#MyHelsinkiResidence is aimed at digital professional/influencers in creating authentic content without any schedule! I was super excited when I got the opportunity to visit Helsinki for a week in the middle of September. What even more amazing is that I get to bring a +1 – just when I was thinking about going Finland for honeymoon. Helsinki Marketing (aka Visit Helsinki) partners with a few other well-known names in the hospitality industry such as Marimekko, Aallonkoti Hotel Apartments (can’t wait to stay in the apartments with beautifully designed Nordic interiors), Visit Finland and Finnair for this amazing media program.
Photo credits: Jussi Hellsten, My Helsinki
Helsinki in Autumn
They called it “ruska“, predominantly in Lapland but I hope to witness more of it in Helsinki. It will be a phenomenal blend of tree colours that sends photographers scrambling for their gears. Being there in September also means that there will be less tourists than the summer months. The International Grand Market and International Film Festival will be going on during the visit, good time to check it out too.
First-hand Finnish local experience!
Experiencing Helsinki from a local experience might be attractive, but I am more intrigued about the Finnish joke: ‘An introverted Finn looks at his shoes when talking to you; an extroverted Finn looks at your shoes’. The social perception of the Finns is one interesting area to watch if it matches the stereotype. You can read more about the Finns here. In this trip, I wish to explore the local places to go – not to bring the influx of tourism there but to experience it. Be it biking in the city with vintage looking bicycles or checking out some coffee shop down the street, it feels very dreamy to me. A week is just the right amount of time to explore Helsinki, rather than 3 days or so which can be pretty rushed.
Photo credits: Lauri Rotko, My Helsinki
Finnish Sauna
Nude sauna is the Finns’ way of life, maybe that is how they do their leisure time rather than going on Facebook. Jumping into a cold pool after a good session of sauna is like dipping nachos in cheese – not sure if I will like it. Wild sauna or electric sauna, I want to try it all. Hello Sinki indeed, I got some kiasu-ness (A Singaporean slang/dialect that means afraid to lose out).
Photo credits: Eetu Ahanen, My Helsinki
Finnish Food
They have seasonal food, so here I am in autumn to try those speciality according to this guide. Getting ready for a ‘foodplosion’, just like the explosion of leaves colours ‘ruska’.
Photo credits: Eetu Ahanen, My Helsinki
The Unknown!
The last but not least, a Helsinki Survival Kit will be given to us. It will contain local tips, suggestions on what to see and do and hand-picked local design, food & urban nature experiences and items that are essential for city-dwelling. How exciting is this! Though this travel concept has been commercialised to provide that excitement of not knowing your itinerary, it is still working very well on human’s nature – curiosity.
In a nutshell, I am flying to Helsinki real soon, as soon as good times fly.
I am glad that You visited to Helsinki. In winter in the north, it is just there You could have real experincies. Here is one of them:
Reindeer race
It is free for everyone. Happy new week.
Hi Sartenada! Yes, I visited lapland for 9 days before heading to Helsinki! Got 5/8 nights with the northern lights, amazing time with reindeer and huskies and of course the nature of Finnish autumn. 🙂