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Helsinki SAUNAS, SALMON AND CELL PHONES Helsinki's fast food chains, 10 € movies, and gyms make it similar to a lot of U.S. cities. But in the land of Nokia, more than 70 percent of the people use cell phones (almost the same percent it seems really are blond-hair and blue-eyed).  And while Helsinki residents may seem shy (or maybe that´s cause I was just in Italy), they do get fired up with their saunas, salmon and hockey. Cell phones. I read that more than 70 percent of Finns have cell phones, and half have two (one for work, one for personal, like email). I ask Frederick who says yes, you can buy a coke from a coke machine with your cell phone, and even pay bills (tho not everyone uses all these features all the time). The big cell phone use is SMS text messages, where you can send short text messages to friends by typing words out on the keypad using a word-recognition software that figures out what words you mean as you type in the numbers. The Finns averaged 100 text messages per person per month last year. And it does solve the problem of the annoying person who answers a cell in the theater. Here, people set their phones to vibrate in the theater, and when they get a call, they whip out their phone and type in a silent quick response. Here are some Helsinki guys I met while on a day
tour of Estonia. Food. First I try the traditional food, showing Finland´s water and rustic roots. At the market square for lunch, I try the fried herring and salmon soup, both delicious. For dinner, I got game: moose (tastes like double-flavor beef) with ligonberries at Zetor, the tractor themed restaurant/bar featuring "Beer, tractors and Rock and Roll." Fast food competition is high: McDonalds serves up a McRuis (McRye) burger (with rye buns cause rye bread is a local tradition). Rax offers an 8€ all-you-can-eat pizza, wings and salad buffet that´s so American I´m surprised we didn´t invent it. But I suspect the locals prefer Hesburger, which serves up burgers with a special sweet sauce. And for the chocolate fix, nothing beats a Fazer chocolate bar. Very smooth and creamy. No that wasn´t a paid commerical. Wanna Sauna Nightlife. Walking around at midnight, I notice every deserted- looking block actually has one or two bars or fast-food kabob shops packed with people. I guess since it doesn´t really get dark in May until around midnight, it doesn´t seem that late. I also catch up on a bunch of movies I´ve missed, including Scorpion King, Panic Room and Blade 2, paying regular L.A. 9-10 € prices. And posters for Episode II are everywhere. Suomenlinna Sea Fortress and turned the fortress into an park. It´s also one of UNESCO´s 721 World Heritage Sites, which are more historical/boring than impressive/cool Wonders of the World, (like "First church to use wood in this rural region") but hey, still noteworthy. Day Trips After Helsinki, I visit neighboring Stockholm. |
 Senate Square Cathedral from the port.
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