transmitters
when we are dreaming.
One of the Best
Cities in the World
HELSINKI IS the world’s seventh best
city to live in – and the only Nordic city
to make the top ten – according to the
Economist Intelligence Unit’s liveability
ranking.
Researchers compared the stability,
health care, culture, environment,
education system and infrastructure
of 140 cities. Each city then received a
rating from zero to one hundred. Helsinki
received 96.2 points, while the most
liveable city, Vancouver in Canada, scored
98.0 points.
V I A HELSINKI
5
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“We have no more right to consume happiness
Airports for Ladybirds
WERE IT NOT for airports, the close relative of
the ladybird, Platynaspis luteorubra, would have
become extinct in Finland. According to the Finnish
Environment Institute, some one hundred insect
species inhabit Lappeenranta airport in Eastern
Finland, which have disappeared from elsewhere in
Finland.
But how is it possible that butterflies, bees and
beetles fare better at airports than in the surrounding
forests. Guy Söderman from the Finnish Environment
Institute’s Nature Division says that the phenomenon
is explained by the direct sunlight that
airports have all day, a vital condition
for certain species. The emissions
do not bother insects as the
aircraft are airborne by the time
they reach the end of the runway,
which is where most insects reside.
Some of the insects inhabiting
Lappeenranta airport are found in only a
few other places in Europe. According to Söderman,
no specific protection measures are required, as the
routine maintenance of green areas at airports is in
line with the normal cycle of nature. “If the airports
are closed down, this will be a problem for some
species,” he says.
Rare insects favour Lappeenranta and Utti airports
in Eastern Finland, but airports in the west of
Finland also have a larger number of species than the
surrounding areas. “Like nature preserves, airports
everywhere in the world may help protect species that
would otherwise be extinct,” Söderman concludes.
Why Do Airlines
Airline bonus points are
like money you can use online.
If you have enough points,
you can even pay for an
entire flight.
Bonus points that can be collected and used during flights on dif-
ferent airlines are just one of the many benefits airline alliances offer
passengers.
The three biggest airline alliances are Star Alliance, SkyTeam and
Oneworld. Thanks to alliances, airlines are able to cut costs and offer
their customers cheaper flights.
An airline can also serve more destinations through its alliance
partners due to code-share agreements. In practice, an airline can issue tickets for routes operated by an alliance partner. Code-share partnerships also exist to some extent outside alliances. Alliance partners
can operate one flight instead of three separate flights marketed jointly by the airlines.
At many airports, a frequent flyer cardholder on one airline can also enjoy the lounge services of the other airlines in the same alliance.
Got
Time?
THREE WAYS TO
PASS THE TIME
WHILE YOU WAIT
FOR YOUR FLIGHT.
6
V I A HELSINKI
1 HOUR
Children love the playroom. One hour
of waiting to board the flight can seem
like a long time for a small child, but an
hour in a playroom will just fly by. At
Helsinki Airport, children can draw, play
with toys or watch videos in the playrooms, which also boast microwaves for
heating meals, and baby-changing facilities. Most toilet facilities at the airport
also have separate baby-changing rooms.
With the kids happy, the whole family
can relax and enjoy their trip.
Playrooms. Gate area, gates 15, 20 and 30.
without producing it than to consume wealth without producing it.”
– Dr amatist a nd Soci al ist George Ber nar d Sh aw
Form Alliances?
ARRIVALS
Here And at the Other End.
l HELSINKI AIRPORT: Some airlines have
moved terminals. Separate terminals for interna-
Alliances at HelsinkiVantaa Airport
The three major alliances operate at Helsinki-Vantaa
Airport. Some of the airlines issue tickets for HelsinkiVantaa flights through code-share agreements, but the
flight may be operated by another airline.
STAR ALLIANCE: Air Canada, Air China, Austrian Airlines,
Blue1, BMI, Continental Airlines (from Oct 24), Croatia
Airlines, LOT Polish Airlines, Lufthansa, SAS Scandinavian Airlines, Singapore Airlines, Spanair, Swiss International Airlines, TAP Portugal, Thai Airways, Turkish Airlines, United Airlines, US Airways.
SKYTEAM: Aeroflot Russian Airlines, Air France, Alitalia,
China Southern Airlines, Continental Airlines (until Oct
24), Czech Airlines, Delta Airlines, KLM Royal Dutch Airlines, Northwest Airlines.
ONEWORLD: American Airlines, British Airways, Cathay
Pacific, Finnair, Iberia, Japan Airlines, Malev Hungarian
Airlines, Sun-Air of Scandinavia.
tional and domestic flights became history at Helsinki
Airport in August. From August onward, the departure
and arrival terminal depends on the airline. Some airlines have moved terminals. The former International
Terminal is now called Terminal 2 and the former
domestic terminal is now Terminal 1. Check the website
www.helsinki-vantaa.fi/airlines to find out which
terminal your airline operates in. Helsinki Airport has
a free wireless Internet connection, just as 13 other
Finnish airports do. l LONDON HEATHROW:
Construction work. Heathrow Terminal 2 will be
completely rebuilt and the new terminal will serve Star
Alliance airlines. The first construction phase will be
completed in 2013. www.heathrowairport.com l
MUMBAI: Entertainment for kids. A new play
area was opened in June at Mumbai Chattrapati Shivaji
International Airport. The play area has a television,
board games, drawing paper and pens. Styled in the
spirit of Disney, the play area is in terminal 1B.
www.csia.in l BUDAPEST: New terminal
building. A new SkyCourt terminal building will be
built at Budapest Ferihegy airport. It will be situated
between the present terminals 2A and 2B. The first
parts of the new building are planned to be opened at
the end of 2010. www.bud.hu
2 HOURS
5 HOURS
Rare shots from high altitudes. Japa-
Historical plane spotting. The Doug-
nese photographer Katsuhiko Tokunaga is a superstar of aerial photography.
During his 30-year career he has spent
more than 1,300 hours flying in fighter aircraft. Tokunaga has been allowed
to shoot on locations to which few outsiders have access. An exhibition of his
work is on display at Helsinki Airport
until the end of January 2010. The exhibition is outside the gate area, in Arrivals Hall 2, next to the coffee shop and
car rental desks.
las DC3 made its maiden flight on 17 December 1935. Its speed and range revolutionised air transport in the 1930s and
1940s. A DC3 is one of the 721 aircraft on
display at the Finnish Aviation Museum,
which also displays engines, propellers,
instruments and scale models.
Finnish Aviation Museum. Open daily,
11am–6pm. Address: Tietotie 3. Take
local bus 61 (platform 22) from outside
Terminal 2 and get off at the fourth stop.
The bus trip takes about 5 minutes.
V I A HELSINKI
7
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MY MOMENT
in Finland
Six Gateways to
Arctic Magic
“I visited the seaside
in Turku. It was clean,
quiet and so green. It
was really different
for me because Hong
Kong is very busy.”
Leo Yip,
garment trader,
Hong Kong
These airports in Lapland
will give you a great start
to your arctic trip.
“I went to Tuusula and
visited the house of
Sibelius. It felt like time
had stood still and
nothing had changed
since the 1960s. There
had been no running
water in the building
because Sibelius did
not like its sound.”
KITTILÄ Dancing in ski boots
and downhill skiing.
Levi ski resort is located at the Levi fell,
which at its highest point rises nearly 500 m
above sea level. Levi comprises 45 pistes,
15 of them illuminated. There are plenty of
slopes for experienced skiers, but beginners
are also welcome and lessons are available.
If downhill is not your thing, Levi has numerous other options for outdoor fun, including
cross-country skiing, biking, snowmobiling
and husky safaris. Or you can take it easy
and focus on the after ski, for which the
wide variety of restaurants and bars provide ample opportunity. For a bit of local
colour, try the afternoon
ski-boot dance. Even if
cross-country skiing
is not your thing, you
can rent ski boots just
for the dance if you
want to give it a whirl.
Jacquet Wolfgang,
scientist, Belgium
“I had dinner at Restaurant Saari on the shore
of Helsinki. We had to
take a boat to get there.
The duck was delicious
and the atmosphere
was very nice even
if it was raining.”
Pernilla Liiva,
marketing person, Sweden
STEP BY STEP
1. Leave Arrivals Hall 2 through the sliding
doors. Turn right, walk one hundred steps
and turn left. 2. Cross the road using the
pedestrian crossing and look right: you
will see bus stop number 21, only a few
dozen steps away. Take bus number 615.
The bus fare is 4 euros. 3. Your final stop
is Rautatientori, the central square next
to the main railway station in the heart of
Helsinki. Duration of the bus journey: 50
minutes. 4. After getting off the bus, turn
left and walk along the pavement past the
railway station on your right. 5. Cross the
road and go to the tram stop in front of
the railway station. Take tram number 3T.
V I A HELSINKI
In September 1945, when
Finland was still recovering from the war, a
young man named
Niilo Ranttila was
panning for gold
at Lemmenjoki
river in Northern
Lapland when he
captured a threegram gold nugget and
numerous gold particles. News of the find
travelled fast, and eventually led to the first
gold rush to Lemmenjoki. At the peak of
the rush more than 200 gold diggers were
working the river. The rush has long since
passed but diehards still pan the Lemmenjoki for gold, especially in the summer.
Visitors may also try their hand at panning.
How to get to Temppeliaukio Church in Helsinki
Temppeliaukio Church has been hewn out of solid rock, but it is bathed in
natural light that filters through its dome skylight.
8
IVALO Here be nuggets of gold.
6. There is a display at the front of the
tram, showing the name of the next stop.
Get off at the “Kauppakorkeakoulut”
stop. Cross the street at the traffic lights
on your left. 7. Turn right on the corner of
the busy Runeberginkatu street. 8. Keep
walking along Runeberginkatu street until you reach the corner of Lutherinkatu
street and turn right. Walk up the street
and you should already see the church in
front of you. The entrance is towards your
right, a bit higher up the hill.
A service in English is held every Sunday at 2 p.m.
“Little by little, one travels far.”
– Writer J. R. R. T olk i e n
ENONTEKIÖ The surest place to
see the northern lights.
It’s dark. Only the yellow and green columns
glowing in the night sky light up the darkness. The northern lights, or aurora borealis,
adorn the Lapland heavens especially in winter. This rather surreal-looking phenomenon
has a natural explanation. The lights appear
when particles from the sun collide with
Earth’s atmosphere. Statistically, the
municipality of Enontekiö is the
surest place in Finland to witness
this aerial dance. During the dark
season they are visible three nights
out of four, if the weather is clear.
KEMI-TORNIO Ice Adventure 2009.
ROVANIEMI Meet Santa.
KUUSAMO Epic landscapes.
On this icebreaker tour, risk-takers are free
to leave the vessel for a stroll on the frozen
sea, and, clad in a survival suit, even dip
into the icy water. Or you can stay safely on
deck and admire the many subtle hues and
the vastness of the arctic landscape as well
as marvel at the skills human beings have
developed to survive in
these extreme conditions. To fend off the
cold, sit down for
a warm meal and
hot drinks at the
restaurant below
deck. The icebreaker
Sampo was launched
in 1961 and ploughed
through the ice of the
Bothnian Bay, the northernmost part of
the Baltic Sea, for 30 years. It is now berthed at Kemi harbour, having been retired
from duty, and today serves tourists.
Where does Santa
Claus live? In Finland’s Lapland, of
course. You can
meet this legendary bearded
gentleman, who
brings gifts to children every year
at Christmas,
at Santa Claus Village
in Rovaniemi. Next to Santa Claus Village
is the Santapark amusement park. The
Polar Circle runs through the Santa Claus
Village, so you can enter the Arctic on
foot. The city has attracted thousands of
visitors from all over the world, including such notables as Eleanor Roosevelt,
widow of US President Franklin D. Roosevelt, who visited Rovaniemi in 1950. A
cottage built to honour her visit still stands
next to the Santa Claus Post Office.
Ruka ski resort in Kuusamo is one of the
most popular destinations for downhill skiing in Finland. For a bit of eastern exotic, the
Russian border is only one hour’s drive from
the town of Kuusamo. On the eastern side of
the border lies White Karelia. Elias Lönnrot
collected the folk tales, poems and songs
for the Finnish national epic, the Kalevala,
from the villages scattered throughout the
surrounding primaeval forests, during the
19th century. Today, the
same ancient landscapes of Paanajärvi National
Park welcome
fishers and hikers. Several tour
organisers also
offer day-trips
from Kuusamo
to the Russian
side of the border.
A Plane That Flies on solar energy
The Solar Impulse plane draws its
energy from solar panels. The wing span
of the aircraft is equal to that of an Airbus
A340, designed for intercontinental longhaul flights, but it weighs only the same as
a normal family car.
The Swiss Bertrand Piccard and
André Borschberg unveiled their
prototype aircraft, the fruit of six years
of design and planning, in Switzerland in
June. The lithium batteries, which store
solar energy during the day, permit the
aircraft to fly through the night. No other
fuels are necessary.
The HB-SIA prototype will make its
first test flight later this year. If the maiden
flight goes as planned, a continuous 36
hour flight is scheduled for next year.
Piccard and Borschberg are already
planning a round-the-world jaunt for
2012 with a second design to be developed
on the basis of the prototype. At an
average speed of 70 km/h, the aircraft
would be able to circumnavigate the globe
in five stages.
“If an aircraft is able to fly day and
night without fuel, propelled only by
solar energy, let no one claim that it is
impossible to do the same thing for motor
vehicles, heating and air conditioning
systems and computers,” says Bertrand
Piccard.
V I A HELSINKI
9
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“Happiness isn’t something you experience;
remember.”
– Au t h o r Os ca r L e va n t
Multi-disciplinary
Ideas
ICEBAR Stockholm, Sweden
The only liquid is the drink at the Absolute Icebar.
All the rest is frozen solid, the ceiling, the floor, the
glasses. The temperature inside the bar is a crisp
minus 5 Celsius all year round.
You don’t have to bring your own padded jacket
though, the entrance fee covers a drink plus a warm
cape and gloves. The entrance fee entitles you to
40 minutes in the bar.
A NEW UNIVERSITY will be launched in
Finland at the beginning of 2010, when the
Aalto University begins operation. Helsinki
University of Technology, the Helsinki
School of Economics and the University of
Art and Design Helsinki will be merged into
one multi-disciplinary university of arts
and sciences.
For the Britain Edward Ford, FinnishChinese Ching-yi Wang, Finnish Tomi
Tulamo and Japanese Aino Nishihama,
being multi-disciplinary is already a
natural part of academic life. All four
study in the International Design Business
Management programme run jointly by the
three universities. As part of their studies,
the four students drew up a plan for how
Helsinki Airport could be developed to
create an even better travelling experience.
Since the basic factors, such as
information signs, are already in place,
they suggest that the experiential and
uniquely Finnish character of Helsinki
Airport be highlighted. So will there be an
ice-swimming pool or a real Santa Claus at
the airport? Time will tell. There is already
a sauna available, however, at the airport
hotel on the service floor.
Absolute Icebar is located near
T-Centralen Metro Station. Nordic
Sea Hotel, Vasaplan 2–4, Stockholm.
www.absoluticebar.com
Manch
Which fast food has inspired a film, music and books? Why,
the Germany currywurst, of course! This year it has also been
honoured with a museum dedicated to the delicacy.
The sausage is served with curry-flavoured ketchup, and
usually some fries or bread. Berlin and Hamburg have so far
been unable to agree which city is the home of currywurst.
Whichever proves to be true, the museum’s 1,100 sq. metres
and the exhibits will tell you everything you ever wanted to
know about this urban snack with a cult following.
a 6:
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PRINCESS DIANA, Prince
10
V I A HELSINKI
Lisb
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Burj Al Arab hotel is one of the tallest hotel buildings in the world, scraping the sky
at a height of 321 metres (1,050 ft). Officially it is a five-star hotel, but the owners market it as the only seven-star hotel
in the world.
The hotel has 202 suites, the smallest
being 169 sq. metres (1,820 sq. ft) and
the largest 780 sq. metres (8,400 sq. ft).
Rates start from 1,000 USD per night, and
the most expensive suite, the Royal Suite,
costs 28,000 USD per night. The hotel is
built on an artificial
island.
Burj Al Arab.
Jumeirah Beach Road,
Dubai.
www.burjalarab.com
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Schützenstraße 70, Berlin
www.currywurstmuseum.de/en/
P
Albert and Princess Carolina
of Monaco, Britain’s Queen
Elizabeth II… European royalty
are talked about wherever you
go. For those who love their
kings, queens, princess and princesses,
Europe is a treasure trove. Ten of Europe’s
fifty states are monarchies, though republics
are the most common form of government.
Next summer will be an extra-special
one for royalty lovers, with Victoria, the
Crown Princess of Sweden, and Daniel
Westling, the gym owner, set to exchange
wedding vows. The wedding will take place
on 19 June 2010, but royal nuptials fever has
already gripped fans in Sweden and abroad.
D ub li n 3: 10
CURRYWURST Berlin, Germany
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THE NARROW HOUSE Warsaw, Poland
In 17th century Warsaw, property tax was based on the width of a building’s
façade. This house was built by the thriftiest of them all: the house is only
slightly wider than its front door.
The entire Warsaw Old Town, including its narrowest house, was destroyed during World War II, but it was all rebuilt
after the war according to the original designs,
with precision that defies belief. The Old Town of
Warsaw is really a new Old Town.
The narrowest house in Warsaw. Kanonia 20/22, Warsaw.
Ljub
ice
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15
Hüzün is a Turkish word that Orhan Pamuk uses
to describe Istanbul in his autobiography of the
same name. The word is difficult to translate,
but it refers to the collective wistfulness that
Istanbulites share when looking at their home
city. Hüzün also incorporates a hopeful outlook
on life.
Orhan Pamuk was born in Istanbul in 1952.
His works have been translated into more than
50 languages. He received the Nobel Prize for
literature in 2006.
Papho
Is ta nb ul 3:
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WRITER Istanbul, Turkey
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Ålands Museum. Stadshusparken,
Mariehamn.
www.museum.aland.fi/museum/
alandsmuseum/in_english.pbs
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ping
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Rey
Bru
ya
5
Inhabitants of the Åland Islands call their home the
‘islands of peace’. A demilitarised zone, the provincial authorities even considered the possibility that
the policemen and women would not carry guns on
their person but would keep them in a secure locker
inside their cars.
Mariehamn is the capital of the Åland Islands and
X
has 11,000 inhabitants.
k X X The only official language in
vo d s
a
z
o
the Åland Islands
is
Swedish.
Mariehamn was estabr
Pet
lished by the Russians in 1861. When Finland, which
had previously been a Russian grand duchy, declared itself independent in 1917, the local inhabitants
wanted to become part of Sweden. The League of
Nations decided, however, that the islands should
belong to Finland with extensive autonomy.
Bos
to
8:4 n 8:30
0
nto
Heraklion 3:55
k 8:
To r o
els
o
ag
9:2
Islands of Peace Mariehamn, Finland
Yo r
Chan ia 3:50
New
o
oky
Pamuk in English:
The White Castle (1990), The
Black Book (1994), The New Life
(1997), My Name is Red (1997),
Snow (2004), Istanbul: Memories of a City (2005), Other Colors: Essays and a Story (2007),
The Museum of Innocence
(2009)
V I A HELSINKI
11
:4 0
2:45
:45
viaglobe
Sautéed Delicacy
Reindeer meat is dark in colour
and low in fat. The animals graze
freely through the summer
wilderness and in winter they are
ranched and fed. The best-known
reindeer delicacy is as a sautée.
It is made of thin strips of loin
and joint and pan-sautéed in fat.
Seasoned with salt and pepper, it
is traditionally served on mashed
potatoes with lingonberries.
Tinned sautéed reindeer is
available as a souvenir from the
Airport Shop (GATE 20).
“It is impossible to travel faster than the
as one’s hat keeps blowing off.”
A Deer
Friend
Reindeer (”PORO” in Finnish) are a semi-domesticated species of deer common in northern regions. They can survive temperatures as low as
-50 degrees Celsius, but suffer in the heat. A male
may reach a shoulder height of 1.2 metres and can
weigh up to 180 kg. The female is smaller. Both
male and female deer
There are an estimated 200,000 in Finland.
Warning-heed the herd
Approximately 4,000 reindeer
are involved in vehicle collisions
in Finland every year. Most
happen between November
and January and July and
August. If you are driving
in northern Finland you
should stay alert at
all times, as reindeer
can jump into the road unexpectedly.
Warning signs are posted in areas where
reindeer collisions are most likely. If
you see a reindeer by the roadside, be
particularly careful. They move in herds,
so there will probably be more nearby.
Comfy Skin Reindeer have a thick
fur coat, which helps them survive in
extreme weather. The fur may be almost
completely black or white, but is usually
brownish grey. Reindeer pelts have
been used for insulation and as warm
garments since time immemorial, the
shank leather, for example, being used
to make a traditional kind of moccasin
called “nutukkaat”. The pelt also makes a
beautiful decoration: hang it on the wall
or use it as a rug. If you like
your car seat
warm and soft,
why not cover it
with a reindeer
skin? Reindeer
seat covers are
available from
Airport Shop
(GATE 20).
12
V I A HELSINKI
grow antlers, which they
shed annually. Reindeer may live to the age of 20.
Glowing Rudolph
One reindeer stands above the rest.
American Robert L. May created
the story of Rudolph the Red-nosed
Reindeer in 1939 and it became a
legend. Songwriter Johnny Marks
based his famous song on the
story, and it was first recorded in
1949. It tells of one of Santa Claus’
reindeer who has an incandescent
red nose, bright enough for Santa
to use him as the headlight for
his sleigh. The rest is history.
Antler Power
Ancient Lapp wisdom says
powdered reindeer antler
improves male performance.
The manufactures warn that
excessive dosage may cause
stiffness in the neck. Reindeer
antler powder is exported as far
as East Asia.
Head
Bottle
Opener
Reindeer shed their antlers every year
and grow new ones. These antlers are
hard and bone-like and are used to make
a variety of objects. Male antlers may
provide as much as 10–15 kilos of material, for crafting into sheaths, buttons and
even bottle openers. Bottle openers with
reindeer antler handles are available from
Stockmann Shop (GATE 26 and GATE 33).
speed of light, and certainly not desirable,
– D i rector Woo dy All en
COLUMN
by Timo Airaksinen
A Simple Key to Being Happy
worry about the world they will leave to their children.
Finns are the happiest people in the world. Almost 90
Here is one of the many paradoxes of happiness: how
percent of us say that we are very or extremely happy.
can an individual be fully happy living in an endangered
That is a remarkable figure, I think. How can it be true?
culture and a risk-society? If I see it necessary to fight
Perhaps a welfare state is such a good place to live.
against all kinds of threats and risks, many of which
You pay your (high) taxes and you get all the services
look unavoidable and deadly, and yet I am fully happy
free, education, medical care, and pensions. You feel safe
and contented with my life, am I not terribly egotistical,
and happy. In southern Europe the responses are more
ignorant, or cynical? My life may be fine but if the whole
negative, although more than 50 percent always seem to
world around me is crumbling – what should I say?
be happy. I wish it were true, but it is too good to be so.
People may say they are happy simply because they
People react to threats and dangers in many
suppose it is the correct answer. In southern Europe they
dysfunctional ways: they become depressed or violent,
may be less conformist and more aggressive and thus they
they drink and smoke too much, they take drugs
say they are unhappy, if they feel so. Who knows – but
and cannot work. Many doctors say the worst illness
90 percent is such a high figure that I wonder if there is
affecting Finland is simply
something wrong with the Finns.
depression. Finland is also
We can also speak about happy
When life is tough
a violent country, relative
and unhappy cultures, although this
and painful, optimism
to the rest of Western
issue is more difficult to research and
is vital.
Europe. There are also too
measure than individual happiness.
many divorces. But we are very happy.
Yet we seem to have some intuitions about what makes
Another paradox, I read, is that the happiest people
a whole culture happy and what ruins it. If the normal
live in slums. Richer people are less happy, but why?
existence of a culture faces no major threats, we can call it
How is this fact related to the happiness of the rich
happy. For instance, the ancient Aztecs feared that heaven
Finns? In a sense I can understand why slum dwellers are
would fall upon them if their gods, such as Huizilopozil,
happy. When life is really tough and painful, optimism is
could not get their regular supply of human blood absolutely necessary.
which he needed to help him carry the Sun across the sky
Timo Airaksinen is a professor
of moral philosophy and head of
department at the Department
of Social and Moral Philosophy at
Helsinki University.
every day.
So the Aztecs sacrificed hoards of prisoners every
day on top of their pyramid temples. If you look carefully
at their art, you can see that these people were not happy.
Their faces and expressions are full of pain. That is the
effect of a major threat upon a culture. Western societies
today are often called risk-societies. This does not mean
that the individual people live dangerous lives; they do
not. It means that these societies live a life of high risk
awareness, which means that they are under various
large-scale threats all the time. We are afraid of crime,
war, terrorism, pollution, epidemics, economic collapse,
and global warming. The list is long indeed.
Americans fear terrorists and bombs all the time, even
in Idaho. Spain is the same. Airports are not always such
pleasant places. Many parents, aware of global warming,
Pessimism is a luxury only the rich can afford. If
you struggle to survive from day to day, you need to be
strong, and optimism is an element of strength. In the
same way, people who are hospitalised because of serious
illness may tell you that they are happy. This is to say
that they are still fighting their ailments. Many disabled
people say they are proud and happy. They have not lost
their hope or their ability to fight for a better life.
What makes people unhappy is too high expectations,
which tend to make everyday life so boring and
insignificant. Educated people tend to be less happy than
less educated. Rich people are happy, but those who want
to get rich are unhappy. Expectations mean unsatisfied
desires, and those are simply painful. Perhaps it is a good
idea not to desire so much. Perhaps this is the secret of
the happy Finns: the poverty of our desires.
V I A HELSINKI
13
H
A
p
NINA PINJOLA I L LU ST RAT I O N L ASS E R A N TA N E N
H
elsinki Airport car park, June 2009. There
it is, that word, in the rear window of a skyblue car. Happiness. It stops me in my tracks.
Is it right here, right now? Does it travel around
in this car and is it now parked in this very spot? The one
thing we covet, wait for, chase after – and always seem to
lose. The only thing that every single person in the world
would welcome with open arms in their home and ask to
stay for good. The same thing that is constantly missing, for
which we look everywhere, as if it were wanted for murder
or some other crime. Where did happiness go? Why does
it keep us waiting? Why did it disappear?
We Finns, at least, take pains to find happiness – and if
all else fails, there is one trick we can resort to. Of all the
baby boys born in Finland in 2008, 517 were named On-
14
V I A HELSINKI
ni, which means ‘happiness’ or ‘luck’ in
Finnish. This may not sound like a large figure, but
according to Finland’s Population Register Centre, Onni
was the most popular boy’s name last year. This would
also explain why I saw the Onni vanity plate in that rear
window. Marketing folk have ascertained the names likely to appeal to parents and grandparents today and in the
near future when they visit the petrol station.
What we consider happiness has changed over time. In
ancient Greece, the goddess Tyche dispensed fortune, both
good and ill, at will. A daughter of Zeus, she controlled
people’s destinies and bestowed happiness only on a chosen
few. People were, in other words, at Tyche’s mercy, since
according to the concept of happiness as it was understood in classical philosophy, people had little power over
p n
I
e
S
S
THE ETERnAL QUEST
– bUT WHAT
IS IT?
their lives and
luck. The best thing was
to maintain the right attitude, of joy, peace
of mind and moderation, amid a small circle of friends.
Herttoniemi suburb, Helsinki, 1994. I am sitting on a
cliff looking down from the top of a former ski jump. Behind the trees, the sun is setting into the sea, and the sky
is iridescent with different hues of violet. But rather than
admiring this stunning view, I wonder whether I can go
on living. My partner and I have just split up, and I feel I
have no strength to face reality and my own life. I doubt if
I’ll ever meet anyone interesting again and am convinced
I’ll be alone for the rest of my life. But the thought aroused
my young mind to anger and rebellion: “I, too, have the
right to be happy!”
The idea that happiness is a civil right is very much a
product of modern times. Although the United States Declaration of Independence from 1776 prescribes that the purV I A HELSINKI
15
appointment or longing for something you
can’t have. Or, was it
a moment of genuine,
albeit transient, happiness, the memory of
which I should cherish
and run through in my mind over and over again?
What is happiness?
I am not the first to ask that question. The 18th century
philosopher Jean-Jacques Rousseau said: “All people wish
to be happy, but in order to be happy, one must first know
what happiness is.” In common parlance, we call it luck if
something we hope for happens, happy coincidences if we
catch the bus or win the lottery. We may also feel lucky if
something unwanted does not happen.
THE DUbLIn-bASED EUROFOUnD FOUnDATIOn
HAS PUbLISHED A nEW QUALITY OF LIFE SURvEY,
WHIcH SAYS DEnMARk AnD FInLAnD ARE
EUROPE’S HAPPIEST cOUnTRIES
suit of happiness is among people’s unalienable rights, in
practice the notion of happiness as a right started gaining
ground only much later.
It was not until the more developed form of capitalism
and industrialisation had penetrated societies that the concept of happiness came to be integrally linked with individuals who actively accumulated wealth and improved their
knowledge and skills. In affluent societies, people began
to believe that increasing wealth was the foundation and
source for all human happiness. Happiness finally became
something we might control. Happiness had become the
right of everyman.
It is amusing that the contemporary individualistic concept of happiness is largely the same as the one Aristotle held
true a long time ago. Bertrand Russell summarised the Aristotelian concept of happiness by saying: “The happy man
is the man who lives objectively, who has free affections and
wide interests; who secures his happiness through these interests and affections and through the fact that they, in turn,
make him an object of interest and affection to many others.” The description is astonishingly close to today’s ideal
of “realising one’s true self,” that people are happiest when
they can do what they want. When your favourite hobby is
also your job – or when you can travel the world without
having to worry about money.
As soon as I step
onto the piazza for the first time, I feel that something in
the atmosphere of this town is perfectly in tune with my
mind. It is not any particular fountain, statue or edifice – it
is the entire city. There is a spirit, and I sense it everywhere:
walking its cobbled streets, sitting at a cafe for an impromptu latte macchiato, or watching how the age-old buildings
cast their sharp shadows on the piazza, how the sprinkling
water in the fountain sparkles in the blazing sunlight, and
the swallows dart across the azure sky.
I still remember that moment after all these years. But was
that moment real happiness – or just momentary joy? Was
it a flush of emotion that lifts your spirits to giddy heights,
from where you easily fall into the deepest abyss of disPiazza della Signoria, Florence, 2005.
16
V I A HELSINKI
Puerto Banus marina in Marbella, Spain, May 2009. Gi-
gantic luxury yachts float languidly at their berths. Drivers
in convertibles glide slowly down the seaside boulevard, as if
they are there only to be seen. Throngs of elegantly dressed
people stroll past expensive fashion shops. Everything here
screams money. Many here own a villa with a pool, a share
in the local golf club, and have their own personal trainer
– and perhaps a maid, butler and a driver. And most of all
– they have the climate!
Those who live most of the year in the rain and cold
might think the denizens of Spain’s Costa del Sol would be
happy and grateful for their comfortable climate. Still, few
of them seem to pay any attention to the glorious flowers
that surround them, the shamelessly colourful bougainvilleas that take the breath from a northern tourist who has
just arrived from the grey murk of early spring in Finland.
While trees in Finland still reach for cloudy skies, with their
black, leafless, sorry-looking branches, in Spain the early
summer is pure Technicolor. To my hotel receptionist this is
all obvious: “This is Costa del Sol, the Sun Coast,” he shrugs.
Happiness is not
made of receiving or
owning things;
happiness means having
no desires, for
happiness is freedom.
Epictetus
It’s a state
of mind
where you
feel good
with all the
pleasant feelings
offered to us.
“Of course it’s always sunny here.”
Matthieu Miné-Garros
Perhaps he should
High school student,
France
live in my country,
Finland. Or so I might
imagine, to judge by the
happiness surveys.
The Dublin-based Eurofound foundation has recently published a new quality of life survey, which says Denmark and Finland are Europe’s happiest countries,
while sunny Spain came 14th and Italy 24th. At the
bottom are the new EU member states of southeast Europe,
along with Latvia and Lithuania. The highest income quartile in southeast Europe are less happy than the lowest quartile in the Nordic countries. In other words, it is better to be
poor in the Nordic countries than rich in a poor country.
On a global scale, Europe is a happy continent. The extensive 2006 study, led by social psychologist Adrian White,
was based on interviews with over 80,000 respondents. According to the study, the key factors related to our happiness are health, wealth and education. Although capitalism
is not generally associated with happiness, material wealth
and happiness are clearly connected. Top of this survey was
Denmark, followed by Switzerland and Austria. Finland
came sixth. The top ten also included the non-European
Bahamas, Bhutan, Brunei and Canada. The least happy nations were the Democratic Republic of Congo, Zimbabwe
and Burundi. Asian countries came half-way, and despite
its traditionally positive ethos, the United States also placed
outside the top ten.
Many have criticised Adrian White’s survey. How come
Finland, for example, is so high up the list when mental
health problems are increasing and more antidepressants
are being prescribed than ever before? Maybe people are too
embarrassed to tell the truth in such surveys? Undoubtedly
cultural differences also play a role in such a wide-reaching
study. In Latin America, a positive outlook is a natural part
of life. In Australia, Western Europe, North America and
New Zealand, an individual’s right to happiness is emphasised, while in China, Japan and many other Asian countries, what is best for the community comes before personal aspirations.
Haaga Hotel in northern Helsinki, March 2009. Interna-
tionally acclaimed Finnish science fiction writer Johanna
Sinisalo forks her salad and shares her thoughts. She thinks
To travel
abroad and
eat traditional
foods.
Youhei Kojima
Insurance salesman,
Japan
Happiness
is the same as
being relaxed.
Djamilla van Brussel
Editor, The Netherlands
we are primarily biological beings, hierarchical social animals. Our basic needs are food and drink, warmth and
shelter, sexual needs and the need to find our place within
the “herd”. Herd animals need not consider what is good
or bad. The survival of the pack and securing the best position for oneself come first. That is why we like to be superior to others within a peer group. Only by being better than
others do we gain meaning for our lives.
The evolutionary view of happiness says, roughly, that it is
evolution, not our own minds, that makes us strive for certain things. It is only logical for a group animal to seek power and success as sources of happiness, because the strongest will fare the best. Primitive instincts make men covet
high-status positions so that they can win the most beautiful women – and likewise women have a taste for men with
the highest status. Because reproduction is essential for the
survival of a species, humans need love for the purpose of
protecting the family and children. People are capable of
good only because it serves the common good.
Evolutionary theorists are not convinced that happiness
is really beneficial to humans at all, because happy people do not strive for anything and become complacent. We
should not, therefore, be happy, because that would mean
the end of pursuing things, of achieving this goal or that.
From evolution’s perspective, it is better if we “keep moving on” all the time, seeking a promotion, a better standard
of living or a new love. Thus are we more likely to stay alive
and procreate.
Whether it is down to genes or not, we often try to reach
a certain “standard” in our lives without always being aware
V I A HELSINKI
17
H
HAPPInESS IS nOT SOMETHInG YOU SEEk FOR YOUR
OWn GOOD; IT IS WHAT YOU FInD WHEn YOU STOP
LOOkInG. RATHER THAn A GOAL, HAPPInESS IS
THE cOnSEQUEncE OF A LIFE LIvED RIGHT.
of it. We have a certain ideal in our mind, to which we compare our achievements, houses, cars and wardrobes. It is a
pity that as soon as we reach our peer standard, we notice
we are not happy and raise our targets a notch higher. Noel
Gallagher, lead songwriter, guitarist and singer with the
British rock band Oasis has been quoted as saying: “What,
you askin’ me if I’m happy? Listen, I’ve got eighty seven
million pounds in the bank. I’ve got a Rolls Royce. I’ve got
three stalkers. I’m about to go on the board at Manchester
City. I’m part of the greatest band in the world. Am I happy with that? No I’m not! I want more!”
ness we have experienced before, even after extremely traumatic events, such as losing our sight or becoming bound to
a wheel-chair. More surprisingly, this happens quite quickly, within a matter of one year. The same goes for strokes of
luck, too, such as winning the lottery. We also get used to
that in a year, after which we feel just as happy or unhappy as we did before. The philosopher Democritus warned
us a couple of hundred years BC of this very phenomenon:
“Happiness does not dwell in flocks of cattle or in gold. The
soul is the dwelling place of our destiny.”
If not in health or wealth, where can we fi nd happiness?
A doctor’s surgery in Itäkeskus, Helsinki, June 2009. I fi-
nally have an explanation of why I feel nauseous and dizzy,
and have stomach pain at night: I have gastritis, the precursor to a gastric ulcer. I’m handed a prescription and special
dietary instructions. I feel relieved – at least I’m not a hypochondriac – but also a little saddened. I am not allowed
any foods that I love, chocolate, coffee, Coca-Cola or spicy
Thai food. Weeks later, I have become a seasoned oatmeal
maker and I have tried such exotic beverages as caffeinefree chicory coffee.
It is weird how adaptable people are, in good and bad
ways. Researchers say we return to the same level of happi-
OBJECTS&SYMBOLS
that bring luck
FOUR-LEAF CLOVER
Ancient Celtic druids
deemed the clover a
sacred symbolic plant.
Later in folk tradition
the four-leaf clover
came to be seen as a
sign of luck because it is
so rare. The four-leaf clover is said to bring health,
wealth, fame and a faithful lover. There is also a
theory that the clover was considered special because it grows and spreads very rapidly.
18
V I A HELSINKI
A veterans’ house, eastern Helsinki, June 1982 . The small
kitchen is thick with cigarette smoke. An old man rests his
elbows on the floral pattern of the wax tablecloth, smoking
incessantly while peering through the window. Outside, the
apple trees bloom white, but inside it is autumn. The man
tells me how he was hit in the war by shrapnel and how his
leg eventually had to be amputated from the thigh down.
The stub has been aching for years. After his wife died, life
has been difficult and lonely. The ashtray already overflows
with cigarette ends and it is only morning.
He sees me to the stairs, standing frail and thin as wire
MIRROR
Mirrors have been used as amulets to protect people against satanic
creatures and their powers. The belief is based on the view that the devil
incarnate cannot bear its own reflection and must die upon seeing it.
In Western iconography, the mirror has a double meaning. On one hand
it has been considered the symbol of sensuality and vanity, on the
other, the symbol of self-knowledge, truth and wisdom. A bright mirror
symbolises a happy marriage, while a broken mirror means break-up or
seven years of bad luck. A dream about a dark mirror in which you cannot see yourself has been regarded as an omen of death or misfortune.
DICE
Dice are an old symbol of luck. The sum
of the pips on opposite facets is always
seven, the “perfect number”. In the bible,
the New Jerusalem is described as being of
cubic shape. The Kaaba in Mecca, the most
sacred site for Muslims, is also cubical.
Happiness is a how,
not a what.
No regrets and
not having
to challenge
your values.
Hermann Hesse
Happiness is
to know people
from other
countries.
Jake M.
IT Consultant,
United States
Salvador Jansane
Engineer, Spain
in his grey trousers and braces, leaning on his walking stick.
His eyes are fi lled with longing and deep loneliness that my
short visit cannot relieve; it only brings a welcome but momentary distraction. Yet as I turn away and head home, I
walk lightly and feel happy. I know I have brought joy to at
least one person in this world, even for a moment.
One fairly common view on happiness is based on the notion of unselfishness, that one can reach happiness through
helping others. In The Happy Prince, a story by Oscar Wilde, a gilded, sapphire-eyed statue of the Happy Prince wants
to give away all the jewels and gold adorning him to help
the poor of the city. He asks the Swallow to help him, who,
braving the winter and the cold, unselfishly stays to help his
friend the Happy Prince and his people. At the end of the
story, God summons one of his angels to bring to heaven
two of the most valuable things in the city: The dead Swallow and the lead heart of the Happy Prince, both thrown
away on a dust-heap.
Similar altruism is the theme in Richard Bach’s cult
classic, Jonathan Livingston Seagull. At the end of the story,
Jonathan stays with the Flock, who are more ignorant and
constricted by common rules than he, and he teaches them
his knowledge and skills to help them fly higher to the skies.
Happiness is not something you seek for your own good; it
is what you find when you stop looking. In other words,
rather than a goal, happiness is the consequence of a life
lived right.
However, even this concept of happiness is not so simple.
It is possible to help others to gain something for yourself.
The reward for helping could be, say, feeling like a good
person. The worst thing is to help someone because you
have to. In his book, Awakening, the Jesuit priest Anthony de Mello recounts ironically how he realised he would
have suffered even more if he hadn’t helped a woman who
had come to see him. He would rather have gone than stay
behind to listen to her, but he couldn’t leave, because that
would have given him a bad conscience! A person with selfknowledge knows that not all helping comes from unselfish motives and therefore brings happiness.
A patio in a Helsinki suburb, summer 2007. The bright
sun exaggerates the colours of my oil paints. I gradually
cover the canvas with paint, one quiet brush stroke after
another. I scrutinise a red and yellow orchid and the precise and wondrous patterns on its delicate petals. I try to
capture the same fiery colours on my canvas. The red is
so vibrant, I feel a rush of energy through my entire body
and I get goose pimples from the sheer beauty in front of
bUDDHA
The fat buddha is a symbol of
luck in the Far East. Known in
Japan by the name hotei, the
fat buddha is one of the seven
lucky gods in Taoism and as a
home deity brings prosperity
and peace to the family.
THE bAT
In ancient China, the bat was the symbol of
good fortune, because the word for bat, fu,
sounded similar to the word meaning luck.
In China, five bats are an auspicious sign
bringing long life, riches, health, love of
virtue, and a natural death.
HORSESHOE
An iron horseshoe hanging
by the door brings luck
and helps keep it, too.
The belief is based on the
assumed ability of iron to
protect against the evil eye.
DRAGON
In Christian symbolism, the dragon is an
incarnation of the devil, whereas in Asia,
dragons are a symbol of good fortune, providing people with the drink of immortality.
For the Chinese, the dragon represents the
yang and is charged with repelling demons.
The green and red dragon was the symbol
of the emperor.
RICE
In Western cultures, whisking rice over the bride and
groom is thought to bring
them luck. The rice-eating
ceremonies of buddhist
monks have similar significance.
V I A HELSINKI
19
their therapy than embrace change. Twerski thinks this is stupid because unless
we change ourselves in situations where
we are being stupid or ignorant, we can
never expect to be happy. The other side
of wisdom is to accept what cannot be
changed. Twerski urges us to learn from
our past and then forget about it. Happy people do not worry unnecessarily. Twerski uses Charles M. Schulz’s Peanuts
comic strip to illustrate his ideas. In one strip, a boy sits at
Lucy’s psychiatric booth, telling her he has fretted over his
exam results all night. “Then what happened?” Lucy asks.
The boy says he got an A, and instantly realises: “Oh what
a waste of good fretting!”
WITH GEnUInE InnER PEAcE
YOU cAn’T bE cRUSHED bY
ADvERSITY OR OvERWHELMED
bY SUccESS.
me. Truly a moment to treasure!
Some would call joyful or pleasurable moments like this
happiness, but not the French-born Buddhist monk Matthieu Ricard. He thinks happiness is not limited to pleasant sensations or experiences, such as seeing your baby
smile or a lovely cup of tea after a trek in the country. In
his book, Happiness, Ricard argues that happiness is not
merely intense pleasure, outbursts of joy or passing sensations of bliss. Happiness is not just one of those days when
you are in a good mood.
What, then, is happiness? It seems to elude all definitions. I am beginning to suspect that happiness is a little
bit like God: it is impossible to conceptualise that which
transcends concepts. The only option left is to try and use
concepts to explain what God is not. According to Bertrand
Russell, at least happiness is not indifference towards your
surroundings or mental inertia. “The secret of happiness,”
he writes, “is this: let your interests be as wide as possible,
and let your reactions to the things and persons that interest you be as far as possible friendly rather than hostile.”
Epicurus advised us against too many expectations:
“Who least awaits tomorrow will get most from it.” Democritus would have agreed: “The right-minded man is he
who is not grieved by what he has not, but enjoys what he
has.” In When Do the Good Things Start, a Snoopy book by
psychiatrist Abraham J. Twerski, we are urged to rejoice
with abandon the good things that happen to us, despite
the fact that in some cultures, as in Finland, such spontaneous outbursts may not be entirely acceptable. As the Finnish saying warns, “If you have happiness, hide it.”
In Twerski’s opinion, happiness is
the acceptance of change, not
stagnation in complacenThere are
cy. As a psychiatrist,
two kinds of happiness.
however, he has seen
The first when you are
that people tend to
single and don’t have babies.
fear change. Many
The second when you look
want to “be what
every day at your face
t hey are” and
in the mirror and say how
would rather stop
happy I am to have
my own family.
Yvonne Gindre
V I A HELSINKI
20Advertising
Creative
Argentina
Bedroom in a house, eastern Helsinki, 2003. But for the
buzz of the morphine pump, the room is silent. I kneel at the
foot of my friend’s bed, rubbing her feet with honey cream.
When I’m done I get up, sit on her bed and hold her hand.
She is too tired to talk, but she squeezes my hand. I read
a book aloud in a calm, low voice until midnight, without
thinking about anything except that I wish there were a way
to make her even a little more comfortable.
You might think being with a person ravaged by illness
and dying would be scary or distressing, but I often felt happy. That happiness had nothing to do with joy but something
completely different. Joy is often what we feel for ourselves
- we may have completed a big project, a close relative calls,
or the roses we have nurtured suddenly bloom. This was a
happiness unrelated to me or my own feelings. It was as if
I had lost myself rather than gaining something for myself.
It was happiness in an unusual sense.
Matthieu Ricard writes that people often regard happiness as those moments when internal conflicts disappear
and the self is momentarily in harmony with the surrounding world and itself. One is simply here and now, without
expectations or fears, a respite during which every sense
of rush and constraint disappear – a feeling of profound
peace. We often experience this in nature, but Ricard says
even this is no more than a temporary calm created by certain circumstances. This peace differs, he says, “from true
unwavering serenity, as is found in the wisest of individuals, just as much as a pin-prick-sized glimmer in the heavens differs from the infinite breadth of space.”
By his thinking, anyone who has genuine inner peace
cannot be crushed by adversities or overwhelmed by moments of success. Such a person regards all of his or her ex-
periences with deep and open-minded
serenity. He or she knows that all experiences are transient and there is no
reason to cling to them.
It is more
important to me
that I am happy
than that I have the
external reason
for happiness.
C. G. Jung
Royal Orchid Sheraton Hotel, Bangkok,
January 2002. Breakfast on the outdoor ter-
race is a bounty. As I sprinkle coconut flakes on my
muesli, I ponder which of the ten freshly squeezed juices I
will choose this morning. The table, covered with a white
cloth, overlooks the Chao Phraya River that runs through
Bangkok, and this must be one of the best spots in the city.
The brown water splashes against the jetties, the sun shines
and I’m loving it.
Suddenly it all changes, as I spot a vague lump floating
towards the shore. My spoon stops half-way when I realise it is the carcass of a dead puppy, almost shapeless and
without legs. It is as if a hole has been punched in the luxurious atmosphere of the hotel, through which I see reality, the plastic rubbish and slicks of petrol on the water, the
poverty of the people hopping onto the nearby jetty from
the waterbus. Suddenly I am sad. Yet nothing has changed;
the hotel is still as splendid as a moment ago and so is the
food. It is my mind that has changed.
A Tibetan saying has it that: “seeking happiness outside
ourselves is like waiting for sunshine in a cave facing north”.
Happiness depends, most of all, on our inner state, not what
goes on around us. In his books, The Art of Happiness and
Kindness, Clarity and Insight, the Dalai Lama writes how
people are very similar in their natural yearning for happiness and their aversion to suffering.
In Buddhist thinking, suffering as a universal phenomenon is ever present, but every individual has the chance
to free themselves from it. Maybe Aristotle was referring to
something similar when he stated: “Happiness depends upon ourselves.” Similarly, the philosopher Seneca aimed at
achieving happiness independent of external circumstances, or eudaimonia, and an unwavering peace of mind. He
claimed that “anyone can be happy, unless they seek happiness outside rather than inside themselves.”
So the mystics and philosophers claim that happiness already exists in us, we just have to learn to recognise it. That
is a challenge because our own minds make us behave in a
way that generates unhappiness. For example, we don’t recognise suffering, thinking it is actually happiness. When
we fall in love, we think we cannot live without the one we
love. Our minds make happiness conditional, dependent
Being in the flow
and enjoying
every moment.
Vicki L.
on external factors. We confuse love with dependency, need
and the satisfaction of our own desires. Thus the emotion we
call happiness has suffering built into it. And yet we blame circumstances or other people for our unhappiness.
Buddhist Matthieu Ricard is one of the few who have said
they have found happiness. Ricard describes how each passing
moment is a pleasure, whatever he is doing, whatever the circumstances: “When I embark on a project and succeed, I am
happy; if for some reason I do not succeed despite my best efforts, I don’t see why I should worry about that.” Ricard is also
genuinely happy about everything without being dependent
on anything: “So far I have been lucky to have been able to eat
when I am hungry and have a roof over my head; the objects I
own are tools and I consider none of them necessary.”
His own experiences have convinced him that every human
being can find lasting happiness: “When I read in this or that
book that people cannot become happy or wise, I think it is a
shame that we or others might thus be robbed of the qualities
that a life lived has many times proved to be true.”
Although Ricard’s words are just that, words, and therefore
a mere approximation of happiness, they give hope and heartwarming encouragement. After all – there is such a thing as
everlasting happiness.
To be happy
and satisfied,
don’t count your
money – count
the good you
have received.
Chinese proverb
V I A HELSINKI
21
22
V I A HELSINKI
T iia Soininen P H OTOS G E T T Y I M AG E S A N D Jarmo Teinil ä
The Soul of
The Samurai
I am the client
of a swordsmith
and a sword tester.
I am a father and
a husband. But more
than anything,
I am a samurai.
F
our hundred years ago. I have polished my toe-
nails with pumice and oiled my hair. My armour
flashes against the sunlight. It has only just been
polished, as it is every morning. If I should die today, I would be ready.
The chances of my surviving a duel are one in three. Either
my opponent dies, or I die, or we both die. In Buddhism, life
does not end in death and death is inevitable.
That I should die today, however, is not likely. I am wearing my civilian clothing and carry a katana and wakizashi that
have passed down through many generations in my family.
That I carry a katana, the long sword, means I am a samurai.
Others may not carry one, the punishment for that is death.
In my next battle, I will be protected not only by my armour but also my pristine sword, which has mitsudōsetsudan
inscribed on it. I collected it from my sword-tester a week ago.
One week earlier. Mitsudōsetsudan, three bodies with one
cut. Having wielded the blade, ordered by a samurai, on a helmet, armour and stack of straw – straw tends to steer the blade
askew, and therefore reveal a lot about the strength of the blade
V I A HELSINKI
23
Lying is dishonourable
and honour more
important
than life itself.
– and having found it faultless, I carried out the ultimate test.
The sword cut through three decapitated cadavers at once. The
samurai who ordered the sword can now trust it implicitly.
My work as a sword-tester is valuable, although I believe
that future generations will better remember the swordsmiths.
They are already heroes in their own time. Forging the blade is
a Shinto holy act and the smiths I know wash and dress carefully before beginning their work.
Once the smith feels spiritually ready, he starts heating the
iron ore. He heats the billet and folds it again and again. Then
he hammers the billet into a steel bar and works it into a curved
blade. The most sacred phase is the quenching of the blade in
water. This reveals the hamon, the glowing blade pattern that
continues from the base of the blade to its tip. The spine of the
blade remains softer and more elastic than the cutting edge,
which is extremely hard.
Once the blade is complete, the smith inscribes ornamentation and his signature on it. I believe that the sword I tested
will be something that the samurai will be proud of, as will
his eldest son, who will in time inherit it.
master. I have already practised self-defence for five years using a mamorigatana sword with my father. My first sword was
made of wood. My mother told me I got it when I was three.
My little sister doesn‘t have a sword but she has been taught
to use naginata, a pole weapon. Girls are far superior in flower
arranging, dancing and singing.
At home. I have studied literature and poetry. My teacher
In marriage. My husband has a good income. He earns hun-
said today that my calligraphy is elegant although I am hardly twelve years old. I hope that one day I will be able to draw
characters as skilfully as my father.
My father is wise, brave and gentle. I respect him as he respects our ruler. My father says I must always be honest. Lying
is not honourable and honour is more important than life itself.
It is hard for me to interpret my father’s sentiments, to know
if he is proud of me or not. He rarely reveals his feelings and his
face is hard to read. But he laughs often, no matter how challenging the situation. I know he laughs only because he does
not want us to worry.
There is another thing that makes me wonder. I heard my
friends talk about ninjas. I don’t know if it’s true, but it is said
that a samurai can pay a ninja to carry out honourless deeds
on his behalf. Ninjas can enter buildings, jump from one roof
to another, and break free from chains. They disappear without trace. I find this hard to believe or even understand. The
most honourable thing I know is a duel between two warriors.
When the autumn comes, I will move to live with my sword
dreds of koku of rice a year. Some samurai only bring home
five koku, while the grandest lords earn over a million koku.
I am content, however. A few koku is enough to feed my family for a whole year.
The families of my husband and I agreed on our marriage.
I am lucky, because my husband is good to me and seems to
appreciate the way I manage our household. I also look after
my parents-in-law, their clothes and meals.
I know that my husband has relationships outside our marriage, both with women and men. For me, the most important
thing is to protect the honour of my husband and my family. My children and raising them means everything to me. I
cannot understand how a woman I once knew could divorce
her husband: first she had to spend three years at the Tōkeiji
Temple in Kamakura, after which she was allowed to return to
live with her parents. The children stayed with the husband.
24
V I A HELSINKI
A month later. I am marching to battle, with others like me.
Our country is divided in two: the Eastern and Western ar-
mies. We are nearly 200,000 warriors at the front, a vivid sight,
our flags flying. I have complete trust in my new sword. I also
trust my wife to look after our family. In a few years my eldest son will be old enough to defend our lord. And the honour of our family, which my brother defended last week, as a
samurai must.
He was almost captured, but he managed to avoid the humiliation by committing ritual suicide, seppuku. He pushed
his wakizashi, his short sword, into his stomach – pulled it
from left to right and then up towards his chest. After that, his
attendant relieved him from his agony with a precise swordstroke to his neck.
The soul of the samurai resides in the stomach. It is also the
centre of our will, thinking and love.
The facts in this imaginary story have been gathered from various
sources, most importantly the book Samuraiden aika (The Time of
the Samurai) by leading Finnish samurai experts.
DESTINATION JAPAN
A number of museums in Japan display samurai armour and swords, but it is even more interesting to witness the samurai culture still living in modern Japanese culture.
For example, strong hierarchies are very typical in Japanese society. At home, fathers and
husbands are shown respect, as are teachers and older students at school and managers and
clients in the workplace. To say ‘no’ directly is rare and considered impolite. Employment relationships are usually long: even now, the first employer may well be for life.
Finnair flies daily from Helsinki to Osaka and Tokyo and four times a week to Nagoya.
The bloodiest of battles
The article mentions Japan’s division into two and a
battle in which 200,000 samurai fought. Two armies
did confront each other near the village of Sekigahara on October 18th 1600. The battle was the bloodiest in samurai history, with 30,000 samurai killed.
The victorious Eastern army had supremacy in manpower. Ieyasu Tokugawa became the first ruler of the
Tokugawa shogunate, which ruled Japan from 1603
to 1867, Under subsequent shoguns, or Commandersin-Chief, the administrative system was strict with the
main focus on preserving the rule that Ieyasu had created. For example, the development of trade was left
for tradesmen, who belonged to the lowest social rank,
and some thought that increased trade would demoralise the nation. Eventually a system of seclusion was
adopted, by which foreigners were expelled and if a
Japanese person left the country, he would no longer
be regarded as Japanese and had no right to return.
In 1853, a fleet of American warships arrived in the
bay of Edo (present-day Tokyo), forcing the shogunate
to sign an agreement opening Japan to foreign trade.
The era of the samurai – ”those who serve” – lasted one thousand years, from the Fujiwara period
(866–1060) to the end of the Edo period (1868). During the first few centuries of the samurai era, war
was a more common state than peace in Japan. Wars
were waged especially for control over territory, and
the samurai were highly loyal to their masters, family
and bushid ō, (‘the Way of the Warrior’), an ethic that
draws on Buddhism, Shintoism, and Confucianism.
V I A HELSINKI
25
T iia Soininen P H OTOS M A RJA H E L A N D E R
Climate –
A Real Whodunnit
We could use aircraft trails
to help cool the earth says scifi’s
Risto Isomäki.
T
he road undulates along a ridge flanked on both sides
by the sea, towards the village of Bromarv in Southern Finland. Here is science fiction writer Risto Isomäki’s second home, a large former elementary school
from the 1890s that now houses four families.
He is also known as an environmental and human rights activist who has acted as consultant for major international corporations.
In the past five years he has focused on climate issues, since it
has been noticed that global warming is happening decades faster
than predicted. “The total area of polar ice packs in the Arctic Sea
has shrunk by half since the 1950s. Their volume, the ice mass,
has fallen even more, because the ice is thinner,” he observes.
Sounds convincing – and dramatic. But so what if ice packs
are melting?
“Latest estimates show there are at least 1,500 billion tonnes
of organic carbon in the terrestrial permafrost in Siberia and
Alaska alone. In addition, more than half the Arctic Sea seabed is
permafrost. And the so called methane clathrate fields may contain twice as much carbon as all fossil fuels together,“ he says,
26
V I A HELSINKI
V I A HELSINKI
27
He believes – without reservation – that the
vicious circle can be stopped, and proposes a
number of methods, one of the most interesting being cloud manipulation.
The idea is very logical. We all know that a
cloud passing in front of the sun makes the air
cooler. On the other hand, clouds warm the
air at night, when the sun is not shining, by reflecting heat back to the earth, so starry nights
are colder than overcast ones. In the Arctic, the
sun does not set at all in the summer or rise in
the winter, so the effect of clouds on temperature is massive.
Isomäki and his colleagues have been particularly interested in ways to reduce the winter
cloud cover over the arctic, because this should
cool the arctic so effectively that much more ice
would form during the winter. “We have discussed dozens of options for delivering huge
amounts of ice particles into clouds from ships.
Most rainfall is caused by small ice particles
forming in the upper part of a cloud, which then
fall, collecting cloud droplets from the lower
layers on their way down. Then we realised jet
planes did this all the time! We felt so stupid.”
The condensation trails behind jets do not
consist of small water droplets like the lower
clouds but tiny ice flakes. It would make sense if
these particles acted in a similar way to naturally occurring ice particles and precipitated some
of the cloud mass beneath as snow.
Unfortunately most jets fly so far south that
their ice particles melt before they reach the lower clouds. The effect is also reduced because the
ice particles collide with one another and expand
from about one micron, one-millionth of a metre, to several
millimetres in diameter. In other words, by the time they reach
the lower cloud layers there are a billion times fewer of them
than in a fresh contrail.
“Some universities are seriously interested in studying the
impact of jet planes flying more northerly routes and at significantly lower altitudes than now. This would probably be
an extra life insurance for humankind.”
It is easy to believe him. The average winter-time warming
effect of clouds in Arctic regions is estimated at as high as 90
Watts a square metre. This is 90 times more than the current
thermal imbalance of the earth.
TELLING PEOPLE NOT TO FLY
TO WARMER CLIMES FOR WINTER
HOLIDAYS IS LIKE SAYING
THEY SHOULD DIE YOUNGER TO
STOP CLIMATE CHANGE.
and then drops the bombshell: “If the Arctic permafrost melts
quickly, much of this organic carbon and methane may escape
into the atmosphere, resulting in far greater greenhouse gas
emissions than mankind is producing.”
Emergency reflectors. He does not believe the planet can be
saved merely by reducing greenhouse gas emissions. We must
begin recapturing existing carbon from the atmosphere. “We
are in a vicious circle,” he says. “Snow and ice are the world’s
most efficient natural reflectors, which reflect some of the Sun’s’
radiation back into space. Dark ground and water surfaces reflect only a few per cent of sunlight.”
28
V I A HELSINKI
Would you die young if it helped stop global warming?
Isomäki’s home in Bromarv is full of books and the writer is a
voracious reader. Some were written by himself, and he picks
up his most recent work, the proof copy of 64 Ways to Absorb
Carbon and Improve the Earth’s Reflectivity.
He turns to page 174: “International travel, especially flying,
might be the most complex issue related to global warming.” I
quickly glance at sentences like: “travel industries provide 200
million full-time and 300 million part-time jobs”; “because
of [ecologically oriented] mass tourism it is now more profitable to protect the whales and the lions than to kill them” and
“tourism is also important to human rights and democracy…
An average mass tourist is not willing to take chances, therefore even a relatively modest amount of violence immediately
leads to a collapse in mass tourism. In other words, if a government wants to have its cut of the tourist buck, it needs to
behave itself.”
He believes the climatic impact of air travel is greater than
currently thought, and he knows that a person flying frequently
and over long distances might produce more greenhouse gases than any other way.
But: “Many environmental organisations have wanted to
make flying the symbol of climate change. It is not such a wellchosen target, because it accounts for only two per cent of carbon dioxide emissions, the main greenhouse gas. Focusing too
heavily on air traffic diverts attention from sectors that really
are the worst generators of CO 2”.
He adds: “My biggest personal ethical and moral dilemma
is that I think it’s untenable to deny people from travelling to,
say, the Canary Islands during the winter. A growing body of
medical evidence suggests that inhabitants of the northern
hemisphere don’t get enough sunlight in winter and so become
susceptible to many kinds of illness. Even a small amount of
intensive sunlight and the vitamin D it helps to produce seem
greatly to reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease, diabetes
and at least 18 types of cancer. So holidays in the sun are highly beneficial to public health.”
To underline his point, he insists that telling people not to
travel south in winter is almost the same as asking them to die
young to prevent climate change.
Unpaid consultant. Isomäki is a sought-after source of infor-
mation in environmentally aware companies, though he prefers
not to be called a consultant. “Well, I am in a way,” he says, “But
I don’t charge for it. If I started accepting hefty fees from companies, I would lose my credibility in the eyes of other actors.”
He remembers how, as late as the beginning of this dec-
ade, most companies in the world would openly resisted the
reduction of greenhouse gas emissions. The tables have suddenly turned.
“My own interpretation is that the giant corporations dominating the global economy are well informed. I think they have
been alarmed by the realisation that the ice caps are truly melting and so on. Everyone understands that carbon-neutral or
carbon-negative technologies have to be adopted and the first
to come up with these technologies will rule future markets.”
He stresses though, that many companies are still guilty of
“green wash,” and talk about environmental issues just for show.
Solar energy is something Isomäki believes in strongly. He
says we are witnessing a knockout competition between leading
technologies. The final two contenders will probably be thin
film solar cells produced with the means of roll to roll processing and concentrating photovoltaics. Only a year ago, he would
have bet on the latter, but since then, California-based Nanosolar has developed a roll-to-roll solar cell coater technology
that he believes will bring “unbelievable” savings in the production costs of solar cells.
“When the technology is used on a large enough scale, with
sufficiently long production runs, the unit cost will go down.
There are, for example, large solar power plants planned for
the Sahara which could lower the price of electricity substantially. Countries such as China and India would not need to
build coal power stations if the same electricity could be generated more cheaply.”
Almost fact into fiction. Risto Isomäki’s science fiction nov-
els are often built around the worst imaginable environmental
threat. His next thriller, coming out this autumn, entitled Jumalan pikkusormi (‘God’s Little Finger’) tells of a solar power
plant to be built in the Sahara, which the villains try to sabotage. Hang on – didn’t we just talk about this? Are we confusing fact and fiction?
“I had already sent my manuscript to my publisher when
the real project was announced. An amusing coincidence,” he
grins. Again, believing him is easy. The same thing happened
with his best-known and award-winning 2005 book The Sands
of Sarasvati, which was praised as a visionary work on the significance of giant tsunamis in the history of humankind. And
in December 2004, with the manuscript already at the publisher, the tsunami struck Asia.
Although he deals with worst-case scenarios, he does not
believe in total climate catastrophe. “Of course the earth has a
future. I do not claim that what I depict will unavoidably happen. I’m just saying it should not be allowed to happen.”
V I A HELSINKI
29
A leksi Kolehmainen P H OTOS H annu Vallas and J yrki Komulainen
A Walk on the
Wild
30
V I A HELSINKI
Side W
A diehard urbanite
spends a night in
the forest.
ater fleas and butterflies dart across Lake
Holma-Saarijärvi in Nuuksio National Park.
The evening sun glows through the fir trees
on the opposite side of the lake. Elk and
wolves roam here; even bears have been sighted. Yet we are no
more than 40 kilometres from Finland’s capital.
I squat by the lake to scoop some water into my saucepan.
I have never drunk lake water before and I doubt whether I
should start now, but my guide, Sami Halén, assures me the
water is safe as long as you boil it. I’m ashamed of my poor city
manners, as I remember how billions of people in the world
have to make do without clean water.
I have come to spend the night in the wilderness. The first
time I slept in a tent was six years ago in the army when I did
my national service. This is my first time in Nuuksio, although
I have lived almost as a neighbour, in Helsinki, for 25 years.
Nuuksio has been dubbed the wilderness for a million people,
located as it is just outside the metropolitan area, only half an
hour’s drive from Helsinki.
“People mostly ask: are there any bears here? Are there any
of those nasty deer flies? Are there any snakes? The answer
is ‘yes’. And there are lynx, wolves, foxes, elk… But don’t be
scared. They will spot you long before you notice them and will
have disappeared,” insists Sami, who works for the Central Association for Recreational Sports and Outdoor Activities. He
guides groups in Nuuksio, ranging from school children and
tourists to business managers. He hails from Helsinki but has
rambled the forests all his life – starting in his mother’s womb.
When Finns take their guests to the real wilderness they
often opt for Lapland, north of the Polar Circle. That’s where
you find real peace and quiet, they think. “Nuuksio is just as
exotic to many,” Sami points out.
V I A HELSINKI
31
THE RIGHTS OF MAN
The traditional Finnish legal
concept of Everyman’s Right
guarantees everyone the right to
access and enjoy land and waterways without a permit regardless
of who owns the land. Similar rights
are rare elsewhere in the world.
You have the right to:
- walk, cycle and ski freely except in private back gardens
- camp freely, but be discrete
and keep a sufficient distance
from houses
- pick berries, mushrooms
and flowers, but steer clear of protected species
- angle and ice-fish
- drive a boat, swim and wash in
lakes and rivers, and walk on ice.
Do not:
- disturb or cause harm to
other people and animals
or damage plants or trees
- take away dried or fallen
trees or twigs without the
landowner’s permission
- litter or make an open fire
on private land, unless it is
absolutely necessary
- drive an off-road motor
vehicle without the
landowner’s permission
- fish or hunt without
appropriate permits.
“You should remember to eat regularly when
you’re rambling in the forest. Hiking is an excellent form of exercise but forget about dieting.”
Most people come to the wilderness to seek
peace and solitude, but many also come for the
food. You can bake a cake on a Primus stove.
There is even a range of cookery books for camping chefs.
Are there any bears here?
The answer is yes — and there
are lynxes, wolves, foxes, elk...
Dotted with swamps and majestic rocks, the terrain is not
easy to negotiate. For this reason, the area has never been cultivated like its surroundings. The national park was established
15 years ago when it was feared that this unique tract might
fall to housing construction.
Setting up camp. “A good place for camping is where you can
sleep comfortably,” Sami says.
I spread my triangular, yellow tent on the spruce-needle
covered earth. It takes me a few minutes to figure out how the
metal frame is supposed to go, but I finally manage it and the
tent is up in fifteen minutes. I’m camping on a rocky island
with a pile of rocks heaped in the middle for a fire place. I may
not light it, though, because there is a forest fire warning following a week of hot weather, so I’ll just have to cook my dinner on a camping stove. I’ve only ever seen such things in the
supermarket brochures and the idea of preparing a meal in the
middle of a forest seems strange, but I’ll give it a try.
I’ve never, considered camping in a national park before. I’ve
spent my summer holidays back-packing through Europe. I’ve
chewed pizza in Italy, swilled beer in the Czech Republic and
paraglided down mountain slopes in Turkey. And here I am
now, camping out in Nuuksio, practically down the road from
where I live. The national park attracts 150,000 visitors annually. Most come rambling just for a day, but there are so many
campers, especially on the summer weekends, that it is hard to
find a suitable place to pitch a tent in the most popular spots.
Time to boil some lake water. I scratch a match and light my
stove, and the water starts to boil in a few minutes. Sami assures me it’s safe just to boil it, but the very thought of drinking lake water still gives me the shivers. I play safe and let it
bubble for ten minutes before I pour it into the bag of pasta
bolognese I bought in the camping shop yesterday. It cost as
much as a pizza in the centre of Helsinki. Outrageous! Still,
special camping meals do contain more of the nutrients and
salts you need outdoors than normal instant supermarket
meals do. And you eat them directly from the packet, which
saves you the washing up. The hike from the car park took me
30 minutes, carrying a 15-kilogram backpack, and I am ravenous. I scoff the meal in record time – the pasta tastes tinned,
but I can’t taste the lake water.
Moonlight dip. The sun sets behind the firs and the sky turns
lilac. It is still light and I feel the scent of pine in my nose. I dip
into the lake where I took water for my meal an hour earlier. I
dive under the water and it no longer feels cold. It is weird to
swim in the same water that I just drank. I hang my towel to
dry on pine twigs and crawl into my yellow tent, content and
with a well-satisfied stomach. The mosquitoes drone outside
but they can’t get in. It is midnight and some light still shimmers through the canvas. My bed is an inch-thick layer of plastic foam, which is no match for the knobbly tree root pressing into my back. But tiredness wins and I doze off before the
late twilight falls.
I wake up just before four. It is light again and the birds are
chirping. I sleep fitfully and awake every hour until eight, when
I hear a dog growling outside. I unzip my tent and before me
lies the mirror smooth lake. Time to go home.
Back in the office in central Helsinki I pour myself a cup a
coffee – it is tap water, of course. Yesterday I drank water from
the lake. My fear of contracting a stomach disease has proved
unfounded, the water was as pure as the guide had promised. I
have slept a restless night under canvas yet I feel strangely calm.
Perhaps I’ll forget my next paragliding holiday in Turkey. Instead I might pack my tent and head for Nuuksio.
HOW TO
GET TO
NUUKSIO
• busses 85 and 85A go from Espoo Centre to eastern and
northern Nuuksio. To reach Espoo Centre from Helsinki
Railway Station, take local trains S, U, E or L.
• the southern part of Nuuksio can be reached by bus 28 from
Leppävaara Station in Espoo.
•
Pohjolan Liikenne coaches leave the Helsinki Coach Station
to Tervalampi and run via the western part of Nuuksio. There
is a few kilometres’ walk from the bus stop to the national
park.
•
camping equipment can be rented from the Oittaa service
point of the Central Association for Recreational Sports and
Outdoor Activities (Suomen Latu, address Kunnarlantie
33–39, Espoo), about 7 kilometres from Nuuksio.
V I A HELSINKI
33
How 7,800 Bags Catch
Only 40 minutes until the connecting
flight and passengers are making their
way to the gate. The highly automated
baggage system makes sure their bags will
be on the flight with them.
Capacity
34
V I A HELSINKI
Their Flight
Sami L aakso I L LU ST RAT I O N Jaska P oikonen
Security control
When the barcode scanner
recognises that a bag has reached
a correct junction, the bag is
unloaded from the module to
either the baggage claim area or
off-ramp. From the off-ramp,
the bags are loaded onto carts
to be taken to the aeroplane.
V I A HELSINKI
35
viaservice
Buy It Here
l Alcohol and Tobacco
H elsinki A irport Duty Free
Traditional Finnish spirits as well as all the most
popular international brands and the latest
cosmetic products.
G ATES 26–27, GATE 3 0 A ND GATE 13
F innair Shop TAX FREE
Pay a visit to Helsinki-Vantaa Airport’s best
wine cellar. Or browse the cigar selection
in Finnair Shop’s humidor. Purchases here
will add to your Finnair bonus points.
G ATE 28
l Bags
“To travel hopefully is a better thing
Luxury and Personal Service
The name says it all. Luxbag offers a wide selection of bags by the Spanish label
Loewe and the French Celine. In addition to bags, the shop also sells
clothes and accessories.
Both Loewe and Celine are known for their exquisite mastery
of leather, and they are part of the luxury goods conglomerate LVMH, together with other leading brands such as Louis
Vuitton. Luxbag Helsinki Airport is the only outlet selling
Loewe and Celine labels in Finland at the moment.
“Personalised service is central to our business idea,”
says Jarmo Pouttu, managing director of Adone, the
company that runs Luxbag. Customers are served in Finnish and English but also in Japanese and Russian. GATE 33
Stockmann SHOP
Boss, Burberry and more – choose from a
selection of the world’s top fashion labels.
G ATE 33
L acoste
Tennis star René Lacoste was known
as the Crocodile. The crocodile logo
of the clothing company he founded
has also found its way onto bags.
G ATES 26–27
Luxbag
Luxurious Loewe and Celine bags, apparel
and accessories for the discriminating taste.
Point shop to go
Taking a flight with no paperback to help
you pass the time? Point shop saves the day
with a wide selection of the latest titles.
SERV IC E F LO O R ( T E R M INA L 2 )
Finnair S hop TAX F R E E
Paperbacks in English, Swedish and Finnish.
Purchases here will add to your Finnair bonus
points.
GATE 28
G ATE 33
l Design
M arimekko
Pentik
Looking for a Finnish classic? Get the Olkalaukku bag designed by Ristomatti Ratia in 1971.
G ATES 26–27
M - Boxi
Match your wallet, your handbag and your
mood! Orange will give you energy, while coral
green will sooth you. At M-Box you can find
always elegant Longchamp and Tumi products.
G ATES 26–27 A N D GATE 33
M ulberry
Leather handbags, wallets and belts for men
and women. We also stock the Bayswater,
Mulberry’s all time favourite hand bag style!
Finnish design company Pentik manufactures tableware and a range of
interior decoration products with an
emphasis on muted, earthy colours.
GATE 27
Stockmann S hop
Stockmann Shop offers a wide selection of Iittala glassware. The Iittala design philosophy is
built on the thinking of designer Kaj Franck: the
ultimate purpose of all articles is to be sensible,
durable and functional. The hottest sellers at
Iittala’s shop-in-shop include Moomin tableware, Mariskooli bowls and Aalto products.
GATE 26 AN D G AT E 3 3
G ATE 33
F innair Shop TAX FREE
Guess! Purchases here will add to
your Finnair bonus points.
G ATE 28
l Books and Newspapers
l Electrical Equipment
Capi Electronics N on - S chengen
The shop for boys, young and old: CDs,
cameras, radios, wrist-top computers,
mobile phones and small electronics.
GATE 30
R eader’ s
Capi Photo Electronics
To quote an Arabic saying: “a book is a garden
carried in your pocket.” Reader’s has the best
selection of books at Helsinki-Vantaa Airport.
No one goes on holiday without a camera.
Capi, has everything to make your holiday
memorable: memory cards, camera accessories and, of course, cameras. Capi outlets also
stock all the leading mobile phone brands and
their accessories, mp3 players, video cameras,
Suunto and Polar wrist-top computers and GPS
devices. CDs, DVDs, games, headphones and
dictating machines as well as Finnish music
are also available, but don’t miss Capi’s special
Gadgets department, where you can find such
fun items as remote-controlled helicopters.
G ATE 30 a n d GATE 14
R -kioski
R-kioski is Finland’s best-known kiosk
chain. All Finns are familiar with the company’s slogan, “fast and pleasant shopping”. R-kioski stocks newspapers and
magazines, paperbacks, confectioneries,
gifts, souvenirs and hygiene products.
G ATE 28 A N D GATE 3 3,
D E PARTURE HALL 1 A ND 2
36
V I A HELSINKI
GATE 28
A Vase Inspired
by the Saami
Dress
The Aalto vase is one of the alltime classics of Finnish design. Designed by Aino and Alvar Aalto¸ its
shape was inspired by the traditional
dress worn by Saami women in Lapland. The first vases were produced
in 1937, in wooden moulds that were
burnt away from the final product.
The Aalto vase is also known as
the Savoy vase, because the Savoy
restaurant in Helsinki later acquired
the copyright to the design. Since
its conception over 70 years ago,
hundreds of thousands of Aalto
vases have been sold around the
world. With Alvar Aalto, the old Roman saying, nomen est omen, holds
true. Aalto means ‘wave’, and in
fact soft, undulating forms became
his signature style.
The vase is currently manufactured by Iittala, whose shop-inshop is located within Stockmann
Helsinki Airport. In addition to
Aalto vases, the Stockmann shops
at the airport sell many other delicious and beautiful things to take
home, from fresh-smoked salmon
to Burberry scarves.
GATE 26
AND
GATE 33
than to arrive.
– Au t h or Robert Louis Stevenson
Capi H ome E ntertainment
Cameras, memory cards, camera accessories.
Capi outlets are the place to find all leading
mobile phone brands and their accessories,
mp3 players, video cameras, Suunto and Polar
wrist computers, GPS devices – and much more!
G AT E 2 6
Air- F oto
In addition to photography services, AirFoto is a Nokia Premium Care outlet,
maintaining your existing Nokia devices
and providing you with new ones.
A R R IVA LS 2 B
l Fashion and Accessories
Stockmann SHOP
Stockmann is the most famous department store in Finland, and the company’s
Helsinki-Vantaa Stockmann shop carries a full range of popular brands.
G AT E 3 3
F innair Shop Tax free
Products from international fashion houses:
Burberry, Guess, Feelmax and Golla. Purchases
here will add to your Finnair bonus points.
G AT E 2 8
Luhta Shop A irport
Luhta invests in the sporty everyday look
known as “street sport”. The Finnish brand is
owned by L-Fashion Group Oy, a leading Nordic
clothing company in business since 1907.
G AT E 2 8
T ie Rack
Tie Rack provides you with everything you
might have left at home: socks, belts, boxer
shorts. The selection also includes ties and
scarves – for yourself or for loved ones.
fee and fresh pastries, take away items,
foodstuffs, hygiene products, newspapers and magazines and paperbacks.
bags from Guess and Golla. Purchases here
will add to your Finnair bonus points.
GATE 28
S E RV I CE F LO O R ( T E R M IN A L 2 )
Pentik
The seasons change four times a year at the
Pentik interior decoration shop but the basic
product line remains. The company’s founder,
Anu Pentik, also designs unique dishes and
plates, which have travelled to all parts of
the world from Helsinki-Vantaa Airport.
GATE 27
l Jewellery and Watches
Aseman K ello
If you’re into watches then Aseman Kello is
the place for you. Find all the top brands as
well as the best and brightest in jewellery.
G AT E 3 0, G AT E S 2 6 – 27 AND G AT E 3 3
Moomin Shop
Finnish Foreign Minister Alexander Stubb is
one of the many regulars at the Moomin Shop.
GATE 26
Stockmann S hop
Helsinki-Vantaa’s largest souvenir shop is the
Stockmann Shop, easily recognised by the
stuffed reindeer standing out front– and, of
course, by the people who stop to pet it.
Kalevala Koru – Lapponia Jewelry
This is as Finnish as jewellery gets: Kalevala
Koru and Lapponia Jewelry represent the peak
of Scandinavian jewellery design. Kalevala
Koru’s original patterns, real ideas and inspiring
stories make each piece unique. The sculptured
design and softly glowing surfaces of Lapponia Jewelry are known all around the world.
G AT E 1 4
GATE 26 AND G AT E 3 3
F innair S hop Tax free
Guess, House of Elliot, Nomination, Misaki, Dalvey… Purchases here will add
to your Finnair bonus points.
Arrival Shop
Pick up a last-minute gift! While you wait for
your bags stop at the Arrival Shop, conveniently located in the baggage claim hall.
G AT E 2 8
BAGGAGE C L A I M 2 A AN D 2B
l Kiosk Products
l Groceries
R -kioski
Stockmann G ourmet
Salmon and special cheeses, herrings and
Karelian pasties, lanttukukko (swede baked in a
pie) and false morel are just some of the delicacies of Finnish cuisine on offer in this gourmet
paradise. There are even dried strawberries.
GATE 26
Finland’s most recognisable kiosks sell newspapers and magazines, paperbacks, confectioneries, gifts, souvenirs and hygiene products.
G AT E 2 8 , G AT E 3 3 , D E PA RT U R E H A L L
1 a nd 2
Take Away D eli
Time is tight, but hunger calls. Change
course for the Take Away Deli! Sandwiches,
salads, foodstuffs and fresh bread to go.
Take Away D eli
G AT E 27
Sweet and savoury snacks to take
with you, coming or going.
L acoste
ARRI VALS 2A
Point shop to go
Point shop to go
Point shop is the airport’s corner shop, offering kiosk products, coffee and fresh pastries,
Tennis star René Lacoste was known
as the Crocodile. The Lacoste Pique
shirt is one the brand’s most recognisable and popular products.
Point shop is the corner shop of the
airport, offering kiosk products, cof-
T2
G AT E S 26–27
M arimekko
Jackie Kennedy, the wife of President John
F. Kennedy and a fashion icon, made Marimekko dresses famous in the 60s.
34
G AT E S 26–27
M oomin Shop
Moomin and his friends look good on anything and anyone: the extensive product range is not just for the kids.
G AT E 2 6
l Gift Items
A R R IVA L S 2 A
33
32
31
30
29
28
27
26
25
24
23
35
22
36
21
37
20
38
19 18
Airport Shop
Perfumes, confectionery, cosmetics,
gifts and Finnish gourmet products.
17 16
G AT E 2 0
15
F innair Shop Tax free
Perfume is a gift guaranteed to make an
impression. A wine bottle is another safe
choice. You will find these traditional
presents and much more at Finnair Shop:
scarves, ties, shoes, jewellery, watches and
14
13
12
11
T1
V I A HELSINKI
37
viaservice
take away items, foodstuffs, hygiene products,
newspapers and magazines and paperbacks.
Finns love the lottery and other kinds of betting. You too can try your luck. Fill in your
winning numbers today! At Point shop.
all lined up and ready to take with you.
ites include pizza, pasta, salads and burgers.
GATE 28, G AT E 3 3 , D E PA RT U R E H A L L
1 and 2
G AT E 2 9
Caf é Tuuli
Stockmann G ourmet
S E RVI CE FLOOR (TERMI NAL 2)
Stockmann's sweets section is as
reliable as the savoury selection.
l Perfumes and
GATE 26
Cosmetic Products
A irport Shop
Perfumes, confectionery, cosmetics,
gifts and Finnish gourmet products.
G ATE 20
Helsinki A irport Duty Free
The world’s most popular cosmetic brands and fragrances.
G ATES 26–27, GATE 3 0 A ND GATE 13
F innair Shop tax free
Perfumes, aftershaves, lotions, make-up
from Boss, Lancôme, Gucci, Prada…
G ATE 28
Arrival S hop
Don’t worry about arriving empty-handed – buy presents at the baggage claim
when you return from your trip! Choose
from a wide range of perfumes, cosmetics, sweets and children’s gifts.
BAGGAG E C L A I M 2 A an d 2B
Point shop to go
Returning from a long trip with nothing but
the light waiting for you in the fridge? Point
shop is the airport’s corner shop, offering kiosk
products, coffee and fresh pastries, take away
items, foodstuffs, hygiene products, newspapers and magazines and pocket books.
SERV IC E F LO O R ( T E R M IN A L 2 )
A rrival Shop
You’ve arrived empty-handed, but don’t worry!
Drop in at the Arrival Shop, conveniently
located in the baggage claim hall, and choose
from our large selection of perfumes, cosmetics, confectioneries and children’s gifts.
B AGGAGE CLAIM 2A A ND 2B
l Sweets
Helsinki A irport Duty Free
Fazer Blue is the best-loved chocolate
in Finland. You can buy this and many
other favourites at the Duty Free.
G ATES 26–27, GATE 3 0 A ND GATE 13
F innair Shop Tax free
Sugar + cream = fudge. It’s so good you won’t
feel guilty indulging! At Finnair Shop there’s
something for every sweet tooth: fudges,
chocolates, liquorice, fruit drops – you name it.
Restaurants and Cafés
Feeling peckish and a little thirsty? Relief
is at hand in this comprehensive, 400 seat
restaurant. It has its own bar offering a
wide range of cocktails. The soundscape
for the bar was designed by DJ Slow.
GATE 35
Fresh Coffee & Bar & K itchen
Fresh is the combined bar, restaurant and
coffee shop in the non-Schengen area. Its
menu is available in English, Chinese, Russian and Japanese and includes freshly
baked pastries and take away items as
well as Asian and Mediterranean dishes.
GATE 30
Pronto
Chocolate bars, pastilles and candy bags –
G AT E 2 8
W ine & View
A unique wine bar, not just in Finland but
anywhere. Its varying selection includes the
world’s best mature wines and a range of
interesting modern wines. Delicious tapas
are also available. Wine & View will serve
you wines from all continents. The wine
list is updated regularly and has included a
number of rarities, such as port from 1861.
G AT E 2 8
F ly I nn
Enjoy a range of dishes at this á la carte
restaurant while you take in a fantastic
view of the runway. Currently under renovation, but will reopen later this year.
AB OV E G AT E 27 ( 2ND F LO O R )
Coffee S poon
My City H elsinki
G ATE 28
R - kioski
Café Tuuli is located in one of the busiest
areas of the Helsinki Airport. When time
is tight, get it to go from Tuuli. But if you
have time to kill, sit down and enjoy the
café’s range of sweet and savoury delicacies and selection of refreshing drinks.
Enjoy a private meal away from the rush on the
second floor of the airport building. Favour-
The clock on the Stockmann building in central Helsinki is one of the city’s most popular
meeting spots. At Helsinki Airport, Spoon plays
a similar role. Sweet and savoury pastries,
sandwiches and baguettes prepared in the
coffee shop’s own kitchen, fresh salads, special coffees, smoothies and ice-cream – also
to take away. P.S. The soup special for the day
costs only € 4.90 and the salad special € 5.90.
Open 24/7
D E PA RT U R E H A L L 2
D eli Tower
Helsinki-Vantaa’s best-kept secret! The Deli
Tower, next to the Tower Lounge, has a great
view of the runway and delicacies from the
Mediterranean, Scandinavia and Asia. Menu
favourites include Scandinavian tapas.
G AT E 2 2
Caf é Alvar A
Treats for Every Palate
Organic ice-cream, containing no additives, is one of the specialities of the My
City Helsinki restaurant world. The restaurant offers a taste of Helsinki’s varied
culinary culture without having to leave the airport.
To satisfy a larger appetite, Nina Gratschew, project manager in charge of the
restaurant, recommends the pasta with meatballs. If you fancy something lighter,
the stuffed sandwiches made fresh in the restaurant are a good choice. The cocktail
bar serves thirsty passengers until the departure of the last flight. The house cocktail, called Sparkling City, made of champagne and blackcurrant liqueur, is definitely worth trying.
You can safely leave your kids at Kids’ Corner
next to the restaurant to watch DVDs. To leave a
lasting memory of your visit, post a message in
the My City Helsinki electronic guestbook, complete which a photo of yourself against a Helsinkithemed background. GATE 33
38
V I A HELSINKI
Alvar Aalto (1898–1976) was a Finnish functionalist architect and designer. His most
famous building is the Finlandia Hall in Helsinki. The Café Alvar A at Helsinki Airport
is named after Aalto and represents the
best of Finland, in philosophy, design and
food, much of which is produced locally by
small and independent Finnish farmers.
G AT E 24
Robert’s Coffee
Robert’s Coffee is one of the airport’s landmarks – it’s the most popular and well-known
coffee shop and a frequent meeting point for
people travelling together. Special coffee,
self-made pastries and baguettes, sandwiches
and filled rye bread – also to take away.
G AT E S 24 – 2 5
T he Oak B arrel
If this cosy Irish pub were to be renovated, its
patrons would probably riot. Many trips have
begun in this haven for beer and whisky lovers.
G AT E 2 2
What’s in Your Bag,
MONTANA JONES?
Montana Jones takes a glance at his wrist-
for the week. Montana knows how to use
The distant sound of a wailing bird slices
top. “Only 100 metres above sea level, who
what nature offers and does not need to
the night air. Finally he lies down in the
would’ve thought,” he muses. Ahead looms
carry too much. Without coffee, however,
shelter of a rocky outcrop and sleeps.
Kilimanjaro, the highest mountain in Afri-
he won’t go anywhere.
The sun rises from behind the moun-
ca. At the top his wrist-top gadget will tell
Pebbles bounce past as Montana scram-
tain and the adventure continues. Mon-
him he is nearly 6,000 metres above sea
bles up the path under the scorching Af-
tana pulls a bottle of fragrance from his
level, but it will take several days of hik-
rican sun. When evening comes, our he-
bag and sprays it on his neck. A real man
ing to get there.
ro camps in a high valley. He brews some
looks after himself, even if he is an adven-
Our hero takes a swig from his bottle
coffee, fills his cup and perches on a rock
turer. You never know who you’re going to
and starts negotiating the slope. A bag on
to take in the quiet dark of the mountain.
meet on a mountain path.
his shoulder contains everything he needs
Master’s coffee (Isännän kahvi) is flavoured
with whiskey and chocolate and is, as its name
suggests, ideal for the
master of the house and
his guests. Available at
Pentik Shop. GATE 27
The Suunto Core WRISTTOP serves as a compass,
a hygrometer and warns
of impending storms. On
top of all this, it also serves
as a watch. Available from
Cap shops. GATE 26,
GATE 28 AND GATE 30
Vichy Novelle
mineral water has
the right amount
of bubbles and
quenches the thirst
best. It is made of
spring water and
contains no calories, salt, sugar or
additives Available
at most Helsinki
Airport cafés.
Harri Tarkka
The Tumi shoulder bag is an
elegant way to carry everything you
need. Available at M-Box shops.
GATES 26–27 AND GATE 33
Diesel Fuel for
Life fragrance for
men is what its name
promises – endless
energy for non-stop
charmers. Available
at Helsinki Airport
Duty Free. GATES
26–27 AND GATE 30
A Kuksa is a mug carved from
wood. According to Lappish belief,
it should only ever be washed
in a mountain brook, because it
is bad luck to rinse it anywhere
else. True or not, a kuksa can
also be used as a decorative
item. Available at Stockmann
Shop. GATE 26 AND GATE 33
V I A HELSINKI
39
viaservice
First Steps in Helsinki
“How do I get to Helsinki city centre?” must be the most commonly asked question at the Helsinki Airport tourist info point. “You can take bus number
615 from platform 21 or the Finnair City Bus from platform 10,” cites tourist information officer Sanna Salonen by heart. It takes about 35 minutes from Helsinki
Airport to Helsinki Railway Station.
The tourist info point provides maps and brochures of Helsinki in 11 languages.
Customers can also use the two info terminals for updated online information
about Finland. Tourist information officers also provide
hotel details if you need accommodation.
Personal service is available daily from 10 a.m. to 8
p.m. Brochures and information terminals are available
round the clock. The tourist info point is located in Terminal 2, Arrivals 2A.
G O ! Caf é
Golden Gate Lounge (F innair)
The history of GO!Café is a bit like the Eiffel
Tower’s. Both were intended as temporary
structures but plans changed. And as the popularity of the GO!Café has increased, so have
its selection and service. There are now two of
these cafes at Helsinki Airport. The Terminal 2
Go!Café offers a superb selection of take away
food and you can also recharge your laptop
computer. The GO!Café in Terminal 1 serves an
excellent soup and salad lunch with beverage.
GATE 28
G ATE 20 A N D ARRI VALS 1
Interme zzo R estaurant & B ar
Quickly off the menu! At Intermezzo, pizza,
pasta, burgers and traditional Finnish food are
served with a smile. The salmon soup and beef
sandwich are favourites with many regulars.
G ATE 14
Take Away Deli
Leaving the airport on an empty stomach?
The Take Away Deli will make sure you
leave satisfied! Sandwiches, salads,
foodstuff and fresh bread to go.
Picnic is known for its baguettes, baked
potatoes and special coffees. Salads, soft
drinks and pastries are also available.
Open 24/7
A R RI VALS 2A
C esar’ s Food M arket & Pizz a
Helsinki Airport staff know this breakfast,
lunch and dinner spot well, located just
downstairs from Departures Hall 2. Buffet with a wide range to choose from. Pizza
and filled baguettes also available.
NE X T TO T E R M INA L 2
Air Freight Services
A irport T ravel Cargo
tel. +358 9 6151 3936 (24h)
A R R IVA L S 2 A
ATMs
You can get cash from the ten ATM
machines in the terminal.
Authorities
Managing control and providing services.
Gateway Lounge (SSP)
GATE 28
SAS Business Lounge
This new lounge will open in NovemberDecember in Terminal 1.
GATES 2 5–26
Silver Wings Lounge (Finnair)
Border G uard
Passport control
Open 24/7
tel. +358 71872 6600
Police
Opening hours Mon–Sun 7–19
tel. +358 71878 2120
Finnair’s newly redecorated main
lounge breaths the essence of Finland, from Eero Aarnio’s Ball Chairs to
blue and white tableware by Arabia.
L E NT ÄJ ÄNT I E 1 B, 3rd floor
GATES 2 5–26
C ustoms clearance
Tower Lounge (SSP)
Open 24/7
tel. +358 20 391 109
The peaceful Tower Lounge presents Finnish innovation in practice: the Private
Audio Space, where you can connect your
own computer or mp3 player to listen to
music – privately, with no headphones.
GATES 2 5–26
l Customs
A R R IVA L S 2B
C ustoms
Two telephone service booths are available for travellers for issues related to
exports and tax free. Open 24/7
D E PA RT U R E H A L L 4 G AT E 2 9
A R RI VALS 2A
Café P icnic
check in for your flight and wait with no
rush until passengers are called to the
gate. Some rooms also have a sauna. A
stone’s throw away from Terminal 2.
VIP Services
Business Flights
VIP C entre/ H elsinki A irport Congress
More than a dozen meeting rooms for business travellers – and for more romantic occasions: Every few months, a happy couple
exchanges marriage vows in the airport’s VIP
facilities. Then let the honeymoon begin!
Contacts: Tel. +358 9 8277 3117,
http://www.helsinki-vantaa.fi/vip
T he B usiness F light T erminal serves
business airlines and private aircraft. Arrival
and departure formalities are taken care of
in minutes. All services required by travellers and business airlines are available 24/7.
tel. +358 9 8277 2780
business.efhk@finavia.fi
DEPARTU R E H A L L 2
L I IK E L EN TOT I E 8
Hotels
Car Hire
S E RVI C E FLOOR (TERMI NAL 2)
Lounges
Scandic H otel G ateway
Long H aul Lounge (F innair )
G ATE 31
Fresh Lounge (SSP)
G ATE 31
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The 40 comfortable rooms of the Scandic
hotel are located on the service
floor of the airport building.
Renting a car at the airport is a convenient
way to travel: put your bags in the car and
drive away! Advance booking over the Internet
makes travelling even faster. Rental car parking
is located on the ground floor of car park P3.
SERV IC E F LO O R ( T E R M INA L 2 )
Avis
Hilton H elsinki-Vantaa Airport
tel. +358 9 822 833
At the five-star Hilton hotel you can
CO R R I D O R B E T W E EN T E R M INA L S
B udget
tel. +358 207 466 610
Nordea
SERV I C E FLO O R ( T E R M INA L 2 )
CO R R I D OR B ETWEE N TERMI NALS
Europcar
Sampo B ank
SERV I C E FLO O R ( T E R M INA L 2 )
tel. +358 40 306 2800
CO R R I D OR B ETWEE N TERMI NALS
H ertz
Travelex
DEPARTURE H A L L 2 an d 3 , A R R IVALS 2 (PUB LI C A R E A ) a nd G AT E 3 3
tel. +358 20 555 2100
World’s
Most
Northern
Pottery
CO R R I D OR B ETWEE N TERMI NALS
S ixt
Hair Salon
tel. +358 9 872 4433
CO R R I D OR B ETWEE N TERMI NALS
Conference Services
Do you need a quick trim, or even a major
makeover? Whatever you need, the airport’s
hair professionals are there to help you!
Salon Fly Hair
tel. +358 9 822 206
Are you planning an international event in a
quality environment? The facilities at Helsinki
Airport can be adjusted to meet the needs of
large conferences and small meetings alike.
H elsinki A irport Congress has nine
adjustable meeting rooms, the largest accommodating up to 140 people. The meeting rooms
provide modern audiovisual equipment and
communications. A professional conference
assistant will help you with all the practicalities.
tel. +358 207 629 732
sales@sspfinland.fi
D E PA RT URE HALL 2
T E R M I N AL 1 has one large meeting room
accommodating 20–30 people and three
smaller rooms for meetings with 2–8 participants. The large meeting room has modern
audiovisual equipment and communications.
tel. +358 9 8277 3117
vip.helsinki-vantaa@finavia.fI
D E PA RT URE HALL 1
V I P President T erminal is ideal for
large groups and state visits. Weddings and
other private events can also be organised
here. The facilities readily accommodate
10–100 guests. Visitors have access to two
conference rooms and a lounge as well as a
festive lobby plus a separate press room.
tel. +358 9 8277 3117
vip.helsinki-vantaa@finavia.fI
L I IK E L EN TOTIE 10
Hotelli Scandic Gateway sauna area
has room for 2–6 people. The meeting rooms
at Hotel Hilton Helsinki-Vantaa Airport
can accommodate 14–400 participants.
S candic G ateway
tel. +358 9 818 3600
gateway@scandic-hotels.com
SERV IC E FLO O R ( T E R M INA L 2 )
Internet and
Work Facilities
l Wireless network
Do you need to check your connecting flight
or e-mail a colleague? You can do just that
via the Helsinki-Vantaa wireless network,
available for you free of charge and covering all waiting areas, cafés and restaurants.
When your computer is within network
range, the message “Free wireless internet”
automatically appears on your screen.
Some 40 years ago, the Pentikäinen
family moved to Posio, bordering
Lapland. Their dream was to lead
a peaceful life in northern Finland.
The mother, Anu, eventually tired of
just being a housewife and started
making ceramics. A few years later,
the world’s northernmost ceramic
workshop was established in Posio
and the brand Pentik was born.
Today, Pentik is an international
family business with 80 outlets and
its roots still firmly in the soil of
Lapland. The Helsinki Airport shop
offers a wide range of ceramics
ranging from coffee cups to unique
ceramic art plates. GATE 27
l Internet kiosks
If you leave your computer at home, you
might want to use one of the ten Internet
kiosks available to you for a fee. You can
also make Skype phone calls from these
kiosks. You can use all common credit
cards to pay for the connection fee.
l Other work areas
You can get more work done at the eService Bar, with its six Internet connected
computers available for a fee. You can
pay the connection fee using any common credit card or buy time at the adjacent Go!Café during its opening hours.
eService Bar
Open 24/7
GATE 20
Waiting for Departure
S E RVI C E FLOOR (TERMI N AL 2)
H ilton H elsinki -Vantaa Airport
tel. +358 9 73 220
helsinkivantaa.airport@hilton.com
N EXT TO TERMI N AL 2
Currency Exchange
and Banks
C hange Group
G AT E 2 6 A N D DEPARTURE HALL 1
The Oak Barrel is known for its relaxed atmosphere and it has
the widest beer selection at Helsinki Airport. The professional
staff have at least twenty years’ experience in the field and they
are happy to make recommendations and give advice on the extensive selection on offer.
The focus is on English and German beers – without forgetting
Finnish brews! On tap, there is, for example, Irish Murphy’s stout,
Newcastle Brown Ale and Foster’s lager. The pub has operated in
the same location for ten years and has seen off many world-class
sport stars, among others, on their journeys. GATE 22
V I A HELSINKI
41
viaservice
Lost and Found
Oh, I’ve left my wallet on the coffee
shop table! Don’t worry – Finland ’s
F ound P roperty will help you.
For items forgotten at the airport or aboard
aircraft, passengers can contact Finland’s
Found Property Service by telephone or
by filling in an online enquiry form. The
best time to enquire about lost property is
the following day. Finland’s Found Property charges a fee for lost items stored.
F inland ’ s Found P roperty
Customer services
tel. 0600–41006 (within Finland),
0900–1090909 (from Sweden), +358
600 41006 (other countries)
www.loytotavara.net
Mediacal Services
and Pharmacy
L entoaseman apteekki
( Airport P harmacy )
An extensive range of medicines and other
care products associated with travelling.
A Taste of Big Game
The bear was a taboo animal for ancient Finns. Its name
could not be said out loud, for fear of angering the bear.
They gave the animal numerous euphemisms, some of
which have survived and are still used, such as ‘the king
of the forest’. In fact, the Finnish word for bear, karhu,
was originally one the many euphemisms, and it refers
to the coarse quality of the creature’s fur.
The bear was a dreaded and respected animal. When
a bear was killed they held a party in its honour to pacify
the mighty beast. You can take home part of this tradition in the form of bear paté. Bear paté can be eaten on its own or with bread, like
other patés, or it can be used as a topping for steak. This rare delicacy is available
at the AIRPORT SHOP. GATE 20
Refunds are available from Travelex in the long-distance flight area
Global Refund
GATE 25 Travelex
GATE 33
A R RI VALS 2 B
M ehiläinen Airport (C linic )
Lentäjäntie 1 E, 6th floor
Booking +35810 414 00
Taxi Operators
Travel services for private and business needs.
Airpro Travel Services’ 24 hour service point
sells bus and boat tickets, Lippupalvelu (Ticketmaster) tickets, Helsinki Cards and single-trip
travel insurance policies from the Eurooppalainen insurance company. Here you can book hotel
rooms in Finland and leave items such as your
car keys, winter clothes or skis for storage. .
A irpro T ravel S ervices 24 h
Suomen A irport Taxi
Parking Customer
Service
Travel Agencies
Fixed fare shared taxi
tel. +358 100 4800
ARRI VAL S 1 AN D 2 A
Open 24/7
tel. +358 600 03360 (1.46 €/min+lnc)
A R R IVA L S 2B
A rea
Many options for parking your car – and if
you need it, help to get you moving again.
Parking customer service helps in all matters concerning parking. Free vehicle starting service is available around the clock.
Special taxi services
Open 24/7
tel. +358 9 8256 5566
Business Travel Centre
telephone service 24/7
tel. +358 600-91611 (1.97 € + lnc)
lentoasema@area.fi
SERV IC E F LO O R ( T E R M INA L 2 )
S E RV I CE F LO O R ( T E R M IN A L 2 ) Yellow Line A irport Taxi
Kaleva T ravel Ltd.
Parking customer service 24h
Fixed fare shared taxi, tours, chartered drives
tel. +358 600 555 555
Business Travel Centre
tel. +358 205 61 5780
airport@kalevatravel.fi
Taxi Point
tel. +358 9 8277 3200
pysakointi.efhk@finavia.fi
ARRI VAL S 1 , 2 A and 2B
S E RV I CE F LO O R ( T E R M IN A L 2 )
S E RVI CE FLOOR (TERMI NAL 2)
Parking customer service T1
tel. +358 9 8277 3200
pysakointi.efhk@finavia.fi
Tourist Advice
A R RI VALS HALL 1
Tourist I nformation
Storage Services
Personal tourist advice, every day from 10–20
hrs. Helsinki brochures in 11 languages and
two info terminals available 24 hours a day.
The Helsinki Card is also available here.
ARRI VAL S IN T H E 2 A A R E A O F T E R M INA L 2
If you’re travelling to warmer climes
you can leave items such as winter coats, keys or skis here.
A irpro T ravel Services 24 h
Open 24/7
tel. +358 600 03360 (1,46 €/min+lnc)
A R RI VALS 2 B
Tax Free Refunds
Didn’t use all your tax free cheques?
You can get a refund at Global Refund.
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V I A HELSINKI
F inland Travel Bureau
Business Travel Centre
tel. +358 10 826 5920
airport@smt.fi
A R R IVA L S 2 A
Travel Insurance
A irpro T ravel S ervices 24 h
Tour operators
Open 24/7
tel. +358 600 03360 (1.46 €/min+lnc)
A R R IVA L S 2B
Toivelomat: Aurinkomatkat, Domina
Travel, Finnmatkat, Lomamatkat,
Matka-V ekka, TakeO ff, Tjäreborg
Detur
Hispania
Toiviomatkat
The desk opens approximately two hours
before the departure of the flight.
ARRI VAL S 2 A
T ravelex
tel. +358 6151 3853
D E PA RT U R E H A L L 3
tel. +358 9 6151 3858
D E PA RT U R E H A L L 2
tel. +358 9 6151 3856
Arrivals 2 ( Pu b lic Area)
tel. +358 9 6151 3851
G AT E 3 3
Fly with Blue1 to
Finland´s Winter Wonderland!
Next winter season Blue1 flies to the most popular tourist resorts in Northern Finland and Lapland.
Rovaniemi, capital of Lapland and home of Santa
Claus, will be joined by Kuusamo, Kittilä and Ivalo;
all exquisite destinations for an unforgettable holiday
in astonishing surroundings.
Travel periods:
Helsinki – Kuusamo
Helsinki – Ivalo
Helsinki – Kittilä
Helsinki – Rovaniemi
26.11.2009 – 11.4.2010
6.12.2009 – 11.4.2010
6.11.2009 - 18.4.2010
4.12.2009 – 11.4.2010
Europe will take a step closer to Lapland this winter, as
we will open nonstop flights from Düsseldorf, Paris and
Moscow to Kittilä, in the heart of Finnish Lapland.
Travel periods:
Düsseldorf – Kittilä
Paris – Kittilä
Moscow – Kittilä*)
17.12.2009 – 25.3.2010
19.12.2009 – 27.3.2010
27.12.2009 – 28.3.2010
Blue1 is a Finnish airline and
a member of SAS Group and
the world’s largest global
airline alliance - Star Alliance.
We offer an extensive network
for business and leisure travel
both within Finland as well as
between Finland and several
European destinations. You
can also profit from several
convenient connections
provided by our partners
when traveling to Finland.
All Blue1 flights qualify for
SAS EuroBonus points. More
information at your local travel
agency or at our website
www.blue1.com
*) subject to governmental approval
Blue1 also offers excellent connections from several
European cities to Helsinki. For further timetable details
and bookings, please visit www.blue1.com.
C O M M I T T E D T O YO U R C O M F O R T.
IN THE MIDDLE OF IT ALL
Aviapolis is a new global center of business and personal life being developed
in the immediate vicinity of Helsinki-Vantaa international airport. It provides
an international, centrally located environment for companies, residents, and
business visitors. Read more about how we see the world: www.aviapolis.fi
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V I A HELSINKI
In the center of your world