Blue Wings Beginnings issue 2 / 2020

Beginnings issue 02 / 2020

BLUE WINGS T O P TA S T E S

Brunching in NYC – Asian style

PORTO’S

C R E AT I V E REBELS

AG E O F C H A N G E

Grannies against climate change N E W DAW N

How waking up early could improve your life

DON’T BE SHY – HELP YOURSELF TO THIS ISSUE!

T H E A L L- N E W P R I N C E S S F 5 5 E X P E R I E N C E T H E E X C E P T I O N A L®

20 Båt Yachting – Helsinki Festival, International 7 – 16.2.2020 Visit us us at at Vene the Cannes 11th –Boat 16thShow September 2018

PRINCESS FINLAND +358 500 667754 info@princess.fi www.princess.fi FIND OUT MORE AT PRINCESSYACHTS.COM

Editorial Welcome onboard

ARJA SU OMIN EN

SVP, ­communications and corporate ­responsibility

bluewings.finnair.com

FO KUS M E D I A F I N L A N D Managing editor Amanda Soila Art director Aino Ahtiainen Executive editor Shelly Nyqvist Visual designer Sesilja Lindell Editorial assistant Mirkka Helkkula English editing Silja Kudel Reproduction Teemu Salovaara Cover Marisa Ferreira and Alba Plaza by Jussi Ratilainen Behind this issue Anna Alanko, João Canto, Micha van Dinther, Mark Fletcher, Geoff Harris, Laura Iisalo, Silja Kudel, Sanna Lehto, Mikael Lundblad, Karen MacKenna, Katja Pantzar, Jussi Ratilainen, Vuokko Salo, Lina Tegman, Wif Stenger, and Peter Weld Submissions and feedback bluewings@fokusmedia.fi Blue Wings online bluewings.finnair.com issuu.com/finnair_bluewings Editorial Offices Hämeentie 135 A, 00560 Helsinki, Finland, tel. +358 40 630 8253 firstname.lastname@fokusmedia.fi Advertising Sales Jaana Lindvall-Harki tel. +358 40 582 1416 jaana.lindvall-harki@fokusmedia.fi Publisher Fokus Media Finland Printed by Punamusta, Joensuu, Finland 2019 Paper NovaPress by Stora Enso, 60g Cover paper LumiArt by Stora Enso, 200g ISSN-0358-7703

Editor-in-Chief Arja Suominen arja.suominen@finnair.com Finnair Head Office Tietotie 9 A, Helsinki Airport, 1053 Finnair, Finland, tel. +358 (0)9 818 81, Postal address: P. O. Box 15, 01053 Finnair, Finland Customer feedback finnair.com/feedback or by mail: Customer Relations, SL/403, FI-01053 Finnair finnair.com, finnair.fi, finnairgroup.com

New beginnings AT F I N NAI R , we’re constantly innovating and improving our s­ ervice offerings. Our revamped Business Class Lounge in the non-­Schengen terminal at Helsinki Airport is an excellent example of this.

Finnair’s internal design team collaborated with Helsinkibased KOKO3 and London-based Tangerine to ­create a sustainably styled space that stands the test of time.

Simplicity, clean lines, and natural ­materials showcase the ­Nordic ­aesthetic, with features such as Eero Aarnio’s iconic Ball Chairs, one of the most famous classics of Finnish design.

A variety of spaces cater to different customer needs. There are quiet areas and group spaces suited to those travelling solo or with a group. A new family area comes stocked with games and activities. ­Culinary highlights include a fresh Nordic menu ­tailored to international tastes with seasonal local produce by ­Finnish food provider Fazer.

Refurbished shower suites stocked with organic L:a Bruket skincare products can be booked with a touchscreen reservation ­system.

I hope you have a chance to try out our new lounge.

Wishing you a wonderful journey, Arja Suominen

Our revamped Business Class Lounge stands the test of time.

2 / 2020 BLUE WINGS 3

Visualisoinnit taiteilijan näkemys

38–220 m2 ARVOASUNTOJA MEREN LÄHEISYYDESSÄ

Töölön Kesä­ kadun asuntojen myynti on alkanut

Ainutlaatuisia koteja

kaupungin kauneimmilta paikoilta Auratum Asunnot luo mahdollisuuksia korkealuokkaiseen asumiseen rakennuttamalla uusia ja uudistamalla arvokiinteistöjä.

Valitessasi Auratumin rakennuttaman kodin, voit olla varma siitä, että asuntosi on laadukas pienimpiäkin yksityiskohtia myöten. Laatu näkyy erinomaisessa varustelutasossa, toimivina ratkaisuina sekä tyylikkäinä, kestävinä materiaa­ leina. Kohteemme sijaitsevat aina keskeisillä ja arvostetuilla paikoilla.

Tutustu tarjontaamme ja nosta asumisen laatusi uudelle tasolle.

Meiltä saat kodin, joka täyttää toiveesi jokaista piirtoa myöten.

LUE LISÄÄ: TOOLONKESAKATU.FI

AURATUM ASUNNOT • www.auratumasunnot.fi HELSINKI: asunnothelsinki@auratum.com TURKU: asunnotturku@auratum.com

Contents Beginnings issue

Dream 11

GLO B AL P U L S E

Happiness hacks

PASS IO N PR OJ EC T Purposeful debut novel

Lofoten’s natural beauty

2 0

LOS ANGE L ES

PAG E 3 4

Hotels with history

14

P RO D U C T I N S PI RAT I O N

Aussie classics 16

Learning through making

Author Johannes Lichtman ponders the contradictions of doing good.

Page 16

PAG E 11

Explore Asian brunch in NYC

2 6 NE W YOR K CI TY

PAGE 2 6

40 PR OFI L E

Brunching with the best of them

3 4 LOFOTE N

Norway’s Arctic archipelago

Influencer granny

45 SMAR T STUFF

Clever thinking by companies

LA hotels with insanely cool histories.

Page 20

2 / 2020 BLUE WINGS 5

Contents Beginnings issue

Create 52

C RE ATIV E CO R N ER

Porto’s coolest hood 63 S H OW RO O M

Global design 66 INV E STIGATIO N

Good morning!

70 M O O M IN VAL L EY

Tokyo’s newest theme park

75 Q &A

Slow travel Travelling vlogger couple Roy and Sue. Page 75

Fly

Portuguese façade finders PAG E 52

79 FI NNAI R NE WS

What’s new

83 FLYI NG STOR I E S

Get social

84 E NTE R TAI NME NT

Stay connected

85 FI NNAI R PLUS

Frequent flyer rewards

86 SHOPPI NG

Wish list from Finnair Shop

89

HOL I DAY SAMPL ER

Foodie destinations

90 W E L L NE SS ONB OARD

Moominstyle sleeping PAG E 70

Healthy options in the air

91

STAFF TI PS

Catching waves

92 FI NNAI R I N A

Is early rising the secret to success?

Page 66

NUTSHE L L

Fly the shorter route

93 FL E E T

Modern fleet at your service

94 MAPS

Helsinki Airport and destination check-list

98 FI NL AND FACTS

Fascinating figures

6 BLUE WINGS 2 / 2020

L U X B AG H E L S I N K I

W

WO &

EN

C E L I N E · G U C C I · B A L E N C I AG A G I V E N C H Y · F E N D I · S A I N T L AU R E N T C H LO É · LO E W E · B OT T EG A V E N E TA

P O H J O I S E S P L A N A D I 2 5 - 2 7, 0 0 1 0 0 H E L S I N K I W W W. LU X B AG . F I

EMBRACE CHAOS.

The bed you choose prepares you for whatever the day has in store for you. So choose carefully. Order our new eye-opening catalog at hastens.com. Be awake for the first time in your life.ÂŽ

HĂ„STENS STORE HELSINKI, Mannerheimintie 8, 00100 Helsinki, tel. 020 780 1370, hastens.com

PHOTO MIKAEL LUNDBLAD

Dream

Keep your curiosity alive

Balancing act What does it mean to be a good person, author Johannes Lichtman? (p. 16) 2 / 2020 BLUE WINGS 9

THE LARGEST HAS ARRIVED.

THE WORLD’S LARGEST CAR RENTAL COMPANY – NOW IN FINLAND. ENTERPRISE RENT-A-CAR IS THE WORLD'S LARGEST RENTAL COMPANY WITH OVER 1.5M CARS WORLDWIDE – NOW OPERATING ALSO IN FINLAND! BOOK A CAR: ENTERPRISE.FI

Global pulse COMPILED BY KATJA PANTZAR

Ideas for good life from around the world

Dopamine detox

TOO MUCH OF A GOOD THING

Is it time to reset your happy hormones?

Book nook

latest wellness trend is dopamine fasting, which means cutting back or regulating the amount of the so-called happy hormone.

This is done by reducing pleasurable activities such as spending time online, socialising, or eating certain foods.

For example, some people feel a hit of pleasure when they check their social media posts to see how many likes they’ve received. Tuning out of social media is a way to cut back on hits and find calm and ease stress in an overstimulated world.

S IL ICO N VAL L EY ’ S

HAPPY TUMMY, HAPPY MIND “A healthy gut means a healthy mind,” according to THE PSYCHOBIOT IC R E VOLUTI ON: MOOD, F OOD, AND THE NE W SC IEN C E OF THE G UT- B RAI N CON N EC T ION

Packed with hands-on information by leading medical researchers John F. Cryan and Ted Dinan and journalist Scott C. Anderson, the book explains how brain health and state of mind are connected to micro biome.

F U N FAC T

According to the New York Times, a more accurate term would be “stimulation fasting.”

Winter wellness

PHOTOS ISTOCK

WH E E L O N

The 8th International Winter Cycling Congress pedals into town from February 5–7.

.

ICY GOOD The coolest place to be this month is Joensuu in eastern Finland.

FR OZEN DIP

The Finnish Ice Swimming Championships take place in the waters off Ilosaari island from February 7–9.

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Life is a rocky road with its ups and downs. Our goal is to minimise the problem of getting dressed appropriately, so you’ll have time to worry about the bigger picture.

Makia was born in the harbour of Helsinki to stand the test of time and to accompany you for years to come - Through the Rough Seas.

makia.com | Flagship store: Mannerheimintie 22-24 00100 Helsinki Finland

Global pulse Ideas for good life from around the world

Life hack

Repetition really does create the master.

HOW TO SPEED UP LEARNING WANT TO B E a quick study? The secret lies in focusing on the number of repetitions, not tracking the amount of time you practice, as repetition is one of the most powerful tools we have because it rewires our brains.

This is, of course, well known by top athletes, performers, and musicians.

Source: Lifehack.org

HEALTH BEAT Top mobile health trends are all about ease and personal focus.

E ASY SHAR IN G

Mobile health, or mHealth, centralises patient health information so that it can be easily shared with medical practitioners.

FE MAL E FOCUS

The rise of Femtech signals the upsurge of focusing on services to improve and enhance reproductive health.

New breakfast flavours

GOOD MORINGA! the big food trends for 2020 is West African flavours such as moringa, forecasts organic grocer Whole Foods. Rich in protein, potassium, calcium, and vitamin A, moringa is a complete plant protein containing nine essential amino acids. California-based Kuli Kuli’s Organic Pure Moringa Vegetable Powder promises to take your morning smoothie to the next level.

PHOTOS ISTOCK

O N E OF

R E MOTE CA RE

Telemedicine is becoming a preference, as the demand for healthcare access and patient care remotely increases.

Source: Pete Milovcich, healthcare technology market expert

2 / 2020 BLUE WINGS 13

Culture swap Destination inspiration

COMPILED BY LAURA IISALO

Daily staples Basics from Australian brands never go out of style.

1

FI NNAI R FL I E S TO

Sydney (SYD) with oneworld alliance partners Qantas and Cathay Pacific Airways via Hong Kong, Singapore, and Bangkok.

Inspired by the ocean!

2 3

6

4 Put your best foot forward!

Amp up your cruelty-free style!

The soft Workroom Jumper is ethically made and free of harmful chemicals. €160 from kowtowclothing.com 2 — GOLD Handcrafted Small Wavee earrings glisten in glamorous yellow gold. 155 € from hollyryan.com.au 3 — W HI TE CL ASSIC The Hemp Classic Tee is a sustainable take on the traditional white top. €55 from vegethreads.com 4 — OFF SHOUL D E R The veganfriendly Caramel Lizard Bandolier Bag has room for daily essentials. €95 from sansbeast.com 5 — E VE RYDAY D E NI M Classic crop jeans are handmade in Japan by third-generation artisans. €325 from bassike.com 6 — B UI LT BY HAND Hand Sewn Low classic court sneakers are made with all-natural materials. €550 from feitdirect.com

1 — COSY KNIT STATE M E NT

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PHOTOS COURTESY OF THE COMPANIES

5

EXPLORE FINNISH DESIGN What do you feel when you surround yourself with Finnish design? Sense of calmness? Joy?

WHAT IS DESIGN FROM FINLAND?

In 2020, we will dive into the emotions and sensations Finnish design evokes in us by showcasing exciting design companies, inspiring designers and beautiful design items. In this issue of Blue Wings, you can find four very different Finnish companies that all encompass the theme of Cold&Bold in their own unique way.

Design from Finland is a registered trademark which helps you to recognize Finnish design excellence. It’s granted to design that elevates or surprises, but most importantly, feels like it’s designed for you.

500 UNIQUE POINTS OF VIEW

500

Over 500 products and services carry the Design from Finland mark.

Design from Finland companies offer everything from software solutions to high tech products and furniture.

A DESIGNER’S VOICE: TERO KUITUNEN “Often when people speak of Finnish design, they think of harmony and neutral colors.

Finnish design is much more than that.

It’s bold design that uses bright colors and experiments audaciously. We might seem calm and shy, but underneath we are courageous people who walk our own path – in life and in design.”

Photo by Maija Astikainen

BRING A PIECE OF FINLAND HOME WITH YOU Buy Design from Finland products at Finland’s bigger airports and cities or visit our website to find out more.

See it. Feel it. Sense it.

Photo by FINOM Lights

designfromfinland.com

Passion project

THE GOOD SPORT

In his first novel, Swedish-American author Johannes Lichtman delves into being and doing good.

B

TEXT MICHA VAN DINTHER PHOTOS MIKAEL LUNDBLAD

e good, do good, feel good. On a daily basis, messages such as these fill our feeds in social media. And however much we try to abide by these principles, the feeling that we aren’t doing enough, or that we aren’t doing it properly, inevitably sneaks up. Most of us are probably familiar with the struggle to be “good” – to ourselves and to others – in a world that is increasingly messy and complex.

“I think maybe it’s the wanting to do good and not really knowing how – the self-questioning, selfcritical aspect – that resonates most with readers,” says author Johannes Lichtman whose debut auto-fictional novel, Such Good Work, takes on the complex subject through the eyes of a 20-something protagonist named Jonas Anderson.

Jonas, like Lichtman, has dual Swedish-American

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citizenship. Written in first person, the story sets out on America’s West Coast where he struggles to break his drug addiction and to hold down a teaching job.

To create distance between his craving to get high on oxycodone, Jonas escapes to his ancestral Sweden, where the on-going refugee crises of 2015 sees more than 100,000 refugees from Syria, Iraq, and Afghanistan flood into the city of Malmö.

Wanting to start afresh, Jonas is compelled to act and attempts to do good by volunteering to teach unaccompanied minors the Swedish language, landing him in a dilemma many will recognise – when does a good deed become a selfish and self-fulfilling act?

When does a good deed become a selfish act?

THE NOVEL WITH SIXTY DRAFTS Since published, Such Good Work has been getting rave reviews (in the New Yorker, the New York Times, and the Economist, among others) and Lichtman was chosen as one of “Five under 35” >

“With writing, I can spend my time alone with the words until they’re ready.”

2 / 2020 BLUE WINGS 17

“The voice I saw on the page finally matched the one I heard in my head.�

Having lived in nine places, SwedishAmerican author Johannes Lichtman Itiis con non uses the rem insider-outserum nimincto etto sider perspective lisciisquos magna. his advantage.

18 BLUE WINGS 2 / 2020

JOHANNE S L I CHTMAN

Portland-based Swedish-American author.

W HE R E ’S HOME ?

“It’s hard to say – I’ve lived in nine places.”

FI CTI ON VS NONFI CTI ON

“Fiction is about creating something from nothing while nonfiction is about creating something from everything.”

ON D UAL CI TI Z E NSHI P

“Having an insideroutsiderness frame of reference produces thoughts that a Swedish writer wouldn’t write in the same way.”

PHOTOS ZACHARY KEIMIG & AUSTIN NEILL

Such Good Work, Lichtman’s first novel, was six years in the making and was rewritten by the author countless times.

honourees by the National Book Foundation in America in 2019.

Having written since college, Lichtman has always enjoyed telling stories, but prefers doing so in writing.

“Talking to people often leaves me with intense anxiety. Every time you speak, you only get one chance to say what you want to say. That’s kind of scary.

With writing, I can spend my time alone with the words until they’re ready.”

And spend time he does.

At his desk in a co-working collective housed in a skyscraper in downtown Portland, he spends endless hours writing drafts, weighing each word carefully. Lichtman discloses that he probably wrote 60 to 70 drafts working on the first chapter. “The first draft might be really showy and overwritten, and then I cut and cut and cut until the attempt to impress is mostly gone. I want the writing to be funny and entertaining and

honest and hopefully insightful and moving,” says Lichtman.

Six years in the making – Lichtman wrote the novel in first person, rewrote it in third person, rewrote it in first person, changed the ending, took out the second chapter, changed the ending, put the second chapter back in, changed the ending, deleted half of the second part – Such Good Work isn’t the first novel Lichtman has written. But it was the first he felt comfortable sharing with the world. “Maybe this was the novel where I had felt like the voice I saw on the page finally matched the one I heard in my head,” says Lichtman.

Reflecting on how his life has changed since the book came out, he is glad to no longer spend time copyediting vitamin catalogs, proofreading multiple choice tests, or ghostwriting supply-chain management blogs, and all of the other tasks he was doing. “Now, I can spend most workdays just writing. Which is better than any review or prize,” says Lichtman. 

“I want the writing to be funny and entertaining and honest.”

2 / 2020 BLUE WINGS 19

Inside track Los Angeles

Storied hotels Historical architecture meets dazzling design in downtown Los Angeles’ creative hotels.

TEXT KATJA PANTZAR PHOTOS JOEL MUNIZ, VITALY SACRED & COURTESY OF THE HOTELS

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D o w n to w n L A’s H o tel F i g ue ro a p a ys h o m ag e to i ts fe m i n i s t ro o ts.

Hotel Figueroa was the largest commercial building funded by women for women when it opened in 1926.

Hotel founder Maude Bouldin with fellow pioneers.

Delicious on-site dining at the Figueroa.

Suffragette city

It seems impossible to think that once upon a time women travellers in America couldn’t check into a hotel without a man co-signing their stay. Back in the 1920s, aviation pioneer Maude Bouldin became the country’s first female hotel manager when she led downtown LA’s YWCA, which was billed as “an ideal stopping place for ladies unattended.”

That ground-breaking hostel is now the fabulous H OT EL F I G U ER OA , a 4.5-star boutique hotel that pays homage to its feminist roots.

Following a multi-million euro renovation, the Spanish colonial style building displays womenled art throughout the hotel, with music playlists in general spaces created by local female DJs. >

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Clean lines at the Ace Hotel DTLA.

The Hoxton reflects its East London heritage, as it’s part of the upscale British Hoxton brand.

Silver screen

Housed in a Gothic style building from the 1920s, AC E HOTE L DTL A was once home to the United Artists studio and theatre set up by a group of forward thinkers including silent movie star Mary Pickford, and luminaries Douglas Fairbanks, Charlie Chaplin, and DW Griffith.

Located on Art Deco South Broadway, the Ace draws on its architectural and artistic history, which is evident in its immaculately restored 1,600seat theatre. Meanwhile, the sparse, concrete columned loft-like hotel rooms boast a distinctly hipster feel.

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Downtown LA is about 2o minutes from Hollywood Hills.

DTLA’s newest hotel, T he Hoxton.

FI NNAI R FL I E S TO

Los Angeles (LAX) three times a week.

Slick roots The luxurious look of THE STANDAR D HOT EL DT LA

harks back to its former life as the headquarters of Superior Oil, an independent oil company until the mid1980s. Housed in a grand 1950s vintage building complete with a marble façade and spacious twostorey lobby, the 207-room boutique hotel also boasts a rooftop pool and bar with views over LA.

Brit chic The newest edition to the city’s vibrant hotel scene is T H E H OXTO N , L A . Housed in a repurposed Beaux Arts building from the 1920s with many previous lives – once the headquarters of the LA Railway, later a garment factory, sweet shop, and grocery store – the hotel reflects its East London heritage, as it’s part of the upscale British Hoxton brand.

The 174 rooms of the hotel come in the brand’s signature categories – Snug, Cosy, Roomy, and Biggy. And room bookings come with access to a fully stocked kitchen, which is a rare treat for the frequent traveller who doesn’t always want to eat out. 

3

Sample on-site eats

M AG I CAL M O C KTAI L S

Tucked away behind the swimming pool at Hotel Figueroa, Rick’s cocktail lounge serves up an array of stylish drinks, as well as a selection of non-alcoholic ones.

AME R I CAN CL ASSI CS

The Ace Hotel DTLA’s on-site Best Girl bistro is named after the 1927 Mary Pickford movie and serves up all-American food in a smart but cosy neighbourhood milieu.

OR G ANI C COMFOR T FOOD

A boldly colourful diner, The Standard’s 24/7 caters to those in search of organic, locally sourced comfort food such as their generous all-American Cobb salad.

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PHOTO LINA TEGMAN

Explore

Think beyond the box

Hungry for more New York’s best breakfasts are all about Asian influences (p. 26) 2 / 2020 BLUE WINGS 25

Field Trip

BRUNCH New York

Breakfast in New York is an institution, but eastern influences are challenging the waffles and bacon scene. Enter the delicious era of Asian brunch in the city.

TEXT KAREN MACKENNA PHOTOS LINA TEGMAN

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BUNCH

Red Farm has a reputation for exceptional flavours complemented by a warm ambiance.

2 / 2020 BLUE WINGS 27

Red Farm’s executive chef Joe Ng is famous for his artistry and super-charged dim sum.

Divine dim sum Ed Schoenfeld has had a love affair with Chinese food dating from his ­Brooklyn childhood. “It was a family ­favourite because it was both affordable and delicious.”

At home he learned to cook with his grandma and went on to study with Grace Zia Chu in Manhattan, the culinary instructor and author who is credited with introducing a generation of Americans to Chinese cuisine. After a career spanning five decades, Schoenfeld has become a globally respected restauranteur and the country’s leading expert on Chinese food.

R ED FAR M is his latest venture and takes Schoenfeld’s cherished cuisine to new levels. With two locations in

the city, the menu is Southern Cantonese and brunch is all about the “super charged dim sum” for which executive chef Joe Ng is famous.

The origins of dim sum are found in Hong Kong and Guangdong ­province, but it has since become a breakfast favourite all over the world. “Dim Sum is a traditional food eaten for breakfast and early lunch,” Schoenfeld explains.

Red Farm’s cuisine is a modern take on Chinese food, focusing on quality ingredients and farm-totable mindset, flavoured with a dose of humour. The whimsical Pac Man shrimp dumplings, for example, thrill kids and adults alike with their playful shapes and irresistible taste. Typical to Red Farm, the portions are presented like art installations on a plate.

“Dim Sum is a traditional food eaten for breakfast and early lunch.”

28 BLUE WINGS 2 / 2020

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“In my childhood Chinese food was a family ­favourite because it was both affordable and delicious.”

Red Farm owner Ed Shoenfeld has had a love affair with Chinese food since childhood.

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“Northern Vietnamese food is known for its balanced, light components.�

Hanoi House chef Daniel Le is reputed to make the best pho in town.

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Freshly Vietnamese When Sara Leveen and her partner Ben Lowell travelled to Vietnam in 2013, they fell in love with the culture and the food and were inspired to open their own restaurant.

Today, the ­stylish and lively East ­Village establishment of H ANO I H O U S E pays homage to the capital they lost their hearts to.

The food at Hanoi House is fresh and inventive, with plenty of vegetarianfriendly options for a health-conscious crowd.

“Northern ­Vietnamese food is known for its balanced, light components, with lots of fermented and pickled ingredients,” Leveen explains. The North is also the birthplace of pho, Vietnam’s national dish, which is considered a breakfast staple. “Brunch is a nourishing meal in Vietnam and soup

is a favourite choice,” she says.

“At Hanoi House we slow cook our traditional bone broth for one and a half days. It’s seasoned with fish sauce and served over rice noodles with various cuts of beef (such as brisket and oxtail), cilantro, scallion, and red onion.”

Reputed to have the best pho in town, brunch at Hanoi House is a hot ticket item, with its hip crowd a mix of p ­ eople from the neighbourhood and Vietnamese seeking authentic tastes.

Standouts on the menu include bun tom, a vibrant noodle dish with shrimp sautéed in tomato and garlic over scrambled eggs, rice vermicelli, and bean sprouts, and goi du du, a papaya and pig ear salad served with watercress, crispy shallots, and a sweet soy dressing.

The Pho Bac at Hanoi House is both delicious and is said to cure a hangover.

“Brunch is a nourishing meal in Vietnam and soup is a favourite.”

FI NNAIR F LIES TO New York

(JFK) daily.

>

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Japanese comfort food A cosy gem nestled in the trendy NoHo district, BE SSOU is quickly becoming a favourite haunt among the neighbourhood’s creatives and a destination for high-quality homestyle Japanese food.

The restaurant’s owner Maiko ­Kyogoku was raised on the Upper West Side of New York City but her parents are both from northern Japan.

“The brunch menu is food I grew up with,” she says. Inspired by her mother who was a passionate home cook and wanted her daughter to learn about the “beauty and bounty” of Japanese food, the dishes at Bessou are a “modern take on Japanese comfort food.”

“Brunch is a meal you can have fun with. It’s not confined by the rules and there’s more creative liberty,” says Kyogoku.

The Japanese breakfast set is based on what is perhaps the most typical of a morning meal in Japan. Light and well balanced, it combines market fish with seasonal greens, onsen poached egg, miso soup, assorted pickles, and rice to produce a refreshing alternative to a western brunch. But it is the Japanese shakshuka that sets the bar high for brunch of any kind with its kabocha squash in Japanese-style curry with stewed tomatoes, baked egg, and miso tofu labneh.

Bessou translates to “Holiday Villa” or “Home Away from Home” and this is also reflected in the interior philosophy of the restaurant, with its intimate, light-filled space that boasts lots of natural elements such as pine, exposed brick, and stone.

“I wanted the interior to evoke a ­Japanese home,” says Kyogoku. 

The dishes at Bessou are a modern take on Japanese comfort food.

The swoon-worthy Japanese curry shakshuka at Bessou raises the bar for brunch.

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“Brunch is a meal you can have fun with. It’s not confined by the rules and there’s more creative liberty.”

Brunch at Bessou is a coveted reservation in the trendy NoHo district.

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Escape Norway

Walk the talk

With imposing scenery and plenty of hiking options, Norway’s Lofoten archipelago is a nature lover’s treasure trove.

PHOTOS VUOKKO SALO

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The archipelago offers a wealth of hiking paths varying from easy to challenging. Some are just a few kilometres long while others take up a whole day. With children, the pace is leisurely and rest spots come in all shapes and sizes.

Often dubbed the most beautiful place in Norway, Haukland Beach is also the starting point for the hike up to Mannen Mountain, a trek that is suitable for younger adventurers, too.

>

2 / 2020 BLUE WINGS 35

Lofoten’s rugged landscape boasts some of the most abundant bird life in Norway with enormous seabird colonies and a great number of whitetailed eagles.

Nature in Lofoten is like a piece of art with the frosty weather bringing vibrant hues to the landscape.

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Lofoten has become a popular travel destination during the summer but in the autumn, winter, and spring season the archipelago quiets down.

The snow-topped mountains make a scenic backdrop for trekking. Just remember to bring along a pair of proper hiking boots.

>

2 / 2020 BLUE WINGS 37

FI NNAI R FL I E S TO

Bodø (BOO) once a week during the summer season.

From there you get to Lofoten by car, bus, or ferry.

Surrounded by the sea, the archipelago offers plenty of options for fishing and surfing. Some of the world’s northernmost surfing spots are located here, which are particularly popular with experienced coldwater surfers.

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EXPLORE COLD&BOLD FINNISH ELEGANCE The long Finnish winters and their relentless darkness can feel overwhelming.

Instead of letting that defeat us Finns, we hold our heads up high. We keep creating, innovating and loving our magical nature.

We might feel the cold, but our design is always bold. These four companies encompass this daring Finnish mentality.

Check out more tough and proud design at

FINOM Finom’s design lamps delight with their look. They perfectly represent the essence of bold and cool Finnish design: their form is clean, and they let the bold natural materials shine through. Light up your life at finomlights.com

designfromfinland.com/explore

HAMARI Hamari’s auditorium furniture are a perfect example of design, that makes your life easier without making a big fuss about it. The aesthetic is restrained and clean-lined and it’s all about the user. Find out how Hamari solves seating challenges for complex venues: hamari.pro

LUMOAVA There is no one type of Finnish woman, we’re happy to be strong and unique. Delicate jewelry lets your uniqueness shine even on the greyest of days. Find your new favorite gold and silver jewelry from lumoava.com

MATRI When it comes to the bedroom, most Finns love clean natural colors, reminiscent of the elements seen in nature. Make your bedroom the heart of your home at matri.fi/en

See it. Feel it. Sense it. designfromfinland.com

Think again

G R AN NY POWE R Finland’s newest climate action group taps into the wisdom of older generations.

Meet Seija Kurunmäki and the Activist Grannies.

TEXT WIF STENGER PHOTOS SANNA LEHTO

A

towards the desired changes. We need bout one year ago, a small different kinds of people to talk about group of women began plotting this issue.” a new way of looking at the The founders come from a range future at H ­ elsinki’s futuristic Oodi of backgrounds, including science, library. medicine, media, and business – “we The Activist Grannies were born. need all these kinds of skills,” says “People have certain mental images Kurunmäki. of grannies, but we want to redefine She began dreaming of such a group the word as being strong and active,” in late 2018, concerned says founder Seija about her preschoolKurunmäki. aged grandchildren After a 40-year “We want to and inspired by Greta career in food and keep the world as Thunberg’s Fridays for communications, Future youth strikes. she invited fellow a good place to At 63, Kurunmäki saw grandmothers to join live for our own the need for a parallel her to face the climate movement at the other crisis. Their mission: grandchildren.” end of the spectrum. to shift attitudes and In October 2019 spur action across the group published a manifesto society.

“We want to keep the world as a good and set up a Facebook group called Aktivistimummot (Activist Grannies). place to live for our own grandchildren Within a couple of weeks, it gathered and the children of the whole world,” more than 3,000 members, passing 5,400 says Kurunmäki. early this year.

“With our empathy, experience, “You don’t have to be a grandmother and networks, grandmothers can be to join,” she says. “There are more than opinion leaders to strengthen attitudes

40 BLUE WINGS 2 / 2020

>

Climate activist Seija Kurunmäki finds strength in the forest.

2 / 2020 BLUE WINGS 41

The Activist Grannies include women – and some men – from all walks of life.

42 BLUE WINGS 2 / 2020

yourself most easily. Not wasting food is 100 men in the group, some of them important; so is eating more vegetarian very active.” food. A flexible diet is best, changing Activities include monthly events at with the seasons.”

Oodi, including a discussion of “moving Kurunmäki has worked on from anxiety to hope” led by a children’s sustainable food issues and publications psychologist and Panu Pihkala, an for the Ministry of Agriculture and Sitra, environmental theologian from the the Finnish Innovation Fund.

University of Helsinki who has written “I woke up to the books on eco-anxiety. climate issue 10 years The group is ago during a Sitra creating a guide to “Eating more project on future news climate terminology vegetarian food for 2030 and 2040. We and pushing issues created four scenarios, such as recycling is important. including one with rapid and waste reduction A flexible diet warming. But everything through its blogs and has gotten much worse articles. This spring is best, than we thought back they will head to the changing with then. The changes have Finnish Parliament to been so fast that we urge action, though the seasons.” don’t have any time Kurunmäki stresses left. We now have to that the group is make much more drastic changes,” says politically non-aligned.

Closest to Kurunmäki’s heart, though, Kurunmäki.

“In the meantime I’ve had these are food and agriculture. grandchildren and think about how “The biggest cause of greenhouse it will be for them to grow up. What gas emissions is the increasing use of will they say to us when they get fossil fuels. Food accounts for some older? What did you do when it was 20 per cent of household emissions, happening?”  though, and it’s the thing you can affect

SE I JA KUR UNMÄKI

Founder of Activist ­ Grannies, food ­influencer and ­entrepreneur ON G RAND PAR E NTI NG

“Children are happy to go on an expedition into the forest and have a picnic there. It doesn’t have to be something expensive or fancy. The same goes for gifts. It’s not a measure of love whether something was bought new or second-hand.”

ON FUTUR E FOOD

“Food is central in ­climate change because there will be ­shortages. Finland can be a forerunner in carbon neutral agriculture and sustainable development.”

ON TI ME

“Time doesn’t create ­pollution. If you have time, you can produce less pollution. You can move more slowly. And that’s our biggest gift to other people: We have time.”

2 / 2020 BLUE WINGS 43

Winter Wonderland Dancing Northern Lights in the sky.

Arctic activities the middle of snow covered trees.

Come and experience one of the most beautiful natural landscapes in the world.

www.syote.fi

TWO SKI RESORTS AND LOTS OF ACTIVITIES

NATIONAL PARK AND SNOW

THE NORTHERN LIGHTS AND ACCOMMODATION

REAL LAPLAND EXPERIENCE

We have: Finland’s Best Ski Resort 2017-2019 & Finland’s Best Ski Boutique Hotel 2013-2019

Smart stuff Discoveries for a clever life

COMPILED BY MARK FLETCHER

Mobile add-ons

Healthcare solutions

SMART(ER) PHONES

AI, YOU, AND THEM better plan social and healthcare services, the Finnish city of Espoo has teamed up with IT company Tieto to conduct a unique experiment in which public sector customer data has been combined and analysed with artificial intelligence. With the CustomerCentric Project (CCP), Espoo eventually wants to utilise AI to support essential core functions such as directing funding and critical resources to more vulnerable residents and those who are experiencing financial distress.

IN O RD E R TO

These bits of hardware sure put the smartphone to good use.

PR OJECTI ON SE L ECTI ON

The Kodak Luma 150 is a wireless projector that beams videos, pictures, or games directly from your smartphone. From €180

ATTACH AND SN AP

PHOTOS COURTESY OF THE COMPANIES, ISTOCK

The Xenvo Pro Lens Kit brings a whole new dimension to smartphone photos, with an easy clip-on design.

From €45

Book nook

CELEBRATION OF CRAZY IDEAS Author Safi Bahcall’s LOONSHOTS: H OW TO N U R T U R E THE CRAZ Y I D E AS THAT W I N WA R S , C U R E D I SE ASE S, AND TRANSFOR M

is disruption 101 at its finest, with examples that seem almost too crazy to work, but that actually just might!

I N DU ST R I ES

G E T A G R IP

Get that gaming consolefeel on the go with the Razer Raiju mobile ­controller that syncs with your phone. Comes with a mount, too. €149

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Täyttä sähköä. electric

Uusi IONIQ Electric vie yhdellä latauksella 311 km.

Hyundai IONIQ -malliston kolmesta erilaisesta voimalinjasta täysin päästötön vaihtoehto on IONIQ Electric. Uuden 38,3 kilowattitunnin akun ansiosta toimintamatka on kasvanut 30 %, yhdellä latauksella aina 311 km asti (WLTP mittaustapa). Auton tehokkaampi sisäinen 7,2 kilowatin laturi nopeuttaa lataamista sekä julkisissa että kotilatausasemissa. Matka jatkuu. Edistys jatkuu. hyundai.fi Nyt uusi IONIQ Electric suomenkielisellä tietoviihdejärjestelmällä.

#NextAwaits Uusi IONIQ Electric alkaen 39 990 € Hinta sisältää toimituskulut. Kuvan auto erikoisvarustein. CO2-päästöt 0 g/km. Toimintamatka yhdistetty 311 km, kaupunki 412 km (WLTP). 7 vuoden takuu myönnetään 1.9.2018 jälkeen rekisteröityihin uusiin Hyundai-autoihin. Korkeajänniteakun takuu on 8 vuotta tai 200 000 km, kumpi ensin täyttyy.

Smart stuff Discoveries for a clever life

Wearable innovation

PUT A RING ON IT Finnish activity tracker success story, Oura, has released their Oura 2 wearable ring. Along with sensors for body temperature, heartbeat, respiratory rate, movement, and sleep, the slimmer model has strong titanium casing and longer battery life.

Available in two models, the ring has a dedicated app with a brand-new feature called Moment which helps to create a better balance of mind and body.

Nothing is impossible, the word itself says ‘I’m possible’!”

ACTR E SS AUD R E Y HE PB UR N

UR B AN JUNG L E UTOPI A

Second Home in Hollywood is a Los Angeles-based co-working campus interspersed with bright, modern yellow work pods and a lush array of plants.

PHOTOS COURTESY OF THE COMPANIES, GETTY IIMAGES

E Y E TO TH E S KY

Nestled within Oslo’s city centre, Mesh is a stunningly converted office building that features workspaces, a night club, a coffee shop, and a makerspace.

HARD AT WO R K These co-working spaces challenge the concept of a shared office.

MOR E AND PEAC E

One of the world’s top-ranked coworking spaces, Bali’s Hubud looks like a relaxing getaway.

2 / 2020 BLUE WINGS 47

Smart stuff Discoveries for a clever life

Airport pods

P OW E R NAPS

Home device

SMART M OV E S

Clever airport pods allow you to nap in style.

E ASY S L E E P I N G

GoSleep pods at Helsinki Airport have a Finnish designer seat, which offers a lie-flat option and includes universal power socket outlets.

T h i s l i ttl e d e v i c e w a n ts to m ak e y o u r h o m e s m a r te r.

The fully equipped smart home is yet the stuff of the future, but this mini robot could take you one step closer to the dream.

Enter Fingerbot, a nifty little interim product that remotely controls toggles, switches, and buttons via an app and voice control.

T h i s ra i n c a tch e r m a y p re v e n t u r b a n d ro u gh ts.

T h e S l e e p b ox i n cl ud es mood l i gh ti n g.

Urban design

R A I N WAT E R HARVEST squeezing every possible drop from the sky, Netherlandsbased designer Shaakira Jassat Kara of Studio Sway has created the Aquatecture rainwater capturing unit. While rainwater tanks are quite common in rural areas, there are often space limitations for such things in an urban environment. “The project is driven by aesthetics as much as functionality so I wanted to create a water harvester that would make water conservation both visible and engaging,� says Jassat Kara.

I N T H E N AME OF

S M AL L LUXU R I ES

Sleepbox is going the micro-hotel route with their minimalist but luxurious rooms at Washington Dulles International Airport.

48 BLUE WINGS 2 / 2020

PHOTOS COURTESY OF THE COMPANIES, ANGELINE SWINKELS

REC H ARGE YO U R S EL F

AirPod smart napping pods provide users with a seat that converts into a bed, air conditioning, Wi-Fi, and a luggage compartment.

Vieser design drain covers

Inspiring new bathroom interiors Next time you start renovating your bathroom, where do you begin?

By picking out tiles or from the part without which your bathroom cannot function: the floor drain? Traditionally the drain isn’t the most common starting point, but Vieser has tapped into the design possibilities of the floor drain with its decades of experience in making floor drains that excel in functionality and reliability.

“We realised that while bathrooms have a strong functional role, the importance of interior design has moved there too,” says Vieser Head of Products & Design Janina Ollberg. “Bathrooms are increasingly for ‘me moments’, where people want to relax in the bath and be in peace. It’s important that the interior supports this for a harmonious mood and better quality of life,” she adds.

In this way Vieser helps to introduce a whole new era in bathroom interiors, where people have more choices and power over their interior choices. By collaborating with top designers such as Saku Sysiö from the renown Finnish Aivan design agency, Vieser has introduced a new line of design drain covers. They inspire homeowners and professional

Vieser Dot 600 mm Accoya oiled

interior designers looking for something fresh with unique shapes and material options that include waxed and oiled wooden finishes. Additionally, there is the Vieser Line floor drain that is available in black steel grating or as a blank cover element that you can tailor to suit, for instance, your floor tiles.

Designed for flexibility “In the past, the floor drain has been installed near a wall. With our solutions it can be installed, for instance, under a rain shower,” Ollberg says.

Working with top designers also extends to designing fair stands. The Natural by Vieser stand designed by

Vieser Dot 600 mm Accoya waxed

Linda Bergroth was chosen as the “Best Fair Stand” by both bloggers and interior design journalists at the Habitare design fair in Helsinki. Next Vieser will participate at the Stockholm Furniture and Light Fair with Natural by Vieser in February 2020.

“Renovating your bathroom is a big investment. Our solutions are flexible and it is easy to change our drain covers to new designs. This is just one way we support our customers in fulfilling their desire to make ecologically sustainable choices,” Ollberg points out. “We are a Finnish company and use sustainable, responsibly produced wood materials,” she adds.

All of Vieser’s drain covers are suitable for wet conditions and compatible with the patented, safe and reliable Vieser One drains.

Natural by Vieser at the Stockholm Furniture and Light Fair stand C11:48.

February 4–8, 2020.

Janina Ollberg, Head of Products & Design

www.vieser.fi

PHOTO JUSSI RATILAINEN

Create

Celebrate accomplishments

Time for a catnap?

Porto’s cat café brings together animal lovers and homeless kitties (p. 52) 2 / 2020 BLUE WINGS 51

52 BLUE WINGS 2 / 2020

Creative corner Porto

BONFIM BOHOS Respect for heritage and disdain for rules define the socially conscious spirit of Porto’s coolest hood.

TEXT JOÃO CANTO AND SILJA KUDEL PHOTOS JUSSI RATILAINEN

2 / 2020 BLUE WINGS 53

On the café menu: Aromatic creamtopped brownie soaked in orange syrup and port wine, a wickedly tempting vegan dessert.

A

round the world, creative folk seem to gravitate to gritty historic districts like Porto’s Bonfim, a once-sleepy industrial precinct that is undergoing a renaissance. But while many other cool hoods fall into the trap of gentrified hipsterdom, Bonfim retains its earthy appeal as a social-minded hub of healthy rule-breaking.

PORT OF CATS Doing good for people and animals is the core ­mission of O Porto dos Gatos, a cosy café-restaurant launched two years ago by Fátima Meireles, Joana Rocha, and Débora Montez. It’s one of the few places in the world where you can “order” a feline companion along with your cup of coffee.

“We believe all of the cats deserve an opportunity to have a new family.”

54 BLUE WINGS 2 / 2020

Well, not so fast. “We need references. First we ask a series of questions and get to know the person. We let people talk and they usually reveal whether they’d make good adopters or not,” ­Meireles explains.

The cat café currently has 13 felines in-house, but none are permanent residents: all are up for adoption. “We believe all of them deserve an opportunity to have a new family,” she adds. So far 70 cats have found new homes with café patrons.

But the café is just the tip of the tail. With 15 years’ experience in animal rescue, Meireles and Rocha have also founded their own animal rescue association. Between the Associação Vida de Gato and the café, they have around 50 cats in their care.

“We rented a house with many rooms where we can quarantine sick animals,” explains Meireles.

The cat convalescence home promotes speedy recovery and provides a safe haven for the less sociable felines until they’re ready to join the cat café crew.

Slaloming between the legs of guests sipping espressos on the terrace, the resident felines seem regally at ease with the constant clatter of coffee cups. The main room of the restaurant is only for humans, but there’s also an indoor space designed especially for cats. Humans are allowed to visit as long as they don’t bring in food.

>

Fรกtima Meireles and Joana Rocha want to sensitise people to the wellbeing of animals; not only pets, but also animals used in the food industry.

2 / 2020 BLUE WINGS 55

Petro Limão enjoys a relaxed relationship with the neighbourhood.

“It still retains its social and cultural diversity,” he muses.

56 BLUE WINGS 2 / 2020

Limão’s twist on a classic Portuguese dish made with shrimp, clams, and mussels dehydrated in brewer’s yeast, topped with a “roofing tile” of rice.

The main room doubles as a temporary gallery for drawings by students from the local art school, who seem to have adopted the coffee shop as their home turf. They also contribute art to support the animal rescue association.

“Bonfim is like a small village, and people relate to each other with neighbourly ease,” Meireles describes.

The menu is vegan-friendly, with Meireles and Rocha taking turns running the kitchen. “We’re very happy to see our clients enjoying our food.

It’s especially rewarding for someone who decided to open up a restaurant without any culinary training,” adds Mereiles with a laugh. “We’re not chefs, so we call ourselves ‘chiefs’ of our kitchen.”

THE NON-RESTAURATEURS Another of Bonfim’s culinary rule-breakers is Pedro Limão, who has recently launched an unusual “non-restaurant” concept with his artist-gallerist wife Cátia Morais. Together they run the Pedro Limão Non-Restaurant & Bar, which serves haute cuisine in an intimate, home-like environment.

“When you serve a tasting menu, the customer comes in with certain expectations. They associate it with a lot of etiquette, but it doesn’t have to be like that,” Limão states.

“Just because it’s haute cuisine, it doesn’t have to be conventional, classic, boring, or traditional. It can be fun!” adds Morais.

Limão began his career as a culinary innovator after working as a city planner in his hometown of Viana do Castelo for eight years. His first solo venture was a ten-seat clandestine restaurant in Porto, appropriately named O Clandestino. The concept gradually evolved when he and Morais started up the Oficina de Cozinha, another clandestine eatery, which wasn’t really a restaurant at all.

“The idea was to arrange cookery workshops.

It was very intimate, like it all happened in our private living room,” explains Limão.

Two years later they moved to Bonfim, where they opened a non-clandestine non-restaurant with 20 seats and a seven-member team. Last year, the opportunity to scale up presented itself right next door: They rented the adjacent building and expanded their concept to 40 seats and six apartments equipped with kitchens.

“Just because it’s haute cuisine, it doesn’t have to be conventional, classic, boring, or traditional.” >

2 / 2020 BLUE WINGS 57

Porto’s façade azulejos tiles are primarily blue and white. Some of the same patterns are also found in Lisbon, but in three colours.

“We’re going to take maximum advantage of this in a positive way to create varied dynamics between us and our customers,” says Limão. The haute cuisine tasting menu can be enjoyed in the front section of the ground floor or, flouting convention, at a long wooden community table in the back.

On the upper floors guests can enjoy a tencourse meal in the privacy of their apartment, or simply open the fridge, roll up their sleeves, take out ingredients, and try their hand at following one of Limão’s selected recipes.

Customers can even embark on a gastronomic field trip with Limão and Morais to get to know local products and producers as well as foodie hotspots around regions such as the Alto Douro and Trás-os-Montes.

“When you do something with passion, you suddenly find yourself emotionally attached.”

58 BLUE WINGS 2 / 2020

When asked to describe his boundary-pushing concept, Limão sums it up aptly: “This is neither a hotel nor a restaurant. What we want guests to feel here is that they’re enjoying nothing but a purely gastronomic experience.”

PATTERNS OF PORTO Porto is witnessing a tourism boom – and this worries Alba Plaza and Marisa Ferreira, passionate admirers of traditional Portuguese façade azulejo tiles. Many buildings are being renovated, and some of these rare historic tiles are being replaced or even painted over.

To prevent further loss of priceless local heritage, Plaza and Ferreira together launched the Os Azulejos do Porto project, an initiative dedicated to the preservation of patterns and research on traditional azulejo techniques, materials, pigments, factories, artisans, and collectors.

It all started when Alba moved to Porto, explains Ferreira: “She asked me a lot of questions about the azulejo tiles found on certain façades.” Much to their surprise, the duo found that there is little information available on this specific type of tile.

“We don’t have buildings with façades covered in azulejo tiles, so they really caught my eye,” explains Madrid-raised Plaza. >

Marisa Ferreira and Alba Plaza have digitally archived about a quarter of the façade azulejo patterns found in Porto, and they’re still hunting.

2 / 2020 BLUE WINGS 59

Plaza and Ferreira also produce their own azulejos panels, replicas for renovations, and simple handpainted faรงade tiles in the Porto style.

60 BLUE WINGS 2 / 2020

Participants in workshops learn to paint azulejos tiles using the same stencil technique used in old ­factories.

“We decided to create an online digital archive to preserve all of the façade azulejo tiles found in the city. We roam the city on foot and by car, hunting for tiles and searching for new patterns,” says Ferreira.

Façade azulejo tile patterns such as the Miragaia, the most common pattern found in Porto, are created by hand using a special stencil technique, and some of the earlier ones even feature handpainted details. “Every azulejo tile we see is unique, a genuinely handmade piece,” says Ferreira.

“When you do something with passion, you suddenly find yourself emotionally attached. We soon realised that we needed more time for the project, which in practice meant more money,” she notes. This time the tourism boom presented a solution: The duo came up with the idea of launching Gazete Azulejos, a façade tile-painting workshop raising awareness of Porto’s artisan tile heritage.

In a studio surrounded by myriad tiles leaning on shelves, groups of up to ten gather around the centre table to hear a brief historical introduction to azulejos and learn about traditional techniques. “It’s like we’re discovering the city for foreign visitors,” says Plaza.

After that, they get to paint one tile either by using one of the Porto’s existing patterns or their own imagination. “The workshops are very rewarding. You feel like you’re doing something useful,” concludes Plaza. 

The façade tile-painting workshops raise awareness of Porto’s artisan tile heritage.

FI NNAI R FL I E S TO

Porto (OPO) twice a week during the summer season.

2 / 2020 BLUE WINGS 61

Showroom COMPILED BY SILJA KUDEL

Celebrating creative outcomes

PHOTOS CHRIS VIDAL TENOMAA

HOW DOES YOUR GARDEN GROW? Up-and-coming Finnish designer Maria Korkeila has teamed up with Finnish tool brand Fiskars to create a unisex collection of workwear-meets-streetwear for gardeners and urban explorers.

Unveiled at Pitti Uomo in Florence last month, the versatile collection includes multifunctional bags and a tool belt that can be converted into a modern waist bag, redefining the identity of urban garden wear.

“All Fiskars products are modern by tradition, like the iconic Fiskars orange-handled scissors. This is the design DNA I wanted to bring into the capsule collection.�

- Designer Maria Korkeila

2 / 2020 BLUE WINGS 63

Showroom Celebrating creative outcomes

ACNE STUD I OS

Make your waistline pop in a good way with a quilted leather belt in atomic tangerine. €360 K N OT

This Moebius strip of the cushion world has no beginning or end. €180 from Design House Stockholm

W E LOV E T H E PL A N ET

For a plastic-free life, choose allnatural beeswax deodorant in cute cardboard packaging. €16.90

Orange is the new black

TANGERINE DREAMS Squeeze more joy out of life with juicy apricot and cantaloupe.

HE L SI NG I N VI L L ASUKKATE HDAS

Both eyes and toes warm to woolly socks in a cheery shade of spicy carrot. €21.90

D ES I CO

Notes of peach and citrus deliver a burst of fruity aromatherapy. €7.90

COMBINING ELEGANCE & COMFORT

Digital dive

PLUNGE INTO KLIMT is a digital art centre opening this April in a transformed WWII bunker in Bordeaux. The flagship show is a multimedia installation featuring Gustav Klimt, with projectors bringing alive his iconic paintings on concrete surfaces above illuminated pools of water. “It will offer immersive visual experiences in a space that is out of the ordinary,” says Bruno Monnier from Culturespaces.

SIESTA - 1952

L E S B ASSI NS D E LUMI È R E S

FINNISH CRAFTSMANSHIP – WITH RESPECT FOR TRADITION

Flagshipstore Pohjoisranta 2, Helsinki

fasetti.fi

Showroom Celebrating creative outcomes

IT’S A WRAP!

Q&A

Join the lunchtime revolution against single-use plastics.

FLYING COLOURS Rising talent Hanna Anonen puts an exuberant spin on Finnish design.

HE AR D THE BUZZ?

PHOTOS AGENCE MINIT-L, JUHO HUTTUNEN, SESILJA LINDELL, COURTESY OF THE COMPANIES

Bee’s Wrap is a reusable alternative to plastic made from organic cotton and beeswax. €22 for a 3-pack from Nudge

W H AT’S YO U R D ES I G N

“I love to draw and I’ve always been interested in different objects and how they’re made. I believe that both the design process and the outcome should spark joy.”

P H ILOS O P H Y ?

W H AT INS P IRE S YO U ?

“I love mixing radiant colours and geometrical shapes. It brings a fresh take to Nordic design.

I’m inspired by unusual, everyday things.”

T EL L U S A BO U T YO UR C U R R EN T PR OJ EC TS.

“I’ve just designed a collection of wooden items for Made by Choice. I’m also working with Mifuko on a collection of home products using traditional African artisan techniques. Later this year we will be

launching one-of-a-kind baskets handwoven by female artisans in Kenya.

I’m also working on exhibition architecture with Iittala and Helsinki’s Design Museum.”

NAME A PL ACE I N THE WOR L D THAT E XCI TE S YOU

“La Muralla Roja is a postmodern apartment complex in Calpe, Spain.”

VI SUAL LY.

TR UE AS ST EEL

Your lunch is safe from hard knocks in a layered stainless steel Ekobox ethically made in India. €35.90 from Nudge

Book nook

BREATHING SPACES is out of place in the immaculate homes gracing the pages of Funktio by Helene Karihtala, a veteran interior designer with a gift for no-fuss simplicity.

From minimalist beach cabins to sumptuous townhouses, all the featured spaces breathe effortless Finnish elegance. €23.60 from Cozy Publishing.

N OT A S I N G L E ST I TC H

FI NAL STRAW

Sip sustainably with an organic bamboo straw grown and handcrafted in rural Vietnam. €24.95 for 12

2 / 2020 BLUE WINGS 65

66 BLUE WINGS 2 / 2020

Investigation

The 5 am club Early rising is being presented as yet another secret of highly successful people, but is it really suitable for everyone?

I

TEXT GEOFF HARRIS ILLUSTRATION ANNA ALANKO

f you had to get up around sunrise to catch your flight, you may wonder why anyone would discipline themselves to do this every day, including, yes, those precious weekends. Shift workers, hardened commuters, and parents of young kids are reconciled to rising with the birds, but as a lifestyle choice?

The benefits are many, according to Robin Sharma, a Canadian self-help author whose latest book, The 5 AM Club, encourages readers to rise at this unseemingly hour, not as part of some ascetic ritual, but in order to find some quality time for themselves – a rare luxury in our frazzled, hyper-connected modern lives.

“The book is not just about waking up at 5 am, but there is a specific morning routine – 20 minutes: 20 minutes: 20 minutes – which I urge the readers to follow,” Sharma explains. “I have been teaching that to my high-profile clients, and it has brought tremendous change in their lives.”

The secret, according to Sharma, is to put the time liberated by early rising to good use, so 20 minutes should be spent raising a sweat through physical exercise, 20 on reflection (via meditation, yoga, or journal writing), and 20 on study or reading inspirational articles.

While this sounds like a tall order, giving three

20-minute time slots to different activities seems more achievable than forcing yourself to spend a whole hour just on one. As many of Sharma’s followers testify, it doesn’t need to be 5 am either – particularly if you start your day job later or work from home. What’s important is to give yourself a structured morning routine before the demands of work, family, and emails crowd in.

“Some people are extreme morning people, but they are no fun after 8 pm.”

HAVE YOU GONE CUCKOO?

The 5 AM Club may be a relatively recent addition to the list of self-help big sellers, but the concept of early rising is nothing new. “Early to bed, early to rise, makes a man healthy, wealthy, and wise,” said Benjamin Franklin, who also wrote a book on the subject.

Bill Gates and Apple CEO Tim Cook are other notorious larks, and early starts have long been a mainstay of monastic religious traditions.

Embracing early rising is also integral to the old Swedish tradition of gökotta (“early morning cuckoo”), which some in the media are hyping as the latest Scandinavian lifestyle craze. The concept harks back to the days when, in rural areas, villagers and church congregations used to gather from May to September to enjoy the dawn chorus. While many of these communal bonds have unravelled, the principles of gökotta are still

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2 / 2020 BLUE WINGS 67

NELIVETOINEN LATAUSHYBRIDI DS 7 CROSSBACK E-TENSE 4X4

Hienostunut, nelivetoinen DS 7 CROSSBACK E-TENSE -lataushybridi toimii tiennäyttäjänä uuden sukupolven teknologialle. Se on ensimmäinen SUV-malli, joka tarjoaa 300 hv:n tehon, nelivedon, 31 g/km CO2 -päästöarvon ja 1,5 litran polttoaineen keskikulutuksen sekä 58 km toimintasäteen ajaessasi täyssähköllä. DS 7 Crossback E-Tense 4X4 lataa itseään myös ajon aikana ja sähkömoottoreita täydentää tehokas PureTechbensiinimoottori. Sisätiloiltaan DS 7 Crossback E-Tense 4X4 on uskollinen DS:n viimeistellylle tyylille ja yksityiskohdissa laadukkaat materiaalit yhdistyvät tarkkaan käsityötaitoon. DS 7 Crossback E-Tense 4X4 antaa dynaamisen ja hienostuneen ajoelämyksen, jota täydentävät 8-vaihteinen automaattivaihteisto ja viimeisimmät teknologiat kuten DS Night Vision, DS Park Pilot ja DS Active Scan -jousitus.

Vapaa autoetu 980 € ja käyttöetu 815 €. Yksityisleasing alk. 597 €/kk (36 kk/30 tkm), esim: DS 7 Crossback E-Tense 4x4 Chic, hinta 54 939 € (sis. tk. 600 €), kk-erä 596,63 €/kk (sis. ALV), kokonaiskustannus 36 kk/30 tkm yht. 21 492 €. Ensimmäinen suurempi erä 2 000 €. Sopimus sis. kaikki auton rahoituskustannukset ja DS-liikkumisturvan. Palvelun tuottaa DNB Auto Finance Oy, Urho Kekkosen katu 7B, 00100 Helsinki. Sopimus edellyttää myönteisen luottopäätöksen ja kaskovakuutuksen.

NYT DS-STORESSA. TERVETULOA TUTUSTUMAAN. DS STORE HELSINKI Kaakelikaari 4, 01720 Vantaa (Petikko) | 0207 997 860 | Avoinna ma-pe 10-18 ja la 10-15 | DSautomobiles.fi Puheluhinnat 0207-numeroon: 8,35 snt/puh + 16,69 snt/min (sis. alv. 24 %)

relevant, according to Linnea Dunne, a Swedish author who has written a book on the subject called Good Mornings: Morning Rituals for Wellness, Peace, and Purpose. Dunne is less prescriptive about getting up at a fixed time, but also believes you should focus on meaningful activity.

“If you look at the original gökotta tradition, it was about villages and congregations having a peaceful time, but also about directing their attention to the birdsong and being present,” she explains. “One of the most effective ways to be present these days is through activity, as many of us aren’t able to just sit there without worrying about emails or work. But when you are concentrating on an advanced yoga stretch, that gives your brain a break. Even meditation, which is not very active, is about constantly bringing your attention back to the now.”

KEEP IT FLEXIBLE If this still sounds too masochistic, take heart. “Do what you can, and don’t set the bar too high,” Dunne advises. “If you try and do too much early rising, you’ll give up – it’s the same with dieting and exercise. If you are working Monday to Friday, you could get up 20 minutes earlier to meditate or exercise, and still have a lie-in at weekend. This is sensible, but if you only get up earlier once a week, you are not going to feel the benefit. It needs consistency.”

To make her version of gökotta easier, Dunne advises preparing the night before and ensuring the heating comes on before you rise on a dark winter morning, using special lighting if necessary (and as with Sharma, she also stresses the importance of going to bed earlier). “When I have that bit of extra time and space in the morning, I am much more contented – a better mother, more patient, and more able to deal with stressful situations at work,” adds Dunne.

Circling back to the importance of going to bed earlier if you decide on an early morning ritual – sleep deprivation carries real risks. Sleep scientist

Dr Neil Stanley, a researcher for 37 years and author of How to Sleep Well, is blunt. “It means tomorrow you are four times more likely to catch the common cold, so you have compromised your immune system. You also look tired, your memory performance and work performance are impaired, you increase your risk of car accidents… and you will have more arguments with your partner.”

KNOW YOUR CHRONOTYPE The amount of sleep aside, Dr Stanley also stresses the importance of understanding your own sleep “chronotype” if you intend to start getting up a lot earlier – in other words, whether you are a morning person or an evening person. “This is not anecdotal and we know it is genetic.

Some 25 per cent of people are larks, 25 per cent are owls, and the rest of us are probably in the middle.” He encourages readers to complete the longestablished Horne and Ostberg questionnaire, which enables you to work out where on the “morningness and eveningness” scale you are.

“Some people are extreme morning people, who can get up at five and be fine, but they are no fun after 8 pm.

And some people struggle to get up at the best of times,” says Stanley. “So because morningness or eveningness are genetic, there is no way some of these regimes would be beneficial if you are an evening person. You cannot be at your optimum if you are waking up at a time that is not appropriate to your chronotype. If you are productive at 5 am, brilliant, if not, there is nothing wrong with you.”

Sleep science aside, most of us know from experience whether we are naturally larks or owls.

If you think you might be the former, an early morning ritual could bring real benefits, or at the very least, get your day off to a more positive start.

Despite its title, Robin Sharma’s system doesn’t absolutely need to involve rising at five, as it’s more about committing to an hour of structured, positive activity first thing. 

“If you are productive at 5 am, brilliant, if not, there is nothing wrong with you.”

2 / 2020 BLUE WINGS 69

Sidesteps Japan

TROLL STORY Tokyo’s newest theme park is an affectionate tribute to the beloved Moomin characters.

At the centre of the park stands the Moomintrolls’ cylindrical house.

TEXT AND PHOTOS PETER WELD

M

oomintroll and Japan need no introduction. They’ve been good friends for decades: An estimated 40 per cent of all Moomin merchandise worldwide is sold in Japan. And in a country that has long had theme parks for Mickey Mouse, Hello Kitty, and other cartoon characters, it should come as no surprise that one based on Tove Jansson’s beloved Moomin stories recently opened on the northern fringe of Tokyo.

70 BLUE WINGS 2 / 2020

Moomintroll and Snufkin have a quiet chat in a diorama.

FAR FROM THE CROWDS on the shore of an artifical lake in Hanno, a small city in Saitama Prefecture. It’s only about 40 kilometres from downtown Tokyo as the crow flies, but it might as well be on another planet: from the nearest train station, a bus takes visitors past rice fields and small farms – sights never encountered in the big city – before dropping them off at the entrance.

TH E PARK S ITS

Keep your eyes open for surprises inside the Moomin family home.

SEDATE CAN BE GREAT UNL I KE OTHE R THE ME PAR KS,

there are no roller coasters full of screaming teenagers. Most of the attractions are much more sedate: a family-friendly musical performance at Emma’s Theatre, for example, or a guided tour of the four-storey Moomin family house. You can draw your own Moomin and Hattifattener characters with chalk on a giant, curvy blackboard or stroll to the end of the paved trail to find Snufkin’s tent in the forest.

>

2 / 2020 BLUE WINGS 71

IHANAT VÄLIMEREN RISTEILYLOMAT K O E ES P A N J A , I T A L IA J A RAN S KA S AMAL L A KERTAA!

Helmikuun ajan tuplapisteet (6p/€) MSC Cruisesin ensi kesän Välimeren risteilyistä!

WWW.RISTEILYKESKUS.FI/FINNAIR-PLUS - p a l ki nt o pi s t ei t ä ka i ki s t a r i s t ei l y i s t ä !

Varaukset ja lisätiedot:

p. 020 1441 810 (ma-pe klo 9-17) • myynti@risteilykeskus.fi • www.risteilykeskus.fi

T here’s an indoor attraction devoted to the ship known as the Oshun Oxtra.

MOOMIN STYLE MEAL The lakeside café called Lettula serves dishes most Japanese have never imagined.

FOR E ST CAMPF IRE WAR M SAL AD

This hearty dish takes its name on the Lettula menu from Snufkin’s camps out in the woods, but he probably never had a meal like this.

VALLEY VERDICT G R E E N AND TRANQUI L ,

Moomin Valley Park is a great place for a relaxing day out.

At 8:00 pm, the park closes, and everybody, visitors and staff alike, goes home because if there’s one thing that every member of the Moomin family knows, it’s the importance of getting a good night’s rest. 

F I N N A I R F L I ES TO

Tokyo Narita (NRT) daily and to Tokyo Haneda (HND) daily starting March 29.

R E D AND W HIT E PANCAKES

Japan has salmon and Japan has pancakes, but salmon on top of pancakes, with mozzarella, too, is something you won’t find anywhere else.

THE VE RY B E R RY LET T U

Who needs appetisers and main courses when this one dessert will probably fill you up for the whole day?

2 / 2020 BLUE WINGS 73

WE COMBAT ANIMAL DISEASES TOGETHER! We want to prevent serious animal diseases such as foot and mouth disease, classical swine fever and African swine fever from spreading to Finland. These and other animal diseases can be transmitted from one country to another by animals or by meat and dairy products even if they are packed for personal consumption or intended as gifts.

Travelers like you play an important role in preventing the spread of animal diseases.

Don’t bring meat, meat products, milk and dairy products from non-EU countries to Finland!

A ban on personal imports applies to meat and dairy products brought into Finland by travelers or ordered and sent through the post. The ban applies to foodstuffs intended for personal consumption or as gifts and to pet foods. If you have food products of animal origin with you, throw them in a waste container in the point of entry or contact Customs!

Outside the EU, African swine fever has been detected in Russia, Belarus, Ukraine, Moldova, Georgia, Serbia, Africa, China as well as in many other countries in east and southeast Asia for instance.

Although not dangerous to humans, the disease is deadly to pigs and keeps spreading from country to country if not stopped.

Bringing meat-containing products as presents and for personal use from an EU country to Finland At the moment, there are EU countries with cases of African swine fever. In those countries there are restriction areas and, as a rule, pork or wild boar meat or products containing these meats may not be imported from these areas into Finland. Import is allowed only under very strict criteria controlled by local authorities. However, the sales of these meat products within the country may be allowed. In the EU, the disease has been detected in Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Slovakia, Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria, Belgium and Italy (Sardinia) for instance. It is difficult for travelers to know and prove from which area meat products originate and whether the products on sale meet all criteria. This is the reason why we recommend that people avoid importing any meat products containing pork or wild boar meat as presents or for personal use from countries with African swine fever.

PLEASE NOTE! Never leave any food waste or scraps in the environment or places where they may be eaten by wildlife. Never give food waste or scraps to production animals or to pet pigs.

Thank you for helping us to prevent the spread of animal diseases. We wish you a pleasant journey!

More information on private import:

Lisätietoja yksityisestä tuonnista:

Globetrotter On the road with travelling creatives

We are fascinated

by Lapland’s Sámi culture.

Meeting reindeer for the first time.

We love the pure nature, simplicity, and calmness of life in Finland.

A winterproof wardrobe is the key to having fun in the snow.

Slow it down

Travelling vlogger couple Roy and Sue dig deeper into places they visit.

W H AT I N S PI R ED YO U TO STA R T S H ARIN G T RAV EL ­E XPER I EN C ES

PHOTOS ROY & SUE

W ITH A W I DER AU D I EN C E?

Initially travelling was just our shared interest as university ­students, and we liked to compile music videos from those trips to share with friends and families.

But then our videos started gaining interest from others, too.

W H AT I S YO U R ­P H I LOS O PH Y O N

We are doing a p ­ roject called “A thousand kinds of lives.”

Last year, we spent 12 months in

TRAV E L?

12 different countries and instead of changing accommodation and visiting attractions, we decided to live in local homestays. We want to slow down and share the real world and connect with real people.

H OW D O YOU R E L AX ON THE R OAD? We always try to leave time for simply living and not pack our schedule too tight. Sometimes we like to stay in and watch movies and at other times we go treasure hunting in antique shops or flea markets. 

R OY and SUE are a Chinese couple who share music video travel stories on the popular social media platform Weibo.

royhuang1992

2 / 2020 BLUE WINGS 75

Fly with the brighter alliance.

Welcome to oneworldŽ, an alliance of 13 world-leading airlines committed to providing the highest level of service and connecting you to over 1,100 destinations around the world. It’s the smartest way to travel and make your connections to more than 160 countries worldwide.

Enjoy an array of special privileges and rewards, which include earning and redeeming Finnair Plus points on all oneworld member airlines and, for top-tier members, access to over 650 airport lounges.

Learn more about how you can travel bright at oneworld.com.

The smarter way to travel around the world.

Access to preferred or pre-reserved seating is in accordance with the individual policy of the oneworld member airline operating the flight. First and business class check-in desks and lounges are not available at all airports. Fast track is not available at all airports. Priority baggage handling is not available on flights operated by British Airways.

Extra baggage allowance benefits differ for Sapphire and Emerald level members. oneworld benefits are available only to passengers on scheduled flights that are both marketed and operated by a oneworld member airline (marketed means that there must be a oneworld member airline’s flight number on your ticket). American Airlines, British Airways, Cathay Pacific, Finnair, Iberia, Japan Airlines, LATAM Airlines, Malaysia Airlines, Qantas, Qatar Airways, Royal Jordanian, S7 Airlines, SriLankan Airlines and oneworld are trademarks of their respective companies. LATAM Airlines (Paraguay) is currently not a part of oneworld. Some limitations and exceptions may apply. For more information, visit www.oneworld.com/benefits.

Fly

The world of Finnair

Sacred wonders WH E TH ER nestled amidst an ancient forest or looking to the sea, Buddhist temples in the South Korean city of Busan have a special charm. The city’s impressive selection makes it a great destination for an architectural or spiritual pilgrimage.

In April, Busan becomes a heavenly sight when the cherry blossoms are in full bloom.

PHOTO ANDREW TAYLOR

Finnair flies to Busan (PUS) three times a week during the summer season.

Inspiring journeys The world is your playground with Finnair’s extensive network 2 / 2020 BLUE WINGS 79

HELSINKI

BUSAN

NEW ROUTE BUSAN Finnair flies non-stop from Helsinki to two exciting destinations in South Korea. Our daily flights to Seoul are complemented by our new route to Busan starting on March 30th.

Book your flights at finnair.com

World of Finnair Highlights of the month

A full-service bar will operate at peak times.

Airport update

LOUNGE IN STYLE are in for a treat as Finnair unveils its new Business Class Lounge in the non-Schengen area of Helsinki Airport.

Showcasing contemporary Nordic design throughout, the lounge offers a series of new spaces and upgraded food and beverage options. The lounge is open daily from 5:30 am to midnight and available to Finnair Business Class and Finnair Plus Gold customers.

TRAVE L L E R S

Heading out on a ski holiday?

You can pay for excess baggage in advance.

Sustainability

FUELS OF THE FUTURE Finnair joined a cross-industry feasibility study for a synthetic fuels test production plant with Lappeenranta-Lahti University of Technology in Finland. The intended industrial scale pilot facility is based on power-to-X technology, and the target is to produce carbon neutral fuels for transportation.

2 / 2020 BLUE WINGS 81

HELSINKI

JAPAN

MONUMENTAL MEMORIES Finnair flies non-stop from Helsinki to 5 delightful destinations in Japan – Fukuoka, Nagoya, Osaka, Sapporo and Tokyo – several times a week. Book your flights at finnair.com

World of Finnair Flying stories

Get social

damonbeckford Helsinki is very dark and we have no snow here, so we’re planning a trip to Lapland!

SHARE YOUR Finnair moments on Instagram! Use #feelfinnair, if you want to be featured.

anettevirkki #beijing #china #cabincrewlife #forbiddencity

thorngrenfoto The wild horses of the Oki Islands #kyoto #japan

FINNAIR ON SOCIAL MEDIA

In Finnish Lapland, there are more reindeer than people. #lapland #finland #reindeer

FE E L FINNAIR

How about a little luxury before your next flight from Helsinki? Check out the photos from a our beautiful, new nonSchengen Business Class Lounge!

FINNAIR

We had the pleasure of hosting Swedish actress and environmental activist Malin Ă…kerman on a recent Finnair flight from LAX to Helsinki!

FI NNAI R

2 / 2020 BLUE WINGS 83

World of Finnair Entertainment

WHAT’S PLAYING JOJO RABBIT

A WWII satire that follows a lonely German boy whose world view is turned upside down.

JUDY

Legendary performer Judy Garland arrives in swinging London in the winter of 1968.

MIDWAY

US Navy sailors and aviators changed the course of WWII.

Stay connected A SHAUN THE SHEEP MOVIE: FARMAGEDDON

Shaun and the Flock are back in another epic and hilarious journey!

THE NORDIC SKY portal is available on all inter-

continental flights and most European flights, and gives you access to news, destination information, and Finnair services. You can use the portal to connect your own devices to the internet.

WI-FI PRICES

STAY CONNECTED

Touching on themes of love and loss, the documentary film evokes the American West.

Short haul

WESTERN STARS

Dani’s survival depends on her joining forces with two warriors.

84 BLUE WINGS 2 / 2020

Long haul

TERMINATOR: DARK FATE

0-2 H

2+ H

BROWSE 4.95€ STREAM 9.95€ BROWSE 6.95€ STREAM 12.95€

1H

7.95€

3H

11.95€

12 H

19.95€

FI NNAI R CHAT Finnair Live chat is available every day of the week.

chatbot, affectionately known as Finn, who is ready to help plan your journey via Finnair’s global Facebook Messenger account.

ME E T FI NNAI R ’S

FI NNAI R APP Tap your way through your journey. Log in with your last name and booking reference or your Finnair Plus username and password.

W ECHAT Follow Finnair’s official WeChat account.

World of Finnair Frequent flyer program

Finnair Plus membership THE FINNAIR PLUS program allows

FI

N

N

A JO IR IN .C A O T M /P L

U

S

you to earn both tier points and award points when travelling with Finnair or a oneworld airline and award points from services provided

by Finnair Plus partners.

A WORLD OF BENEFITS for free by filling in the form online at finnair.com/plus.

As a Plus member, you get access to valuable benefits and rewards. Earn points for flights and services and use them both at home and abroad.

You can use your Finnair Plus award points for additional Finnair services such as seat

J O IN FINNAIR PLU S

WHAT’S NEW THIS MONTH?

FROM OUR PARTNERS

Earn points with Fortum

selection, meals, and extra baggage payments. The number of points you pay depends on your flight and the chosen service. You can pay for travel extras at the time you book your reservation or later through the Manage Booking tab.

Go to finnairshop.com to find Finnair gift cards, partner services, and award vouchers.

Make the future cleaner with Fortum’s environmentally friendly electricity. Earn up to 6,000 Finnair Plus points when signing an electricity contract. All contracts are 100% carbon-free. finnairshop.com

E X PE R I E NCE the renewed Finnair Business Lounge in the non-Schengen side of Helsinki Airport! The new lounge serves all Finnair Business Class customers and Finnair Plus Platinum Lumo, Platinum, and Gold members as well as oneworld Emerald and Sapphire cardholders. Other customers can purchase access for offpeak hours in advance online or at the lounge reception.

Cruise your way to more points Book almost any cruise anywhere in the world with Risteilykeskus – Cruise Center Nordic. Finnair Plus members earn up to three points for every euro used for international cruises. finnairshop.com

2 / 2020 BLUE WINGS 85

World of Finnair finnairshop.com

4 easy ways to shop FIND THE BEST deals on ­tax-free ­products and enjoy

special Finnair Plus offers at finnairshop.com

Home delivery

Onboard

Use Finnair Plus points to shop for products delivered directly to your home.

Shop online via your own mobile device during the flight using the complimentary Nordic Sky portal.

Pre-order

Vouchers

Pre-order online before your Finnair flight: finnairshop.com.

10% 86 BLUE WINGS 2 / 2020

Use Finnair Plus points to redeem a voucher for restaurants, hotel stays, car rentals, and much more.

OFF

All Finnair Plus Silver, Gold, Platinum, and Platinum Lumo members receive a 10% discount on tax-free purchases on flights to non-EU destinations. Please visit finnairshop.com, check the catalogue in the seat pocket, or ask a cabin crew member for more information.

World of Finnair finnairshop.com

February picks

FINNAIR PLUS OFFERS

FIND THE PERFECT gift or exclusive

souvenir from finnairshop.com

Made from recycled material!

M A K I A VASE TOT E BAG

Features the iconic Alvar Aalto vase outline print.

Pre-order €15

SAMSONI TE L I TE - C UBE DLX SPI NNE R CAB I N B AG, 55 C M

This lightweight carry-on offers a stylish and effortless travel ­experience, coupled with the benefit of suitcase strength. € 399 + 1,000 P

B AL M U IR CAP RI S CARF

Home delivery

Beautiful silk and cotton scarf with elegant jacquard paisley print. Black or white.

MONTHLY VOUCHER OFFER

Pre-order € 1 39

O KAB O O RGAN I C S

Nourishing moisture power for all skin types.

Pre-order €20

G OOD I O CAFÉ UB UNTU

100% pure argan oil!

Mesmerising creamy chocolate with a hint of coffee that tastes and does good.

Pre-order € 5. 50

HOL I DAY CLUB R E SORTS

Redeem an award voucher to Holiday Club Resorts with your Finnair Plus points or a combination of money and points. € 103 + 2 ,000 P

2 / 2020 BLUE WINGS 87

Loma jättää jäljen sydämeen, mutta myös ympäristöön. Siksi tarjoamme huolella paketoituja lomamatkoja, joissa sekä luonnosta, ihmisistä että paikallisesta kulttuurista pidetään mahdollisimman hyvää huolta. Negatiivista jälkeä pyrimme pienentämään lentämällä lomakohteisiin Finnairin suorin lennoin, modernilla lentokalustolla ja polttoainetehokkaasti.

Viemme lomailijat elämysten äärelle yhteiskuljetuksin ja valikoimastamme löytyy yhä enemmän ympäristösertifioituja hotelleja.

Emme ole valmiita, mutta olemme sitoutuneet yhteiselle matkalle kestävämmän tulevaisuuden puolesta.

Lue lisää aurinkomatkat.fi/vastuullisuus

World of Finnair Holiday sampler

Experience more with Finnair Holidays TAILOR YOUR TRIP to look like you! Explore the Finnair

Holidays selection and book flights, hotel, and airport transportation conveniently from one place. Finnair Holidays is available in Finland, Sweden, and Estonia. Start your journey at finnair.com/holidays.

TOP 3 FOODIE SPOTS Discover holiday destinations that take you on a culinary journey from finnair.com/holidays.

The Czech capital is finding its way onto the food map with trendy cafĂŠs, bistros, and pubs as well as fancy Michelinstar restaurants.

PRAG UE .

NE W YOR K CI TY. The best way to see a city is through its cuisine and the Big Apple doesn’t disappoint with its melting pot of dining experiences.

Over 80 destinations Finnair Holidays opens the door to the most intriguing places in the world. The story of a lifetime awaits!

Entire trip from one place Find flights, hotel, experiences, and airport transportation all in one place.

Triple Finnair Plus points Every euro you use for your Finnair Holidays trip will gain you three Finnair Plus tier and award points.

This cosy city offers a rich food culture from food trucks to restaurants recognised as the best in the world.

COPE NHAG E N.

2 / 2020 BLUE WINGS 89

World of Finnair Wellness onboard

TIPS FOR REST AND RECOVERY

3 ways to

a tasty meal FANCY A SNACK onboard? Finnair offers

a wide selection of seasonal and healthy options that are inspired by untouched Nordic nature and its pure flavours.

Pre-order

Try to start your trip well rested. Consider shifting your rhythm gradually towards the destination time a few days prior to your trip.

BE FO RE TH E FL IGH T.

You can choose from a wide selection of sandwiches, salads, breakfast, or dinner by pre-ordering.

Wear comfortable clothing and continue to shift your body clock by sleeping as close as possible to your destination time zone.

Onboard The onboard menu includes a selection of tasty snacks, sweets, and beverages to mix and match.

DU RING TH E FL IG H T.

Complimentary The short-haul offering includes something for everyone!

Business Class Jet lag is hard on your body. Light exercise can be helpful but give yourself time to recover before starting any strenuous exercise routine.

A FTE R TH E FL IGH T.

Earn Finnair Plus points from Hintsa Performance hintsa.com/finnair-plus

90 BLUE WINGS 2 / 2020

Chinese Michelin star chef DeAille Tam c­ ombines Asian influences with Finnish flavours for a Signature Chef fusion menu, featuring three appetizers and three main courses. Available on flights from Greater China to Helsinki.

Complimentary coffee, tea, water, and Finnair’s signature blueberry juice are served on Finnair flights.

Complimentary meals are served on all intercontinental flights.

World of Finnair Staff tips

Diving into the blue.

Salty days: surf and sunshine.

The beautiful coastline of the North Island of New Zealand.

PHOTOS BOB FAWCETT, VUOKKO SALO, MIKKO HARMA, HANNA RAPELI

Enjoying the company of sea lions in the Galapagos.

Wild for water Sea creatures and nature’s great challenges call Hanna Rapeli to catch the waves. in the Galapagos archipelago is just an hour’s flight from mainland Ecuador. This sleepy island has amazing and unique wildlife both on land and in the water.

Be prepared to share the waves with turtles and sea lions!

SAN C R I ST Ó BA L I S L A N D

TH E M A L DI V ES is a dream playground for those loving warm, turquoise waters. You can spot

turtles, colourful fish, and even small reef sharks. The best time to go surfing is between March and November.

TA RANAKI , THE NOR TH I SL AND

has a Surf Highway 45, and the name says it all. The best way to enjoy the area is to drive along the coastline by a “home on wheels.” The landscape is breathtakingly beautiful.  O F NE W Z E AL AND

HANNA RAPE L I

is a Helsinki-based ­Finnair cabin crew member and a ­passionate surfer and yoga teacher. hanna_elina

2 / 2020 BLUE WINGS 91

World of Finnair Finnair in a nutshell

PUSH FOR CHANGE CHANGES BEGIN with small actions. Join us on a journey towards a more sustainable future.

OFFSET EMISSIONS Offset the CO2 emissions of your flight by supporting an emissions reduction project. Donate €1 for flights within Finland, €2 for flights within Europe, or €6 for intercontinental flights. Donations will go in full to an emissions reduction project in Mozambique.

Fly the short northern route W ITH A M O D E RN fleet, extensive route network, and world-class service, Finnair offers a comfortable and convenient way to travel.

Established in 1923, Finnair is one of the world’s oldest airlines. Since then, the company has grown from a small carrier to one that is a respected member of the international airline industry.

Finnair’s route network includes 20

BUY BIOFUEL

destinations in Asia, eight in the Americas, and 100 in Europe. In 2018, Finnair carried over 13 ­million passengers. And during the 2019 summer season, Finnair will operate 104 flights a week to Asia, of which 42 flights are to China and 41 flights are to Japan.

Finnair’s modern and eco-friendly fleet consists of over 60 aircraft, most of which are Airbuses.

Alternatively, you can buy biofuel to reduce the CO2 emissions of a flight by 60–80% compared to fossil fuel. The biofuel we use has been produced from used cooking oil. Buy biofuel for €10, €20, or €65.

All sustainability products are available at finnairshop.com/en/ sustainability-products

95+ YEARS AND COUNTING 1 92 3

1 924

Finnair, known as Aero, is founded

Finnair receives its first aircraft: Junkers F 13

92 BLUE WINGS 2 / 2020

1 9 47

1952

1968

1969

1980

1992

Finnair air hostesses take to the skies

Helsinki ­Airport opens

Finnair reveals its new logo and name change

First Finnair trans-Atlantic flight to New York City

Blue Wings launches

The Finnair Plus program is introduced

World of Finnair Fleet

AIRB U S A35 0- 9 0 0

Number 14 + 5 on order Seating capacity 297/336 Length 66.8 m Wingspan 64.75 m Cruising speed 903 km/h Maximum cruising altitude 13,000 m AIRB U S A330-3 0 0

Number 8 Seating capacity 289/263 Length 63.6 m Wingspan 60.3 m Cruising speed 870 km/h Maximum cruising altitude 12,600 m AIRB U S A32 1

Number 19 Seating capacity 209 Length 44.5 m Wingspan 34.1 m Cruising speed 840 km/h Maximum cruising altitude 11,900 m AIRB U S A32 0

Number 10 Seating capacity 174 Length 37.6 m Wingspan 34.1 m Cruising speed 840 km/h Maximum cruising altitude 11,900 m AIRB U S A31 9

Number 8 Seating capacity 144 Length 33.8 m Wingspan 34.1 m Cruising speed 840 km/h Maximum cruising altitude 11,900 m E M B RAE R 1 9 0

Operated by Norra Number 12 Seating capacity 100 Length 36.2 m Wingspan 28.7 m Cruising speed 850 km/h Maximum cruising altitude 12,300 m

ATR 72

Operated by Norra Number 12 Seating capacity 68/70/72 Length 27 m Wingspan 27 m Cruising speed 463 km/h Maximum cruising altitude 7,620 m

1 995

Finnair’s website launches

1 999

1 999

2 004

Finnair joins oneworld alliance

Arrival of ­Airbus A320

Online check-in opens

2 013

Launch of Marimekko for Finnair ­collection

2 015

Arrival of ­Airbus A350

2 018

2019

Finnair celebrates its 95th anniversary

Launch of CO2 offsetting service Push for Change

2 / 2020 BLUE WINGS 93

World of Finnair Airport info

Welcome to Helsinki Airport CHECK YOUR GATE and

departure time on the airport monitors. All Finnair and Nordic Regional Airlines (Norra) departures are located in the same terminal.

If you do not have a boarding pass for your connecting flight, please contact the transfer service desks in T2.

HAPPY LANDINGS

Fly the short northern route FLY VIA HELSINKI and take the most direct route

between Europe and Asia. Thanks to Helsinki’s location, Finnair’s northern route is a geographically convenient way between Europe and Asia. The northern route also offers competitive travel times to destinations in the US from many European cities.

The Helsinki Airport is efficient, compact, and easy to navigate, making it ideal for transferring between Europe, Asia, and the US with short transfer times.

94 BLUE WINGS 2 / 2020

PASSE NG E R S AR R I VI NG from outside the Schengen-area will find their way into the arrival hall with both automated border control gates and manned border control booths. EU citizens , as well as citizens of Japan, South Korea, Australia, US, Canada, and New Zealand can use the automated gates as they depart. Citizens from other non-Schengen countries will be directed to the manned booths.

In addition, there are separate queues for passengers travelling in large groups.

Passengers travelling directly to Helsinki from the non-Schengen area will follow their own route to the border control downstairs.

Those passengers travelling with infants or baggage trolleys must use the manual control lane.

Passengers with the capability to use wheelchairs independently may use the automated gates.

World of Finnair Airport info

49

48AB

47

46

45AB

44

43

42 40

55

54

53

TRANSFER SERVICE 3

52

AUKIO

FINNAIR CITY BUS

to the Helsinki Railway Station leaves from platform 51 at T2 every 20 minutes. Travel time is approx. 30 minutes. €6.90 THE RING RAIL LINE

connects Helsinki Airport to downtown Helsinki via train. There is direct access from the corridor between T1 and T2.

TAXI RANK

BUS GATES 51 A–D

T2

39

Agency-specific price information is available in front of the terminals on the information screens.

38

WIRELESS INTERNET

FINNAIR LOUNGES

Security

BUS GATES 50 A–M

check NONSCHENGEN AREA

NONSCHENGEN AREA

37 TRANSFER SERVICE 2

31 Passport control

31A–31E

30

29

Helsinki Airport offers free Wi-Fi throughout the airport.

PLAYROOM

Children’s playrooms offer toys, videos, and baby care facilities.

WATER DISPENSER

Passengers can refill their water bottles with drinking water free of charge.

Security check

CHECK-IN 240–270

28

FINNAIR CHECK-IN + SERVICE 201–229

2ND FLOOR GATES 5–11

T2

CHECK IN 101–114

T1

26

13

14

15

16

PASSPORT CHECK

CHECK-IN AREA

Security check

SCHENGEN LOUNGE

12

27

SECURITY CHECK

17

18

19

20

21

22

SCHENGEN AREA

23

25

ARRIVALS AREA

24

BAGGAGE STORAGE

1ST FLOOR 2 / 2020 BLUE WINGS 95

World of Finnair

Domestic and European destinations

From Helsinki

Tromsø Ivalo

Reykjavík

Rovaniemi Kuusamo Kemi Oulu Kajaani Kokkola

Finnair Destinations New Finnair Destinations 2019/2020

Umeå Vaasa

Trondheim

Kuopio Joensuu

Jyväskylä Tampere

Turku Helsinki Mariehamn Tallinn Stockholm Tartu

Bergen Oslo

Gothenburg

Edinburgh Billund

Dublin

Ivalo 931 01:35 Joensuu 360 01:00 Jyväskylä 235 00:50 Kajaani 464 01:20 Kemi/Tornio 609 01:35 Kittilä 823 01:25 Kokkola/Pietarsaari 391 01:10 Kuopio 335 01:00 Kuusamo 667 01:15 Mariehamn 282 00:55 Oulu 514 01:05 Rovaniemi 697 01:20 Tampere 143 00:35 Turku 150 00:35 Vaasa 348 00:55

Kittilä

Bodø

Manchester

Visby

St Petersburg

Riga

Great Circle Estimated distances / km flight times

Moscow

Copenhagen Vilnius Gdansk

Hamburg Amsterdam

London

Brussels

Hannover

Berlin

Düsseldorf Frankfurt

Paris

Minsk

Warsaw

Kraków

Prague

Stuttgart Zürich Bordeaux

Geneva Lyon

Porto

Nice Madrid

Munich Salzburg Innsbruck

Vienna

Ljubljana Venice Verona Pula Bologna Rimini Pisa Split

Milan

Varna Dubrovnik

Barcelona

Lisbon

Budapest

Rome

Alicante

Ibiza

Menorca Palma de Mallorca

Naples Corfu Preveza

Málaga Catania

Skiathos

Zakynthos

Athens Kos Santorini

Malta

Heraklion Chania

Antalya Dalaman Alanya Rhodes Paphos

Funchal Tel Aviv-Yafo

Arrecife Tenerife Norte Fuerteventura Tenerife Sur Las Palmas

From Helsinki

Great Circle Estimated distances / km flight times

Alanya/Gazipasa 2722 03:45 Alicante 3034 04:25 Amsterdam 1525 02:35 Antalya 2638 03:50 Arrecife 4518 05:55 Athens 2490 03:40 Barcelona 2632 03:55 Bergen 1112 03:30 Berlin 1123 02:00 Billund 1060 01:50 Bodø 1168 02:35 Bologna 1976 03:00 Bordeaux 2417 03:30 Brussels 1651 02:40 Budapest 1481 02:20 Catania 2636 03:45 Chania 2756 03:50 Copenhagen 895 01:40 Corfu 2329 03:25 Dalaman 2639 03:40 Dublin 2030 03:10 Dubrovnik 2027 03:00 Düsseldorf 1512 02:25

96 BLUE WINGS 2 / 2020

Eilat

From Helsinki

Great Circle Estimated distances / km flight times

Edinburgh 1717 02:40 Eilat 3457 04:45 Frankfurt 1543 02:35 Fuerteventura 4578 06:05 Funchal 4310 05:45 Gdansk 768 02:00 Geneva 1994 03:00 Gothenburg 785 01:25 Hamburg 1 172 02:00 Hannover 1278 2:15 Heraklion 2777 03:55 Ibiza 2897 04:00 Innsbruck 1701 02:35 Kos 2620 03:45 Kraków 1 186 02:00 Las Palmas 4700 06:10 Lisbon 3369 04:50 Ljubljana 1713 02:40 London 1863 03:10 Lyon 2081 03:10 Madrid 2950 04:25 Málaga 3357 04:35 Malta 2822 04:15

From Helsinki

Great Circle Estimated distances / km flight times

Manchester 1817 03:00 Menorca 2688 04:05 Milan 1953 03:05 Minsk 734 01:15 Moscow 876 01:40 Munich 1577 02:30 Naples 2283 03:25 Nice 2202 03:25 Oslo 766 01:30 Palma de Mallorca 2777 04:00 Paphos 2898 04:00 Paris 1900 03:05 Pisa 2093 03:20 Porto 3117 04:20 Prague 1322 02:10 Preveza 2397 03:25 Pula 1865 02:55 Reykjavík 2429 03:50 Rhodes 2668 03:45 Riga 382 00:55 Rimini 1993 03:00 Rome 2235 03:25 St Petersburg 301 01:00

From Helsinki

Great Circle Estimated distances / km flight times

Salzburg 1592 02:30 Santorini 2660 03:40 Skiathos 2353 03:30 Split 1956 02:55 Stockholm 400 01:00 Stuttgart 1637 02:45 Tallinn 101 00:30 Tartu 245 00:50 Tel Aviv-Yafo 3230 04:25 Tenerife Norte 4691 06:10 Tenerife Sur 4745 06:10 Tromsø 1078 01:55 Trondheim 813 01:50 Umeå 459 01:20 Varna 1911 02:55 Venice 1847 02:55 Verona 1903 02:55 Vienna 1462 02:30 Vilnius 633 01:15 Visby 481 01:25 Warsaw 940 01:40 Zakynthos 2526 03:55 Zürich 1781 02:45

World of Finnair

Intercontinental destinations

Sapporo Beijing Seoul Busan

Xi’an Nanjing Shanghai

Fukuoka

Tokyo Nagoya Osaka

Delhi Dubai Guangzhou Hong Kong

Great Circle Estimated distances / km flight times

From Helsinki

Bangkok 7912 09:45 Beijing 6325 07:55 Busan 7847 08:55 Delhi 5229 06:50 Dubai 4537 05:55 Fukuoka 8060 09:30 Guangzhou 7693 09:30 Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) 8510 10:50 Hong Kong 7821 09:35 Krabi 8350 10:20 Nagoya 7780 09:40 Nanjing 7165 09:35 Osaka 7751 09:30 Phuket 8312 10:05 Sapporo 8013 09:35 Seoul 7050 08:40 Shanghai 7410 09:05 Singapore 9272 11:30 Tokyo 7849 09:45 Xi’an 6421 07:50

Bangkok Ho Chi Minh City Krabi Phuket

Singapore

Chicago New York

Winter season 2019–2020

San Francisco

Los Angeles

Finnair adds flights to popular winter destinations in Lapland, including new non-stop flights from London, Paris, and Zurich.

Miami Havana

From Helsinki

Great Circle Estimated distances / km flight times

Chicago Havana Los Angeles Miami New York Puerto Plata Punta Cana San Francisco

7139 09:15 8703 11:15 9016 10:35 8342 11:10 6626 08:45 8410 11:15 8404 11:05 8724 10:45

Puerto Plata Punta Cana

1 W E E KLY F LIGHT

London Gatwick – Kittilä Paris – Kittilä Zurich – Kittilä 2 W E E KLY F LIGHTS

London Gatwick – Ivalo

2 / 2020 BLUE WINGS 97

FINLAND FACTS Nature

168,000 lakes*

75%

Government

1917

land covered by forests

*with an area of 500 m2 or more

Sovereign parliamentary republic

1995 Monthly avg. temperatures in Helsinki (2018):

area

338,455 km2*

Member of EU since January 1995

200 members

elected for four-year terms

*includes land area and fresh water

Parliament

7%

National bird

Languages

5.5

million

Economy

Education

GDP

(2018*)

SV

€234

FI

billion

the annual change in volume 1.7% *preliminary

88% speak Finnish 5.2% speak Swedish 0.04% speak Sámi

Fun facts

Currency

€ EURO

73%

14

Universities *incl National Defence University

of students have ­studied beyond basic ­education

25

Universities of applied sciences

Consumption of coffee per capita

9.9kg* 2,300,000* saunas

*estimate

98 BLUE WINGS 2 / 2020

*per year

506,000*

overnight stays by foreign travellers (Sept 2019)

*preliminary

National food: rye bread

SOURCE: STATISTICS FINLAND ILLUSTRATION: ANGELINA LUZHINA

SÁ

elected every six years; current president is Sauli N ­ iinistö, who was re-elected to a second term in January 2018

whooper swan

land used for agriculture

Population

President