Garuda Indonesia Colours Magazine December 2017 | Page 140

138
Travel | Helsinki
1
First advice to visitors to Finland: don’t try telling your hosts
that Santa Claus comes from anywhere else. Its Nordic neighbours
of Sweden and Norway make especially spurious claims to be the
home of the gentleman in question, but his official residence is
in the Arctic Circle in Finnish Lapland. That’s it. Don’t argue.
It is appropriate, then, that the Finnish capital
celebrates this time of the year, not so much
with panache, but rather with a convivial festive
warmth. This is the darkest time of the year,
when the sun – if it appears at all – hovers above
the horizon for a little less than six hours daily.
Finns compensate with candlelit feasting and a
range of cheering traditions. The fervent wish of
Helsinki residents to wake up to a white
Christmas is usually answered too, and this
lends an extra magic to proceedings.
Central Helsinki is compact, built on
promontories and islands on the Baltic coast.
Most hotels are centrally located, and the sea
and its bays and inlets are never far away.
Public transport is affordable and comprehensive,
so although walking across town is both feasible
and recommended, there is always the option of
jumping on a tram, bus or metro train. And no
matter how cold it is (temperatures at this time
can easily drop well below freezing), there is
always a well-heated café, restaurant, bar,
museum or shopping mall near at hand.
The heart of the Christmas action is in the area
radiating south from the main railway station,
into the pedestrian street of Keskuskatu, along
the Aleksanterinkatu shopping street – ‘Aleksi’
to the locals – and the parallel Esplanade Park
to the quayside Market Square and historic
Senate Square.
2
1 The switching-on of the Christmas lights
in Aleksanterinkatu is a big Helsinki event.
2 Christmas star buns are a seasonal favourite.