Solfari.com presents Helsinki, Finland

John, Kevin and I steamed into Helsinki with a smile on our face and a hop in our step. We stocked up on a case of Lapin Kulta beer overnight (duty free, of course) and made our way to the Lord Hotel.


Central Train Station Helsinki, Finland	Email Photo

Initially, Helsinki had a very warm feeling to it compared to Norway and Sweden. The first day was sunny and warm and we met a very friendly concierge at our hotel. However, there were few people in the streets and a decidedly less friendly aura emanating from the architecture and environment.

The buildings are more stoic and intimidating than in Scandinavia proper, which does not include Finland. In fact, the architecture of the Gotham buildings in the Batman movies was inspired by the Helsinki train station. However, their difference from Sweden and Norway makes the architecture compelling in it's own right.

We walked around the city center that first day enjoying some of the sunniest and warmest weather of the trip. Finding our way to the open air fish market, we stopped for the first of 3 lunches there. The food is caught in the Baltic Sea each day and brought back to the harbor to sell cooked for tourists or uncooked for the locals.

The men in the boats and the old ladies buying fish for the evening dinner both had the same modus operandi: do your business while interacting as little as possible with other people. No smiles. No laughing. Laser like focus. Watching this each day only increased our feeling of fear.

Regardless of this feeling, Kevin, John and I didn't let it stop us from having a good time (are you surprised?).

With our case of Lapin Kulta chilling in the fridge, Kevin, John and I sat down to watch the previews of the Euro 2000 final with France against Italy. As is our custom, we turned on the video camera, opened a local beer and started talking about everything under the sun.

Implicit in this near religious belief of pub preparation is the cat-and-mouse game of 'who gets the good seat'. Strategy is very important here to ensure you maximize your time in the most favorable location to the beer, window and tv remote as well as controlling the most comfortable chair.

Kevin, the reigning champion of cat-and-mouse, has the strongest bladder and has been known to takes two beers for himself rather than lose his seat after the first beer.


Fisherman's Market Helsinki Finland	Email Photo

John, the rookie thrown into the game without a rule book, used his negotiating skills learned as an attorney to form an alliance against me in the 'Slug Bug' game.

I, on the other hand, am as innocent as a lamb on a warm summer day frolicking in the tall grass fields of Montana, not trying to hurt no one, just trying to get by. My innocence would not last.


Kevin and John Hydrating with Lapin Kulta Lord Hotel, Helsinki, Finland	Email Photo

While playing the cat-and-mouse game, we plotted strategy of where to go that evening. The guidebooks that we had weren't exceptional in guiding but the local tourism map had advertisements for several places that seemed interesting: Molly Malone's and Star Club. The one thing that we did know is that Irish pubs are the best places to go so Molly Malone's was in our cross hairs.

Around 11 we left to experience the Helsinki nightlife. I realized that I had forgotten my camera as we exited the hotel so I quickly returned to the room to fetch it. When I returned to the street, I saw John and Kevin standing on the curb about 10 feet from a building wall. They were taking turns tossing coins towards the base of the wall to see who could have their coin finish closest. Kevin dreamed up this game while I was in the hotel and coerced John to play. Whoever ended closer after 3 rounds kept all the coins. As an unbiased observer, I must report that Kevin won less than a dollar and John learned his lesson about playing Kevin's games...

We continued on to the first bar, Star Club across the street from the train station. Inside, we found a blackjack table in the first room. Having had ppor luck in Stockholm, we continued into the second room which was extremely dark, small and nearly empty. We had a beer and waited for 20 minutes to see if it would pick up. After seeing several seedy people enter we agreed that the blackjack table was looking more and more appealing.

So we sat down to play a few hands and asked the dealer where Molly Malone's was. The dealer reluctantly told us that it was down the street. After losing a few more hands, we cut our losses and fled for safety of an Irish pub.


John and Kevin Under A Blood Red Sky Helsinki, Finland	Email Photo

As we neared Molly Malone's, we could hear the beautiful sounds of Oasis coming from an open window on the second floor. If we had to choose one band from the jukebox at an Irish pub, it would be U2, naturally. Our second choice, surprisingly, is Oasis for all the great tunes on their first two albums.


Cover Band at Molly Malone's Helsinki, Finland	Email Photo

After waiting in a short line outside and learning not to ask women if they were from St. Petersburg, we quickly went upstairs to listen to the band. They had just finished a set and the area around the stage was clearing out.

Kevin, John and I grabbed a beer and camped out in front of the stage waiting for the next set. What happened next can only be explained as classic Kevin...

As we waited, a woman walked up and began speaking to us in Finnish. Needless to say, we didn't understand and let her know that we didn't know what she was saying. She was nice enough to say that she couldn't see her purse behind our feet and wanted to check to verify that it wasn't gone.

Kevin, in all of his infinite wisdom and with a mind quicker than paint drying, said, "Look, we're American's. We have everything that we could possibly want. Why would we steal your purse?" Contrary to what you might expect, she didn't throw a drink on him or slap him hard enough to own two layers of his skin. Instead she began a short rant about how she hated American's, blah blah blah.

Knowing that Kevin has a propensity to say the wrong thing from time to time, I stopped her as she stormed off and told her, "Look, I'm sorry about my friend. He can be a jerk sometimes. Don't think that we're all like him because I'm Canadian." :-)

Her response? "Oh, I love Canadians." :-|

So I bought her a beer and we all began to talk until the band returned. During the next set, her friend, Maritta, came over and hung out with us.

Maritta was a nursing student who went out for the fabled "1 beer", which of course turned into 5...


Meritta, Craig and Kevin Molly Malone's, Helsinki, Finland	Email Photo

We had a fantastic time the rest of the night listening to the band and talking with our new Finnish friends. The rest of our stay in Helsinki would have other stories to tell, but wouldn't be as positive and fun as that night.

Kevin left for home shortly after France stole the Euro 2000 championship from Italy. John and I followed him back to the States the following day with an amazingly fun filled trip named S2K now in the history books.

Solfari : Places : S2K : Helsinki

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