On the road to the unknown

Helsinki, 4 degrees.
Yesterday when I was at my hairdresser, A.k.a. Luova, I flipped through one of their magazines, called Image, while waiting. I came across an article talking about tourism and travelling, and of course it catched my eye. The article was actually more interesting than I thought. The topic was matkalla tuntemattomaan, on the road to the unknown. I was sure that it would discuss the newest tourism trends, and in a sense it did but in a surprising way. It actually talked about the fact that tourism and travelling has become such an ordinary thing that the real dare devil is the person who stays at home. It brought to the surface a way of thinking, where going extreme actually means going back to the basics, to your own roots. I mean we're talking about green values and climate change, and still travelling by airplane is just increasing. The most recent event that should have made us all stop and think about the necessity to travel by plane, was of course the vulcano eruption in Iceland and the ash cloud following.

I wish that everybody that considers themselves true travellers would stop and get to know their own city. I mean, my hairdresser was telling me that she had some American friends over and she didn't know what to show them in Helsinki. Why are we travelling away from home, when we haven't even got to know our own city? Sometimes I find it funny going through friends' Facebook photos and noticing that they usually take place abroad. If they're taken in Helsinki, it's not outside. Only in very few cases they actually show off the beauty of this city. Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying that travelling is wrong. Come on, we're talking about my field of work. I'm just saying that sometimes we need to go back some steps to realize where we're going. Meaningless travelling is just that- meaningless. If we get to know our own roots, we also treasure the smaller and unique features of other places. I actually found a book about Helsinki filled with tasks and things to do to get to know the city better. I plan to carry out these tasks this summer. Don't worry, I'll take you along ;)



I would like to finish my blog insert by making you a proposal. Go extreme- stay home.

What's your opinion?

@elisabeth.rundlof