Hot and Sweaty
There’s only a single word in the entire Finnish language that’s commonly used in English, but it’s a critical element of the Finns’ national culture: sauna. Regularly getting naked and perspiring in a small room heated to well over 100°F is part and parcel of life in Finland. Many Finns have small saunas in their homes, and even their offices, but that doesn’t keep them from enjoying the almost spiritual experience of sweating away in public establishments. These include everything from grotty little hole in the walls to sprawling club-like complexes with stylish café and bar areas.
Gay visitors must understand that Finnish saunas are not appropriate venues for cruising. They are soothing spaces for quiet reflection. Finns consider them cleansing, for both mind and body; non-secular chapels. Never try to eat the eye candy!
Tom of Finland Artwork Postage Stamp
At home, many families sauna together, with no sense of shame about mixed-gender nudity. Business people often acknowledge the close of a deal by going to a sauna as a group. There’s a notion that sharing time in a sauna points to openness, honesty, and mutual respect.
Also, don’t be surprised to see Finnish schvitzers drinking cold beers inside a sauna or even roasting foil-wrapped sausages over the heated stones.
Just two years old, the impressive modern design at Löyly, one of Helsinki’s newest public saunas, makes a bold statement that sauna culture is not quietly slipping into Finland’s past. With an aesthetic that could be described as “futurustic” its wooden walls are sharply angled, forming a faceted, jewel-like exterior. The low-slung complex of sauna chambers features restaurants and enormous outdoor terraces along the Gulf of Finland, with views of the Baltic Sea.
Two-hour sauna appointments (about $20) and restaurant reservations (healthy sandwiches, salmon soup, falafel, etc.) can be booked well into the evening (sessions end at 10 P.M.) lending Löyly a lively vibe that floats happily between day spa and night club.
Helsinki’s other must-see sauna is Lonna, new as of 2017, a seasonal operation open in the afternoons and early evenings between May and September. Located on a tiny rock island twenty minutes from the downtown Helsinki harbor by a public ferry, separate 24-capacity men’s and women’s areas are enclosed in a charming cabin-like building. Just yards from the shore, one can plunge into bracing seawater between sessions in the heat as hundreds of ducks and other seabirds waddle by.
If you work up an appetite sweating and swimming, head to Lonna’s onsite restaurant, featuring fresh waffles in sweet and savory varieties.
“Kippis!” and Kippers
Finns love to eat fish. They also drink like them—Say “Kippis!” for “Cheers!” when you’re in Finland. Also, remember to pace yourself when out and about in Helsinki. If its spring or summer, the night is going to last two to three times as long as you’re accustomed to, so slow your roll and grab a herring roll to soak up some of that alcohol.
While the international craft cocktail scene has certainly made its way to Helsinki, the mixed drink of choice here remains the gin and tonic. Herbaceous, botanical gins seem to distill the essence of the evergreen Finnish countryside.
There’s a carefully curated selection of G&Ts at the quirky old town gathering spot called Why Join The Navy When You Can Be a Pirate. Its name is a quote from Steve Jobs, a hero to Helsinki’s young tech creatives (this is the land of Nokia and the birthplace of Angry Birds).
Open to the public, Navy/Pirate also serves as a boozy break room for employees of SEK, the hip ad agency that has offices on the building’s upper floors and actually owns the bar. Along with cocktails, they serve juices, smoothies and ramen bowls.
Finland’s strong beer culture is well represented at brew pubs including Brygerri, which features three course meals with beer pairings, and Il Birrificio, which not only brews the dozen beers on tap, but also makes the sausages served alongside them.
For a 3 A.M. nightcap, skulk your way toward the Trillby & Chadwick Detective Agency. Down a narrow alley near the landmark Old Market Hall, you’ll have to open an unmarked door, pick up the telephone and announce yourself. If there’s any room at the bar, you’ll be invited to pass through a second doorway and bring your nightcrawling to a secretive, satisfying conclusion.
Tom of Finland Artwork
Fresh, smoked, pickled, and salted fish is available everywhere in Helsinki. To get the best sense of what’s on offer and immerse yourself in Finnish culinary culture, visit one of the many food halls and marketplaces throughout the city.
The gingerbread architecture of the Old Market Hall dates back to 1889 and the 25 vendors here pay tribute to tradition. In addition to ice-cold shrimp, more varieties of smoked salmon than you can imagine, and the dense, dark chewy rye bread beloved by locals, you’ll find reindeer cold cuts, moose meatballs, and other delicacies unknown to most American palates. It’s easy to nibble away an afternoon here.
Russia really is in Finland’s backyard (the countries share a border of over 800 miles) and its culinary influence is significant in Helsinki. In the US blini are best known as cocktail party food: fingertip sized pancakes topped with a dot of crème fraiche and caviar. In Helsinki, however, at dozens of restaurants, including the local outpost of chain operation BLINit, the Russian buckwheat flapjacks assume gargantuan, plate-sized proportions and are slathered with all manner of accompaniments, from salmon and sour cream to tart bilberries and sweet condensed milk. During winter “Blini Weeks” Helsinki restaurants compete to show off their blini genius, but you’ll find the winning creations available all year round.
A traditional Finnish restaurant particularly worth noting for gay visitors is Sea Horse. The cozy dining room, open since 1934, is featured in the Tom of Finland movie. The pubby venue prides itself on a genial, eclectic clientele, from university students to diplomats. International luminaries from Pablo Neruda to Dizzy Gillespie have dined here on homey, huge-portioned specialties, including pyttipanna, a hearty hash of game meat, potatoes, and spices; and crispy fried herring; and cabbage rolls.
