Helsinki seen from the eyes of a Finn. The Wandering Writer tells you ALL!!

I have been seen it dozen of times, blogs about Helsinki, as seen from the point of view of a tourist landing for the first time in Finland, roaming around according to the places he/she had been reading about in those "Visit Finland" brochure, which generally tells you everything and nothing at all.

I am not here to debunk the myth that Helsinki is a lovely city and worth to visit, but I am going to bring you where tourists don't dare; the real face of this fast-changing, growing, transforming and multifaceted city. The capital of one of the best countries in the world where to live (if you don't mind dark, long winters or short rainy summers).

Let's start from the heart of it, the city center and its lovely architecture.

and the most unusual that makes you surely wonder about

Describing Helsinki, besides its architecture, is very challenging because it has gone through extreme changes in a very short time, and people have been changing a lot during this relatively short time.  have seen them changing their opinions whenever they confront themselves with new realities that can challenge their point of view.

In the past 14 years I have seen transformations that I could not even think about, year after year the city has become a chameleon, adapting to new fashions and trend, sometimes becoming a trend itself, inspiring and amazing.

The old is always there, the pride of a country that has to be considered a model of welfare, and freedom (this cup was a gift of a friend of my husband when he was working at the American Embassy in Helsinki).

If you really want to live Helsinki, you need to move far from the city center, where all the touristic attractions are concentrated and move a little bit out to reach the district of Kallio.

For many years it has been considered the wild west of the city, being its most violent part. Nevertheless, even if now is quieter than it used to be, I still consider it the real heart of the city, maintaining its unconventional, out of the schemes, bohemian soul.

Sex shops and sex shows at every corner, the most colorful people roaming the streets (some positively different, some other... not really). Music, street parties, and better restaurants than in the Helsinki center can be found right here, in the "shady" part of the city.

I do not remember where I read once, it was a blog of a girl who visited Helsinki and defined Finnish coffee great, and "almost impossible to find a bad coffee here in Helsinki."

On that sentence, I beg to differ.

The great coffee she tasted was, much probably in those new-age cafeterias, which tells nothing about the real coffee tradition of the Finns.

The closest definition I can think about is "rat poison." Now I can admit having demanding tastes, as a person who was born in Italy, the coffee is the most important drink and needs to be done with care. The problem with the coffee; how it is generally done in cafeterias in Finland is that in the morning they brew the coffee and put the jar on a hot plate for the rest of the day. If you are lucky to be the first customer of the day, you are safe. If you are one of those who come in the middle of the day, after the coffee has been on a hot plate for hours, you risk serious injuries on your stomach and nervous system (JOKING!!).

The food experience... I truly suggest you move to Kallio to have a great food experience, I avoid naming the places, but if you are interested, you can contact me, and I will be more than happy to give you hints on great places where to have an awesome food experience.

The prices, well, they are Finnish prices; the whole country is very expensive so if you want quality, expect to pay for it.

Helsinki is a very romantic and beautiful city, particularly in the early morning

It is a funny city with a lot of sens of humor, ready to put masks on the statues of the main railway station when the KISS come to have a gig here:

But you know what I love the most? Its perfect blending with the natural environment. You have forests at a walking distance from the center and plenty of parks where to relax and enjoy wildlife.

The summer is short and mostly rainy, and the winter can be very magical, particularly when the snow blesses us with its presence.

giving to the city that lovely melancholic expression you will surely fall in love with.

Helsinki is an easy living city and falling in love with it is far too easy, leaving it is absolutely difficult and forget about it is impossible.
Helsinki comes through your skin, and never leaves you regardless whether you decide to stay or you have to move away, beautiful on its winter slumber and fantastic on its summer partying mood.
Visit Helsinki, but don't forget the rest of Finland, and if you like I can show you more places in this fantastic country.
What do you say, would you like t know more?

Have a great weekend,

Paula