Pop Tour of Helsinki

From the video to "Heartbeat" by Norwegian pop singer Annie. It took me no more than four seconds to recognize my city of residence.

Ladies (and particularly gentlemen), prepare for the only street-tour you're likely to take with a Scandinavian pop-vixen.


This is Mannerheimentie, the main street of Helsinki. The tower with a dome in the background is owned by a Finnish student body, and houses Joonas' student society and it's infamous "Pharmacy". The building just at our singer's right shoulder is the Swedish Theatre.


I forget the street name, but this is by Kauppatori, the market square down by the harbour. Obviously a good place to go to get fresh baltic herring of a weekend, but it holds surprises. The brick building on the right is a covered market, where everything from fine meats and cheeses to sushi, to hand-made chocolates to really nasty coffee can be had. On weekends the outdoor coffee stalls open at 5, so it's not uncommon for a party to sober-up and disperse here. That there's a typical old-school Helsinki tram (if you're watching the video note the oh-so-old here electronic ticket reader in the inside scene). They replaced some of them with fancy-schancy trams from Germany, which literally started disintegrating after about a year, and had to be sent back for overhall.


Ferry back from Suomenlinna, the UNESCO protected Island fortress to the south, but also simply "home" to many people. The ferry itself is part of the public transport network, and runs from morning till night. No night-link though, and it's a bit of a swim. Until the sea freezes.


The restaurant in the central railway station...


...outside said railway station...


...and inside said railway station (people walking all around). Designed by Eliel Saarinen, it really is that funky in it's Late Finnish Art Nouveau elegance. There's delightful detailing you can't really appreciate from the video - the period lighting in this hall for example. The entire square around it was exclusively filled with beautiful architecture until some genius decided to shoe-horn the most ugly modern block in right across the street some time in the 60's (I guess, I'm not motivated to research mediocrity).

Finally, I think the club is DTM (you want a screen-grab? But there's nothing to see?) - those side-lit-red tables are pretty unique - maybe I can get confirmation from Alex...

All in all a thrifty little video, which seems to have cost little more than a tram-ticket (which would have covered the ferry). It, and many more can be found here. Click at your peril, hours will be lost...


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