Helsinki is the World Design Capital 2012. Finland has always been famous for design and this year the whole city is a showcase.
Many shops and businesses have special displays to celebrate local design. I especially loved the pop-up Finnish Design Shop at the Old Customs Warehouse beside the harbour. (See a recent post at Beautiful Helsinki for more on the shop)
Many would be aware of brands such as Marimekko, Iitaala, Arabia, Artek and Nokia, without knowing they are Finnish.
I took the number 6 tram to the old Arabia factory which now houses an outlet store for several of these brands.
What a curse having an almost full suitcase. One day I am going to come here with an empty one.
As well as being cool, it was actually cool….temperature wise. Even though it is summer I arrived to cold weather and pale skies.
I did my usual walk around Tooloonlahti to see the beautiful gardens.
The bay was full of gorgeous birds.
It was great to see families of Canada geese.
The babies are grey balls of fluff.
The harbour market was in full swing.
With all the delicious summer fruits on display.
The Helsinki mermaid was popular with seagulls.
I did my usual doorway spotting.
And I ate lots of delicious food.
The sun came out on my last day so I walked the entire city again.
Helsinki is beautiful in summer….even if it cool.
Keep an eye on Beautiful Helsinki over the coming weeks to see more of my stay in Helsinki.
Have a look at the cool guy playing music on bottles.
I have travelled to Helsinki many times, in all seasons, and I love this city. There are several other posts on my visits, take a look in the Helsinki category and take a look at Beautiful Helsinki.
Thank you WordPress for Freshly Pressing my post, what a lovely surprise!