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Kalle and I met ten years ago during Stockholm EuroPride 1998 and promptly fell in love, though as I soon learned, getting a Finn to talk about love is no simple feat. Finns are a contemplative and enigmatic lot, at once overtly communicative via the mobile technology they’ve innovated (Nokia is the country’s largest company), yet often deeply introspective in one-on-one conversation. This Finnish slant toward quiet reflection can be confusing for the uninitiated visitor when he meets his first natives. Simply put, the Finns like to think long and hard about what they say before they say it. Just know that what feels to the American sensibility like a very awkward pause is only a part of normal Finnish discourse. A certain old Swedish joke is pretty revealing: “How do you know when a Finn really likes you? When he’s staring at your feet instead of his own.” (It should be noted that a certain old Finnish proverb warns, “Never trust a Swede.”)

The good news for natives and visitors alike is that on the other end of the weather spectrum, at the height of Finnish summer, the sun sets but never really goes out, and daytime temps usually hover around a near perfect 70-75 degrees Fahrenheit.

Just over five million people call Finland home, and just over one in ten of them live in its hub of Helsinki, which while at the country’s southern end is actually the world’s second most northern capital. For a city its size, Helsinki has garnered a remarkable amount of trendy world press in recent years, first focusing on its design scene (from Alvar Aalto to Iittala to Marimekko), then its quirky music scene (Darude, Pepe Deluxe, HIM, and Lordi to name a few), and most recently its burgeoning fashion scene (including IVANAhelsinki, which last year became the first Finnish line to show at Paris Fashion Week).

Helsinki’s main “old” attraction is Suomenlinna, the extant Scandinavian island sea fortress that once protected the city’s harbor. Built by the Swedes in 1748 as a bastion against the ever-encroaching Russians, Suomenlinna (or Sveaborg in Swedish) is one of the world’s largest nautical forts, and is reachable year-round by a brisk ferry ride from Helsinki’s Market Square.

For a full immersion in Finn-history, check out the National Museum, an amazing repository of archeological, cultural, and ethnological artifacts dating from pre-history through the Middle Ages to the present, all housed in an imposing building co-designed by Finnish-American architectural great Eliel Saarinen (Eero’s dad).

On the other end of the artistic continuum lies the simply superb Kiasma Museum of Contemporary Art, considered one of the leading collections of its kind in the world. Celebrating its tenth anniversary this year, Kiasma gears itself toward stimulating every sense, and thanks to its ingenious design (somewhat surprisingly, not by a Finn but by an American, Steven Holl), one never knows what sort of arty onslaught awaits around the next curvy bend.

Another can’t-miss Helsinki site is Temppeliaukio Church, often called “Rock Church” because, well, that’s what it is. Half a million visitors a year come to see this beautiful (if utterly non-traditional) temple that was so skillfully hewn from a random granite outcrop some 40 years ago.

For a thorough dip into Finnish interiors, DESIGNMUSEO (Design Museum) is a must, deftly chronicling the development of Fennic design through permanent and temporary exhibitions.

It’s hardly a surprise that in a city so design-devoted as Helsinki, tasteful accommodations (spanning every price range) are rampant. For a splurge, the clear choice is Hotel Kämp, which reopened in 1999 after a gorgeous restoration to its late 19th-century splendor. Helsinki’s only five-star hotel, it’s played home to countless celebrities and dignitaries who cherish its impeccable elegance, location, and service. For a special treat, rent the Mannerheim Suite where Bobby Brown reportedly gnawed away on a chair leg during a stay with wife Whitney Houston some years back.

Several excellent options await those wishing to slumber among more modern Finnish design elements, best among them being Hotel GLO (which prides itself on customizing its luxuries, like in-room spa treatments, to the needs of individual hotel guests), and Klaus K (with hip contemporary appointments inspired by the Kalevala, Finland’s national epic, and home to Helsinki Day Spa, the city’s best). The recently renovated and somewhat cheaper Hotel Helka is another solid but still stylish choice. A good midrange option is Sokos Hotel Torni, which locals all know boasts the best view in town from the women’s restroom of its 14th floor Atelje Bar. For something truly different, stay in prison, or at least a former one, at Hotel Katajanokka which reopened last spring as a luxury hotel. Even the truly budget-minded visitor to town needn’t scrimp on style, with the bare bones but still cool Omena Hotel offering a dash of panache at substantially lower rates.

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