NORDIC CALLING

A visit to Helsinki and a detour to the nearby medieval city of Porvoo delivers both a modern and traditional take on Finland, says Helen Dalley.

There is one very good reason to visit Finland: to find out just what makes the Finns so content with their lot, despite its cool, rainy climate and the dark months between October and February. For five years straight, the World Happiness Report has singled out the Nordic country, which lies a smidge north of Sweden, as the happiest on the planet. But why? The report muses, “Maybe it’s because the country has worked hard to create a society that possesses an infrastructure of happiness. Social systems in Finland and the rest of the Nordics support democratic governance and human rights, plus education and healthcare that are free or charge only very nominal fees.”

With an abundance of natural beauty – Finland is famous for its pine forests and many lakes – it’s also easy for the Finns to enjoy nature, and they love taking icy dips then retreating to the cosy warmth of a sauna. Nature becomes all the more enticing when there’s low pollution levels and clean air too. As for its capital, Helsinki was voted the third-best city to live in the world behind London and New York respectively last year thanks to good housing and transport options, and there is plenty to offer visitors, including its world-renowned design district, a buzzing harbourside and a dynamic dining scene, with restaurants championing foraged ingredients and local produce.

As I enter the lobby at Hotel St. George (stgeorgehelsinki.com) I’m given the coolest Helsinkian welcome by Ai Wei Wei’s Tianwu, a white dragon created using traditional kite making techniques. Checking into an Atelier room that overlooks Old Church Park, I’m tickled to see a SodaStream machine and make myself some bubbly water before admiring the shimmering dark brown tiles in the Mexican marble bathroom.

The next morning, I’m met in the lobby by Heidi Johansson from city marketing company Helsinki Partners and we take a walk down to the harbour, where stalls selling freshly caught fish and snacks like reindeer hotdogs await; in nearby Old Market Hall, you can stop for salmon soup and shrimp sandwiches. We also explore Oodi, Helsinki’s Central Library, a sleek inviting space where you can do so much more than read, like see a movie, grab some lunch, play boardgames, and watch the books being transported around by mini robots.

As we later walk past a Moomin-themed shop window, discussion turns to Finland’s most famous export, which was created by Helsinki-born author Tove

Jannson. “Moomins are not just for children in Finland. I have a Moomin dress and wear it to work,” says Johansson.

After a bracing walk around the city – I love watching the distinctive green and yellow trams criss-cross the streets – I have a lunch date with Helsinki Partners’ Leena Karppinen at Brasa, (brasa.fi) where food is cooked on an open fire and the meat and fish is dry-aged inhouse. As an amuse bouche, we sip on an orange juice flavoured with burnt orange peel and eat sage and black pepper bread before digging into Pithivier (forest mushrooms in pastry with ramsons and pear chutney), and a dish simply titled Pumpkin, with ricotta, pecorino and kale accompanying the grilled winter squash, with tangy sea buckthorn kombuchas on the side. We chat about the capital’s reputation as a design capital ahead of my visit to Design District Helsinki ( designdistrict.fi ) , where museums, stores and artsy cafes and restaurants converge. “Finland has never had aristocrats or an upper class, so design is about improving everyone’s life. After we became independent in 1917, design helped Helsinki prosper,” notes Karppinen.

A Design City

Design District Helsinki’s executive director Mia Saporito takes me on a tour of some of the district’s hotspots and the people who make it tick. I chat to visual artist/ printmaker and pattern designer Reeta Hiltunen, whose designs appear in everything from large-scale artworks to greetings cards, and fashion designer Katri Niskanen, renowned for her feminine silhouettes and sculptural drapings, who’s dressed Finnish president Sanna Marin. We also meet photographer and founder of the Lokal Gallery (lokalhelsinki.com) Katja Hagelstam, which sells limited edition items and small-scale production lines by local artists and designers.

“We want everything to feel unique and encourage customers to buy less and choose well,” she says. “Young people here don’t want IKEA and H&M; they have an appreciation for art and craftsmanship.” We also drop in at Klaus Haapaniemi’s home and textiles store inside Kamp Galleria (kampgalleria.com) , whose design approach is influenced by Finnish folklore and traditional decorative arts and combines traditional weaving techniques with modern prints. The Finnish designer was commissioned by Bjork to create a sofa and carpet for her summer house in Finland. “Normal Scandic design is minimalistic, but this is quite different,” says the brand’s Jan Kosinen.

Like their Nordic neighbours, the Finns love sweating it out in the sauna, and there are around three million nationwide to serve a population of 5.5. million. The only public wood-burning sauna in Helsinki, Kotiharjun has stood here since 1928, and is powered by a tower of logs piled up against the wall; as with electric saunas, every so often someone gets up to ladle water onto the hot stones to produce more steam and you hear that satisfying sizzle. As beads of sweat gather on my forehead, Heidi tells me with a smile that her father believes saunas are the remedy for just about every ailment, and that babies are bought into them for short periods from around five months old.

Feeling suitably detoxified, I later stop at Nolla (restaurantnolla.com), the Nordic country’s first zero-waste restaurant and chat with co-founder Albert Franch about its approach. “We set up Nolla as we were unhappy with the amount of waste created by the industry, particularly in fine dining. We want to maximise the use of every ingredient and won’t use anything in a single-use package. Sustainability has become a circus –who can do the biggest trick? – but we want to make it normal!,” he says. Ingredients are sourced from local farmers, fishermen and producers, and the fresh corn polenta, palm kale and chanterelle sauce is certainly worth stopping by for, as is the toasted hay ice cream, honey cake and brandy caramel. I pair my dishes with an apple and quince cider and a raspberry sour from Nolla’s in-house microbrewery, Mamu.

Island Life

The next day, I check into Marski by Scandic (scandichotels.com), a modern-looking hotel located smack dab in the middle of the city. My Grande Double Room overlooks the city’s main boulevard, Mannerheimintie; many famous buildings are situated along here, including the Houses of Parliament, National Museum and Helsinki Opera House. I don’t have time to swing by the Marski Bar, but it’s a hip focal point and popular rendezvous with locals, with contemporary Finnish cocktails on the menu and a covered terrace where guests can take their drinks in the warmer months.

One of Helsinki’s most striking spaces is contemporary art gallery Amos Rex (amosrex.fi), whose underground exhibition spaces serve up the newest, often experimental art works. While there I’m lucky to catch an exhibition by Belgian visual artist Hans Oop De Beeck, The Quiet Parade, where large-scale spatial installation and figurative sculptures capture moments frozen in time, from a young girl blowing a soap bubble to a makeshift stilt village inspired by the settlements in Filipino archipelagos. In the summer, people gather for picnics on the domes outside the gallery, and when the snow comes, people sledge down them, says Johannson.

Post Amos Rex, I head off to the island of Suomenlinna, an 18th century sea fortress that’s a 20-minute ferry ride from Helsinki. As we depart from the ferry terminal, Heidi grins and points out the SkySauna cabin on the Skywheel, the world’s first sauna on a ferris wheel. After a bracing walk around the headland where we encounter Russian merchant’s houses, we pull up a chair for lunch at Adlerfelt (adlerfelt.fi) for pumpkin and carrot soup with island bread with a malt crust and drink lingonberry and strawberry juice. The island houses six museums, including the Customs Museum; housed in a former prison, it showcases the history of customs and smuggling in Finland. You can also visit Submarine Vesikko, which served in the second world war.

With just 16 seats within the cosy confines of its brick-lined space, each diner gets the star treatment at restaurant Spis (spis.fi), with the chef and sommelier introducing each dish with equal parts passion and authority as we make our way through the tasting menu: chef Pauli Hakala tells us he picked the gooseberries for one of the dishes from his garden this morning with his son. Standout dishes include a mini mushroom doughnut made from foraged mushrooms with a velvety mushroom broth on the side, and tofu with juniper, kohlrabi and horseradish cream in a spring onion sauce; a palate cleanser of green currant granita flavoured with local gin and tonic is superbly sandwiched between courses.

HELSINKI INSIDER: DAVID KONDO, Finnair Head Of Customer Experience & Design

If you’re thinking of heading to Finland any time soon and flying with Finnair (finnair.com), you’ll be in for a treat, as the airline has recently updated its business class cabins, added premium economy class and refreshed its economy class cabins. Recognised as the best airline in Northern Europe by Skytrax for the 12th consecutive year in 2022, it launched a direct service from Helsinki to Guangzhou last September.

Finnair’s head of customer experience & design, David Kondo, is a proud Helsinki resident. Born in Japan to a Canadian mother, he grew up in Australia and has been based in Helsinki for the past six years. He loves the dining scene in the city. “I head to Cafe Esplanad (esplanad.fi) for traditional salmon soup or filled potato with shrimp or salmon for a great casual option. For a nice dinner, many restaurants do set menus with multiple courses. There are lots of great options but I like Bronda, Muru and Plein. Seahorse (en.seahorse.fi) is also a classic: the retro interior hasn’t been touched for decades and they serve up classic Nordic plates including my favourite dessert ever, frozen cranberries and hot caramel sauce.” Best outdoor activity? Going for a dip in the harbour after a sauna. “Go to the Kulttuurisauna – you have to book ahead – for a great sauna and a dip. If the water is frozen, they break it open!” His favourite place to go for a drink is the Son of a Punch cocktail bar (sonofapunch.com). “There’s no sign out front and you need to ring a doorbell to get in. They do a great cocktail with cranberry and white chocolate.”

Old School Charm

A proliferation of colourful old wooden buildings encircled by pines and parkland, Porvoo delivers the classic Nordic experience many of us dream about, its main draw being the Medieval old town which is home to galleries, restaurants, cute cafes and independent boutiques. Less than an hour’s drive from the Finnish capital, it’s a popular day trip from Helsinki. I soak up the old town vibes at a traditional bakery with a lingonberry pastry then head down to the Porvoonjoki river and admire the rows of red, yellow and green riverside warehouses perched above it, where ships once came to load and unload their cargo.

Opened last year, Runo Hotel Porvoo (runohotel.com) is the second member of the Design Hotels network in Finland after Hotel St. George and represents the most upscale offering in this small city. Decked out in soothing, neutral tones and featuring wooden floors, my Balcony Suite overlooks Porvoo old town. The lounge is cool and inviting, and you can sit and read the hotel’s books on design, play board games and admire the works of local artists. Co-founder and CEO Erkka Hirvonen was very hands-on in the hotel’s restoration, having spent his childhood helping his family renovate a manor house. He then moved to Dubai to learn about the commercial and operational side of hospitality, working for Jumeirah and InterContinental Hotels before returning to his hometown.

“It was my dream to create a high-end Finnish hotel, but it was a question of finding the right property, but I finally found one in my hometown,” he says. Every room is hand painted, and much of the details are connected to the GM and his family: the towel ladders, for example, are made from old hay sticks from the family home, as are the bathroom’s pinewood benches. “The challenge was to make the hotel cosy and approachable – luxury hotels can be cold and formal,” says Hirvonen.

Having spent a week in Finland, I’m beginning to understand why the nation keeps being crowned the happiest country in the world. In addition to its respect for democracy and equality, there’s great food, huge respect towards art and design, the great Nordic outdoors and the saunas, and every Finn I’ve encountered exudes a quiet contentment. While Hirvonen admits there was an adjustment period after 12 years in Dubai, he’s now firmly focused on putting Porvoo, and the laid-back Finnish way of life, on the map.

Jetsetter was hosted by Helsinki Partners (helsinkipartners.com) and flew with Finnair (finnair.com)