Helsinki: The Don'ts of Visiting Helsinki, Finland
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- čas přidán 16. 05. 2024
- Helsinki is the capital of Finland and has so many fun spots to see, restaurants to eat at, and historic sights to enjoy. However for all there is to do in Helsinki, we also need to know what not to do in Helsinki. So here we go through the best parts, the worst parts, and the don'ts of visiting Helsinki.
Filmed in Helsinki, Finland
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Don't mistake Finns to be rude or unwilling to talk if you engage them and they take their time to respond. Most Finns are friendly and helpful, but the pace of discussions is slow and we like to think before we say anything. Silence is a part of discussion and we feel it's polite to be silent unless you have something important to say. Silence is rarely awkward here and Finns can have long pauses especially when talking to strangers. It's not like Finns don't like to talk, but it's easy to get that impression if you're used to more talkative expression.
This is an important "don't". Finns really appreciate politeness but there's little need for courtesies among common people. A smile is basically Finnish counterpart for "please" and "how are you?" is often taken way more literally than in Western European cultures.
@@Eppu_Paranormaali hieno nimi
Do You need to talk English to strangers - or IS Finnish enough ? Many People has money to travel - but They Dont remember that - They Are not at HOME anymore ?
@@holoholopainen1627 Strangers Will speak finnish when we have Money. To have Many PEOPLE that doesn't remember English are home ALONE, and not Proliferating
@@sixten8493 Dear Sixten ! What Do You mean ? What does money - have to be part of knowing some suomi / svenska / english ? At School everybody learns - to say Good Morning - God Morgon - without paying the teacher anything ! Where does the - shy Finns come from - and How Can You tell - The 1st Language by The Look ?
When you meet a local Finn who speaks English, you’re allowed to make one Finnish/finish pun, but that’s your quota. 😏
Okay I just made two, so Suomi.😁
@@timmmahhhh Careful now. Locals may not Lapp it up if you keep making puns.
@@StamfordBridge a fellow coaster enthusiast in the comments! hi!
@@coasterrunner3480 Hey! Finland now well and truly on the global coaster map, so it’s fitting.
@@timmmahhhh 😂😂😂
As a scandinavian (Denmark) Finland enjoys a unique reputation. I've yet to meet someone who dont like finns. Everybody loves finns. Even Icelanders who generally do not like anyone, not Icelandic, likes finns.
However Finns are extremely low key. The polar opposites of Italians for instance. They are not people who show emotions alot and they dont do wild exclamations at all. If a finn tells you that meeting you was "good", then thats about as hefty a praise you will get from them.
They do have one thing, some people have trouble undestanding. They are fiercely patriotic. And I mean fiercely. The american south have nothing on the finns. Knowing a bit about finnish history will go a long way. Knowing a bit about finnish heros like Mannerheim, Simo Hayha or Lauri Torni will go a very long way of making friends in Finland especially with more old finns.
American southerners are not patriotic at all.
Yes. Don't get shocked when we tell stories of our grandfathers who fought in wars... it is part of our life.
@Limon Cello So Finns are not liked?Where?
I mean like in every country, Finland is full of different kinds of people. Yes in general a peaceful manner is the custom, but in friend groups and night outs Finns are very social and loud. Just go to a Karaoke bar in Finland and you'll understand. And yes Finns have love for their country, but I wouldn't say majority are that patriotic. Everyone knows Mannerheim, but someone like Simo Häyhä or Lauri Törni are not names a lot of Finns know. At least not the avarage Finn, history geeks ofc know. The avarage Finn living in Helsinki is a poor student who's lifestyle could be considered as an alcoholic, but it's just the student culture. You'll see lots of college(yliopisto) students wearing these color coded onesies around town, bar hopping in the middle of the week and doing other shenanigans. The other avarage Finn is a middle aged worker.
The central Helsinki is quite busy, people are coming and going from work and school, then we can seem very quiet and reserved so I understand where the stereotypical Finn comes from. But just go a few stations away from central Helsinki, to Oulunkylä or Malmi, you'll see the real accurate avarage life of a Finn. Go to a shitty karaoke pub and you'll get to see what Finns are like
I don't particularly like Finns, but I like Finns more than Finnish politicians like Finns.
I'm a finn, I live in Helsinki and after watching this, I really want to visit Helsinki as a tourist. :D Thank you for a great video and love towards Finland and finns
Can we talk?
We just got back from Helsinki a few weeks ago. It was BEAUTIFUL! And i loved how quiet it was, it was so strange for me coming from Southern California, i always expect so much noise lol I cant wait to go back! Rakastan Suomi!
less cars, less noise, also culturally finns are quite calm
@@sammymarrco2 and i knew the Finns were quiet (as am i naturally) but didn’t expect THAT much silence in the capital city. It was so nice.
Yes! We flew from Los Angeles to Helsinki and the differences were great. Temperatures were wonderful for us in Helsinki as well. Check out our video and tell us what you think ...
@@shannonwest2655 , the lack of high buildings makes a difference and Finns don't "honk the horn" all the time, if ever.
I live 20 kilometers from Helsinki, and i think its way too loud and busy. If you explore Finland more you will find the actually quiet towns 😄
That is more like how we live.
The transport system in the city is amazing! The trams cover most of north and south Helsinki and the trains go as far as you dare to explore. I used them up to Vantaa Airport!
My don'ts:
Don't skip Linnanmäki amusement park (and especially those rollercoasters).
Don't expect that every apartment building has a sauna. We had to search for one on some other place.
Don't expect Helsinki to be a warm place... even in summer. It can take pretty chill in a while.
Don't worry about the transport to Suomenlinna fort by the boat. You just need to have standard ticket for bus or tram and you can use it for this ride too.
Don't buy more than one bus/tram tickets per day. Buy only one for the whole day and you do not need to care about travelling around the city any more.
Dowmtown Helsinki is mainly 100 year old buildings. They didn’t build saunas in every apartment back then. Newer apartments built during last 50 years usually have saunas
Helsinki as well as every other coastal town in the world is never truly warm because of the wind coming from the sea.
Tampere isn't that warm either despite being inland, because we have two large lakes that sandwich us inbetween.
Wind coming from a waterfront will always be colder.
@@anttikalpio4577From my personal experience it's kinda 50-50. My home is from the 70s and doesn't have a sauna. I've moved over 8 times and only 2 of my homes had its own sauna
^Just take into account buildings having a reservable sauna for appartments without one of their own and it'll be some 100-0 tho'?
Also just check the hotel infos / descriptions for the possibility in advance if you wish. But don't pay all too much, unless you absolutely want to. True sauna ain't exclusive luxury but inclusive culture.
Temperatures may change (even in saunas maybe). In the wintertime (~Dec-Feb/Mar) it now and then goes down and up by some 20-30 degrees outside within days, without very much notice. The cold with lots of snow is beautiful, the few plus degrees naturally a bit more like wet...
Budget tip:
Eat at a student canteen (Unicafe Porthania for instance). There are some cheaper restaurants but you just have to know them a bit. Lots of free or cheap stuff to see, e.g. Oodi library, museums but also some public free events. If you come on 1st of May, this is the best time to see students and former students gathering in Kaivopuisto! Finns also love coffee so don't get a takeaway from R-Kioski or something, go to a coffee roastery. :D
And always check the weather forecast before you come! It can be a scorching +30°C todays and in two days it can be horizontal rain and +10°C.
Also, if shopping groceries, you might want to go to Lidl. Usually cheaper than all those K-markets and Alepas.
@@Cikeb Or just go to a Prisma, S-Market, Sale or another store that's part of the S-Group. Way cheaper and better service than all of them combined.
I can get a 0,33L Cola from a Kesko store for 1,40€ while the S-Market next to my school sells the same exact products for 0,99€. And you get a better bonus programm with the S-Group compared to Kesko.
@@marialindell9874 If you are visiting Finland, you probably won't have an opportunity to become a bonus-member at the S-group, and therefore Lidl is way cheaper. K and S might have certain products that are cheaper, but overall Lidl has consistently beaten the K- and S-groups in price comparisons.
@@Cikeb I went to one on those during my short stay in Slovakia
@@CiaobellaAmour You'll find Lidl in many European countries.
A thing to notice about public transportation: Often people will tell you not to go to district X, Y or Z because it's restless area and you will get mugged. Not here. Sure there are some areas considered a bit more shady than the others but still even late at night you won't get harassed. At worst some drunkard will start talking to you and you can't figure out what he's saying, but they're not aggressive, so feel free to ignore them and walk past.
That's exactly how any normal city should be: secure and chill. Having to hide one's camera or phone to prevent it from getting snatched is not "common sense" (as some grifters try to pretend), but a state of emergency.
@@martinusv7433 True, yet in many places robberies tend to happen. Especially in tourist heavy places where there's a lot of "easy targets" for people wanting to make money via shady business.
Where do you live 😂
Every place be that a village or a city will have their own proplematic areas. To say we don't advice taking safer routes would be an abysmal lie.
@@martinusv7433 well said 👏👏👏👏
Fun fact: The Finnish word for November, "marraskuu", literally means "month of death". That's how awful November in Finland is.
It actually means the month when nature "dies", trees drop leaves etc. It can be quite beautiful in November and 4 distinctive seasons per year is something new and interesting for a lot of people from other places. Often it can be pretty gloomy and obviously chilly weather, but Helsinki is very rarely snowy this time of the year, like now it seems to be +10°C.
Does your mother know?
I think the biggest mistake most of the tourists make is only visiting just bout 2km away from the central train station. Theres plenty of stuff to see and do outside of the actual city centre, some of these areas are super underrated. Helsinki area is also full of Nature that is missing in most of the places in europe ive visited. Go explore it. Some places I would recommend seeing outside the actual city centre. Vanhankaupunginkoski/Vanhakaupunki/Toukola (The Old Town, most of my friends here dont even know anything about this area, like ruins of first church in Helsinki or where Helsinki original built place memorial is, Also you can get glimpse of Finnish countryside, Annala Villa, Kellomäki (hidden hill with nice views), Horse stables, gardens etc.), Lammassaari (Sheep Island), Tapiola, Puu-Vallila (Wooden Vallila), Puu-Käpylä (Wooden Käpylä) Suvilahti and Kallio areas (for hip and ug culture), Sompasauna (Free Public Community Sauna), Walk around Keilalahti and the small islands connected by roads (also in Espoo there is islands like Pentala, Stora Herrö etc. which you can visit just like Suomenlinna), Espoo Cathedral area, just to give few examples.. Also day trip to Porvoo (around 45min-1h from Helsinki) is kinda must if you gonna come to Finland and just visit Helsinki. Also if you tend to like brutalist architecture go and see Merihaka or Itä-Pasila. Also if you want to visit nice viewpoint got to Linnanmäki rocks next to train tracks, Pihlajamäki Rocks (Vanha graniittilouhos), Taivaskallio (also has old air defense structures on top).
And as local when i go to the city centre most often what i do there is going to senaatintori, kauppatori or tähtitorninmäki with takeaway cup of coffee and sit. Eat in Hietalahti Market Hall or go to Kiasma,
Also for friends of beer go to Pien Shop/Bar, Bar Juova, K-supermarket Kamppi, Ruoholahti K-citymarket or K-supermarket Redi, these places have some of the biggest and most special collections of different variety of beers what I've seen in Finland. And my fave/most beautiful place for metrostation here is Koivusaari, i think its the deepest also. You step outside the metro station and you are in very different world than few stops back in Ruoholahti or Kamppi
Love how you portrayed Helsinki! It’s a beautiful city in the summer!
I lived about 200 metres from where you filmed this video. Helsinki is a great city to live and to visit.
Cool!
Thanks man, I'm thinking about planning a solo trip to Helsinki and this was extremely helpful :) cheers from Portugal
Really, really useful tips. Having lived and worked a big part of my life in Helsinki, you really hit the right spots. Well done!
You nailed the one item I was listening for, the cinnamon roll. I’d almost go back again just to have another one. We visited during early December so although we had winter, it was a ‘magical’ visit. A winter wonderland (and our visit to Tallinn was like being in a snow globe). Love your videos!
A hilariously accurate description of what wintertime Tallin feels like. I've had that specific feeling in the back of my head since 2017 when I visited, but never found the words for it.
Great video! Always love to hear good things about my home country but this video was extremely great! Thank you:)
The video came out just at time ! I am going to Tallinn in a few weeks and I'll also spend some time in Helsinki with the ferry. Thank you for this, I can't wait !
Your video is great and the tips you shared are very helpful. Thank you for sharing them with us 😊
I'm a Finn but I don't really go to Helsinki that often. It was funny to me that in the tourist shops in Helsinki they were selling lots of Lapland merch. It's as if Finland only had Lapland and Helsinki and nothing worthwhile on that 1000 km stretch of land between them.
But that's more or less the truth, except maybe Helsinki isn't that worthwhile either (except to those from Helsinki, of course).
@@pyridonfaltis9761 Kiitos - Thank You ! Have You ever Even heard of PESAPALLO ? We Have had this game ( since 1920 ) - that The English call Finnish Baseball - to make sure - that They Are not talking about USA played Baseball ! As Mr Tahko Pihkala invented this game - after he visited Boston Mass - Red Sox game ! This IS - More than - 100 seasons ago - as there were many limitations - No Phone - No Camera - No Fax - to Get to know the game BETTER and even read -The RULES ! He had His Time ( two weeks ) - on The Way Back - to talk about this game - that he had seen - that was in Europe - pretty much - never heard of ! This IS similar STORY - as When The British travelled to Down Under - and saw a kangaroo - for very The 1st Time ! You know The STORY ? You see something with Your own EYES - but Have NO KNOWLEDGE - What IT IS ! Thanks to CZcams IS GREAT - You Dont need to travel to North Pole - to know - what IS like there ! Note - Watch DARUDE RUN - as SANDSTROM - and You may see what Helsinki IS Famous for ! Hasta la Vista
@@holoholopainen1627 Kannattaisko kirjottaa vaa normaalisti nii ihmiset sais selvääkää 😂
Ei pahal, mut toi on painajamaist luettavaa
@@marialindell9874 Kiitos ! Tämän kännyn kanssa menee hermot - joten joutuisi kaiken kirjoittamaan kahteen kertaan ! En tiedä saako asetuksia muutettua - sillä englanniksi tekee kaikki per... isoilla kirjaimilla ! Et ole ensimmäinen joka sanoo asiasta - minulle se on Nokian vika - en ota asiaa henkilökohtaisesti ! Kolmas vaimo lähti kävelemään - joten asiasta ollaan kyllä aikaisemminkin puhuttu !
@@holoholopainen1627 Itse lähtisin ettiin ongelman syytä puhelimen kieli asetuksista. Sulla voi olla englannin kielen asetuksissa jokin väärä hommeli päällä, joka sitten automaattisesti laittaa noi isot kirjaimet kaikkeen. 🤔
Jos et itse onnistu niin menisin vaikka jonnekkin Giganttiin aputiskille tai laittaisin itse Nokian asiakaspalveluun sähköpostia jossa selität tuon ongelman, kerrot puhelimen mallin nimen ja pyydät heiltä sitten ohjeita.
Itse omistan Androidin (Samsung) joten on vaikeaa ohjeistaa enempää kun ei ole tuota Microsoftin käyttöalustaa koskaan tullut puhelimessa käytettyä.
Oikea paikka asetuksista on löytynyt, jos siellä puhutaan jotain "Autokorrektista" (automaattinen korjaus, joka korjaa kirjoitusvirheet), ennakoivasta tekstistä sun muusta. Sitten siellä pitäisi myös olla mainittuna "Automaattiset isot kirjaimet" tai jotain sellaista. Niissä voi olla ratkaisu siis!
Toivottavasti löytyy jostain!
I did a Scandinavian tour of Oslo, Stockholm, Helsinki and Copenhagen last month and whilst I expected the least from Helsinki it was my favourite place out of the lost. It was such a winter wonderland and when it was dark and snowy it made for a great walk. No need for a metro or a bus ticket unless you’re going from the airport or the islands.
And I found the Finns to be friendly and patient for how awkward I normally get interacting with people.
I would definately go back and go inside some of the cathedrals (I’m not a big fan of interior designs as much as I am of architecture but I’d love to give Helsinki the chance on a longer trip).
Thank you for this high quality video tour of Helsinki. Very informative and entertaining.
It's great to see your videos again in Finland. I watched your videos on Finland years back and now I live here myself, very cool.
Here are some of my Don'ts as an American living in Finland, directed at other Americans especially.
1) Don't miss out on the night life if you're looking to socialize! Find a karaoke bar/live music bar and chill out there. Finns are are nocturnally social creatures. With a few drinks in them this is your best chance to to engage them in conversation.
2) Don't be overly pushy and intrusive, it can happen very easily in Finnish culture. Take a VERY relaxed approach, be polite, patient, and tone down the social energy to that of a blooming flower in spring and desire to talk over them or dominate the conversation, it can happen accidentally in your excitement.
3) Don't miss out on summer! It's by far the best time to visit. I'd recommend July ideally, but weather can be unpredictable. When the sun is shining all day and it's warm it's magical and it's great to swim in the lakes, visit the islands off of Helsinki conveniently via ferry near the market square.
4) Don't worry about getting lost, explore! Things are very compact in Helsinki and there's so many trams, metro, buses, bikes to get around back to where you started that it may feel like a lot but think of it as an ant hill, most of those things are going to and from the same places, like the rail or bus station in the center.
5) Don't neglect the other cities, like Porvoo or Tampere. Although a good distance away you can take a buses or a ship in the summer.
6) Don't miss out on Linnanmäki, the local amusement park, especially with kids, there's lots of medium to small rides there they'll love
Hi, you do a great job on your informative videos. It's a thrill to see other
Parts and culture of the world. Planning is the key in facilitating one of these adventures and getting a great travel package deal. 😯😇
Valuable advice about Helsinki!! 👌👌👌😍 Thank you for another informative Video, Wolter!! Greetings from Barcelona 👍❤☺🇪🇸
Cheers!
Your channel has been a life saver for me on so many of my trips. Thank you so much for this amazing content!! We are going to Helsinki en route to Singapore in 2 days and will be exploring the city. This has been incredibly helpful!! Thank you again!!
One of my favorite cities! Definitely agree to take a trip over To Talinn! What an amazing place! Always love your advice!
Wolters always delivers great content - well done again.
This video has been very insightful and helpful for me! Currently planning a trip abroad and Helsinki is on the list. 😊
Been watching you for years, always nice to see the different cities around the world.
Thanks!
Winter in Finland & in Helsinki is just stunning!
My first trip there was just amazing & it felt so surreal, as I'd longed to visit for many years, then my dream came true.
I do long to return to Finland & i will definitely head back as soon as I'm able.
These videos are helpful & interesting, but to me personally, are more so funny & very entertaining!
Thanks for great tourist info on Helsinki! you are awesome!
Thank you
Love your dedication to traveling ... ❤️
Thanks, enjoyed the video as a Finn living near Helsinki.
Regarding churches, the ones in downtown Helsinki are relatively new; if you have interest in old churches, there are two well within reach of the Helsinki area regional transit system; the Espoo Cathedral from about 1490 and the church of St.Lawrence in Vantaa (there's another with the same patron saint in Lohja, but that's well outside the capital region. It must be noted on these oldest churches that often what is left of the truly original is varying part of the main structure, built of large rocks; the interior has seen many changes, either just due to religious affiliations along the times, or as results of fires destroying the wooden parts.
The reason of not having that old churches within the downtown Helsinki is that the city of Helsinki was founded in 1550, and even the original city location was approx 5 km from the current Helsinki railway station.
Just discovered your video. I'm a huge Tove Jansson/Moomin fan and through being a fan have learnt a lot about Finland. The more I hear or read about it the more I think that me and Finland will get along well. One day my dream is to visit. Thank you so much for this wonderful video.
For a layover or weekend Do's: rely on rail - cheap and effective, gets you from the airport to Helsinki center in roughly 30 minutes. When in the city - you are surrounded by sea on all sides except north so you can't really get too lost by walking before running into a seafront east to west. And regardless where you end up - there is a tram to pick you up or give you a hint of direction frequently enough. Same goes for metro which travels in one straight line from East to West.
Find value in silence - in Finland its not awkward but a sign of respect and humility. It makes people have a deeper thought on when they say something - and Finns are exceptional listeners in a conversation - small-talk or conversation-fillers wont lead the conversation far but if there is a topic - there'll be a broad substance and variety of themes covered!
Dont's: Bragging without being ready to back it up. Finns are humble. If you ever hear someone on the street say "Yeah, Im pretty good at driving". Then its probably one of many rally, formula, or other motorsport world champion speaking. Helsinki is small and the pools of expertise and experience are small. What I'm saying is, if you are bluffing for attention it wont work with the Finns who are very very very genuine and honest.
Loved this video. I’ve been to Helsinki twice, 2012 and 2018, and my wife and I are going to visit together in the next summer or two after I’ve fully recovered from chemo (no worries, I beat it). My favorite way to explore the city is on the delightful trams, and if I can lose enough weight to be able to use the scooters and bikes, I will as my feet aren’t good enough anymore to walk a lot, alas, but I’m not going to let it stop me on my third and final trip to this wonderful city! Hopefully we can fit in a train trip to the far north and actually see the aurora borealis, but that probably isn’t all that likely in the long daylight of summer! You do excellent videos, especially in things Finnish. BTW, on a couple of my visits to the Rautatieaseman Hesburger the guy behind the counter complimented my Finnish as I had studied it for several months before my 2018 trip. If you ever want a cool and placid video of Helsinki and it’s neighborhoods, check out the CZcamsr AsItIs: he does walks without narration or music (thank god) and they’re very calming. Kippis!
As a tip: Go horseback riding!
I have EDS (= aka my skeleton could be in a health museum soon 🙄) and riding is very easy on the body, it offers therapeutic benefits and it's one of the best ways of enjoying our nature!
Stables in Lappland unfortunately have to price their services quite high, but stop on the way to go on a short hack or a forest adventure with coffee! Stables in the southern parts are way cheaper and may be a better choice for you. You can go ride without previous experience and most stables offer services in english and other languages.
Our national breed, the Finnhorse, is a light coldblooded breed that can be used for racing, forest work and easily carries adults. If you surpass the recommended weight limit, you can also ask around for a stable with even bigger breeds like Shires! (The weightlimit is there to protect the horse from back proplems)
With my EDS, riding is propably the only sport I can do without pain or fear of dislocations. It really helps me in other ways too and I feel bummed out sometimes that our equines are so overlooked and pushed aside when it comes to tourists.
Riding adventures are among the most environmentally friendly ways of exploring our nature and you can see way more hidden things with a horse compared to set hiking trails or going by car.
You also don't need a lot of preparing from your side as you can rent out most of the safety items you will need. Just do a little bit of googling and ask around on the local sites to make sure the establishment is ethical in their practices.
Just get some jeans/college pants, a good jacket, some gloves (neoprene gloves with silicone is perfect!), some shoes with a heel and plenty of snack to bribe with! All of these items should be found among your every day clothes, so no need to buy new stuff.
Only thing is that you should put down some time for these things. If the trip takes an hour, make sure you are free for three.
Getting there an hour early is key, as you may need to do the tacking up yourself. It's nit hard, but a good thing. It's been studied that a rider is less likely to be injured when they groom and tack up the horse themselves before riding.
I could go on and on, but the point is that you should really try it out or atleast consider it!
Thanks for the great video! Couple of things you could have also mentioned: the worlds simplest metroline 🙂, Helsinki jäätelötehdas icecream and Vallisaari.
theres plenty of cities with just one metro line, not that special.
Helsinki metro was established in 1982 so it’s quite new compared to other metro systems in Europe. Also the first part of the extention to the western neighbouring city of Espoo was completed in 2017 and the second part should be soon.
The Metro - You need to know Where You are going - to The Future or The Past ! NEW METRO LINE - Will Be OPEN SOON !
@@forssi358 Have You seen photos - of The traffic at Itäväylä / Länsiväylä - before The METRO ? Dont METRO carry - close to six million ( 6 million ) passangers - per Year ?
Love the video! You shared some good points about the city I call home. One disagreement though - if you are here between January - April and outside of the tourist shopping area (Esplanadi/Aleksanterinkatu), the sidewalks are likely to have a layer of ice on them. If you have poor balance or are concerned about falling, bring some slip-on spikes for these spots. Very few sidewalks/pavements are cleared of ice in the winter. Also - November is lovely! Moody and dark - just the way we like it here in Finland. ;)
I’ll be there on sept 24!!!!! I can’t wait! So excited!
Great video. Greetings from Helsinki.
I have only visited Finland once, and that was nearly 25 years ago. I travelled extensively around Finland, using both train and bus. I was very worried about how place names were pronounced. On my very first day I discovered that if I pronounced place names according to GERMAN rules of pronunciation, I got the right result!
its very phonetic if you know the accent, easy when the words aint too long
Words are pronounced they way they are written, or to be more precise they are writen as they are pronounced.
A "how do you spell this word" would be utterly silly in Finnish.
If you learn to pronunce å, ä and ö properly you will do well.
Then there is double letters that are pronounced as "long".
A Finn will prououance "Facebook" as Facebooook" because there is two letters "o".
If there was just one they would get it right.
Had to add that the way "ä" is prounanced is like "a" in had and add.
The letter "å" like the "o" in bogus.
And for "ö", it's the "e" in her..
@@hurri7720 Double vowels are technically pronounced as a diphthong with the same vowel with first one in ever so slightly pitch as the latter. Most native Finns will claim that those are just pronounced "longer" but that's not what's actually happening. You can pronounce double vowels very short as long as you pronounce those as diphthong with slightly lowering frequency. If you cannot pronounce the diphthong, you can pronounce the double vowel as extra long and it will prefectly understandable, too. And if a word has double consonant, there's *always* a syllable break between those letters and you *always* pronounce the consonant for the both syllable.
And there's no such thing as silent letter in Finnish. If a word has 5 letters, you pronounce 5 voiced letters.
As for the hard stuff in pronouncing Finnish: you have to be able to break a word into syllables to correctly pronounce it. For simple stuff like "hevonen" (horse) you can usually use greedy method of always taking a consonant and all the vowels following it as a single syllable. The correct hyphenation would be "he-vo-nen" (if a word ends up in a consonant, it's always part of the last syllable). However, Finnish has combination words where you have first split the combined words to get syllable breaks between the words and then split the words as usual. Good luck doing that without a dictionary! The most simple example would be "paloauto" (fire truck) which would be pronounced/hyphenated as "pa-loau-to" if it were a single word but because it's combination word "palo" (fire) + "auto" (car or other similar vehicle), there will be a syllable break between letters o and a, too.
@@MikkoRantalainen , I see.
Always enjoy your vlog. You give out tons of info which comes very handy when traveling. It's amazing to see how many different places you go with your family. If you don't mind me asking, do you have a day-job that takes you to all these locations? My wife says you must be a pilot for a large airline to be able to travel to so many places. Hope it's not to personal asking. 🍻🍻🍻
Wow you travel more than me!This was the first i see of your channel.I will be back.Keep up the
good work.Where is home base?
I miss Helsinki 😢
lived 6 months there
You’re explaining it very lovely way sound good nice
Next, make a Don't video about Porvoo, the second oldest city in Finland located about 50 kilometers from Helsinki.
When we get back
@@woltersworld And remember don’t mention the war. I don’t know why Finnish food has a bad reputation. Also Uspenski Cathedral has had icons stolen so not touching them lest you arose suspicion might be another good piece of advice.
@@oscarosullivan4513 Which war? The one in Ukraine?
@@hermaeusmora4874 The Finnish civil war
I have one donts about porvoo, dont go there.
Helsinki Esplanadi Park, Senates Square and old market square by the sea are amazing in winter , especially at night when its quiet, snow falling and lots of christmas lights.
I went to Helsinki in November. I loved it. Of course I would also like to visit in summer but I loved the late fall atmosphere.
Am planning to go next year, at the end of November. How cold was it? Could you walk around?
@@edenvazquez6134 oh yes but dress warm. I really liked the the bus tour which previously I thought was only for old people but it was a good was to get your bearings and to see some things a little out of the way such as the Sibelius Cathedral.
I like this guy Lmao He’s funny 👍 Thanks for making a video on my home city!
Some great advice here - we warmly welcome you to our city!
I'm glad many people in Helsinki speak English. I was in Copenhagen a couple of weeks ago and found the same there. I'm looking forward to going to Helsinki in July and like the idea of visiting that island. I was wondering if the Chapel of Silence is open now because I think I read somewhere that it wasn't 🤔
I agree with you, summer is the best time to visit Helsinki
I really wish this video came out 2 months ago, when I was in helsinki.
Video is great, made me realized I missed out on some fun things. I also learned some finnish drunk.
The public sauna was geeat
Awesome video
Thanks Tobi
I was debating whether I should do a day trip to Tallinn. Now I'm definitely doing it.
A very pretty park.
It looks like a good holiday destination in the summer , good food, culture and possibility to combine it with tallinn much lakes and green in Finland
Your clips of Aleksanterin katu looked like the were from 4.6.2022. That was also the day that we celebrated my son's college (lukio) celebration party by the Senate Square and saw all the military formations. Glad to know you were there too.
I used to live there in the 70s (Töölö and Espoo). I've been back a few times since 2009, including in April this year. Love the place and the Finns.
How was Helsinki like in the 70s compared to now?
@@oyveyshalom Ooh, don't get me started. I loved it because there weren't many foreigners so I felt a bit special. I am an Australian who worked for Paulig Yhtiö when their main office was in Katajanokka. I worked as a labourer for carpenters, painters and bricklayers who were the maintenance crew for Paulig. I also did snow clearing around the city office in Katajanokka in winter. I had a Finnish girlfriend who didn't speak English, nor did my working-class fellow workers (some of whom where Winter War veterans) so I had to learn Finnish fast, which I did - I taught myself. My first major linguistic experience was when I had been in Helsinki only one week and a drunk guy in front of the Helsingin päärautatieasema yelled out to me: "Paska ulkomalainen!"🤪I remember in winter it was very hard to get fresh fruit and salad items. Supply chains weren't very good and Finland was not as wealthy as now. I think winters were colder than now too. I used to love walking in the city in the evening when there was lots of snow. Something I can't experience in an Australian city. I will back on May 18, 2023 for a week. I can't wait
Thank you for sharing
Is Tblisi, Georgia on the agenda soon? I'd love to see your take on Eastern European and Caucuses countries.
A really beautiful city. Very transport friendly, especially if you buy the Helsinki city card, which will probably save you money (entry into most of the popular sites plus public transport, the trams are good fun to ride).
Helsinki24 Card IS 8€ - that covers - All Trams - Metro - Buses - and Suomenlinna ferry ( 20 minutes ) ! The Best Way to Get around !
@@holoholopainen1627 im not sure but i think hsl has cheaper, same use but like 7 euros maybe AB zone
@@KalaBala Thanks / Kiitos ! When did You buy Your last One ? I bought mine last winter !
@@holoholopainen1627 I bought one few weeks ago, But I bought the child ticket what was like 3.50€ i think
One day, Freiburg, the next Basel, and now Helsinki! I have some respect for you man, keep traveling!
Always. Thanks!
Thanks Wolter.. long time no see!
Soo, you are now stuck in Helsingfors?
Its this.. you are great, and I hope that you enjoyd all your trips!
In anyway, you was in my country (sweden) and even to my city (Gothenburgh)!
I could have corected you in minor cases, but you promoted tourist travelers things to visit and try to eat!
Its still this.. you kind of promote those things tourists should try!
I’m thinking about going in March 2024. Is the city still exciting to go to?
Oh man! I was planning to go next year at the end of November 😪
I just returned from Stockholm and Helsinki. Although it is February, there was something cool to me about snow falling on Finnish boreal forests. It was a real "winter wonderland" to me.
One don't is, don't tell a person from vantaa that you are flying to helsinki. The airport is in vantaa, part of the capital region but not Helsinki.
I think you just answered my “Where do I want to go” next year. Would 2 weeks be too long? Even with that day trip to Estonia?
No, in Finland we have lots of smaller citys where you should visit, dont just stay in Helsinki. You can take train from Helsinki to almost every city, example Tampere, Turku, Jyväskylä and Rovaniemi.
@@rinkulapro Agreed! And if you like nature, do some hiking or rent a cottage by a lake with your own Sauna. It will be cheaper to live in Tallinn or perhaps Turku and do a day trip into Helsinki. You can even take the boat over to Stockholm, the cruise itself is a very Finnish experience with Karaoke and "Tax Free" shopping.
Don’t live in Finland for 7 years before planning a trip to Helsinki! 😂😅 Apart from flying in and out of the country we have only been to Helsinki once in the 7 years that we have lived here and that was for urgent Embassy stuff so we only actually spent a few hours wandering around… My second donut is; Don’t forget which underground car park you parked in and spend 1.5 hours trying to find it/or the pedestrian entrance again… 3rd don’t, - don’t miss the opportunity to pop into the public library by the sea, it is free and beautiful (and one of the few things open in the late afternoon on the 2nd January). Seriously though, great video and we are planning an overnight trip to Helsinki between Christmas and new year hopefully getting cheap bus tickets (Onnibus) and cheap overnight place so we can spend the best part of two full days there.
Welcome back to finland man!
Get a day or multiday transit pass at the train station when you arrive.
Thank you. Love from HKI
Was amazed by your knowledge. Pretty much everything on point
We usually go to Helsinki at least once a year, apart from a couple of years, for obvious reasons. We don't mind being there in November, still a great place. We were there when Finland qualified for the Euros, what a night that was! This year we are going in early December.
Am planning to go next year, at the end of November/first week of December. How cold it usually gets? Could you walk around?
@@edenvazquez6134 We were there the first week of December. it was between -8C & -11C at night a little warmer during the day. In the centre the pavements are clear. Mt wife was on crutches so we stayed to the central area and she was fine getting around
By the way it i.ever get the time too travel. I can't think of one family I would like too spend time and vacation with but your family. Such an awesome family too spend so much time with. Just a family that want others to have that great adventure of others countries. 😇
Fins love things to be calm and quiet….immediately hear loud child screaming in the background 😅
Great video, Mark. I hope I can go to Finland one day, I’ve yet to be in this part of the world.
It's a gift I have. Like traveling and filming on rainy days 😀
Just like in Northern Europe in general, kids have a lot of freedom in Finland. If they're outside and not right by a busy road or really bothering other people, we mostly let our kids play and explore freely. And even if we do love our peace and quiet, I feel like most people are quite tolerant about crying children just being something you might run into in any public space.
I hope you get to visit one day, tervetuloa :)
Cool
protip for any Catholics and other Christians: visit the st. Henry's Catholic cathedral! it's my home parish, and it's relatively simple compared to other european Catholic churches, making it easy to delve deep into prayer. it's easy to get to, it's usually not busy, and it's a nice place to cross off your bucket list! if you want some history of the cathedral, there's little laminated papers that explain the history and architecture at the back, in finnish, swedish and english! God bless
Full of energy v log
A bit about the prices... Market places and most restaurants around them are expencive, even by Finnish standards. However, if you go looking, there are a lot of more affordable places to eat. You should consider 10€ for main dish (or lunch buffet) to be cheap. With 15€ you can find almost anything that is not fine dining, and anything over 20€ starts to be on the expensive side (but still OK for special occations). Water should be free, but you can expect beer etc. cost somewhere between 5 and 8 €, depending on the place. If you want to try what ordinary people eat around here, try to look for construction workers (easy to spot, they don't have a cantine at their workplace, and they eat on budget). Since quite a large percentage of construction workers in Helsinki are not Finnish, the restaurants they eat in most likely have menus etc. in English. These restaurants tend to have little to no marketing, and most of them operate only during the lunch time (opens around 10:30 or 11:00, closes between 13:00 and 15:00). There you will find normal Finnish food that ordinary people are willing to pay for, and that will keep you going.
Some food items to look for:
"Paistettu muikku" = fried vendace, very traditional food item sold in marketplaces.
"Kotikalja" = home made beer, a traditional dark brown non/very-low-alcoholic drink. Can be found in lunch buffets.
"Ruisleipä" = rye bread, traditional bread that is rare outside Finland (at least to my knowledge). Comes in many different shapes, forms and tastes. My recomendation is to find whole bread (non-sliced) or anything that mentions "jälkiuuni".
"Saaristolaisleipä" = bread of the archipelago? It's effectively a much sweeter variation on the rye bread, but more difficult to come bye. If you see some in a store or marketplace, definately give it a try.
None of these is fine food, but they all qualify as the small things that make life so much better.
Don't hesitate to look further away. You can get to Turku in about 2 hours by train (trains approximately every 60 min), Tampere in about 1h 30min - 2h (about 30 Intercity trains a day, and about 10 commuter trains a day), or Lahti in about 1 h (12 Intercity trains and 17 commuter trains a day).
You can also search for your preferred activity (weather its some sport, art, entarteinment, monumets etc.) around helsinki, and check HSL (public transit authority) route planner.
How easy is it to take the ferry to Tallinn? Also how easy it is to fly into Helsinki for 1/2 the trip and ferry to Tallinn and depart from there? Do you go thru customs once off the ferry? Thanks! I didn’t know it was a ferry ride!
There are several ferry companies operating on the route to Tallinn. Viking Line departs from a port close to the centre and Tallinnk and Eckerö depart from the Western Harbour. Travel time is 2-2.5 hours depending on the company. There are many trips daily starting early in the morning and until late evening. In Tallinn, they all arrive in the same port (but different terminals). There are no customs controls because this is an EU internal trip.
I saw some Northern Lights in Helsinki last winter.
You should do rovaniemi
How large would one say the inner city is? I mean I can Google, but the "feel"... Is it like half Amsterdam, or half Stockholm? Sevilla?
The actual center is very small (probably half Stockholm), but you'd be doing yourself a disservice by just exploring that part. Helsinki's real beauty is in the surrounding neighborhoods and all the hidden gems therein.
All the main attractions are pretty much between the train station and the ”tori”. You could do that trip in 15 minutes by foot.
Everything else is pretty boring, unless you want to tour the local sidewalks and grocery stores.
10:34 if you want cheaper snacks go to normal store not R-kioski
Finalnd has one of the biggest and fastrst ferries and ferries in here really look like a cruise ships but smaller
Now I regret a little bit the airplane tickets that I bought after watching your video haha! Because I'm planning on going to Helsinki in November 😅
No problem, the city lives trough the year. You can visit the same places. Just remember to dress up warmly.
@@Alistajaupseeri Okay, thanks man
@@hamzakhomsi Yeah the sea makes Helsinki surprisingly cold, even if we other FInns mock them "not handling the lame -15c" but it's pretty much frozen hell. Sure, in November it won't be snowy or -15c in Helsinki but probably has wind from the sea and it gets to you. It's a wonderful city all year around, just bit gloomy between summer and snow season XD
If you are on a budget go to a grocery store instead of R-Kioski.
*go to Lidl
are you coming to the åland island too?
Sadly no
Don't forget WRC rally in august at Jyväskylä area
September is still good.
Helsinki has been a safe city, but lately there's been quite a lot of incidents of teens and young adults robbing people and sometimes beating or stabbing them. In the past when I was younger basically no one even carried knives but these kids have been found with actual firearms.. I haven't heard or read anyone getting shot in a robbery yet tho but I guess it's just a matter of time. Just look at Sweden. Usually Finland follows 10 years after...
Nice
I've even had Finnish food and my girlfriend has made some, need to ask her to make some more, because Finnish food is amazing.
The reindeer meatballs are really good if you find some.
I'm going to John Scott's if I ever get there.
I am totally coming at the end of November. hahaha.
Turku cathedral is next level compared to one in Helsinki. It was built in 13th century and is very beautiful inside.
If you are like me and vastly prefer Autumn & winter to summer or especially spring. I know there are many others who will agree , Helsinki or i.e Tampere are just beautiful right now in October ^^ .
In particular Black Metal will be a unifying force of grim darkness of the north.. 🤘🤘
I went last month along with other Nordic capitals and I’m glad I went then rather then last on this year. It was such a beautiful ambience to walk around with the snow and dark
Nah man R-kioski is not the way to go, that shit 300x the normal price