Swimming and Eating Helsinki in the Winter.

My sister and i decided to spend some quality time together yesterday. This quality time would commence with a leisurely swim at the swimming hall on Yrjönkatu, after which we would proceed to have lunch somewhere nice. 

Situated right in the center of town, down an alley from a street corner, hidden from view, the Yrjönkatu swimming hall is one of the oldest public pools in Finland. Built in 1928 and completely renovated in the 90s, it still retains most of its original character. In addition to the classical architecture and historical significance, a noteworthy fact is that the pool is open to men and women on alternate days, and most people swim in the nude. As far as i know, this is the only public pool in Helsinki (perhaps even Finland) where alternate dates for men and women and nude swimming are the norm. 

Neither of us had ventured here before, and both of us were slightly apprehensive about the whole explicit nudity thing. Which really is strange, considering the Finnish sauna and summer house mentality, which dictates that nudity is only ever a couple of beers away and never something out of place. It's just that this seemed so...public. Further investigation was required. 

And so it was that around midday we found ourselves outside the swimming hall, shivering in the cold and inspecting the sign by the door. Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays are reserved for women. Glad we picked the right day. We pay the lady at the counter (this must mean that the entire staff also works alternate days) and head to our lockers. The interior is beautiful; there's a lot of light and the ceiling is high. Classical arches frame the pool, the saunas and showers are at one end, the elevated changing space (i won't say changing rooms, cause there weren't any - it's all one big space) and lockers surround the pool. 

Old ladies, mothers and young women glide through the water. Almost everyone is naked. It only seems strange for a while (like one of those dreams where you're naked, except that in this one everyone else is), then it just seems natural. We leave our stuff in the lockers and head for the pool. There's something of days gone by in the whole experience; it feels like a different time far away from the cityscape of commotion outside. Very serene. I was rather impressed. Enough so to maybe take this up on a weekly basis. 

Famished after swimming, we decide to head to Kallio for some Thai food. We tread through the freezing cold towards Lemon Grass, a tiny restaurant that serves delicious food at a very affordable price. Lunch is served between 11-15 and will set you back 8-10 euros. We warm our frozen digits with steaming cups of tom yum soup and slowly start to regain control of chilled limbs. We follow this up with a veggie & tofu green curry, which is a perfect blend of fiery spice and creamy coconut. Lunch is rounded up nicely with a plate of fruit and a cup of tea. We both agree that the food is pretty awesome and also really good value for money. 

Slightly sleepy, seriously well-fed and happy with the days activities, we pull on scarves, hats and gloves; venturing out into the cold to take on a city that is full of these great places. Helsinki, happy advocate of explicit nudity and provider of great veggie thai fare, i love you. 

Yrjönkadun uimahalli, Yrjönkatu 21 B, 00120 Helsinki

Lemon Grass, Kolmas linja 12, 00530 Helsinki

Dansan Sushi Bar.

The most recent addition to Helsinki's gradually growing sushi scene opened its doors some weeks ago on the corner of Annankatu and Uudenmaankatu. Dansan Sushi Bar is a small venue with big windows, clean, simplified decor and a handful of tables. The place is open for lunch and dinner, and was fairly busy on a weeknight. 

Food-wise, the inari and maki veggie set i ordered fell short of delicious but was definitely tasty, a notch above average. My non-veggie dinner date was of the same mind. We both wondered at the seriously sweet soy sauce, though. The best part of dinner, however, was the miso soup, which  was hearty, slightly spicy and quite delicious.

 

Based on just one dinner time visit i'd say Dansan serves perfectly acceptable sushi, priced slightly above average due to the stripped down design image of the restaurant and its hipster-ish location i.e., across from Motellet, which will probably make it a favorite with said crowd as a pre-club dinner spot. If that's not your cup of tea, swing by at lunch time instead for the decently priced lunch sets, and be sure to try the miso soup.   

Dansan Sushi Bar, Annankatu 13, 00120 Helsinki                           

What i hearted in 2009

1. Cthulhu. Makes me all warm and fuzzy inside, this octopus does.
2. Bar Loose. I doubt this will change in the New Year.
3. Interrailing. Seriously the best way to travel and see places.
4. Summer. Simply. Hot days in Koffari, picnics, festivals, all-day drinking...
5. Ihmistulva. The coolest thing i've ever done.
6. My kitchen table and chairs. Who knew it would be turquoise vinyl diner furniture that stole my heart.
7. New York. It's where i'm living in my head.
8. Really awesome food blogs. Discovered lots of new ones, like this one.
9. City and Colour. I don’t know what it is, but these melancholy boys always do it for me.
10. My friends. Scattered all over the world, this year would not have rocked if it weren’t for all of you. 

Going out to Ugly.

A mere month ago, Tampere’s finest made its debut in Helsinki. Bigger, louder and lairier, Ruma-klubi took up residence in Helsinki nightlife’s central spot on Mannerheimintie. For a club known for its ambitious attempts at retaining the non-mainstream vibe that made it a favourite with anyone slightly left of centre, holding court at a venue that previously housed such meat markets as Den Kungliga Klubben and Opera is a bold move. Especially if your goal is to change more than the sign above the door.

Always on the lookout for some welcome disruption to Helsinki nightlife, I was curious to see what this newcomer had to offer. I first visited the place with some friends on a quiet weeknight after the club’s opening weekend. In terms of location and venue, the place isn’t far from ideal. The dance floor (yes, there is one. Bonus.) is centrally located and big enough to accommodate a fair-sized group of shameless drunkards thrashing about, and there’s enough seating space for you to usually find somewhere to rest your dance-wearied feet.

In addition to nice space, I like what they’ve done with the interior of the place; a row of porcelain toilets on display greet you at the coat check; you pass the framed, black and white cavalcade of Finnish presidents on your way to the bathrooms; and you sit on upholstered plastic beer crates. Wunderbaum air-fresheners grace the walls and the glass bar counters sport cracks made on purpose.

Another tongue-in-cheek feature is the smoking room, which is wallpapered with blown-up warnings from cigarette packs and images of filthy lungs. Despite that, it's always packed. Counterintuitive, but true. A special mention goes out to the ladies’ toilets as well; the insides of cubicle doors are plastered with gay porn magazine cut outs. Man-on-man gay porn. Being visually harassed by dozens of dreamily smiling dudes with gigantic hard-ons is harrowing when you’re trying to pee. I wasn’t surprised to find “what about porn for us lesbians?’ scribbled on the door on my next visit.

My first visit to Ruma was good for getting a sense of the place, and I was rather impressed with everything apart from perhaps the clientele, which seemed to consist largely of kids on the brink of their twenties. This notion was on the whole confirmed on visits number two and three, which took place during following weekends. It seems Ruma has found its psychographic pretty fast, judging from the way the club has been packed for the past couple of weekends. Strangely, it seems as if said demographic is made up of pretty much the same kids that frequented the meat markets previously occupying the venue. Maybe instead of anti-mainstream the club-goers at Ruma are representative of all-stream? Or perhaps this is once again an example of how anti-mainstream became the new mainstream. But hell, when a beer costs less than three euros, who can complain, even if it is watered down. 

Ruma Helsinki, Mannerheimintie 6 00100 Helsinki