HELSINKI’S HIP HAPPENINGS
THE FUTURE OF FINNISH FINANCING
Wellbeing issue
TURKISH HEALTH JOURNEYS
BEAUTY BY BERRIES
Trends, destinations and insights for travellers • April 2014
TOP5 QUIRKY
Your l na perso y cop
MARATHONS EXPLORING REAL
THAI MASSAGE THE POWER OF
MINDFULNESS
Relaxing
Japanese style
Parhaalle ei ole vaihtoehtoa.
Uusi C-sarja.
C 180, autoveroton hinta alk. 33 250 € + arvioitu autovero 7 454,77 € + toimituskulut 600 € = 41 304,77 €. Vapaa autoetu alk. 805 €/kk, käyttöetu alk. 625 €/kk. CO2-päästöt 116 g/km, EU-keskikulutus 5,0 l/100 km. Huolenpitosopimus 3 vuodeksi kiinteällä kk-maksulla alk. 28 €/kk. Kuvan autot lisävarustein. Verovapaa hinta alk. 26 814,52 € + toimituskulut 600 € = 27 414,52 €. **Verovapaa vientihinta on kotimaan hinnaston autoveroton hinta ilman alv:tä. Lisätietoja osoitteesta www.mercedes-benz.fi/taxfree.
Mercedes-Benz – Suomen myydyin tax free -auto 2013* Uusi C-sarja tax free -hinta alk. 27 415 €** Mikäli olet lähdössä ulkomaille pidemmäksi aikaa tai jo asut siellä, voit hankkia uuden, verovapaan auton Suomesta. Vehon Tax Free -myyntipalvelu on tässä kohtaa paras kumppani. Saat verovapaan ja edullisen hinnan lisäksi luotettavan palvelun sekä Suomen varusteet ja vientirekisteröinnin valmiina. *Lähde: Liikenteen Turvallisuusvirasto Trafi/vientirekisteröinnit 2013.
Tax Free and Diplomat sales: Kimmo Liljedahl, p. +358 (0)10 569 3460 Mäkituvantie 3, Koivuhaka, 01510 Vantaa, Finland taxfree@veho.
EDITORIAL
BY ARJA SUOMINEN SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT, COMMUNICATIONS AND CORPORATE RESPONSIBILITY
WWW.FINNAIR.COM
PRODUCER Amanda Soila
Water is a key element of wellbeing in Turkey. See story on p. 73.
ART DIRECTOR Miia Taskinen SUB-EDITOR Anna-Maria Wasenius LAYOUT DESIGNER Peter Sade CONTENT MANAGER Kati Heikinheimo ENGLISH EDITING Laura Palotie REPROGRAPHICS Anne Lindfors, Tuukka Palmio ENGLISH TRANSLATION Wif Stenger SUBMISSIONS bluewings@sanoma.com EDITORIAL OFFICES Lapinmäentie 1, 00350 Helsinki, Finland, Postal address P.O.Box 100, 00040 Sanoma, Finland, tel. +358 9 1201, fax +358 9 120 5988, e-mail firstname.lastname@sanoma.com ADVERTISING SALES Media Assistant Sirkka Pulkkinen tel. +358 9 120 5921 PUBLISHER Sanoma Media Finland Oy Custom Publishing PRINTED BY Hansaprint, Turku, Finland 2014 PAPER Nova Press 70g, Cover paper Lumi Art 200g CIRCULATION 60,000 ISSN-0358-7703
Rejuvenating
discoveries
S
pring in Scandinavia is a time of renewal. After a long and often cold winter, we awaken and start thinking about the future with plans for summer vacations and travel to new places. Though wellness is practiced in the Nordics year-round, spring is an excellent time for renewal and rejuvenation. In this
issue of Blue Wings, we focus on wellbeing with a range of articles on the topic, including the art of mindful meditation and journeys into the spa cultures of Japan and Turkey. It’s often said that visiting new places and getting out of our own comfort zone helps us to find ourselves and improve our performance. American author Mark Twain once wrote: “Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn’t do than by the ones you did do.
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Arja Suominen arja.suominen@finnair.com FINNAIR HEAD OFFICE Tietotie 11 A, Helsinki-Vantaa Airport, 1053 Finnair, Finland, tel. +358 9 81881, Postal address: P. O. Box 15, 01053 Finnair, Finland CUSTOMER FEEDBACK www.finnair.com > Information and services > After the flight or by mail: Customer Relations, SL/08, FI-01053 FINNAIR. www.finnair.com www.finnair.fi www.finnairgroup.com
So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbour. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.” I am going to explore Kashmir, India in late spring. What are your travel plans? Wishing you an inspirational journey, Arja Suominen PS It’s also a time of change on-board: we’ve just launched our new spring menus, this year we’ll bring full-flat seats to Business Class on nine of our long-haul routes, and there are many more upgrades to come.
APRIL 2014
20
20
LEARNING THE ANCIENT ART OF MASSAGE
28
MINDFULNESS OVER MATTER
34
HELSINKI’S NEW COMMUNITY EVENTS
44
TOP 5 EXOTIC MARATHONS
46
ASIAN HOT SPRING EXPERIENCES
58
MARVEL AT THE 8TH WONDER OF THE WORLD
68
CRACKING THE FUNDING PUZZLE
73
TURKEY’S AEGEAN COAST
In northern Thailand’s Chiang Mai
Easy ways to reduce stress and tackle anxiety
Turn the Finnish capital into an urban living room
Take you from the Great Wall in China to Cannes in France
The Japanese onsen offers a soothing journey
Xi’an’s Terracotta Warriors continue to amaze
New directions for Finnish business financing
Sets the scene for a healthy holiday
68
34
ON THE COVER: JAPANESE ONSEN BY VILLE PALONEN
TRAVEL COLUMNS 8
12
NEWS
FOOD
WELLBEING
BOOKS
DESIGN
HELSINKI
New Moscow connections
Brooklyn’s chocolate master
Beauty from
A touch of
berries
India
Innovation awards
The capital’s new wheel deal
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14
16
18
10
73 IN THIS ISSUE
REGULARS
Tokyo, p. 6 New York, p. 10 India, p. 14 Helsinki, p. 18, 34 Chiang Mai, p. 20 Japan, p.46 Xi’an, p. 58 Turkey, p. 73
6
TRAVEL MOMENT
32
ALEXANDER STUBB
54
SIXTEN KORKMAN
65
THIS MONTH AROUND THE WORLD
80
FINLAND IN FIGURES
46
44
for Economy Class customers See page 83
FLYING FINNAIR
SWISS-IMAGE.CH /ANDY METTLER
NEW PRE-ORDER MEALS
New border crossings
82
Before and during the flight
83
In-flight entertainment
85
Helsinki Airport
86
Maps and destinations
88
Corporate responsibility
92
Fleet
94
Frequent flyer benefits
95
APRIL 2014
BLUE WINGS
5
6 BLUE WINGS
APRIL 2014
TRAVEL MOMENT BY TIM BIRD
ELVIS LIVES - IN TOKYO TOKYO’S YOYOGI PARK, right next to the city’s revered Meiji Shrine, is the weekend venue for all kinds of freaky shows, from Cosplay Little Bo Peeps and Manga fans to practising musicians. Traditional spectacles in the form of martial arts demonstrations also take place near the shrine. But the
appearance of early-period Elvis Presleys in denim, leathersand sole-worn winklepickersis a main attraction and their manic and sometimes risky efforts to out-dance each other draw the crowds on Sunday afternoons. Here is your evidence that 1950s Teddy Boy rock‘n’roll is far from dead! APRIL 2014
BLUE WINGS
7
TRAVEL NEWS
COMPILED BY KATJA PANTZAR
NEW ASIAN DESTINATIONS
IRINA AFONSKAYA /ISTOCKPHOTO
Finnair offers more connections to Moscow.
THE FIRST AIRLINE from the Indian subcontinent to enter any global alliance, SriLankan Airlines, joins the oneworld alliance on May 1. Finnair Plus members will have access to SriLankan’snetwork of 32 destinations in 20 countries across Asia, Europe and the Middle East. The Colombo-based carrier’s addition will bring two new destinations to the oneworld network – Sri Lanka’s new Hambantota International Airport and India’s Tiruchirapalli Airport.
THE CITY OF
SUPERLATIVES
M
oscow is a city of mosts: the Russian capital is the world’s northernmost megacity (population 11.5 million people), it boasts the largest number of billionaires according to Forbes, and its renowned Bolshoi Ballet (founded in 1776) is among the world’s oldest ballet companies. The city’s top sights include St Basil’sCathedral on Red Square, which is among the best-known buildings in the world, and the adjacent Kremlin that doubles as the nation’s seat of power and a self-contained city with palaces, churches, armories and a medieval fortress open to the public.
Finnair flies nonstop to Moscow up to nine times a week and has just signed a codeshare agreement with fellow oneworld alliance member S7 Airlines. As of April 26, the Finnair code will be added to S7’s new service between Helsinki and Moscow’s Domodedovo International Airport, as well as to select onward S7 services from Domodedovo to Novosibirsk, Kazan, Rostov-on-Don, Samara, Ufa and Yekaterinburg, a city on the border of Asia and Europe that’s central to the intriguing story of Russia’s last Tsar and the Romanovs. WWW.FINNAIR.COM
SUMMER GLOBETROTTING FINNAIR FLIES to Canada’s multicultural mecca Toronto from June 1 to September 21, to glamorous Biarritz in Southern France from June 24 to August 9, and to Italy’s Pisa, known for its famous leaning tower, from June 23 to August 8. More summer destinations at WWW.FINNAIR.COM.
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SPRING BLOSSOMS ONBOARD FLIGHTS to and from Japan from March 26 to April 16, Japanese sakura (cherry blossom viewing season) will be celebrated with a special sakura menu in Business Class. Cabin crew will wear special Marimekko Unikko (Poppy) print kimonos and yukatas to mark the 50th anniversary of the famous Marimekko print.
FULL-FLAT SEATS AS OF APRIL 1, Finnair will dedicate aircraft with full-flat seats in Business Class on flights to Tokyo and New York, and from May 1 to Beijing and Seoul. From June 1 the full-flat allocation extends to Hanoi, Hong Kong, Nagoya, Osaka and Shanghai. The new seats are a result of Finnair’s 29 million euro retrofit programme to most of its wide-body fleet of Airbus A330 and A340 aircraft.
HELSINKI AIRPORT UPDATES FINNAIR’S PREMIUM LOUNGE (near Gate 36) designed by Helsinki-based dSign Vertti Kivi & Co, will open in June 2014 and complement the original Finnair Lounge, which routinely ranks in lists of the world’s top airline lounges.
The best moments in life don’t require a password.
The magazine you are holding is made with Stora Enso LumiArt and NovaPress paper. When your offline moment is over, you can find our full selection of sustainable paper at printingandreading.storaenso.com
TRAVEL FOOD
BY TIMOTHY HARPER
THE BIG APPLE’S FINNISH
Mast Brother’s hand-wrapped chocolate bars sell in gourmet and gift shops.
Vesa Parvianen left his Michelin-starred Helsinki restaurant to become a chocolate maker in New York.
that Postres stay small and explore the farm-to-table food frontier in Finland. But his partners wanted the restaurant to grow, and expand on its commercial success.
TUUKKA KOSKI
A FOOD HOLIDAY
Parviainen took what was supposed to be a brief holiday in New York. He found himself “mesmerized” by the craft food scene in Brooklyn, where people were producing coffee, beer, pickles, cheese, candy and more in small batches in their apartments MAST BROTHERS and in makeCHOCOLATE shift kitchens in abandoned shops and MASTBROTHERS.COM warehouses. He heard about the brothers or a young chef, Vesa Parviainen Rick and Michael Mast, had it all. He was one of the rising who were doing exciting things with handstars of fine dining in Europe, and a made bean-to-bar chocolate, and offered minor celebrity on the food scene in Helto work for free for a few days at the sinki. His restaurant, Mast Brothers chocoPostres (it means late factory in Brooklyn. CHOCOLATE MAKER “dessert” in Spanish), “I learned that I didn’t VESA PARVIAINEN IS ONE know a lot about chocowhich he co-founded in 2006, had earned a OF A HANDFUL OF FINNS late,” Parviainen recalls. Michelin star in 2008, WHO ARE KEY PLAYERS “I thought I did, but I and kept it every year. didn’t.” After those few IN THE ARTISANAL FOOD days, the Mast Brothers But by 2011 ParviSCENE IN NEW YORK. ainen was feeling restoffered him a job as their less. He saw the excitpastry chef. By late 2011, ing things going on Parviainen had sold his elsewhere in the artisanal food movement share in Postres, gotten his US working – natural food grown locally, and served papers and moved to America. with personal, hands-on preparation – He is now one of a handful of Finns and wanted to be part of it. He proposed who are key players in the artisanal food
F
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APRIL 2014
MAST BROTHERS
CHOCOLATE MASTER scene in New York, particularly in the growing popularity of country-style Finnish rye breads produced by artisanal bakers such as Nordic Breads and Northern Rye. CHOCOLATE EXPERIMENTS
Parviainen began experimenting with pastry using Mast Brothers chocolate – made only with cane sugar and high-quality beans from a handful of small farms mostly in the Caribbean, South America and Africa – and before long had become the company’s chief chocolate maker. He now oversees 25 chocolate makers and pastry chefs for rapidly-growing Mast Brothers, whose standard 2.5-ounce hand wrapped chocolate bars – all dark chocolate – retail for $10-$12 (7-8 euros) in specialty and gourmet grocery stores. “I’m basically taking care of quality control for chocolate,” Parviainen says. One of his key roles is creating and sampling experimental batches of chocolate from new sources around the world, and creating new cookies, cakes and other confections. “We are exploring chocolate,” he declares. Now 35, Parviainen is pleased at the growing artisanal food movement in Finland, but sees his future in New York. He has become a familiar figure in Brooklyn, pedaling the streets on his bicycle – even in icy weather, to the amazement of other New Yorkers – to talk about chocolate and, of course, to taste chocolate. “I taste chocolate all day,” he says. “I’m still developing my palate for chocolate. You can’t learn any way except by tasting. It’s like wine – except you don’t spit out the chocolate.”
TRAVEL WELLBEING
TEXT BY KATI HEIKINHEIMO PHOTO BY KENTAROO TRYMAN/GETTY IMAGES
BERRY BEAUTIFUL ARCTIC BERRIES ARE THE NEW ASSET IN SKINCARE. RESEARCH TAKES ADVANTAGE OF STEM CELL TECHNOLOGY FOR INNOVATING MORE EFFICIENT ANTI-AGE APPLICATIONS.
T
he dark winter in arctic areas is balanced by a few summer months of around-the-clock sunshine, resulting in berries rich in nutritious and bioactive compounds. Acclaimed for their savoury taste, vitamin concentration and digestive qualities, berries also have noteworthy impacts on skin health. To raise these berries’ potential to new levels, the Finnish cosmetics brand Lumene, in cooperation with the VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland, has developed a stem cell technology based on Arctic cloudberry. The stem cell extract of cloudberries – already rich in omega acids and vitamin C – contains about 10 times the amount of antioxidants of fresh berries. “We have been able to significantly expand our raw material selection through the possibilities offered by biotechnology,” says Tiina Isohanni, Lumene’s vice president of innovation & development.
Lumene has been a forerunner in making the most of arctic berries’ powerfulhealth-promoting substances. The company started the large-scale use of berries in their products in the early 2000s. The notable amounts of berry
THE SIDESTREAMS OF THE FOOD INDUSTRY GET A SECOND LIFE IN ANTI-AGE SKINCARE PRODUCTS.
seeds and other residue left over by the food industry made them an accessible and ecological raw material. Treasures of arctic nature, namely berries and spring water, have since become the foundation of Lumene’s product philosophy.
The use of the cloudberry stem cell technology in cosmetic products has been exclusively licensed to Lumene and the first products utilising the innovative stem cell culture were launched in 2012. Cloudberry, often referred to as the queen of the arctic flora, helps protect the skin against external factors causing premature ageing. The cloudberry also has brightening and detoxifying qualities. Other berries which contain strong antioxidants are lingonberry, wild blueberry and sea buckthorn. Buckthorn also includes a potent cocktail of omega oils that nourish the skin and arctic versions of rosehip and raspberry have, in turn, excellentmoisturising potential. “Research for finding new, interesting raw materials continues,” Isohanni says.
FOREST GEMS AT WORK IN ADDITION to the cosmetics industry, berries have great potential for use in the pharmaceutical and food industries, for example as a natural preservative. According to Riitta PuupponenPimiä, Principle Scientist at VTT: “The more research we carry out, the more convinced we are of the possibilities of berry applications.”
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Experts in Automation Founded in 1945, Pepperl+Fuchs today is one of the world’s leading providers of technologies for factory and process automation.
Industrial Sensors: Focus on the Market Developments in industrial sensors are driven by market-specific requirements. From the inductive and capacitive to the photoelectric, Pepperl+Fuchs produces sensors across all types of functionalities.
Process Interfaces: Secure Applications Technologies for use in hazardous areas are also designed for specific applications in specific industries. For all types of explosion protection systems, high performance products and customized solutions are available in many different applications.
Leading technologies from Pepperl+Fuchs are readily available in markets all around the world. 7. – 11. April 2014 Hall 9, D76
www.pepperl-fuchs.fi
TRAVEL BOOKS
COMPILED AND WRITTEN BY KATJA PANTZAR
PASSAGES
TO INDIA
interconnectedness of the world economy and how it affects the much less fortunate. BROTHERLY LOVE
I
ndia is a country of contradictions: one of the greatest paradoxes lies in the divide between the very rich and the extremely poor. Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Katherine Boo’s first book, Behind the Beautiful Forevers: Life, Death and Hope in a Mumbai Slum (Portobello Books) offers a brutally honest yet beautifully written nonfiction account about the effects of today’s global economic inequalities. The setting is Mumbai’s Annawadi slum, a stone’s throw from the city’s fivestar luxury hotels. In addition to living with poverty, hunger and violence, Annawadi’s residents constantly fear that their makeshift and illegal homes will be bulldozed. Yet Behind the Beautiful Forevers is a story of humanity and hope, and the universal dream of trying to better one’s lot in life regardless of circumstance. The cast of reallife characters includes Abdul, an enterprising young trash collector who faces much adversity, and Manju, who aims to be Annawadi’s first female to ever attend college. This is not a book for the faint-hearted, but it is essential reading for anyone looking for insight into India, and indeed the
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Another Pulitzer Prize-winning author Jhumpa Lahiri, known for her eloquently wrought novels and stories exploring the IndianAmericanexperience, tells the story of two Bengali brothers in The Lowlands (Bloomsbury Books). Diligent Subhash and rebellious Udayan are inseparable while growing up in Calcuttaduring the 1950s and 1960s. While the older brother, Subhash, becomes a scientist and moves to the US, younger brother Udayan stays in India and becomes involved with an insurgent political movement. When tragedy strikes, Subhash returns to visit India in order to help his family and the novel explores the universal themes of sibling rivalry, family obligations, and the weight of history – both personal and political. Lahiri’s lyrical writing and skilfully woven narrative are a joy to read. FINNAIR FLIES to Delhi four times a week with good connections to other Indian cities.
THE STORY OF VIETNAM THE BEAUTY of the Humanity Movement (Atlantic Books) by Camilla Gibb is set in modern-day Hanoi and centres around Maggie Ly, a Vietnamese-American woman in her 30s, who returns to Hanoi in search of her father. When Maggie meets Old Man Hu’ng, a pho’ (noodle) maker, and Tu’, an enterprising young man, she navigates through Hanoi in search of the truth about the past. This novel is full of humour, happiness and love, despite the difficult topics at hand including Vietnam’s turbulent history.
Four components, one system: New Automation Technology. Motion Servo Drives Servomotors
IPC Industrial PCs Embedded PCs Motherboards
I/O EtherCAT components IP 20 Bus Terminals IP 67 Fieldbus Box
www.beckhoff.com Setting standards worldwide: PC- and EtherCAT-based control solutions from Beckhoff. As renowned specialists for open automation systems, Beckhoff offers components for IPC, I/O, motion and automation applications that can operate individually or integrated as a precisely adapted control system. New Automation Technology from Beckhoff represents versatile automation solutions that are used in a wide range of applications worldwide. The growing presence of Beckhoff in more than 70 countries ensures consistent support around the globe. IPC I/O Motion Automation
Automation Software PLC Software NC/CNC Safety
TRAVEL DESIGN
TEXT BY KATJA PANTZAR PHOTO BY ARI OJALA
ARCTIC
KNOW-HOW DESIGN HOLDS THE KEY TO BUSINESS SUCCESS IN THE GLOBAL MARKETPLACE.
W
hen you think of Finnish design, what comes to mind? Marimekko, Iittala and Artek? Yet the daily use of strategic design goes far beyond creating a functional item such as a colourful tablecloth, ceramic mug or an ergonomic chair. “Good design guarantees the quality of a product or service,” says Salla Heinänen, executive director of the Finnish Association of Designers Ornamo. “But design is no longer just about dishes, home textiles and clothing – it plays a crucial role in developing a successful company’s strategic planning and its identity and ability to compete internationally,” she says. For example, world-leading marine and energy industry solutions and services provider Wärtsilä, headquartered in Helsinki, picked up a prestigious Red Dot Award for design in 2013 for a propulsion control panel that displays all key information in a single dashboard, thus greatly improving safety at sea and in port. The previous year, in 2012,
NIKLAS KULLSTRÖM
BRIGHT LIGHTS THE FINNISH DESIGNER organisations Grafia (Association of Visual Communication Designers in Finland) and Ornamo (Finnish Association of Designers) have handed out annual awards recognising innovation since 1981.
2014 AWARD-WINNERS WOOD ARTIST OF THE YEAR Ilona Rista, who designs solid wood wall panels and reliefs that can be integrated with acoustic features, storage space or air-conditioning.
GRAPHIC DESIGNER OF THE YEAR Anna Ahonen & Katariina Lamberg, who work as art directors in the graphic design sector, which means visual communication ranging from album covers to corporate identities.
INDUSTRIAL DESIGNER OF THE YEAR Kirsi Svärd, a design director who solves everyday problems in domestic and working environments on projects including bathroom equipment, home appliances and health care equipment.
ILONA.RISTA.NET
AHONENANDLAMBERG.COM
ED-DESIGN.FI
FURNITURE DESIGNER OF THE YEAR Mikko Laakkonen, who designs items for everyday use ranging from furniture and lighting to coat racks, plates and other consumer goods.
TEXTILE ARTIST OF THE YEAR Maarit Salolainen, who designs fabric collections and works internationally as a creative director in corporate strategic planning and marketing.
FASHION DESIGNER OF THE YEAR Daniel Palillo, who creates playful and highly original clothing for men, women and children, and has garnered attention from around the world for his work.
MIKKOLAAKKONEN.COM
WWW.SALOLAINEN.FI
DANIELPALILLO.NET
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international dental industry leader Planmeca snagged a Red Dot Award for product design: the Finnish company was the first to combine three different types of 3D-data in one X-ray unit. “Another good example is Kirsi Svärd, who just won Industrial Designer of the Year award (see sidebar). She has been working with faucet and sanitary equipment innovator Oras for close to two decades in many capacities including design management and brand identity. Her work for the Finnish family-owned company goes well beyond merely designing smart taps,” says Heinänen. GREEN TOUCH
Heinänen stresses the importance of design’s role in providing solutions to environmental challenges such as the diminishing supply of natural resources. “The clean-tech and bio-based economy sectors are areas where design thinking provides products and services ranging from recycling to waste management systems,” she says.
Founded in 1911, Ornamo has 2,100 members who work in the fields of industrial design, interior architecture, furniture, fashion and textile design, immaterial design as well as crafts and applied arts. “Our role is to support Finnish designers and design companies and ensure that they retain a competitive edge in the highly competitive international market,” says Heinänen. What makes design at the 60th parallel unique? “Finnish design has a dialogue with technology; it’s very practical, safe, userfriendly, functional and reliable, whether we’re talking about medical equipment, furniture or packaging,” says Heinänen. “In fact, packaging is a good example – it’s one of the central sales tools for products, yet it’s a less-known area of design. But if you can’t open a package, that’s a problem for both the packaging and the product inside.” In addition to the country’s top-notch education system, Heinänen credits Finland’s dramatic seasonal changes with
UPCOMING EVENTS ORNAMO ORGANISES SEMINARS and exhibitions such as the extensive ceramics overview that opens at Helsinki’s Design Museum on October 10th. The association is also known for organising two popular annual design markets. WWW.ORNAMO.FI
providing a source of inspiration and good testing grounds. “The contrasts of hot and cold weather, extreme lightness and darkness affect Finnish design. Technology meets materials, which may be fabric or some durable industrial material that can withstand harsh environmental factors. We can’t compete on price, but we can guarantee quality, ingenuity, reliability, practicality and sustainability,” says Heinänen.
TRAVEL HELSINKI
COMPILED AND WRITTEN BY TIM BIRD
The wheel deal: The new SkyWheel opens this spring.
HELSINKI HIGHLIGHTS THIS MONTH
CITY OF HELSINKI, REAL ESTATE DEPARTMENT
EDUCATIONAL NETWORKING event Oppi is an exciting chance to mingle with teachers, academics, education gurus and entrepreneurs. In an informal setting of the Helsinki Learning Festival, participants can catch talks by a galaxy of global education experts in Helsinki’s Finlandia Hall, April 11–12. OPPIFESTIVAL.FI
HELSINKI IN A SPIN
T
he price we pay for Helsinki’s sensibly low architectural skyline is a shortage of spectacular panoramic viewing points. Now the few high spots that do exist, such as the Olympic Stadium Tower and the terrace of the Torni Hotel, are to be supplemented by a new SkyWheel attraction in Katajanokka next to the city’s South Harbour offering passengers a wide and unprecedented perspective of the area. “We started enquiries about this project about two years ago,” says project manager Jaron Duivestein of Liechtenstein-based United International Leisure. The site has the crucial advantages of good views across the harbour and Katajanokka district, as well as easy access for pedestrians, Duivestein says. “We’ve had a lot of positive reaction from the City of Helsinki, surrounding businesses and individuals,” he continues. “It seems there is a general consent for something new coming to the area.” The SkyWheel will rise to a height of 40 metres and carry 30 gondolas, each holding eight passengers. The hope is that as many as 3,000 to 4,000 visitors might try the SkyWheel experience on busy summer days. Adult passengers will pay a fare of 12 euros,
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while the cost for a child will be 9 euros. Each ride will last for 15 to 20 minutes. There will be wheelchair access for all but one gondola and no age limit. “This is a multi-million euro project, so we are investing a lot here,” says Duivestein. “The equipment is brand new and has never been assembled before, apart from in tests and for approval.” Helsinki already has one permanent Ferris wheel at the Linnanmäki amusement park, but Duivestein sees the SkyWheel as having more in common with the highly popular London Eye in the British Capital. “Although our wheel is lower than the London Eye, it has a similar setting with cultural buildings surrounding it and it’s close to water, too.” Permission to operate the SkyWheel has been granted initially up to 2018, although the aim is to extend that period if the project is successful. The attraction is due to open at the beginning of May. “We will operate year-round and the cabins will be heated in winter and enclosed. The wheel will be a total package observation wheel experience, not just a Ferris wheel ride – just like visiting a small but well-styled theme park.”
OPERA.FI
PLAYFUL AND UNINHIBITED fashion designs by Henrik Vibskov are celebrated in the main spring exhibition at Helsinki’s Design Museum until May 11. Also known for his startling installations, V ibskov’s work has established him as a free creative spirit in Nordic fashion. DESIGNMUSEUM.FI
ALASTAIR PHILIP WIPER
SKYWHEEL GETS
HENRIK IBSEN’S Peer Gynt is interpreted in a magical amalgam of classical ballet, Grieg’s music and modern dance and music, choreographed by the acclaimed Heinz Spoerli at Helsinki’s National Opera in April and May. “I wanted to dig deeper into the story,” explains Spoerli.
Ennakkomarkkinointi
AINUTLAATUISIA KOTEJA KAUPUNGIN KAUNEIMMALLA PAIKALLA Tähtitornin Flygel sijaitsee Helsingin Ullanlinnassa Tähtitorninmäen puiston reunalla. Historiallinen tennishallirakennus muutetaan nyt laadukkaaksi 9 asunnon kokonaisuudeksi vanhaa kunnioittaen. Muun muassa rakennuksen suojeltu ulkoarkkitehtuuri tullaan jälleenrakentamaan alkuperäiseen asuunsa. Tarjolla on todella ainutlaatuista asumista kauneimmassa Helsingissä!
tu ka lan sil iva La
Tähtitorninmäen puisto
Olympia terminaali
katu rnin tito Täh
tu nka iehe m i r Vuo
Laiv asilla nkat u
Ullanpuistikko
Auratum Asunnot luo mahdollisuuksia korkealuokkaiseen asumiseen rakennuttamalla uusia ja uudistamalla vanhoja arvokiinteistöjä nykyaikaan. LISÄTIEDOT Auratum Asunnot, Minna Fontell, p. 050 387 8007, asunnothelsinki@auratum.com, www.auratum.com
Kuvat ovat taiteilijan luonnoksia.
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MASSAGE WITH A HEALING MESSAGE CHIANG MAI IN NORTHERN THAILAND IS A POPULAR DESTINATION FOR LEARNING ANCIENT THAI MASSAGE – BOTH FOR THOSE WITH PROFESSIONAL ASPIRATIONS AND THOSE WISHING TO PICK UP A NEW SKILL. TEXT AND PHOTOS BY TIM BIRD
APRIL 2014
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O
“
ne hour head and shoulder massage. One day long neck.” The sign in a tour shop in Chiang Mai, northern Thailand has got me worried. I’m seeking relief for my knotted muscles but don’t want to end up looking like a giraffe. On closer inspection my worries are eased: the second item on the sign is advertising visits to a village of the Karen hill tribe, whose women are famous for inserting rings around their throats to extend their necks. Just the same, I can’t quite dispel the vision of my own neck being stretched at one of the dozens of roadside massage salons that line the Old Quarter streets of Thailand’s second largest city. So I head instead for Chiang Mai University’s centre of traditional Thai medicine for my therapy. Here I am treated to a two-hour session of Royal Massage – no stretching, no tortuous vertebral extensions – and doze off pleasantly to the gentle tinkle of wind chimes. I chose the university over one of the dozen street salons on the recommendation of Jan Chaithavuthi,
director of the Thai Massage School of Chiang Mai, or TMC (tmcschool.com). Chiang Mai has more than its fair share of massage schools, some more reputable than others, but TMC is a cut above the others. Recognised by the Thai Ministry of Public Health, the Ministry of Education and a long list of institutions and universities, the school has trained more than 10,000 students from as far afield as the US and Brazil in the arts of massage since it was founded in 2001. A portion of the profits it makes from tuition goes to children’s charities, and in 2005 the school won the King’s Royal Award. “Even Thai people think our school is a little bit stricter than normal,” says Chaithavuthi, who founded TMC with co-director Kanchanoo Muangsiriin (known as Noo), with whom she also authored the school’s manual, Ancient Thai Massage – Healing with Life Force. MULTINATIONAL CLASSES I hitch a morning ride to TMC, 20 minutes to the north of Chiang Mai, in the school minibus with students hailing from Finland, Hong Kong, the US, India, Belgium, Scotland, Holland, Denmark and Germany. The school may be known for its rigour, but the students compare notes and motivations affably and in good humour.
Chiang Mai is the site of some of Thailand’s most beautiful temples.
An International Arts and Culture Festival is held in Chiang Mai in April. 22 BLUE WINGS
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“They give you as much information as they can and then it’s up to you to do what you can with it,” says a student introducing herself as Isha, an ebullient Scot whose course will last several months. She plans to practice massage back in the UK on graduation. “I’ve learned so much already.”
“WHEN MASSAGE ENJOYS CULTURAL RESPECT IT WORKS ESPECIALLY WELL.” Studies vary from one-week foundation courses through 150-hour intensive professional programmes right up to the 900-hour Thai government-certified curriculum. Marie from Belgium has opted for a week’s course to kill time before her flight back home from Bangkok. Gudrun, a Danish teacher, is contemplating a career change and thinks massage might be an option. Matthew is a doctor from India who wants to encourage the revival of massage traditions in Indian villages while adding this expertise to his own treatment portfolio.
Chiang Mai seems to be something of a massage mecca. The tradition is related to the Buddhist philosophy of kindness and respect for others, and this village is especially well endowed with both intimate and spectacular Buddhist wats and temples. But this area of northern Thailand, tucked up towards the hilly, jungle-covered borders with Laos and Burma, has no obvious reason for being Thailand’s massage capital. “Chiang Mai is known as a city with very high cultural values,” Muangsiriin says. “When massage enjoys cultural respect it works especially well. And people want to learn about the local culture when they come here. As well as wanting to learn about massage, they are keen to find out about Thai cooking, and about Buddhist traditions at the temples.” She also thinks that the character of the local people might have something to do with it. “Chiang Mai people are considered to be especially calm and polite and sweet, not aggressive. In Thailand massage is quite gentle, partly because of the soft nature of both women and men – and there is a special gentleness among northern people.” MASSAGE REVIVAL The ancient respectability of Thai massage still sometimes struggles to regain its good reputation. Advocates and practitioners are often required to
Street massage is available all over the city’s Old Town. APRIL 2014
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Jan Chaihavuthi and Kanchanoo Muangsiri are the school directors at TMC.
Students go by the book to learn about massage.
Stretching exercises start the day. 24 BLUE WINGS
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Poranee Sakulsukeow, or “Meow,” teaches the class massage technique.
“LIFE IS REALLY SIMPLE, BUT WE INSIST ON MAKING IT COMPLICATED.” explain that genuine Thai massage has nothing to do with sex, an association that intensified when US soldiers sought R&R in Bangkok’s sleazier quarters during the Vietnam War. A concerted effort, backed by Thai king Bhumibol Adulyadej, is being made to promote the ethics of massage, based on a respect between those giving and those receiving. Safety, politeness and effectiveness are the three key premises of this Thai Massage Revival project. I sit in on the morning’s orientation lecture for new students while browsing the manual. I read about how massage brings life force to the recipient, how it’s based on the Buddhist premise of giving goodness. “If the mind is filled with fear and anxiety, the life force becomes stagnant, and health suffers,” reads the text. There is also a quotation from Confucius: “Life is really simple,
but we insist on making it complicated.” The implication is that massage has a role to play in restoring that simplicity. Various rituals precede the teaching sessions. Cleanliness, especially of hands, nails and feet, is an important part of the underlying code of politeness and mutual respect. Students are required to wash their feet before the session begins. And while they are encouraged to enjoy the laid-back atmosphere of Chiang Mai’s famous markets and excellent restaurants after classes end for the day, they are also reminded not to indulge in excessive drinking or to stay out too late in the bars. Before class, students change into lightweight practice clothes and remove their jewellery. Then a prayer is recited, the Wai Khru, which pays respect to teachers, and serves as an act of formal respect between the givers of education and its recipients. Students are allowed to opt out of this recital, although similar rituals are a part of other traditional Thai arts, including boxing and dance. Students are then paired off for the training and practice sessions. “It’s a protocol of politeness rather than a religious commitment,” says Chaithavuthi. APRIL 2014
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CHIANG MAI’S CHEERFUL DELIGHTS CHIANG MAI’S northern inland setting and surrounding highlands mean that visitors enjoy cooler temperatures here than on Thailand’s southern beaches and islands, although the mercury still tops 40 centigrade in the dry season. The Old Town, site of some magnificent temples, affordable guesthouses, assorted bars and restaurants and a leisurely Sunday-evening street market, is contained within an ancient moat. A tasty Pad Thai noodle stir-fry will cost barely four euros at Dash! in a traditional wooden Lanna building, while The House, circled by colourful and trendy shops, is good for an upmarket fusion splurge that will still only cost around 50 euros for two, drinks included. Locals come to Chiang Mai to shop and to trade, and the markets are one of the main attractions. The atmosphere is less frantic than Bangkok’s, although bargaining is still the norm. Chiang Mai is also a good base for hill trekking, with guided options ranging from one-day strolls to more gruelling weeklong excursions. Trekkers take the opportunity to drop in on tribal villages, although some of these visits are a little too over-organised to feel authentic. DASHCHIANGMAI.COM THEHOUSETHAILAND.COM
Laid back Chiang Mai has its share of glitzy boutiques.
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Buddhism and massage share qualities of goodness and simplicity.
HEAD FIRST “We teach Royal Massage – not by stretching or pulling, but by working on pressure points in a therapy-oriented way,” says Muangsiriin. “It’s important to know the condition of your receiving client.” High blood pressure, varicose veins, alcohol use, back problems, and various other ailments might be contraindications for massage treatment, leading to an exacerbation of problems rather than relief. TMC’s approach is to start a treatment from the head, rather than from the feet. Muangsiriin explains that the common massage provided on rural village porches made foot treatment a priority because this was the part of the body placed under pressure by the previously predominant rustic lifestyle. Many modern-day patients, she observes, put more pressure on the head than the feet. After my soothing massage at the University hospital, I enjoy a drink on the banks of the Ping River before strolling through the night market selling T-shirts, sunglasses and other tat, past the Thai boxing touts and the outrageous lady-boys warming up for their cabaret. A fierce red sunset glows on the gold spires of the temples. My muscles are pleasantly relaxed, and my feet and head are feeling re-energised. For now at least, my own life force feels well and truly healed. And the length of my neck is just the same. l FINNAIR FLIES nonstop daily to Bangkok throughout the year, with twice-daily flights in the winter season.
Grace, colour and beauty are key elements of northern Thailand.
MINDFULNESS IS SAID TO HAVE A POSITIVE IMPACT ON BRAIN FUNCTION AND THE IMMUNE SYSTEM WHILE AIDING STRESS RELIEF. TEXT BY KATI HEIKINHEIMO
PHOTOS BY GETTY IMAGES AND MARJUT KINNARI
MEDITATION
FOR THE MODERN WORLD
M
uch emphasis is placed on the pursuit for personal fulfilment and happiness – so much so that the search for serenity can sometimes feel like a yet another performance. One way to ease this stress is to forget about the end result of “happiness” and concentrate on strengthening one’s self-awareness, or mindfulness. Unlike many other meditation techniques, mindfulness does not set forth any goals such as enlightenment. Its rudiment is that we are complete and perfect as we are – and different each moment. Developed by American professor Jon Kabat-Zinn in the 1970s, mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) has since become a popular meditation technique worldwide, and continues to gain new practitioners. Some research suggests that mindfulness meditation may have a positive impact on one’s brain function and immune system. The method, based on Zen Buddhist meditation techniques and Western medical science, focuses on making use of one’s internal
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resources and existing abilities to respond more effectively to stress, pain, and even illness. Finnish business coach and mindfulness instructor Aleksi Litovaara, former Olympic snowboarder, says that training mindfulness is like training a muscle in your body: you already use it every day, but might not have a name for it or know how to utilise it optimally. The more you practice, the stronger it gets. “To me, mindfulness is something very mundane,” Litovaara says. ”It is not a fix-it-all plaster, nor a trick that will change your personality or dilute your feelings.” The goal is not to remove unwanted reaction – pain, fear, restlessness or anger, for example – but rather change the way we perceive and endure these feelings. Mindfulness does not label feelings as good or bad; they are all just feelings. Sometimes a feeling can seem too intense to handle. In those situations, Litovaara advises concentrating on the body and observing the physical sensations that result from being overwhelmed. “Our feelings are transitory by nature; even the most exhausting ones don’t last. What makes them
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MINDFULNESS ON-BOARD Aleksi Litovaara shares two mindfulness exercises suitable for short or long flights.
1
2 “Personally, I feel that life has become richer thanks to being mindful,” business coach Aleksi Litovaara says.
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BEING AWARE THE GROUNDING IDEA of mindfulness is that wherever you are, you have already arrived. Because the aircraft is already doing the work for you in taking you where you need to be, why not just sit back, relax and observe the experience as it is? Start by using sense of sight. What do you see around you? Colours, shapes, materials, movement, stillness? Stay neutral, and just observe. Next, take note of your thoughts. If you can see clouds from the window, you can perhaps notice the similarity between your thoughts and the clouds outside. They come around and are replaced by new ones. The process is constant. When you walk down the aisle towards the restroom, do it very consciously. Try to feel the carpet under your feet with each step, for example. At mealtime, take the opportunity to really focus on eating. For once, you probably don’t have room to read a newspaper or scroll on your tablet at the same time. Make note of the look, texture, aroma and taste of the food. Practice compassion towards yourself as well as others. This will give you more patience. And try smiling: it will make you feel good, and possibly have a contagious effect.
TACKLING ANXIETY THIS EXERCISE IS SUITABLE for situations in which you experience nervousness, anxiety or restlessness. Hold an object in your hand. If you don’t happen to have a stress ball with you, any object that fits in the palm of your hand – your armrest or even your travel companion’s hand – is suitable. Feeling the object will help bring your attention to the simple physical sensation instead of getting caught up in thought loops. Concentrate on your breath. It is fine as it is. Think of the word “peace” when inhaling and of the word “calmness” when you exhale. Another great pair could also be “here” and “now.” To achieve a calmer rhythm of breathing, try the 7/11 breath: count to seven when breathing in and to 11 when breathing out. It will have a balancing effect on your nervous system. Smile, let the smile linger on your face and observe the sensation.
persist and intensify is the mind clinging to them. Just come back to the sensations happening in your body, observe them without prejudice, and notice how they come and go,” he says. He adds that mindfulness can also help one to pay attention to the pleasant sides of life and thus enjoy them more fully. Litovaara says that practicing mindfulness has made him more aware and thus more able to notice and appreciate various experiences. Mindfulness has also taught him to be more compassionate, and helped him cope better with difficult feelings such as stage fright. He says that he aims to do a few mindfulness exercises daily. “I like to start the morning with a compassion meditation. It makes a significant difference in the way the rest of the day flows,” he says. “I also do a body scan meditation where I observe physical sensations, and I have a yoga routine.” Through regular practice, mindfulness builds up a concentration “muscle” in our minds, which helps us to be more present in everyday situations. Instead of worrying about our pasts or futures, we start realising the present moment one glimpse at a time: grabbing the door handle, sensing the flow of water on our skin while in the shower, savouring a flavour, or noticing a thought. These mini-meditations anchor us to the here and now. Turning off autopilot forces us to leave out all the excessive commotion. What is left is, well, life. l
MOBILE MINDFULNESS NUMEROUS MOBILE APPS AND TRACKS are available to support your practice. AVAILABLE ON GOOGLE PLAY: Mindfulness Bell - reminds you during the day to bring yourself to the here and now. Mindfulness App - includes timers, guided meditations, instructions and links. AVAILABLE ON SPOTIFY: Kristin Neff: Self-Compassion, Step by Step Judith Day: Introduction to Mindfulness Meditation
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EUROPEAN VOICES BY ALEXANDER STUBB
The art of good service
H
ead & Shoulders dandition of the vehicle and probably at the druff shampoo used to price of transport. It will help if you feel have a funny ad slogan that you are not being ripped off by the in the 1980s. A gendriver. And if you are hiring a car, a free tleman in a business upgrade never hurts (not that I ever know suit frantically brushes what I am being upgraded from). dandruff off his shoulThen, it’s time to check into the hotel. A ders. The punchline: friendly receptionist will help you settle in. “Head & Shoulders, because you never get A quick change of clothing and off you are a second chance to make a first impresto check out the scenery. Time for restausion” must have been catchy because I still rants, shops, museums and sightseeing. Is remember it. the food good? Do you like the shops and I’m often reminded of museums? Are the sights this ad when I travel (No, worth seeing? I do not have a problem YOU GET A FEEL with dandruff ). I wonder ALL OF THESE individual OF THE COUNTRY things start giving you an how it is that we form the first impression of a overall impression. You start THROUGH ITS countrywe have not yet to get a feel of the country PEOPLE. visited. through its people. I am not Now, we probably have saying that nature and clisome kind of preconmate are irrelevant, but it ceived image in mind. We have read about is the human touch that creates the full the country in question and know approx- picture. imately what to expect. But in the The thing with service is that you can’t end, our first impression actually experience it in any guidebook, and you starts with the people working can’t generalise about it. It is all about in the service sector. personal experience - how you perceive a We step onboard the given service. national airline’s plane. We have all had good and bad experiA smile and a friendly ences. I have come out of airplanes, taxis, greetinggive us the first hotels and restaurants bouncing with joy, vibe. Alternatively, a raving about good service. I have also shabby airplane with come out of places fuming at the arrounfriendly service can gance of someone working in the so-called be a turn-off. It might service industry. get us off to a bad start, My own impression of Finland is naturallypositive. I love the service I get but we don’t give up from Finnair. Helsinki Airport works well. yet. Transport into town is smooth and there Step two, the airare plenty of services, often friendly. But, port. Is it nice and then again I am a subjective Finn. clean? Do you get Of course I hope that your first impresyour luggage quickly? sion of Finland is so good that you decide How far do you have to walk? What are the to come back a second, third, and fourth time. And as with everything, we learn shops, restaurants through feedback. Let me know how and services like? things went. Send me a tweet on These things matter. @alexstubb.At your service, without Both when you fly in dandruff. l and when you fly out. Next, you will likely jump into a taxi or hop Alexander Stubb is Finland’s Minister for on a bus. Again, you’ll European Affairs and Foreign Trade. be looking at the con-
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A SHARED URBAN
LIVING ROOM
HELSINKI IS BUZZING WITH EVENTS THAT ARE ARRANGED COMMUNALLY BY LOCALS. LET’S TAKE A STROLL THROUGH RESTAURANT DAY, CLEANING DAY AND PARK(ING) DAY. TEXT BY MINNA TAKKUNEN
PHOTOS BY VILLE PALONEN
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Heikki Snellman, sporting a red cap, sold over 400 burgers during one day in his Epic Burger restaurant.
Y UR FOR A DA RESTAURATE ON A SATURDAY in May, Rashmi Ahuja Toivanen is just setting up her table in the park when hungry Helsinkians begin gathering around, asking her what kind of food she’ll be offering in her pop-up Indian restaurant. Today her menu features rutabaga in a spicy tomato sauce and potatoes prepared with whole spice kernels. Both are served with roti bread, and optional mint-coriander chutney. The previous time that Ahuja Toivanen took part in Restaurant Day, her 50 servings sold out in just over an hour. Now arranged four times a year due to popular demand, Restaurant Day is a food carnival where anyone can set up a restaurant or café for a day, either indoors or out. Some open their homes or even offices to visitors, but most set up shop outdoors – which can be a challenge in February, when the weather can be very wintery. The event got its start in the spring of 2011, when Helsinki friends Antti Tuomola, Olli Sirén and Timo Santala came up with the idea. What if anyone could freely open up a restaurant for a day without the usual bureaucracy? The idea was quickly embraced, and over the past couple of years has spread to hundreds of cities in more than 50 countries. The only requirement for a would-be restaurateur is to register in advance on the event’s website. This time, Restaurant Day’s Helsinki map is teeming with hundreds of instant eateries. The city centre parks waft with the aromas 36 BLUE WINGS
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of cupcakes, spring rolls, waffles, sushi and barbeque. Indian-born Ahuja Toivanen, who moved to Finland two years ago after stints in Germany and the US, is a cancer researcher by day. During the evenings and weekends, she focuses on her passion for cooking. “When I go into the kitchen, I forget everything else,” she says. Even before her husband Mikko told her about Restaurant Day, she had dreamed of doing something foodrelated. For her, Restaurant Day serves as a handy test platform. “I want to offer the kind of real Indian home and street food that most people here don’t know about. For instance, pakoras and samosas are just a tiny part of Indian cuisine.” She has noticed that Indian restaurants tend to serve the same easy, repetitive and risk-free choices – although “people are attracted by tasting new, unique flavours,” as she puts it. About 15 other impromptu food kiosks have been set up in this little park. John Franzen and Jennifer Ramirez are selling Colombian arepa flatbread stuffed with vegetables, guacamole, bean paste and soft cheese. Sharon Choi and Pui Man Yeung, meanwhile, are offering traditional Hong Kong milk toffee pastries and mango juice. Ahuja Toivanen hardly has time to look up as she fills dishes. Within a couple of hours, the last of her 100 servings has been sold.
Rashmi Ahuja-Toivanen wants to introduce the flavours of genuine Indian home cooking.
Jeans and shoes looking for new owners during Cleaning Day.
A mobile eatery is handy during Restaurant Day.
CITY-TURNED-FLEA-MARKET HANGING ON a wire strung between a large linden tree and a street lamp are dresses, jackets and other clothes. Arranged in opened suitcases, on chairs and tables are dishes, books, shoes and home decor items. Interested in a rarely-played ukulele? Or exactly the kind of dinosaur that your niece has been longing for? Or would you prefer to sell off some unused stuff out of your own closet? Sara and Hampus are out looking for vintage finds today. They’re taking home an old tin teabox, an abacus, some frames and some faded photographs. These treasures are snapped up quickly, as they’re available today only, and there are thousands of other bargainhunters at large. Helsinki’s third Cleaning Day is a celebration of recycling, affection for old objects and active urban culture. Held simultaneously in many Finnish cities, it’s a day when streets, gardens and parks become massive rummage sales where anyone can bring anything to sell or donate. Cleaning Day is held in May and August, when the weather tends to be relatively free of snow and ice. The event was born spontaneously on Facebook at the initiative of a few Helsinki residents, and has no formal organiser. As with Restaurant Day, vendors don’t need any permits, but are requested to list their yard sale on the event’s website in advance. About five kilometres from the city centre, in the old wooden neighbourhood of Kumpula, the main street is closed to car traffic for the day and is full of people selling bric-à-brac. Locals are quick to point out that this “village party” has been held here since the 1990s, making it one of Finland’s oldest neighbourhood festivals and one that has spread elsewhere. Liisa Mayow is selling clothes in front of the house where she grew up, doing a brisk business in summer frocks. Tyko Sillanpää, an aficionado of fixed-gear bicycles, is trying to get rid of some extra bike components, which are hanging on an old handmade Italian bike frame. A few tables away, Reima Rönkkö finds a toy motorcycle as a present for his four-year-old goddaughter. Attracting a lot of attention is Vesa Keskinen’s vintage toy collection, which includes Matchbox cars and Viewmasters, including one dating back to 1947. Indeed, exploring this street carnival is like stepping back decades in time, as two violinists play on a corner, someone serves mushroom soup from a ground-floor window and a little boy learns to walk on stilts.
ANYONE CAN BRING ANYTHING TO SELL OR DONATE.
NEW USES FOR CITY SPACE WHY ARE THERE SO MANY grassroots resident-run events in Helsinki – and why now? “People are looking for alternatives to conventional lifestyles, a way to balance out the rush and loneliness of the urban environment,” says architect Hella Hernberg, who edited the 2012 city-culture book Helsinki Beyond Dreams. She says Helsinkians are seeking worthwhile content for their free time that is not just based on consumption. The phenomenon has been accelerated by major ongoing transitions in Helsinki, such as the opening up of port areas in the city centre for public use. Hernberg points out that informal civic activity is nothing new here, but rather a tradition with deep roots. Yet whereas such activity in the 1970s often involved political protest and social criticism, today’s events are more centred on enjoyment, fun and a communal feeling. The new city culture has also been underpinned by a change in the way locals work: “for many people, work and leisure time are now more mixed.” Social media has also helped these events to snowball in popularity in recent years. So has a more service-oriented attitude from city authorities. “Permit procedures are now more flexible from the standpoint of residents,” notes Hernberg. “There are also many local democracy projects underway.” The most critical breakthrough for many arranging their own urban events has been the realisation of how much is actually allowed in the city – once you get past the old assumptions and unwritten rules.
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Cleaning Day provides a chance to get rid of those unused mannequin legs.
Someone is ready to say goodbye to their old friend, Mr Sandman.
kkipäivä 17.8.2013
Selma gets lifted towards the skies in a parking space.
PARKING SPACES ARE GIVEN OVER TO DANCE, ART AND MUSIC.
ACROBATICS, COFFEE AND BIKE REPAIR
ACROBAT and circus teacher Silja Kyytinen easily lifts Selma as a group from Sirkus Magenta practice acrobatics and human pyramids in the centre of Helsinki – in a spot where cars are usually parked. Passersby, especially kids, eagerly accept an invitation to join in. Today, 13 parking spaces alongside Esplanade Park have been taken over for the day and given over to dance, performance art, bike maintenance, games and music.
The idea of Park(ing) Day is to inspire urban natives to imagine how much space they would have without cars, and what these areas could be used for if they were freed up. The event is co-sponsored by Yhteismaa (Common Ground), an association focusing on social innovations that is also involved in Cleaning Day and Ilmastoinfo (Climateinfo), a joint initiative of the cities in the Helsinki metropolitan region that aims to help residents lower their carbon footprint. Near the circus area, another parking space has been turned into a living room with sofas, where people chat with friends and new acquaintances or just enjoy coffee, buns and crossword puzzles. Theatre director Laura Lukkarila interviews passersby for an APRIL 2014
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Laura Lukkarila and Jermu Lakka are making a programme for Raven Radio, a Helsinki based community and internet radio collective.
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UPCOMING 2014
online radio programme, with a microphone hidden in a white glove so they don’t feel self-conscious. A group of young men beginning a stag night are playing table football – until the guest of honour, wearing a kangaroo suit, leaps off to join passing runners in the Helsinki City Marathon. A family of four who’ve come to watch the race stop to play a transportation game that’s won by little Elias “driving” a green car. A sign explains that 60 per cent of the capital region’s CO2 emissions are produced by private cars. If anyone else happens to need some cycle repair, the Pyörien pyörä (Bike of All Bikes) mobile shop offers quick repairs and advice in another borrowed parking space. Along with tools and parts carried – naturally on a bicycle – this one-man-shop on wheels also offers an advice service via smartphone photos. Someone who might need some cycle maintenance is DJ Herman Prime, whose Cykladisko provides a rhythmic bassline to accompany the events around the park. This low-carbon disc jockey has brought his whole sound system – including turntables – from a couple of hundred kilometres away by bicycle, pedalling to the new urban beat. l
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SWISS-IMAGE.CH /ANDY METTLER
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PEAK PERFORMANCE The Davos marathon is for those ready to take on a mountain in their marathon careers. Offering glorious panoramas on a rough alpine track, this is Europe’s highest-altitude race and one of the world’s most gruelling tests of endurance. Gluttons for punishment will choose the 78-kilometre ultra-marathon, 21 kilometres of which leads through high alpine terrain. There is a frequent train connection to Davos from Zurich Airport. Swissalpine Davos, July 26 SWISSALPINE.CH
FINNAIR FLIES to Zurich up to four times daily starting in May.
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ALTERNATIVE MARATHONS
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HIT THE WALL As the Chinese proverb goes, “You can’t be a hero if you’ve never been to the Great Wall.” A must for all self-proclaimed superheroes, the Great Wall Marathon sends runners up and down the 2,200-year-old landmark. With more than 5,000 steps to climb, you have a good excuse to pause on occasion and soak up the incredible scenery. The course starts near Huangyaguan, two hours from Beijing.
CROSS THE COATHANGER If Australia’s most scenic course won’t get you off your couch, nothing will. Run across the legendary “coathanger” – Sydney Harbour Bridge – and take in stunning views of the historic Rocks district, the Royal Botanic Gardens and the Opera House. There’s also a half-marathon, a nine-kilometre Bridge Run and a 3.5-kilometre Family Fun Run.
FINNAIR FLIES to Beijing daily.
Marathon du Médoc September 13 MARATHONDUMEDOC.COM FINNAIR FLIES to Paris up to five times per day.
AMCM/DE TIENDA/MAINGUY
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FINNAIR FLIES to Sydney several times per day via Singapore, Hong Kong and Bangkok.
MARATHON06.COM
ADVENTURE-MARATHON.COM
Blackmore’s Sydney Marathon, September 21 SYDNEYRUNNINGFESTIVAL.COM.AU
Great Wall Marathon May 17 GREAT-WALL-MARATHON.COM
TASTEBUD WORKOUT Who says wine and sport don’t mix? Certainly not the French, who organise a carnival-like marathon in the Médoc area of Bordeaux. Thousands gather in the town of Pauillac, many in outrageous fancy dress, to enjoy a fun run through the world’s finest vineyards – some keener on the wine and foie gras at pit stops than on crossing the finish line. Pauillac is a four-hour drive from Paris.
CRAIG GOLDING
TEXT BY SILJA KUDEL
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ROCK THE RED CARPET “Yes, we Cannes. It’s very Nice” is the slogan of one of Europe’s ritziest running races, the Marathon Des AlpesMaritimes. Starting on Nice’s beachfront Promenade des Anglais, the forgivingly flat course takes runners on a chic journey along the Mediterranean coastline, finishing on the famed red carpet of the Cannes Film Festival. French Riviera Marathon, Nice-Cannes, November 9 WWW.MARATHON06.COM/2014
FINNAIR FLIES to Nice up to four times a week from late March until late October.
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DIP YOUR TOE INTO
Rotenburo, or outdoor onsen, make the perfect place to unwind and watch the world go by.
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THEY SAY YOU NEVER FORGET YOUR FIRST ONSEN, OR HOT SPRING. THIS MULTIFACETED PART OF JAPANESE CULTURE MAY SEEM INTIMIDATING WITH ITS ETIQUETTE AND TRADITIONS, BUT SIMPLY SHEDDING ONE’S INHIBITIONS AND FOLLOWING A FEW RULES ALLOWS FOR A HEALTHY AND THOROUGHLY ENJOYABLE EXPERIENCE. TEXT BY DANIEL ALLEN
PHOTOS BY DANIEL ALLEN AND HOSHINOYA KARUIZAWA RESORT
JAPANESE ONSEN
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I Sitting beside the Takaragawa River in Gunma Prefecture, the Takaragawa Ryokan boasts the largest open-air bath in Japan.
Haute cuisine is on offer at the Hoshinoya Karuizawa resort.
n his fascinating volume Things Japanese (1890), famed British Japanologist Basil Hall Chamberlain made more than a few irreverent observations on life in the Land of the Rising Sun. However, the Tokyo-based professor was much taken with the local passion for onsen, hot springs, not least by one particular pool where “bathers stay in the water for an entire month, with a stone on their lap to prevent them from floating in their sleep.” Neither visitors nor locals employ such extreme measures to attain prune-like wrinkliness at the onsen today, but hot springs remain a vital cornerstone of Japanese culture. A belief in cleanliness is central to the Shinto religion, and practitioners look on bathing as an almost spiritual experience. Many families frequently visit the onsen together at the end of every day. “Onsen continue to play a very important role in Japanese society,” says James Mundy of Inside Japan Tours. “Japan has a tenth of the world’s active volcanoes and thus an abundance of naturally hot spring water. Onsen combine relaxation and pleasure with bodily cleanliness and a Japanese fascination with ritual purity.” “Many of Japan’s mountains are active volcanoes,” says Kylie Clark, head of PR and marketing for the Japan National Tourism Organization in London. The famous Mount Fuji was active until the early 1700s and that there are more than 3,000 hot springs dotted all across the country as a result. “Those interested in sampling onsen as part of their Japanese holiday experience are really spoiled for choice,” she says.
JAPANESE HISTORY IS RICH WITH ONSENRELATED TALES.
HEALING MINERALS Japanese history is rich with onsen-related tales. Colourful stories of how some springs were discovered involve injured birds teaching people about the healing powers of the hot water, warriors miraculously recovering from hideous wounds after a long bathe, and gods guiding samurai to panacean springs that can cure a panoply of sicknesses and ailments. In fact, Japanese scientists have been documenting the positive health impacts of the onsen since the early 18th century. By definition, the water of an onsen must contain at least one of 19 designated chemical elements, and be 25 degrees Celsius or warmer before being reheated. Larger onsen may feature several different baths, each with a different mineral composition. According to many Japanese, those who want to benefit from the full healing power of an onsen should refrain from washing their body after leaving the tub. Tamagawa Onsen, an onsen resort in the mountains of Towada-Hachimantai National Park, is 48 BLUE WINGS
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The Hoshinoya Karuizawa Resort is a luxury onsen facility located an hour from Tokyo.
ONSEN TOURS INSIDE JAPAN TOURS offer an 11-night “Hot Springs of Japan” trip taking in the must-see sights of Tokyo and Kyoto, together with some of Japan’s best rural hot springs including Takaragawa Onsen, Shibu Onsen (and the nearby hot spring bathing monkeys), and Kinosaki Onsen. INSIDEJAPANTOURS.COM
The Hoshinoya Karuizawa onsen resort is idyllic in winter.
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Enjoying an outdoor onsen near the town of Kii-Katsura.
articularly famous for having Japan’s most acidic p spring water. As the local geology also includes a very rare radioactive stone called hokutolite, believed to be beneficial in the prevention and treatment of cancer, the resort attracts cancer patients from all over the country. NAKED AND EQUAL Bathing in an onsen is healthy and rejuvenating, and leaves one feeling refreshed, relaxed and clean. “The act of bathing serves as a real pick-me-up in both summer and winter,” says Philip Beech, a Tokyo-based expat and self-confessed Japanophile. “I find the pressure of the water really good for the skin. I particularly like the herb baths; they are perfect for when you’ve had one too many sakés the night before,” he adds. But despite its benefits and pampering effects, many visitors to Japan skip onsen altogether because they feel intimidated. Armed with the right expectations and knowledge of the basics, however, the onsen experience becomes simple, pleasurable and rapidly addictive.
“Don’t be shy. As long as you obey the rules, everything will be fine, and a truly Japanese experience to savour and remember,” Beech says. Mundy adds that one shouldn’t feel embarrassed by the nudity either. “Other bathers aren’t interested in you, they’re only interested in relaxation. My first time in an onsen was with Japanese colleagues and I had concerns about being naked with them – I’m British after all. My fears were soon washed away as we sat in an outdoor hot spring overlooking the mountains, surrounded by snow and steaming volcanoes. It was magical.” In fact, the mutual nakedness and intimacy of the onsen represents the perfect opportunity for the Japanese to melt down the hierarchical nature of their society. With everyone stripping off, equality and equanimity are all part of the experience. “The phrase hadaka tsukiai or ‘naked companionship’ is used to describe a friendship or relationship created at the onsen,” says Mundy. “Business meetings are conducted far more openly and cordially when the interested parties are naked in an onsen than when bodies are concealed behind power ties and 1,000-dollar suits.”
EQUALITY AND EQUANIMITY ARE ALL PART OF THE EXPERIENCE.
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LHaute cuisine at the Kai Aso resort. Rows of wooden sandals at a resort in Kinosaki Onsen.
Those seeking one of Japan’s best ryokanbased onsen experiences should make a beeline for Kinosaki, a small town on the Tango Peninsula, about 150 kilometres north of Kyoto.
SOAK, SAVOUR AND SLEEP Beyond hot springs, onsen also denotes spas and bathing facilities in general, from tiny shacks to traditional inns to upscale retreats. Onsen come in many shapes and sizes, including outdoor baths (rotenburo), large-scale resorts, and indoor baths. Onsen may be either public or private, and are often run as part of a hotel, ryokan (guesthouse) or minshuku (bed and breakfast). One of the best ways to enjoy an onsen is to combine a soak with a stay at a traditional ryokan. Some guesthouses will have communal onsen, while others also have baths available for private hire. “These facilities are more discreet and are usually called kazoku-buro (family baths) or kashakiri (private hire) onsen,” explains Brad Towle, a Canadian working for the Tanabe City Kumano Tourism Bureau. “For those who are a little unsure about the whole onsen process, taking a dip in one of these private baths can be a good way of testing the waters.” Kylie Clark adds that her favourite onsen are rotenburo, the outdoor hot spring spas. “There’s something very special, and relaxing, about sitting in the hot, restorative waters of an onsen surrounded by nature.” Located inside the Shirakabeso Ryokan, a traditional guesthouse on the Izu Peninsula around 100 kilometres from Tokyo, the Yugashima Onsen is a particularly popular rotenburo. The area produces top quality wasabi, so
ONSEN ETIQUETTE WHILE ONSEN ETIQUETTE is important, it’s also pretty intuitive. The basic rules can be summarised as follows:
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Get naked Rinse off Bathe and bliss out
First off all, completely undress in the dressing room - you must be naked when you enter an onsen. Virtually all onsen are segregated according to gender. You can bring a small towel into the bathing area if you want, but don’t put it in the water. Many people prefer to put their towel on their head while bathing, but setting it on a rock or the side of the onsen is also fine. In the bathing area, rinse off and wash before getting into the tub. This is important, as it allows you to get used to the water temperature and keeps the onsen clean for others. Feel free to say hello to fellow bathers; some will be shy or not speak English, of course, but your greeting will break the ice. Then simply lie back and soak away your troubles.
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Yufuin is a popular hot spring resort, located about ten kilometres inland from Beppu, on the island of Kyushu.
RECOMMENDED ONSEN YUNOMINE ONSEN TB-KUMANO.JP/EN/ONSEN/ YUNOMINE
HOSHINOYA RESORTS (for Kai Aso & Hoshinoya Karuizawa) GLOBAL.HOSHINORESORT.COM
KINOSAKI ONSEN KINOSAKI-HOTSPRINGS.COM
SHIRAKABESO SHIRAKABESO.COM
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Relaxing in a green tea onsen at the Yunessun Resort.
Feet up in an al fresco onsen close to the town of Katsuura on the Kii Peninsula.
all ryokans here offer full-course meals of wasabi-based cuisine. Those seeking one of Japan’s best ryokan-based onsen experiences should make a beeline for Kinosaki, a small town on the Tango Peninsula, about 150 kilometres north of Kyoto. The town has seven main onsen baths with different healing properties, and visitors are encouraged to put on a yukata and getta (traditional sandals) and do onsen meguri, which means strolling from onsen to onsen. “The streets are lined with small local vendors selling beer and food for those that get hungry en route,” says James Mundy. BATHED EGGS AND RESORTS In the village of Yunomine in the heart of Japan’s Kumano region, south of Osaka, hot spring water not only soothes tired muscles, but is also an integral part of the cuisine. In fact, onsen tamago – or eggs cooked in hot spring water – exemplify the strong bond between man and nature that has long existed across this lush landscape of forests, rivers and mountain peaks. Yuminome, reputed to be one of the oldest hot spring communities in Japan, is perhaps the best place to experience the Kumano region’s abundant hydrothermal activity. An attractive collection of guesthouses shoehorned into a small, steep-sided valley, it boasts a range of traditional rooms, indoor and outdoor onsen, and even dishes made with local hot water. Onsen resorts are also popular in Japan, especially among families. Luxury ryokan operator Hoshino operates a range of onsen-based resorts, of which
oshinoya Karuizawa and Kai Aso constantly win rave H reviews. Set in a lush valley below an active volcano, about an hour northwest of Tokyo, Hoshinoya Karuizawa harnesses geothermal heat for more than just its onsen, capturing hydroelectricity from fast flowing mountain streams. The resort has also established a conservation organisation that manages local wildlife and runs a variety of nature tours. ONSEN EVOLUTION They may be long-standing pillars of Japanese society, but onsens are still evolving. Many are realising their importance as one of the last bastions of tangible, traditional Japanese culture, and aim to preserve their unique cultural assets. Conversely, artificial onsen (sento) are now reaching into towns and cities, where big bathhouse chains have built large drive-in hot spring centres complete with restaurants, massage rooms, TV snooze rooms and shopping, as well as saunas and hot pools placed in a Japanese garden setting. These onsen theme parks cater to the family and luxury market. Bodily warmth, muscular relaxation, pain relief and smooth skin. Or just a bit of fun at the end of a long day. While onsen invariably leave an immediate impression on visitors, it’s the experience itself that endures. Regardless of where you choose to bathe, those who take the plunge into the world of Japanese onsen are in for more than a few lucky dips. l
Tokyo.
FINNAIR FLIES nonstop daily to Nagoya, Osaka and
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EUROPEAN VOICES BY SIXTEN KORKMAN
The EU’s raison d’être
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istening to the views of leading politicians in Asia can be a revealing experience: some political attitudes still reflect the antagonisms and experiences of the Second World War; sometimes it feels as if the war took place more recently than seven decades ago. Many Asian nations there have not yet achieved the kind of reconciliation that France and Germany have. This relationship is a key characteristic of Europe, and widespread peace has never prevailed on this continent for as long as it has today.
in the EU. We should criticise bad practices and insist on improvements. But we must not lose sight of the big picture: we need the EU to ensure peace and improve the prospects of Europe’s prosperity.
BECAUSE OF OUR historical experiences, we Finns arguably understand the necessity of the EU better than citizens in the other Nordic countries. In 1807, in a meeting in Tilsit (then in Prussia, now in Lithuania), Emperor Napoleon I of France and Tsar Alexander I of Russia agreed that Finland would be part of the Russian sphere of influence. One year later the Russian army invaded Finland, PEACE IS CERTAINLY and the countrybecame part of the Russian AS ECONOMISTS we THE OVERRIDING empire for more than a attach great importance CONCERN FOR ALL century before achieving to the internal market, independence in 1917. and wish to see it further OF US. In 1939, meanwhile, improved. A lively debate Stalin and Hitler agreed is also taking place about that Finland would be part of the Soviet the prospects and problems of the Euro. sphere of influence, igniting what we now Yet, peace is certainly the overriding know as the Winter War between the concern for all of us. There is no doubt Soviet Union and Finland. Experiences that peace has been enhanced by growing economic interdependence and inte- such as these explain why we Finns want to maintain a seat at the table where the gration as well as by the advancement future of Europe is discussed. of democracy. Fostering these developAs I write this column, the conflict in ments was the explicit intention of EU’s Ukraine threatens the stability of Europe wise founding fathers, and the union is and beyond. It is not clear what the EU a great success. can do to help resolve that conflict; its This, however, is not the way means are limited. But it is conceivain which EU is perceived by large segmentsof displeased voters. Some ble that the soft power of the EU is, in view it as a bureaucratic monster the long term, more crucial than military interfering uselessly in our lives, while actions. others think its only aim is to enhance Hopefully all countries could liberate reckless competition and socially themselves from a geopolitical view of the harmful market forces. Many also world that belongs to the past. l view it as a project of the elite that lacks popular support and genuine AALTO UNIVERSITY professor Sixten democratic legitimacy. Korkman is the former director general at the Many of the complaints are false, Council of the EU’s Directorate for Economic while some are justified. A tendency and Social Affairs. His latest book is Talous ja towards bureaucratisation exists. Utopia (Economy and Utopia). Politics is often messy – nationally and
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Life is for
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TERRACOTTA WARRIORS ON
THE MARCH DECLARED THE EIGHTH WONDER OF THE WORLD, THE TERRACOTTA ARMY GUARDING THE MAUSOLEUM OF CHINA’S FIRST EMPEROR IS ONE OF THE MOST STARTLING ARCHAEOLOGICAL FINDS OF THE LAST CENTURY. TEXT AND PHOTOS BY KARI PALSILA
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The Terracotta Army is one of China’s best-known attractions, offering an intriguing glimpse into life in China 2,000 years ago.
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Top professionals from Germany, Japan and the United States have participated in the timeconsuming conservation work.
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mong the most awe-inspiring of the wonders attracting millions of tourists to China each year is the mausoleum of the first Chinese emperor, Qin Shi Huang. His tomb lies in the province of Shaanxi at the end of the ancient Silk Road, less than an hour from Xi’an, which served as the ancient Chinese capital for over a thousand years. The emperor’s mausoleum was declared a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1987. Alongside the Great Wall of China and the Forbidden City, the Terracotta Army is probably the country’s best-known attraction, offering an intriguing glimpse into life in China 2,000 years ago. CHANCE DISCOVERY The mausoleum was constructed to protect the first emperor in the afterlife. Although the location of the burial mound had been known for centuries, the world was startled by the discovery of the mausoleum in 1974. Among other surprises, it disproved the theory that ancient Chinese artwork never portrayed human figures. Local farmers stumbled upon the site while digging a well, unearthing fragments of clay resembling human body parts from several metres underground. Others had unearthed clay heads, hands and feet before, but used the odd objects as headrests – or threw them back after a moment of puzzled bemusement. The clay fragments were believed to originate from an ancient temple that once stood on the site. Locals feared disturbing the temple spirits, but when the village farmers started earning money by selling bronze spearheads and arrows to collectors at scrapmetal prices, officials began to take an interest. Extensive archaeological excavations were quickly initiated a few kilometres from the burial mound, and a roof was built to protect the first pit. LIFE HEREAFTER The Terracotta Army was constructed by China’s first emperor, Qin Shi Huang. Born in 259 BC, he ended the Warring States period and unified China under one throne in 221 BC. From the standpoint of later generations, his most significant achievements were dividing the empire into provinces under a centralised regime and building a 6,000-kilometre road network and thousands of kilometres of canals to stop the floods that plagued the country. He also standardised written Chinese and extended old fortification walls dating back to the feudal era to form the Great Wall of China. Qin Shi Huang was only 13 when he ascended to the throne. Wanting to reign forever, he soon began
In recent years, conservation methods have improved and the statues have been excavated from their thousand-year grave in astonishingly bright condition.
LOCAL FARMERS STUMBLED UPON THE SITE WHILE DIGGING A WELL. to construct a mausoleum as his home in the afterlife, which the ancient Chinese regarded as an extension of life on earth. High-ranking nobles were commonly buried along with an array of items they might need in the hereafter: gold and jade artefacts, clothes and even furniture. The mausoleum’s construction was a gigantic project undertaken by an estimated 700,000 workers from all over the empire. Hundreds of thousands died in the process. ARCHEOLOGICAL PUZZLE The mausoleum consists of three pits guarded by an estimated 8,000 to 9,000 soldiers, cavalry horses and chariots. The soldiers defending the emperor in his afterlife were equipped with bronze weapons, including over 30,000 arrowheads, spearheads and swords of exceptional quality. The weapons were coated to prevent rust using a technique unknown in Europe until centuries later. APRIL 2014
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Over the centuries, the painted statues have suffered the effects of exposure to air and light.
In the last stage, they were painted and finished with a thin layer of varnish. Upon completion, the figures were placed in the pits according to their rank and position, with distinct places for infantry, cavalry and archers. The pits were filled with soil and covered with a straw roof supported by heavy logs. It was in fact the collapse of this roof during the civil war after the emperor’s death – as well as the ensuing grave looting – which ignited a fire and destroyed many statues, resulting in one of the world’s greatest archaeological puzzles.
STATUES ARE STILL ASTONISHINGLY LIFE-LIKE. The first pit is immense: 230 metres long, 62 metres wide and 14,260 square metres in area. Over the centuries, the painted statues have suffered the effects of exposure to air and light, but they are still so astonishingly life-like that you can easily imagine them waking up and marching on. The soldiers are of varying ages and bear unique physical features. Their haircuts and moustaches are each minutely different, as are their uniforms, complete with creases. Officers and generals are easy to tell apart from their subordinates, as they are usually taller. OFF THE ASSEMBLY LINE The Terracotta Warriors were made using a technique similar to the modern-day assembly line. Stones for building the mausoleum were brought from as far as 150 kilometres away and the precise kind of clay required for the statues was extracted from nearby Lishan Mountain. The creation of the statues began with the torso and legs, with teams of craftsmen specialising in different body parts. After the limbs were joined to the torso with clay, personal characteristics were added, such as high cheekbones, beards and moustaches. The statues were fired in kilns at 950 to 1050°C to ensure they would serve the emperor as long as possible in his afterlife. 62 BLUE WINGS
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WILL THEY MARCH ON? Over the past 20 years, the mausoleum has had more than 20 million visitors. The fruit vendors that once peddled their wares outside have now been replaced by restaurants and souvenir shops. Some of the 2,000-year-old statues – the first Qin emperor’s “security guards” in his afterlife – now travel around the world, now themselves under maximum security. They have toured more than 40 countries and were recently featured in a special exhibit in Tampere, Finland last year. The lavishly-produced Terracotta Army and Chinese Emperors’ Treasures featured eight soldiers that once guarded Qin Shi Huang’s tomb, along with skilfully crafted jade, bronze and gold artefacts. The show attracted more than 124,000 admirers, breaking the museum’s visitor records. Time will tell whether the Terracotta Warriors will continue their march around the world, or whether they will stay put in Xi’an in future. With news in late 2013 of the discovery of several more high-ranking generals, a new chapter of revelations is set to unfold. “New, interesting discoveries and research findings are to be expected,” says Lisha Bai, exhibition project manager of the Shaanxi Cultural Heritage Promotion Centre. “Only about 1,500 statues of an estimated total of 8,000 to 9,000 have been dug up so far. The archaeological research and conservation work will continue. It’s like a huge puzzle. Next we will tackle the passage circling the edge of the largest pit, Pit 1, and we don’t know exactly what we’ll unearth as the excavations proceed,” she says. “In recent years, conservation methods have improved, so we’ve managed to keep the statues excavated from their 1,000-year-old grave astonishingly bright. Top professionals from Germany, Japan and the United States have participated in the time-consuming conservation work.” l FINNAIR FLIES nonstop to Xi’an three times a week, daily to Beijing and Shanghai, and four times a week to Chongqing.
The soldiers all have unique physical features and their haircuts and moustaches are each minutely different.
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ARE YOU FLYING BETWEEN EUROPE AND JAPAN? Finnair has teamed up with fellow oneworld alliance partners British Airways and Japan Airlines to provide you with more flight choices, smoother connections, better pricing and integrated customer support on eurasian routes. Make your global travel experience easier and more rewarding. Learn more at finnair.com
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THIS MONTH AROUND THE WORLD WHERE TO GO, WHAT TO DO AND SEE COMPILED AND WRITTEN BY MIRVA LEMPIÄINEN
TRAVEL BRAZIL
MIRVA LEMPIÄINEN
The 2nd annual World Travel Market Latin America is the leading global conference for those interested in the fastgrowing Latin American travel industry. Hosted in Brazil’s São Paulo, last year’s inaugural event was attended by 17,000 industry professionals and 1,250 exhibiting companies representing 60 countries. April 23–25 WTMLATINAMERICA.COM
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THIS MONTH AROUND THE WORLD
Aladdin in NYC
Running Expo
Jazzy Switzerland
Fertility fiesta
Disney’s new musical comedy Aladdin completes its first full month as Broadway’s latest permanent fixture. The story of the genie popping out of a magic lamp officially opened in New York on March 20. Aladdin’s production costs are estimated at $15 million (€10.8 million) – a lot, but nowhere near to the $1 billion so far spent on Lion King.
Organised in conjunction with the Paris marathon that has its origins in the 19th century, the 15-year-old Running Expo has grown from a sidekick event to a prime destination. Some 200 exhibitors offer advice, testing, products and services to the 75,000 runners who come to check out the oldest sport expo in France. Attendance is free.
A Swiss winemaking town becomes a jazz haven when the 32nd Cully Jazz Festival brings 50,000 people to the banks of Lake Geneva. Of the 107 concerts, 70 are free of charge. Many are organised in intimate, atmospheric wine cellars with the help of 400 volunteers. Refreshments come from 45 Lavaux region winemakers.
Promoting fertility and harmonious marriages since the Edo period (1603–1867), the Kanamara Matsuri Festival in Japan is better known as the Giant Pink Penis Festival. This parade shocks visitors with its transvestite carnival and phallic-shaped candy and radishes, but also raises funds for HIV research.
April 1–30 ALADDINTHEMUSICAL.COM
April 3–5 RUNNINGEXPO.FR
April 4–12 CULLYJAZZ.CH
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THIS MONTH AROUND THE WORLD
Asian treats
Derby fireworks
New Years in Laos
Nature getaway
Some 64,000 people gather in Singapore for Asia’s largest hospitality conference. The biannual Food&HotelAsia consists of six events: FoodAsia, HotelAsia, Bakery&Pastry, HospitalityStyleAsia, HospitalityTechnology and the new SpecialityCoffee&Tea. Wine&SpiritsAsia is also colocated within the 19th FHA.
The largest pyrotechnic production in North America, Thunder Over Louisville is a 28-minute spectacle utilising nearly 60 tonnes of firework shells. The 24th annual show kicks off two weeks of American festival fun that culminates in the 140th running of the Kentucky Derby, a two-minute horse race, on May 2–3.
Pi Mai Lao, the Lao New Year, is greeted with three days of festivities. People wash Buddha images, build sand stupas and spray perfumed water on each other. Luang Prabang is great for witnessing the many traditions, including a parade of hundreds of monks where the Prabang Buddha image is carried through the streets in a golden house.
Modelled after the infamous Burning Man festival in the USA, AfrikaBurn invites freespirited people to Tankwa Karoo to spend a week on a farm to create art, costumes, performances and music. Ice is the only thing sold during this South African getaway in the – everything else works on a donation basis.
April 8–11 FOODNHOTELASIA.COM
April 12 THUNDEROVERLOUISVILLE.ORG
April 14–16 TOURISMLAOS.ORG
April 28–May 4 AFRIKABURN.COM
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STARTUPS AND GROWTH COMPANIES ARE THE HOPE OF FINNISH ECONOMY. BUT AS BANKS’ RISK-TAKING IS CAREFULLY MONITORED, THEY NEED TO LOOK TO NEW DIRECTIONS FOR FUNDING.
M O O R H S THE MU
C F T E E F TEXT BY
ÄNEN JORM A LEPP
ILLUSTRATIO
NS BY M AT TI
ver the past couple of years, Finland has seen an unprecedented change in attitude. As people no longer believe that they can rely on large companies and the public sector to employ them, they have started to value entrepreneurship in a totally new way. “Finland needs an immense amount of new growth companies, since they create new jobs and bring export revenues to the country as they become international,” says Miki Kuusi, who at 24 is already a prime mover in the Finnish startup community. Despite his tender age, Kuusi is already a well-known figure internationally. He is the main organiser of Slush, the largest investment event for startups in Northern Europe. He has previously worked for the game company Supercell as the developer of its business operations and as the CEO of the company accelerator Startup Sauna. Kuusi shares the concern of all Finns. In the foreseeable future, the country’s economy is predicted to grow by at most one per cent per year, while maintaining the present welfare model requires a yearly growth rate of three per cent. That is unattainable without export revenues and a strong employment rate. “The overhaul of the forest products industry is not happening fast enough to bring a significant number
PIKKU JÄ MSÄ
of jobs to replace the ones that have been lost anytime soon. The electronics industry, the maritime industry and many other traditionally strong Finnish sectors are still struggling with structural changes,” Kuusi points out. The answer to this dilemma is growth companies. The existing small and mediumsized companies must grow. The nation also needs many new risk-takers, both entrepreneurs and investors. “The bright side of the situation is that we have more startups aiming at international growth in Finland than ever before. More and more people are taking their chances by starting a company or joining a startup. New technologies and the transformation in economic life provide a lot of opportunities,” says Kuusi. For instance, he says, the mobile web offers nearly endless opportunities for businesses far beyond the gaming branch. “In Finland, we have accumulated know-how that’s not found anywhere else. We also have a significant labour reserve in certain fields that require top expertise. The breakup of the Nokia cluster can even be seen as a good thing from the point of creative destruction.”
THE NOKIA BREAKUP CAN BE SEEN AS A GOOD THING FROM THE CREATIVE DESTRUCTION POINT OF VIEW.
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While trimming its mobile phone business into sales shape, Nokia created funding and training programmes to help its dismissed employees to become entrepreneurs. With certain conditions, the company even handed over its patents to the new companies: a rare event in a world where armies of lawyers protect patents, thus often hindering development. SHARE THE PROFITS Funding often plays a key role for startups as well as growth companies in general. Since banks’ risk-taking is carefully monitored, companies need private and public venture capital as well as a well-functioning stock market. In light of the Finnish economy’s goal of more than three per cent growth, it is interesting to note that target companies owned by private equity funds increased their turnover with 2.9 per cent two years ago. At the same time the country’s GNP shrank by eight-tenths of a per cent. “It’s vital for the national economy that money is directed efficiently to the places where it gains the best profits. Unfortunately the state and the public don’t always understand this in Finland,” says Timo
Rothovius, professor of accounting and finance at Vaasa University. While Nokia, for instance, has supported startup activities, the company’s shareholders have been dismayed with the fact that it has not invested its profits productively nor shared them as dividends to allow shareholders to invest them productively. “As we speak, too many companies have immense amounts of lazy money in their accounts. This is a huge loss for a country that is short of capital since economic reform is vital for us,” Rothovius says. In many other countries, too, companies seem to prefer to make unprofitable investments rather than dividing profits among their owners. Capitalism does not work if dinosaurs slow down the creative destruction, though. Steve Blank, a US serial entrepreneur and role model for startup entrepreneurs all over the world, has noted that in Finland large companies sometimes see smaller ones as a threat to their existing businesses. “In the US, giants have a positive attitude toward small challengers who force the whole industry into constant innovation. And the best challengers are also excellent acquisition targets, since they bring added value to the buyer and its clientele,” Blank explained while on a visit to Finland. GOLF WITH THE ADVERTISERS Smart money gravitates toward companies that offer unique profit and value for their customers. It is essential for the marketing team to recognise customer needs and create a new clientele. Jussi Hattula, venture capital director at the state-owned Finnish Industry Investment Ltd, is pleased that the country’s innovation system has started to approach new projects increasingly from the perspective of customer needs. “In the past, both public and private actors have supported the rather fragmented funding system which enabled small companies to keep going and continue to develop before they had even met a potential client. We’ve lacked the natural need to search for critical mass,” he says. “Today a developer of product and service packages understands that in addition to superior quality, a customer is interested in many other things, such as the supplier’s reliability and vision. In Finland, companies are no longer assessed only as innovation projects but as overall business opportunities,” Hattula says. Unfortunately it is still rare for a student at a Finnish university to study both engineering and marketing. The risk is therefore that in many companies the marketers will continue to focus on playing golf with the advertisers, while the
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product developers create innovations for customers who no longer exist. Blank’s reputation as a revolutionary is largely based on the idea that most startup failures are due to the fact that the product development model covers all their operations. “Nine out of 10 startups and nine out of 10 new products fail because clients aren’t interested in them. After starting eight companies in Silicon Valley and experiencing both success and failure, I started to wonder what it was in their operational models that prevented them from seeing pre-launch that there wasn’t any real demand for the product,” Blank recalls. The answer was obvious. Companies defined their products and business models before they had sufficient information about the needs of potential clients. “The pace of product development determined when sales and marketing came in the picture. Before the launch, almost everything took place within the company’s own walls.”
TOO MANY COMPANIES HAVE IMMENSE AMOUNTS OF LAZY MONEY IN THEIR ACCOUNTS.
ONLY OPINIONS, NO FACTS Blank stresses that there are only opinions – not facts – inside a startup’s own walls. Therefore one must introduce customer development alongside product development from the very beginning. This creates clientele and gives the company constant feedback from new and future clients about the product that is under development. “In fact, you have to start customer development before you’ve even defined the business plan. This is a tough stage for a beginning entrepreneur since the venture capital investors won’t join in till much later. In Finland, I’ve emphasised to young entrepreneurs that they have to learn to eat their soup with a fork before they approach investors,” Blank says. Marika af Enehjelm, a business angel and managing director of the Finnish Venture Capital Association, admits that financiers have traditionally been trained to think according to the product development models. However, technology is not the primary criterion when choosing an investment target. “In Finland we now have the first generation of serial entrepreneurs and experienced venture capital investors who see the company’s team’s know-how, talent and ambition as perhaps the most significant success factors. Nevertheless, a good business idea or a breakthrough innovation, as well as proof of concept, remain very valuable in the eyes of investors,” she says. The role of an excellent team was emphasised a few years ago when Kristian Segerstråle invested in the game company Supercell even though he knew that its first games would flop. Eventually Supercell became a world-class success story, earning a fortune for its owners.
SEEKING CREATIVE DESTRUCTION THE AUSTRIAN-AMERICAN economist Joseph Schumpeter, who defended capitalism and brought the concept of creative destruction to economics, believed that large companies could create innovations most efficiently thanks to their resources. However, he also saw that bureaucracy can easily stultify operations. According to Schumpeter, the era of radical innovations is over by the time “the entrepreneur is no longer prepared to die on the threshold of his factory to defend it physically, financially and politically.” “Affluent but shrinking large companies are a good reminder of the fact that money isn’t enough without an ability to renew yourself. The same applies to hired directors, who often make unprofitable investments just so that they can manage a larger company,” claims Timo Rothovius, professor of accounting and finance at Vaasa University. Although international investors have discovered Finland thanks to Rovio, Supercell and other new growth companies, the country’s ecosystem has much room for improvement. “Sweden has much bigger capital markets and they clearly function better than in Finland. In our country, the state punishes investors with tax decisions, whereas it should encourage the whole nation to invest directly in companies and through the stock market,” Rothovius maintains. He says that Finns’ positive attitude toward entrepreneurship would strengthen further if more people would follow finance and currency circulation more attentively as investors. “It’s important from the standpoint of economic efficiency and corporate growth opportunities that people as investors and voters ensure that capital gravitates toward the places where it has the best chance to earn revenues,” Rothovius concludes.
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“It’s really important to be able to recognise the zeal with which the team wants to change the world. Supercell and Rovio, which have built their business around games, are top examples of how a team can always find a way if it has a strong will and goals set high enough,” Hattula maintains. KNOW-HOW AND PASSION Kuusi underlines the role of will as well. As he puts it: “Usually investors watch a startup for three to six months before making a major finance decision. The team’s know-how and passion play the largest role; when choosing an investment target, the business idea, scalability and the rest weigh much less.” “I’ll never forget what an investor said about Ulla Engeström: ‘She willed the company.’ It was a really great recognition,” Kuusi observes. Engeström is a Finnish technology entrepreneur with an interest in how images and objects participate in social media and create long tail markets. She is the founder and CEO of ThingLink, the largest network of interactive images for consumers and brands. Despite its brilliant success stories, Finland’s future would be bleak if the responsibility for the export of goods and services relied entirely on startups. The overhaul and growth of small and medium-sized companies is most essential. “According to international criteria, there are only about 800 growth companies in Finland, and about 72 BLUE WINGS
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half of them are a part of larger groups. Since a majority of startups fail, the small and medium-sized companies play a key role in growth and employment,” Hattula says. If a company already has a 10-million-euro turnover, it has sales channels and customers. It is easier to expand its business than that of a startup. “One-hundred-per cent growth of a 10-million-euro turnover is much more significant than 100-per cent growth of a startup’s 50,000-euro turnover,” Hattula points out. He says that there are a great number of CEOs in Silicon Valley who are focused only on making companies grow at a certain stage. “The first person takes care of the stage where the staff grows from one to 10, the next one expands the staff to 50 and the third one takes over from there. I’ve seen the same system in the Nordic countries. Each stage has its own pitfalls, which an experienced serial entrepreneur or investor is able to avoid.” For instance, notes af Enehjelm, in Germany many domestic-market companies have entered international markets step by step through several changes in ownership. “I saw how a private equity investor turned an ignored department of a corporation into a profitable independent company. It was developed and grown further by the next private equity investor, who added services to the products and internationalised it Europe-wide. The third private equity investor has taken the company to global markets and added new companies to the core business,” she explains. Old family companies play an important role in Germany’s export success. They have specialised in narrow product areas, becoming global market leaders in their sectors. Many of them have become international gradually, relying on cash-flow financing and debt. “Finns have entered international markets relatively late. Growth that relies entirely on cash-flow financing is slow, and banks avoid risks. Strong growth requires large amounts of capital, however, and the financing must then be raised directly from investors or through the stock market,” Hattula says. The Finnish firm M-Files provides a good example of a family company which had long relied on moderate growth but decided to expand and become international through venture capital. A few years ago, the company made a shift from being an architectural firm to a supplier of information management systems. “M-Files started from a simple, everyday problem: how to organise files and information. The dilemma was global and the demand for the company’s information management systems grew explosively. We helped the company to finance the growth,” Hattula says. l
TURKISH DELIGHT THE AEGEAN COAST – KNOWN FOR ITS RICH HISTORY, FRESH MEDITERRANEAN CUISINE, ENDLESS SUNSHINE AND SPA CULTURE BUILT AROUND THE ANCIENT HAMAM STEAM BATH – SETS THE SCENE FOR A HEALTHY JOURNEY. TEXT AND PHOTOS BY KATJA PANTZAR
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Open-air museum Ephesus easily rivals Pompeii.
O
n the three-hour drive from Izmir to the upscale resort town of Bodrum on the Aegean coast, several cars speed by impatiently. Most of the passing vehicles bear license plates starting with the number 34, which means they’re registered to Istanbul, Turkey’s largest city (population 14 million), where the pace of life is more hectic than in other parts of the country. People appear to be in a hurry to slow down and take a break. According to Belgin Aksoy, one of Turkey’s leading wellness advocates, people have an incomplete understanding of the wellbeing philosophy. “Wellness does not consist of just eating one healthy meal, taking part in a one-week detox programme, or having a massage. We need to make a lifelong commitment to the art of living well,” she says. In 2012, Aksoy organised the country’s first-ever Wellness Day, an initiative she is developing into an international event (see sidebar for further information). “The concept of wellness is rising in the world,” says Aksoy. “People are now more aware that if they want to have a long and healthy life, they need to take good care of themselves. Feeling well is not a luxury, but in fact, a necessity,” she says. Wellbeing goes beyond diet and exercise; it’s also about providing nourishment for mind, body and soul.
FEELING WELL IS NOT A LUXURY, BUT A NECESSITY.
USEFUL ADDRESSES SAILING EXCURSION BY GULET BODRUMEXCURSIONS.COM
THE MARINA YACHT CLUB MARINAYACHTCLUB.COM
MUSEUM OF UNDERWATER ARCHAEOLOGY BODRUM-MUSEUM.COM
THOR LUXURY HOTEL & VILLAS THORHOTELS.COM
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HEALTH FOR ALL Turkey may not yet be known as a major wellness destination, but it certainly has many of the required prerequisites. The country of 74 million people is one of the world’s top tourist destinations, consistently ranking in the top ten of most-visited countries lists. Turkey lies on a major geothermal belt and has 1,300 naturally occurring thermal springs. In addition to a hamam (thermal spa bath) culture that dates back to the 11th century, there’s growing awareness around the world about the benefits of curative waters and pure nutrition such as the Mediterranean diet. Turkey’s third largest city Izmir recently bid to host Expo 2020 on a “Health for all” campaign that promoted wellbeing. Though it didn’t win (Dubai did), the promotion made a good case for Izmir’s status as a health city with a long history as such: its Asklepion
Belgin Aksoy, one of Turkey’s healthy living advocates, founded the country’s first Wellness Day.
RICHMOND NUA WELLNESS SPA
Bodrum’s St Peter’s Castle houses 3,000 years of underwater discoveries.
Honeysuckle, which some people believe has properties, grows along the Aegean Coast.
A day trip onboard a gulet off the waters of Bodrum comes highly recommended.
In the hilltop adjacent to Ephesus is a sacred site, the shrine of Virgin Mary.
Sesame-covered simits or Turkish bagels are for sale in Izmir’s market Kemeralti Carcisi.
healing centre was the site of the world’s first mental health hospital and the school of many influential doctors. Wellness is a journey, not a destination. With that in mind, here are three worthwhile trips to take along the Aegean Coast. BODRUM’S BEAUTY Ancient Greek epic poet Homer reportedly described Bodrum as “the land of eternal blue.” With 5,000 years of history, the town was known as Halicarnassos in ancient times. Once a humble fishing village, the white city – all of the stone houses are painted the same colour – is now the playground of the wealthy and well known. Last summer the former Bodrum shorefront home of Atlantic Records co-founder Ahmet Ertegun sold for 13 million euros. The upscale luxury yachts lining the harbour these days can be attributed in part to Ertegun’s legacy – he is credited with discovering musical greats such as The Rolling Stones, Led Zeppelin and Ray Charles. His Bodrum visitors included rock star Mick Jagger whose daughter, Jade Jagger, opened her first restaurant (The Secret Garden) in Bodrum’s legendary Halikarnas nightclub.
Despite Bodrum’s reputation as the St Tropez of Turkey, it’s surprisingly affordable, down-to-earth and offers a variety of different budget options. MUST-SEAS One of the best ways to relax and enjoy the area’s natural beauty is to take a sailing excursion by gulet, a traditional boat that was invented in Bodrum. A great number of tour operators offer day excursions that include lunch and stops in quiet bays where you can relax on deck while the boat is moored or go for a therapeutic dip in the salt water, which is said to improve the complexion and respiratory ailments. Back on land, dine on fresh seafood at one of the many restaurants along with waterfront such as the Marina Yacht Club for a view over the sea and the town. To better understand the area’s historical significance, visit St Peter’s Castle, which houses the Museum of Underwater Archaeology where discoveries from 3,000 years of shipwrecks in the area’s waters are on display. Highlights include Queen Nefertiti’s gold seal from a 14th century BC shipwreck that was discovered in 1982 in the waters off Bodrum. For accommodations, there’s no shortage of choice ranging from five-star to more modestly priced small
“TO BE HEALTHIER and look better, to live a longer and happier life, this is everyone’s common dream. So why don’t we have a day that is recognised all over the world as a Wellness Day?” says Belgin Aksoy, founder of Turkey’s Wellness Day, which takes place June 14th. The event, open to all, will feature seminars and workshops from leaders in the wellbeing field. The venue is Istanbul’s award-winning Richmond Nua Wellness Spa, which bills itself as Turkey’s first destination spa. “Prior to Richmond Nua’s establishment, there were many places that offered spa services. But there were no hotels that brought together the concepts of wellness and a spa in a 360-degree integrated manner. We offer a 2,700 square metre wet area, healthy menus, personalised weight loss programmes, and a rich portfolio of therapy and beauty treatments, making us one of Europe’s most well-equipped spas,” says Aksoy, who is on the board of directors of the Aksoy Group, which owns and operates the Spa. WWW.RICHMONDNUA.COM
ZEYNEL/ RICHMOND NUA WELLNESS SPA
A DAY FOR WELLNESS
Istanbul’s Richmond Nua Wellness Spa hosts Wellness Day on June 14.
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THE MEDITERRANEAN DIET IN A NUTSHELL THIS WHOLESOME approach encourages people to eat plant-based food such as fruits and vegetables, whole grains, legumes and nuts. It favours olive oil over butter, and recommends using herbs and spices instead of salt to flavour foods. Eating fish and poultry at least twice a week is recommended, as is drinking red wine in moderation. Red meat should only be eaten a few times a month. Being physically active and enjoying meals with friends and family are also important.
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Upeat joulun pyhät! inns. One of the newest resorts, Thor Luxury Hotel & Villas about a 20-minute drive from Bodrum town centre, is worth seeing for its sheer size and endless amenities including nearly a dozen onsite bars and restaurants, multi-level swimming pools and a massive spa that includes the traditional Turkish hamam bath experience that helps the body flush out toxins and feel rejuvenated. AWE-INSPIRING EPHESUS Easily rivalling Pompeii, Ephesus is an open-air museum that was once a great city of the Greeks in Asia Minor and site of the Temple of Artemis, one of the Seven Wonders of the World. Ephesus holds the largest collection of Roman ruins in the eastern Mediterranean. It’s estimated that only 15 to 20 per cent of its treasures have been uncovered. Booking a guide comes highly recommended for a better understanding of what’s on display. Set aside several hours and bring a hat and a bottle of water. Ephesus is easily accessed from Bodrum (100 miles north) and Izmir (50 miles away).
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INTO IZMIR Further up the coast, the city of Izmir is built around a harbour. Although it’s not a beach resort, Izmir is very much associated with healthy living and a point of interest for history and culture buffs. As throughout Turkey, the country’s tumultuous history is evident everywhere. Here in Izmir it was Alexander the Great who started building the city, which the Romans later finished. Visit the remains at Agora, where you can see the ruins of what was once an ancient market and walk through recently discovered underground aqueducts. At the centre of Konak Square is a 1901 clock tower, which is the historical site where the fight for independence began after the First World War. Nearby, local market and bazaar Kemeralti Çarcısı is a good place to stop for some strong Turkish coffee and to purchase ceramics, jewellery and woven textiles. Inside the market, Kismet Lokantasi serves excellent local food that draws on the Central Asian, Middle Eastern and Balkan culinary traditions that comprise Turkish cuisine. Try cacik, a mix of chopped cucumbers with yogurt sauce garlic and mint, manti dumplings or yaprak sarma, vine leaves wrapped around a filling of rice, onion and spices such as mint, pepper and cinnamon.A plateful of food plus dessert, usually fresh fruit slices and an assortment of traditional sweet pastries such as Baklava, costs about 20 Turkish lira (6.50 euros). l
DESPITE ITS 5-STAR REPUTATION, BODRUM IS LAID BACK.
FINNAIR FLIES nonstop to Antalya up to six times a week during summer months and to Gazipasa near Alanya up to three times a week.
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ECONOMIC STRUCTURE Employed persons by industry, 4th quarter 2013
FINLAND IN FIGURES
MANUFACTURING Food prod. and textiles 14%
Construction and energy Miscellaneous services
FOREIGN TRADE 2013 EXPORTS BY PRODUCTS BY ACTIVITY: 55,903 MEUR (per cent of total)
14%
34%
20%
Forest industry prod
Other manufactured goods 24%
8%
25%
Chemical ind prod
11%
Electric and electronics
Agriculture
4%
16%
Other industries
IMPORTS BY USE IN 2013: 58,168 MEUR (per cent of total)
Energy Capital goods
Metal and engineering products 48%
Trade and hotel
Transport and communications
MONTHLY TEMPERATURES AND RAINFALL IN HELSINKI 2013 MEAN MAX MIN RAINFALL AVERAGE 1981-2010
Intermediate goods
Financial and business services
15%
10%
13%
Machinery and equipment
Forest products 14%
14%
14%
Metals and metal products
Manufacturing
0
C 0 C 0 C mm
I
II
III
IV
V
VI
VII VIII
IX
X
XI
XII
52
36
38
32
37
57
63
56
76
70
58
-4,9 -1,8 -5,2 3,1 12,6 17,5 18,1 17,2 12,6 7,5 4,7 2,3 3,3 6,0 4,3 12,9 22,6 28,6 25,6 25,5 20,3 14,4 9,4 7,8 -22,6 -9,4 -18,4 -5,9 2,1 9,0 11,3 8,6 0,3 -3,1 -7,0 -10,3 80
Non-durable goods Durable consumer goods 0%
5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30% 35%
EXPORTS AND IMPORTS (MEUR) TOTAL 2013 SWEDEN GERMANY RUSSIA USA NETHERLANDS CHINA GREAT BRITTAIN FRANCE
EXPORTS
55,903 6,477 5,411 5,354 3,559 3,463 3,170 2,898 1,767
IMPORTS
58,168 6,656 7,323 10,519 1,959 3,348 3,737 1,836 1,915
POPULATION 5.4 million, giving an average density of 18 people per sq. km of land area; annual growth rate 0.5% Life expectancy: men 77.5 and women 83.4 years. As in most other industrial countries, t he middle-aged groups predominate. Average household s ize: 2.1 persons. 54% of the households live in single-family houses; 44% in apartment b locks. 84.4% are urban-dwellers, with 1 million in the Helsinki Area, which includes Espoo and Vantaa.
FOR MORE INFORMATION ON CURRENT TRENDS IN FINLAND, SEE:
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Other major cities in Finland include Tampere, Turku, Oulu and Jyväskylä. Languages: 90% speak Finnish; 5.4% Swedish. Religion: 78% are Lutheran; 1% Orthodox. Education: 81% of the popula tion aged 25 to 64 have com pleted upper secondary or tertiary education and 37h% (the highest percentage in the EU countries) have university or other tertiary qualifications.
AREA 390,920 sq. kilometres or 150,900 sq. m iles, of which 9% is fresh water; land area is 303, 909 sq. kilometres or 117,337 sq. miles. There are 188,000 lakes. 6% of the land is under cultivation, with barley and oats the main crops. Forests (mainly pine and spruce) cover 68% of the country. GOVERNMENT Sovereign parliamentary republic since 1917. From 1809– 1917, autonom ous G rand D uchy within the Russian Empire; before that part of the Kingdom of Sweden for centuries. The president is elected ever y six years. The new president of Finland, Sauli Niinistö took office in March 2012. The 200 members of Parliament are elected for fouryear terms. Finland has been a member of the European Union since January 1995. WORKING LIFE 80% of women aged 25–54 are employed outside the home. Average monthly earnings, 3rd
quarter 2013: men 3,563 euros; women 2,957 euros. Unemployment rate 8.5%, in January 2014 according to Labour Force Survey. ECONOMY GDP 2013: 193 billion euros, the annual change in volume -1.4%. Annual inflation rate as of January 2014: 1.6%. Currency: Euro.
GROSS DOMESTIC PRODUCT PER CAPITA 2012* (EUR)
Nominal
Adjusted for Purchasing Power Standard
NORWAY 77,500 49,900 DENMARK 43,800 32,000 SWEDEN 43,000 32,800 USA 38,800 37,900 FINLAND 35,900 29,400 GERMANY 32,300 31,100 FRANCE 31,100 27,500 UK 30,500 28,400 EU27 25,600 25,600
Eurostat
Source: Statistics Finland
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FINNAIR INFO HOW TO USE THE AUTOMATED BORDER CONTROL GATES
Place your passport with the info page face down on the reader. Please wait while your passport is being read for biographical and biometric data. When the scan is complete, the gate will open.
日本人で、ICパスポート（※）をお持ちの方 は、2012年5月から試験的に、出入国審査場において 自動化ゲートをご利用頂けます。 ヘルシンキ空港のシェンゲンエリアから、日本に向 けて出国される際にお使い頂くことが可能です。 まず、パスポートの顔写真ページを読み取ります。 該当ページを開き、読み取り機に向けて置いてくだ さい。 こちらで個人情報と生体認証データを読み取ります。
Enter through the gate and turn right. Remove your glasses and hat. Look directly at the screen keeping your face visible. The camera will compare your facial image with the biometric feature scanned from your passport. Wait until the second gate opens. The border check for EU, EEA, and Swiss nationals is completed when the gate opens. Third country nationals must now move towards the border guard, who will check your entry stamp and mark your passport with an exit stamp.
Have a nice journey!
Smooth crossings ARRIVING AND DEPARTING passengers at Helsinki Airport can use the 25 automated border control gates. Ten of these are located in the departure hall; the rest are located at arrivals. The Finnish Border Guard’s automated border control helps serve growing passenger volumes at Helsinki Airport. EU, EEA and Swiss nationals with biometric passports can take advantage of the automated border control gates. Third country nationals, who 82 BLUE WINGS
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are exempt from the visa requirement and hold a biometric passport, may also use the automated border control upon departure. The service is available for Japanese and South Korean citizens. The automated border control is monitored by a border guard ensuring secure border crossings. Please note that passengers travelling with an infant or wheelchair must use the manual border control line.
ゲートが開いたら中に入り、右を向いてください。 カメラで顔認証を行い、パスポートの顔写真と照 合します。 二番目のゲートが開いたら、出入国審査官のカウン ターにお進み下さい。パスポートの入国スタンプを 確認した後、出国スタンプを押印致します。 ご協力頂きまして有難うございます。 ※ ICパスポートとは、2006年3月20日から申請受付 を開始したIC旅券、つまり冊子中央にICチップ及び 通信を行うための。 アンテナを格納したカードが組み込まれているバイ オメトリック・パスポートのことです。
www.finnair.com/jp
대한민국 전자여권을 소지한 승객께서는 유럽에서 한국으로 입국 시, 헬싱키 공항에서 자동출국심사 서비스를 이용 하실 수 있습니다. 우선, 전자여권의 사진 페이지를 인식장치에 올려주시기를 바랍니다. 이 과정에서 여권정보가 시스템에 자동 인식됩니다. 첫 번째 게이트가 열리면 안으로 들어가 오른쪽에 위치한 카메라로 안면인증을 거치게 됩니다. 이후 마지막 게이트에서 출입국관리 직원의 출국확인도장을 받으시면 됩니다. 보다 간편하고 빠른 본 자동시스템의 많은 이용 바랍니다. 대한민국 전자여권은? 2008년 8월 25일 이후 발급된 여권으로 표지 하단부에 전자칩과 안테나가 내장 되어 있는 여권입니다.
www.finnair.com/KR
FINNAIR INFO BEFORE THE FLIGHT
BEFORE DEPARTURE
Speed up your takeoff! CHECKING IN TO your Finnair flight is quick and easy. You can save time and reduce hassle by checking in at a self-service kiosk at the airport, online 36 hours before departure or by text message. Find out more about our check-in services at WWW.FINNAIR.COM. IN CASE A FLIGHT IS DELAYED OR CANCELLED, Finnair will inform you about the situation via SMS. Please make sure that you have provided Finnair with your mobile phone number. Find out more information on flight disruptions at FINNAIR.COM/FLIGHTINFO.
Finnair in a nutshell • FINNAIR IS NUMBER ONE in air traffic between Northern Europe and Asia. • IN 2013, Finnair carried 9.3 million passengers.
Feeling hungry? FINNAIR OFFERS Economy Class customers on European scheduled flights the option to select and pre-order a meal to enjoy onboard. Choose from five delicious options: a fresh salad with smoked salmon, an all-day breakfast enchilada, beef burgundy, pasta bolognese and chicken korma with rice. The price of each meal is ten euros when purchased online. Go to WWW.FINNAIR.COM and select “My Booking” latest 72 hours before your flight. Choose a meal, and pay using a credit card. You will get a confirmation email and an EMD receipt. The pre-order meal is an optional, chargeable service available for Economy Class customers travelling on scheduled short-haul flights operated by Finnair and on AY2000-series flights operated by Flybe, with the following exceptions: flights within Finland, to/from Baltic countries, to/from Stockholm, to/from St Petersburg, to/from Dubai and Madrid-Helsinki return flights.
• CLOSE TO ONE AND A HALF MILLION passengers fly between Asia and Europe via Helsinki each year. • IN 2013, THE NUMBER OF PASSENGERS on scheduled flights totalled 8.5 million. Domestic travel accounted for 1.6 million passengers. Passenger total on leisure flights was nearly 768,000. • IN 2013, FINNAIR TRANSPORTED more than 146,000 tonnes of cargo. • ESTABLISHED IN 1923, Finnair is one of the world’s oldest operating airlines. • FINNAIR’S ROUTE NETWORK includes more than 50 international destinations.
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FINNAIR INFO DURING THE FLIGHT
IN THE AIR
Welcome aboard! SAFETY
PERKS FOR KIDS
• Safety information is presented by the cabin crew at the start of each flight. This information is also listed on the safety instruction card in your seat pocket.
• Children are offered puzzles or colouring books on intercontinental scheduled flights and leisure flights.
• Safety belts must remain fastened when the “Fasten safety belt” sign is on. For safety reasons we recommend keeping them fastened even when the sign has been switched off. • Passengers may use MP3, CD or DVD players as well as laptop computers when the “Fasten safety belt” sign is off.
• Music and video entertainment is available on intercontinental scheduled flights and leisure flights. • On the Airbus A340-300 and Airbus A330-300 aircraft, games are available as part of the personal entertainment system. MEALS • Meals or snacks are served on most international flights. Pre-order meals are available for Economy Class passengers on most European flights. • Complimentary non-alcoholic beverages are available on scheduled flights.
ENTERTAINMENT • Inflight entertainment on intercontinental scheduled flights and leisure flights includes music, movies and an Airshow programme, which allows passengers to track their flight on a map. • On scheduled flights, headphones are available free of charge. On leisure flights, the entertainment fee includes headphones.
• Alcoholic drinks are for sale in Economy Class on European scheduled flights, except on routes to and from Riga, St. Petersburg, Stockholm and Tallinn. • In Economy Class on intercontinental scheduled flights we serve a hot meal with complimentary wine and beer. • On European and intercontinental scheduled flights, coffee, tea, juice and soft drinks are complimentary. • In Business Class all drinks are free of charge. On leisure flights, there is a charge for all beverages. • On flights to and from northern Finland, alcoholic beverages are sold after 9 am.
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Inflight shopping • You may order products in advance from our large and affordable pre-order assortment at www.finnairshop.com. Pre-order service is available on all flights except on domestic flights and on flights to and from Bergen, Stockholm, St Petersburg, Riga and Tallinn. On most flights we also have onboard sales items including gift items, cosmetics, fragrances and confectionary. The selection varies by route. • Tax-free products, alcohol and tobacco are sold on aircraft flying to and from destinations outside the European Union. These include all intercontinental flights, as well as Alanya, Antalya, Dubai, Ekaterinburg, Geneva, Moscow, Tel Aviv and Zurich. On flights within the EU, products are affordable but not tax-free. • Due to limited space onboard, alcohol and tobacco products are not for sale on flights operated with Embraer aircraft, but these products may be ordered through the pre-order service. • SHOP WITH POINTS Pamper yourself with Finnair Plus points at www.finnairplusshop.com
FINNAIR INFO INFLIGHT ENTERTAINMENT
THIS MONTH ’ S INFLIGHT PICKS BW P
ICK
OF T
HE M
Movies, TV, music and games onboard
ONT
H
S American Hustle The story of a brilliant con man, his cunning partner and unhinged wife, who enter a dangerous, exhilarating world when forced to work for a wildcat FBI agent. (Chinese Subtitles, Rating R)
Beyond the Edge Sir Edmund Hillary and his Sherpa guide Tenzig Norgay stunned the world in 1953 with their ascent of Mount Everest. This is the epic story of their fight to reach the highest point on Earth. (Rating NR)
MUSIC MIXES ON THE FLY NOKIA MIXRADIO offers a wide variety of music on Finnair’s long-haul flights. Mixes feature genres such as jazz and hip-hop and artists from regions including India and China.
Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom A chronicle of Nelson Mandela’s early life, coming of age, education and 27 years in prison before becoming President and working to rebuild the country’s once segregated society. (Chinese Subtitles, Rating PG-13)
The Secret Life of Walter Mitty A day-dreamer takes action in the real world and embarks on a global journey that turns into an adventure more extraordinary than anything he could have imagined. (Finnish Subtitles, Rating PG)
The Hunger Games 2: Catching Fire Katniss Everdeen and Peeta Mellark become targets of the Capitol after their victory in the 74th Hunger Games sparks a rebellion in the Districts of Panem. (Finnish Rating K-12)
it back, relax and enjoy your flight with your personal entertainment system. Use your handset or touchscreen to choose from 72 movies, 150 TV shows, 24 music channels, up to 200 CD albums and 15 games. From films to news and sports, there’s always something for you to enjoy, including programs from Hollywood, Asia and around the globe. Available language tracks include English, Japanese, Korean, Thai, German, French, Italian, Spanish, Swedish and Finnish, depending on the program, as well as Finnish and Chinese subtitles. We also offer family films and cartoons on all international and leisure flights. Selection may vary by aircraft type. You can also create a music playlist from up to 200 CDs (on select aircraft). Most entertainment systems also include a satellite phone for texting and emails, and a power outlet so you can use your own laptop computer or personal entertainment device. The system also offers an Airshow moving map that displays the progress of your flight. Personal entertainment systems are available on Airbus A330 and Airbus A340 aircraft. Headphones are free of charge on intercontinental scheduled flights. On leisure flights (AY1000 series) there is an entertainment fee including headphone rental (on Boeing 757, €5.00 per person including return flight; on Airbus A330 and A340 aircraft, €8.00 per person per flight). Most Airbus A340 aircraft and all Airbus A330 aircraft are equipped with an electricity socket, telephone and the option to send SMS & email messages via the Inflight Entertainment System (not available for inbound SMS to the US or Canada). Messages cost $2.00 each. Calls cost $7.00/first minute and $3.50/every 30 secs thereafter.
Entertainment/communication systems may vary by aircraft.
FINNAIR INFO BEFORE AND AFTER THE FLIGHT HELSINKI AIRPORT
TRANSFER SERVICE
34
33
32
32a
31x 31
31a-e 30
HOW TO TRANSFER • Check your gate and departure time on the airport monitors.
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• If your baggage has not been checked through to your final destination, collect it from the baggage claim area and go to check-in and security control.
SHOP
Security control
Finnair Tax-Free Shop
FINNAIR LOUNGE
AIRPORT SHOPPING
Finnair Plus members receive special discounts at the Finnair Tax-Free Shop when presenting their membership card.
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2ND FLOOR
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GROUND FLOOR
AUTOMATED BORDER CHECKS are available to passengers with biometric EU, EEA or Swiss passports. Place your passport on the reader with the photo page down, then pass through the first gate, turn towards the monitor, and wait for the second gate to open.
NON-SMOKING Smoking at Helsinki Airport is prohibited outside of designated smoking rooms.
SHOPPING Receive special offers for airport services when you show your Finnair Plus card. You will recognise our partners by the Finnair Plus symbol. Helsinki Airport features more than 30 shops and boutiques and various restaurants and cafés. 86 BLUE WINGS
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Borde contro
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Border control
SHOP
SHOP
2ND FLOOR
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CHILDREN Children’s playrooms offer videos, microwave ovens and baby care facilities.
SHOP
Transfer Service 3
• All Finnair and Flybe departures are located in the same terminal.
WIRELESS INTERNET is available free of charge. An eService Bar is located across from gate 21.
Border control
LONG-HAUL AREA NON-SCHENGEN
• If you don’t have a boarding pass for your connecting flight, please contact the transfer service desk. • Most passengers transferring from nonEU countries to EU countries have to go through security and passport control. Please note that liquids are restricted in carry-on baggage.
SHOP
LOST AND FOUND INQUIRIES, Lentäjäntie 1 (next to terminal T2, street level) Open Mon-Fri 09:00-17:00 and Sat 09:00-15:00. Tel 0600 41006 (1,97€/min +local network charge) WWW.LOYTOTAVARA.NET
SHOP
WALKING TIME GATE 24-30: 7 MIN
CHECK OUT
T2 29
28
Restaurant & Deli Fly Inn
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FINNAIR LOUNGE 26
Finnair Tax-Free Shop
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GATE AREA
Security check
er ol
CHECK-IN 240–270
CHECK-IN 201–232 SHOP
SHOP
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25 Transfer Service 2
SHOP
Security check
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Finnair Service Desk
GROCERY
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SH
OP
SCHENGEN AREA
THE LATEST FINNAIR PLUS TAX-FREE OFFERS ON PAGE 97.
LOUNGE 2
SHOP
1ST FLOOR
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Tourist info
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Pharmacy
17 16
Transfer Service 1
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CHECK-IN 101–114
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Security check
Baggage storage
T1
GROUND FLOOR
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GATE AREA 12
2ND FLOOR
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FINAVIA
SHOP BUS CONNECTIONS The Finnair City Bus to the Helsinki railway station leaves from Terminal 2 every 20 minutes, stopping also at Terminal 1. Travel time is about 30 minutes. Price: €6.30
1ST FLOOR
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INTERNATIONAL FLIGHTS FROM HELSINKI
Great Circle Estimated Distances Flight km Times
ALGHERO 2473 03:35 AMSTERDAM 1525 02:35 ALANYA/GAZIPASA 2722 03:45 AQABA 3494 05:05 ARRECIFE 4518 05:55 BANGKOK 7912 09:45 BARCELONA 2632 03:55 BEIJING 6325 07:55 BERGEN 1112 03:30 BERLIN 1123 02:00 BIARRITZ 2581 03:45 BILLUND 1060 01:50 BODRUM 2572 03:55 BRUSSELS 1651 02:40 BUDAPEST 1481 02:20 BURGAS 1982 03:00 CANCUN 9127 12:05 CATANIA 2636 03:45 CHANIA 2756 03:50 CHONGQING 6736 08:40 COPENHAGEN 895 01:40 DALAMAN 2639 03:40 DELHI 5229 06:50 DUBAI 4537 05:55 DUBROVNIK 2027 03:00 DÜSSELDORF 1512 02:25 EKATERINBURG 2098 03:05 FARO 3480 04:45 FRANKFURT 1543 02:35 FUERTEVENTURA 4578 06:05 FUNCHAL 4310 05:45 GENEVA 1994 03:00 GOA via Sharjah 6739 10:15 GOTHENBURG 785 01:25 HAMBURG 1172 02:00 HANOI 7478 10:10 HÔ CHI MINH CITY (Saigon) 8510 10:50 HONG KONG 7821 09:35 HURGHADA 3743 05:05 INNSBRUCK 1701 02:35 IRÁKLION 2777 03:55 KAVALA 2159 03:15 KERKYRA 2331 03:25 KIEV 1171 01:55 KOS 2620 03:45 KRABI 8350 10:20 KRAKOW 1186 02:00 LANGKAWI 8560 10:25 LAS PALMAS 4700 06:10 LISBON 3369 04:50 LJUBLJANA 1713 02:40 LONDON 1863 03:10 MADRID 2950 04:25 MALAGA 3357 04:35 MANCHESTER 1817 03:00 MARSA ALAM 3932 05:10 MIAMI 8342 11:10 MILAN 1953 03:05 MINSK 740 01:25 MOSCOW 876 01:40 MUNICH 1577 02:30 NAGOYA 7780 09:40 NEW YORK 6626 08:45 NICE 2202 03:25 NORRKÖPING 530 01:30 OSAKA 7751 09:30 OSLO 766 01:30 OVDA 3457 04:30 PALMA DE MALLORCA 2777 04:00 PAPHOS 2898 04:00 PARIS 1900 03:05 PHUKET 8312 10:05
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Great Circle Estimated Distances Flight km Times PISA PONTA DELGADA PRAGUE PREVEZA PUERTO PLATA RHODES RIGA RIMINI ROME SANTORINI SEOUL SHANGHAI SHARM EL SHEIKH SINGAPORE SKIATHOS SPLIT ST. PETERSBURG STOCKHOLM TALLINN TARTU TEL AVIV TENERIFE NORTE TENERIFE SUR TOKYO TORONTO VARADERO VARNA VENICE VERONA VIENNA VILNIUS WARSAW XIAN ZAKYNTHOS ZÜRICH
2093 03:20 4316 05:50 1322 02:10 2397 03:25 8417 11:15 2668 03:45 382 00:55 1993 03:00 2235 03:25 2660 03:40 7050 08:40 7410 09:05 3664 05:00 9272 11:30 2353 03:30 1956 02:55 301 01:00 400 01:00 101 00:30 245 00:50 3230 04:25 4691 06:10 4745 06:10 7849 09:45 6619 08:50 8665 11:40 1911 02:55 1847 02:55 1903 02:55 1462 02:30 633 01:15 940 01:40 6421 07:50 2526 03:55 1781 02:45
SCHEDULED DESTINATIONS LEISURE DESTINATIONS PARTNER-OPERATED CODE-SHARE OR MARKETING DESTINATIONS SEASONAL ROUTE EW SCHEDULED N SEASONAL ROUTE NEW SCHEDULED DESTINATION IN 2014
Atl Oc antic ean
DOMESTIC FLIGHTS FROM HELSINKI IVALO JOENSUU JYVÄSKYLÄ KAJAANI MARIEHAMN KEMI/TORNIO KITTILÄ KOKKOLA/PIETARSAARI KUOPIO KUUSAMO OULU PORI ROVANIEMI SAVONLINNA TAMPERE TURKU VAASA
931 01:35 360 01:00 235 00:45 464 01:00 282 00:55 609 01:30 823 01:25 391 01:05 335 01:00 667 01:15 514 01:05 214 00:40 697 01:20 281 00:55 143 00:35 150 00:35 348 00:55
Bay of B isca ya
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Ocea n
Nor weg ian S ea
Nort
h Sea
Rostov-on-Don
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Arctic Ocean FINNAIR-INFO WORLD MAP
Finnair Plus members earn Plus points from travelling on any scheduled flight with a oneworld airline.
Atlantic Ocean
Pacific Ocean
Ocea n Atlantic Ocean
oneworld: more than 800 destinations 90 BLUE WINGS APRIL 2014
Arctic Ocean
Taiwan
Pacific Ocean
Indian Ocean
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FINNAIR INFO CORPORATE RESPONSIBILITY
Society and the environment Finnair wants to be the number one choice for quality- and environmentally-conscious travellers. The airline collaborates with many environmental and humanitarian organisations, and invites its frequent flyers to participate in these efforts by donating Finnair Plus points. Here are a few other examples of Finnair’s societal involvement in a changing world:
• From 1999 to 2009, Finnair cut its carbon dioxide emissions per seat by 22 per cent. By 2017, it intends to reduce this number by another 24 per cent; total reductions per seat from 1999 to 2017 will equal as much as 41 per cent. Finnair supports the International Air Transport Association’s (IATA) goal of zeroemissions air travel by 2050, as well as a global emissions trading scheme. • Finnair flies one of the youngest fleets in the business. The average aircraft age is 9.9 years. Operating with new aircraft cuts back on fuel consumption and emissions by 20 to 30 per cent. The airline also flies the shortest routes between Europe and Asia via Helsinki, reducing fuel consumption. Passengers and cargo are carried on the same flights.
• HOTT (House of Travel and Transportation), which houses Finnair’s headquarters near Helsinki, has received the esteemed LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Platinum international environmental certification. The system ensures that a construction project meets the strictest requirements for environmental efficiency. HOTT is owned by pension insurance company Ilmarinen, and Finnair is the primary tenant. • Finnair employees are offered continuous training and development opportunities. The company also conducts an annual employee wellbeing survey, participates in campaigns promoting equal treatment at the workplace, and places a strong focus on occupational safety.
COMPREHENSIVE REPORTING FINNAIR HAS PUBLISHED its 2013 annual report, which encompasses the previously separate financial and sustainability reports. Geared towards everyone from investors, analysts and members of the media to travellers and employees, the report covers Finnair’s strategy, product development, fleet, network, financial performance and corporate responsibility initiatives. “Finnair sees sustainability as integral to business performance. Thus the annual report embeds sustainability disclosures in its annual reporting framework,” says Kati Ihamäki, Finnair’s VP of sustainable development, adding that the need to integrate financial and sustainability information has become increasingly crucial for many companies: “This is especially important in an industry such as aviation, where environmental and financial performance are closely related.” According to Finnair CEO Pekka Vauramo, the report is an important venue for providing detailed information and analysis on the company’s performance. “It is also an opportunity to provide a comprehensive overview of Finnair’s operations in respect to broader social, commercial or regulatory trends,” he says. Since 2008 the airline has published its annual reports according to the Global Reporting Initiative’s G3 disclosure guidelines. The GRI was formed with the support of the United Nations Environment Program and provides an internationally recognised framework for transparent reporting in areas of sustainability. Browse the report in PDF form at:
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FINNAIR INFO ENVIRONMENTAL RESPONSIBILITY
DID YOU KNOW? Tour operator AurinkomatkatSuntours supports local charitable organisations in Langkawi and in Phuket to help the daily lives of local low-income families and their children.
HOW YOU CAN HELP At pointshop.finnair.com, members of Finnair’s frequent flyer programme can donate points to the following organisations: ☛ The Finnish Association for Nature Conservation
• Finnair prioritises recycling: assess and improve an airline’s for example, the airline has environmental management. donated cabin crew uniforms, Strongly believing that, as with blankets and other textiles to safety, the whole sector would Uusix and GlobeHope, compabenefit from a more systematic nies that turn used materials approach to environmental into design items. management, Finnair is part of • Finnair Group collaborates a pilot group of IATA member with environmental manageairlines participating in the ment company Ekokem on programme. waste management, including • Finnair is a member of United waste sorting, recycling and Nations Global Compact, a reuse. Materials such as cardcorporate responsibility initiaboard, paper, plastic and metal tive that comprises more than are recycled at Finnair, while 8,000 businesses. Participating hazardous waste is properly companies agree to make huprocessed. Material not suitman rights, fair labour standable for reuse is transported ards, environmental responsito Ekokem’s facilities for bility and anti-corruption core energy production. parts of their operations. • The recycling process begins • In 2011 Finnair signed the United onboard, where cabin attendNations Women’s Empowerants sort the waste generated ment Principles that encourage during the flight. companies to promote gender • In 2013 Finnair was certified equality and women’s empoweras a Stage 1 operator in IATA’s ment. The principles are the reEnvironmental Assessment sult of a collaboration between Program (IEnvA), a new envithe United Nations Development ronmental management sysFund for Women and the United tem designed to independently Nations Global Compact.
☛ The Association of Friends of the University Children’s Hospitals ☛ The Cancer Society of Finland ☛ The Finnish Red Cross ☛ UNICEF ☛ The Baltic Sea Action Group ☛ Hope
FIND OUT MORE Finnair has published an annual overview of its sustainability efforts since 1997. The 2013 Annual Report – Finnair’s first to integrate sustainability indicators with financial reporting – measures and accounts for Finnair’s financial, economic, social and environmental performance and explains its impact on business results.
www.finnairgroup.com/ annualreport2013 BLOGS.FINNAIR.COM
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FINNAIR INFO FLEET
AIRBUS A340-300 Number 7 Seating capacity 270/269/261 Length 63.6 m Wingspan 60.3 m Cruising speed 890 km/h Maximum cruising altitude 12,500 m AIRBUS A330-300 Number 8 Seating capacity 297/271/263 Length 63.6 m Wingspan 60.3 m Cruising speed 890 km/h Maximum cruising altitude 12,600 m AIRBUS A321 (ER) Number 11 Seating capacity 136–209 Length 44.5 m Wingspan 34.1 m Cruising speed 840 km/h Maximum cruising altitude 11,900 m AIRBUS A320 Number 10 Seating capacity 110–165 Length 37.6 m Wingspan 34.1 m Cruising speed 840 km/h Maximum cruising altitude 11,900 m AIRBUS A319 Number 9 Seating capacity 105–138 Length 33.8 m Wingspan 34.1 m Cruising speed 840 km/h Maximum cruising altitude 11,900 m EMBRAER 190 Operated by Flybe Number 12 Seating capacity 100 Length 36.2 m Wingspan 28.7 m Cruising speed 850 km/h Maximum cruising altitude 12,300 m EMBRAER 170 Operated by Flybe Number 2 Seating capacity 76 Length 29.9 m Wingspan 26.0 m Cruising speed 850 km/h Maximum cruising altitude 12,300 m
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Join Finnair Plus & enjoy countless benefits FINNAIR PLUS IS a frequent flyer programme open to all Finnair passengers. Children aged 2−17 can join the Finnair Plus Junior programme. Enter your membership number upon booking or show your card at check-in to earn points on Finnair and oneworld flights.
USE POINTS TO BUY services from Finnair Plus partners or make purchases from the online Finnair Plus Shop, which stocks more than 3,500 items from gadgets to design. Shop with points, money or a combination of both.
COLLECT POINTS FROM more than 300 international Finnair Plus partners, including car rental companies, restaurants, hotels, airport shops and more.
JOIN FINNAIR PLUS AT www.finnair.com/plus or by filling out an application form found as an insert in this magazine. The Finnair Plus site includes plenty of information and allows you to check your points balance, book flight awards, and browse special offers.
FINNAIR PLUS MEMBERS ENJOY a variety of benefits and flight award options. Purchase an Any Seat flight award at finnair.com/plus with a flexible combination of points and money, a Classic flight award with a set amount of points, or a flight on a oneworld airline.
Finnair Plus
oneworld
BASIC SILVER GOLD PLATINUM
--RUBY SAPPHIRE EMERALD
THERE ARE FOUR FINNAIR PLUS TIERS: Basic, Silver, Gold and Platinum. Move up to higher tiers by collecting qualifying tier points on Finnair or oneworld flights.
www.finnair.com/plus
BASIC BENEFITS:
+ C lassic and Any Seat flight awards
+ T ext message check-in for + + + + +
Finnair flights P ayment for excess baggage charges with points W aiting list priority based on tier P lusShop and partner service purchases with points D iscounts and points for partner services P oints for credit card purchases
ADDITIONAL SILVER BENEFITS:
+ B usiness Class check-in with + + + + +
Finnair Priority Lane* security checks O ne extra piece of baggage free of charge on Finnair flights F innair lounge access when flying with Finnair 1 0% points bonus on Finnair flights 1 0% discount on purchases made in Finnair Shops and on flights outside of the EU
ADDITIONAL GOLD BENEFITS:
+ C onfirmed seat 48 hours before
+ + + + + +
ADDITIONAL PLATINUM BENEFITS:
Finnair flights (European or intercontinental for Business Class, intercontinental for Economy Class) P riority Lane* security checks T ravel class upgrades for Finnair flights U se of a service phone number S pecial baggage free of charge on Finnair flights O neworld Business Class and Frequent Flyer lounge access + 1 guest 1 5% points bonus on Finnair flights
+ N o expiration of points during tracking period
+ Oneworld First Class
check-in and lounge access
+ 25% points bonus on Finnair flights
* For example: Helsinki, Stockholm-Arlanda
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FINNAIR PLUS FREQUENT FLYER BENEFITS
HOW DO I BENEFIT FROM MY FINNAIR PLUS MEMBERSHIP AT HELSINKI AIRPORT? FINNAIR TAX-FREE SHOP AT GATE 28 You may order in advance an award voucher worth 20 or 50 euros using your Finnair Plus points. Don’t forget that you can also earn points for purchases made in the store. In addition, Finnair Plus Platinum, Gold and Silver members enjoy ongoing discounts for preorders for Finnair flights at finnairshop.com, at the Tax-free shop located next to gate 28 and at the Finnair Arrival Shop located in baggage claim area 2B.
Moomin shop at Helsinki Airport or at the Moomin shop in Helsinki's Forum shopping centre when showing your Finnair Plus membership card.
FINNAIR LOUNGE You can use your points for access to award-winning Finnair Lounges.
MORE INFORMATION at finnair.com/plus
RESTAURANTS AND CAFÉS You may use your Finnair Plus points in all restaurants and cafeterias operated by SSP Finland (excluding Starbucks cafés). To use your points ensure that you have your plastic Finnair Plus card with you when shopping. MOOMIN SHOP You will earn three Finnair Plus points for each euro spent at the
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CHANGEGROUP As a Finnair Plus member you earn up to 5,000 points when converting currency at ChangeGroup. The number of points earned depends on the amount converted.
Did you know? Finnair Tax-free shop always has a selection of members-only special offers with discounts of up to 20 per cent.
FINNAIR pLUS frequent flyer benefits pARTNERS FINNAIR PLUS FREQUENT FLYER BENEFITS PARTNERS
OffersOffers fOr fOr finnair Plus members in finnair Plus members in november FEBRUARY The Finnair Tax-free shop at the Helsinki Airport welcomes reme Finnair PlusTax-free membersshop with monthly offersAirport and benefits. Just The Finnair at Helsinki welcomes your V mber OFFERS FOR MEMBERS IN APRIL alenti show FINNAIR your Finnair Plus cardPLUS and save 20% or more on our Finnair Plus members with a variety of offers and benefits. ne on feb
regular tax-free prices on certain items.
Just show your Finnair Plus card and save 20% or more on our regular tax-free on certain items. welcomes Finnair Tax-free shop atprices Helsinki Airport
The Finnair Plus members with a variety of offers and benefits. Penfolds Koonunga Hill 76
€12.90
Normal tax-free price €15.90 Penfolds Bin 8 Cabernet Shiraz
€23.90
Normal tax-free price €29.90
TAX-FREE SHOP
GATe 28 NEW & IMPROVED!
WINE WORLD & 2ND FLOOR LIFESTYLE WORLD DESIGN ITEMS • EXCLUSIVE BRANDS FROM FINLAND LUXURy COSMETICS • TOp Guess Road Trip Medium toteFRAGRANCES • GIFT ITEMS JEwELLERy • qUALITy wINES • SwEETS AND TOyS. €143
Normal tax-free price €179
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Selected Wolford legwear
and Ready offers: to Wear items additional –20% from normal
tax free prices ray-ban sunglasses, aviator
€136
Normal tax-free price €170 ray-ban sunglasses, Wayfarer
€92
Normal tax-free price €115
selected Products
-20%
Guess Road Trip Small frame satchel
€119
Normal tax-free price €149 Guess Road Trip Large zip around
teau Poitevin bourgeois aOC médoc
6.90
€55 WIN A TRIP TO Normal tax-free price €68 neW YorK
VISIT OUR RENEWED GATE 28 STORE AND WIN teau la Couspaude 2010, TWO RETURN TICKETS C saint Émilion Grand Cru Classé TO THE BIG APPLE!
mal tax-free price €19.90
Selected Calvin Klein products –20% from normal tax free prices. Selection includes also body care items.
6.90
mal tax-free price €64.90
Worldhotels “Where discovery starts” VISIT OUR RENEWED 2
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WITH GREAT BRANDS
WORLDHOTELS is an exclusive group of individual and independent hotels. We bring together a handpicked portfolio of almost 500 properties in 250 destinations and 65 countries across the world. Each of our hotels reflects the local character and offers a truly individual stay. Worldhotels offers hotels for any occasion – no matter if you are looking for a modern business hotel, a fabulous beach resort, or the ideal location for your corporate or private event.
ABBA The Museum
Triple Miles Offer epping into Stockolm'S ABBA the muSeum is like More than 170 participating worldwide tending a live concert by the world's mosthotels successful pop offer our rate “Triple Miles”. Simply book a stay of two nights and receive 1,500 Finnair Plus points. Stay for example in nd! Original costumes, memorabilia and gold records are the trendy Hotel Berlin, Berlin and experience the spirit of Germany’s capital. display, along with interactive sing-alongs and danceongs that can be recorded and saved onto your ticket ID. BOOK AT: WWW.WORLDHOTELS.COM/TRIPLE-POINTS-FINNAIR nnair Plus members can use their Plus points (or points a combination of cash) to redeem an award voucher for trance to ABBAWWW.FINNAIR.COM/PLUS The Museum.
nd out more and apply at www.finnair.com/Plus
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FINNAIR PLUS PLUSSHOP
Shop online with Finnair Plus points HOME DELIVERY
New lightweight suitcase from Samsonite 3 colour options SAMSONITE LITE-LOCKED SPINNER SUITCASE, 75 CM Made with the revolutionary Curv technology, the new suitcase is the lightest and strongest Samsonite yet. The combination of threepoint locking system and an advanced impact-resistant, lightweight material means that lightness has never been so secure. Size: 51 × 31 × 75 cm Volume: 93 l Weight: 3.6 kg
Regular price €499 Member offer €429 + 1,000 Finnair Plus points
THE ONLINE FINNAIR PLUSSHOP stocks over 3,000 items and delivers around the world. Pay with Finnair Plus points, money or a combination of both. Items will be shipped to your home or to your nearest post office.
FINNAIR PLUS PLUSSHOP
More PlusShop offers
SODASTREAM GENESIS DELUXE FREE MEGAPACK €89,90 Member offer €79 + 1,000 points
SUUNTO AMBIT2 (HR) GPS WATCH €500, silver and black Member offer €399 + 1,000 points
HAGLÖFS MIRO L DAYPACK €79,90, several colour options Member offer €59 + 1,000 points
MARIMEKKO TASKU LEATHER POUCH €69, 20 × 14cm, black & brown Member offer €49 + 1,000 points
COCOON INSECTSHIELD TRAVEL SHEET €109,95, green, 100% silk Member offer €85 + 1,000 points
ALL SAGAFORM HERB POTSI –20% Several options
OMRON RS6 WRIST BLOOD PRESSURE MONITOR €159, Member offer €129 + 1,000 points
PHILIPS AVANCE COLLECTION JUICER €165 Member offer €135 + 1,000 points
NOKIAN JALKINEET MOOMIN KIDS RUBBER BOOTS €39,50, blue & pink Member offer €29 + 1,000 points
PRICES SUBJECT TO CHANGE.
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