Festival of light in the dark winter

Every December 13th since 1898 in Finland the light is celebrated in the middle of the dark winter by crowning a young Swedish-peaking maiden in a white outfit with 4 candles. Santa Lucia was once concoinceded with the winter solstice (shortest day of the year) before calendar reforms. This celebration occurs mainly in Scandinavia and in Italy.

Magic is coming

The blue moment at the St. Thomas market in Helsinki

Streets are decorated, shops windows are beautiful, children are opening a new door on their Advent calendar everyday, happy music is played a bit everywhere: there is no doubt. Christmas is coming. During this festive period merchants and handicrafters are selling homemade delicacies and traditional handicrafts. The little wooden houses are poping in every city around the country bringing the Christmas feeling to locals and visitors.

Original Sokos Hotel Puijonsarvi: Like two queens

Visiting a city by yourself or with a local are totally different experiences. AmazingFinland already went a few times to the city of Kuopio, but always by its own. It was time to try a different experience. The tourist office of Kuopio was contacted in order to ask for a day as a local. This article is telling you about our experience at the Original Sokos Hotel Puijonsarvi.

Onnibus: the low-cost bus company

Photo: Onnibus

Travelling in Finland is not always cheap, especially when you don't know all the tricks. The bus company Onnibus (the luck bus in Finnish) is quite new on the market, offering trips starting from 1€ to many cities in Finland. Like for its equivalent for airlines, EasyJet, the principle of Onnibus is: book early and save a lot of money. Sounds interesting. AmazingFinland decided to give it a try for a trip Helsinki-Kuopio-Helsinki. The tickets were easily booked on their website 8 days before the departure. The page works perfectly and is very easy to use. The mobile website also works well. We got the tickets Helsinki-Kuopio for only 8€ per person. As a comparison, it would cost over 65€ with a traditional bus company or by train (without any special offer). The price was very affordable, mainly because we chose to depart at 11:30pm. For the way back, we paid 30€ with a departure at 11:15am. It was still very reasonable. But very often when something is cheap, it's of bad quality. Will we be disappointed?

Starbucks: coffee and Alvar Aalto

Finland is a country that loves coffee. The consumption is the highest in the world with 12kg per capita! The American giant from Seattle couldn't ignore any longer this little country. Opened in fall 2013 in the city center in the same building as the Stockmann Academic book store, the second Starbucks café is never empty. At rush hour the queue is so long that sometimes, customers have to wait outside. This place is very popular mostly among teenage girls. In summer, a little terrace is open.

In the chocolate world of Fazer

On September 17th, the sweet lovers are celebrating the anniversary of the opening of the first Fazer confectionery (1891) in downtown Helsinki. Karl Fazer, which his parents moved from Switzerland to Finland, studies baking in Berlin, Saint-Petersburg and Paris and became a pioneer in Finnish confectionery. Most of his products are still sold and are classics. Fazer Blue (milk chocolate) is the most emblematic chocolate of the assortment. But the oldest candy is the Fazer Pihlaja, a sugary berry-marmalade jelly candy. Finns love Fazer products. When asked about their favorite chocolate, they answer almost unanimously Fazer Sininen.

Cruise into the Sàmi culture

The energy efficient catamaran has a capacity of 120 passengers

Inari is a small town of 6700 inhabitants in Northern Lapland surrounded by Finland's second biggest lake which counts 3300 islands. The town has a big importance for the Sàmi people, the local indigenous people. Inaugurated in 2012, Sajos, the Sàmi cultural center, is also the home of the parliament. In Finland, three different Sàmi groups are living in the large and wild area: the Northern Sàmi (Northern and Western Lapland), Inari Sàmi and the Skolt Sàmi (smaller community that comes from Russia).

Next to the Siida museum which is dedicated to the Sàmi culture, there is a white catamaran that offers a trip into Sàmi culture from a different angle, twice a day in summer time. The almost 3 hours long cruise brings the passengers to the mystical island of Ukonkivi (Ukko's rock) located at 11km from the city. The boat itself is different from the usual touristic boats. It is brand new with an electrical and a diesel engine. Efficiency and silence are combined which is very appreciable. No black smoke nor annoying noise. The boat is so silent that it is easy to imagine being a swan admiring the breathetaking landscape from the blue water. The other advantage of the catamaran is that it is very stable. There is almost no movements due to the waves.