Finland travel tips and stories. Vacations ideas, cruises spa and resorts

That magical place is the Academic Bookstore in the middle of Helsinki. Built in the 1960s, the Academic Bookstore is one of the works of the famous Finnish architect Alvar Aalto.  The two-level Academic Bookstore displays books in many languages. One of the Europe’s largest bookstore, it has a satisfying selection of Finnish and foreign authors, English-language books, travel guides, and even high-quality stationery items.

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Situated in Taipei Songshan District, Taiwan, Core Pacific City is probably the weirdest shopping mall in Asia. When it first opened, it was touted as the world’s first truly 24 hour mall and Asia’s first “city within a city” complex. Covering a total area of 205, 000 sq. m, this urban property was designed by Jon Jerde, known as, the Pablo Picasso of the architecture world.

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This August the 8th annual Flow Festival will taking place in Helsinki Suvilahti (12. – 14.8.2011). In my opinion, the Flow Festival is one of the most urban and unique music festival held in Finland, if not in the whole Scandinavia….!The Suvilahti festival area is located near by the centre of Helsinki, in the area of Sornainen. The festival area is approximately 3 hectare and takes 16.000 capacity of audience.

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In Helsinki, there is a mainson with a fascinating history and the botanical garden surrounding it. The garden has been entirely renewed and it was opened to the public in 2009. The Kumpula Mansion has been one of the largest mansions in 19th century Helsinki. Yellow buildings existing today are from early 19th century. How ever the first marks about this place are from early 15th century, before Helsinki was even founded! Kumpula Mansion’s history is vivid and the place is an important part of Helsinki´s history.

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Seurasaari Island is one of the best thing to do in Helsinki, if you want to run from the urban areas of the city. Seurasaari is also an open air museum: there are 78 old wooden buildings from all over the Finland. The cottages, farmsteads and manors are from the past four centuries. You can get a guided tour if you want to or just walk slowly on your own through the green area. The houses are open only in summertime, but the island is worth of exploring in winter as well.

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Kid or not – who would not be impressed in front of over 10 meter long dinosaur? I tell you – this is one cool spot to visit in Helsinki! Tyler Brule is one of my favourite journalist and he often flatters Helsinkians with his writings about Helsinki – like he did with his FT-writing – how cozy a place Helsinki is.

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Every winter the world’s biggest snow castle has been built at Kemi in northern Finland, and every springs it melts away to nothing. Each year it is slightly different. Sometimes it stands 20 m or three stories high, or even 1,000 m long. Whatever is built, the castle attracts tens of thousands of daytime visitors. Many include it in the package of winter activities, such as a trip on an ice-breaking ship or a husky-sled safari.

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Suomenlinna or Viapori (Finnish), or Sveaborg (Swedish), is an inhabited sea fortress built on six islands, today within Helsinki, the capital of Finland. The Sea fortress Suomenlinna is a unique architectural monument, a popular recreation area and museum. Although the island is located off the coast of Helsinki, it is part of the city. The Fortress was listed as a UNESCO World Heritage in 1991!

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The Hotel Kakslauttanen in Finland is in fact an Igloo Village, at which you can have your pick of 20 unique glass and snow igloos for your stay. They aren’t ice houses, but 31 well-maintained log cabins – built from a very special thermo glass that keeps them warmth and comfortable. Because of that, the temperature inside the Igloos is always a normal room temperature and the igloos inhabitants won’t feel any of the polar cold.

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 Wife carrying is a sport in which male competitors race while each carrying female partners. The Wife Carrying World Championship takes place every year in the Finnish province of Sonkajarvi, but similar events have now sprung up around the world. And the prize is … the winning wife’s weight in beer. Prizes are also rewarded for the most entertaining couple, the strongest carrier, and the best costume. The date of this year’s event is July 4, 2009.

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