Design District Helsinki

Helsinki, 2 degrees

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You meet people who forget you. You forget people you meet. But sometimes you meet those people you can't forget. Those are your 'friends.'

Like I mentioned yesterday, today I'll tell you some more about my hectic but ever so wonderful weekend! I will tell about last weekend in several posts since there is so much to tell about it! Hope you will enjoy reading about my experiences! It all got started on Saturday morning when I and my colleague went to one of the main harbors here in Helsinki and met up with five Swedish bloggers that came over to Helsinki by ferry from Stockholm.

Well, actually, this all started several weeks ago since I've been planning the program for the weekend ever since but I must say, this time, the planning sure did pay off because the weekend was amazing!

However, once we had met the bloggers in real life, which is always a thrilling experience since it's completely different than emailing and reading their blogs beforehand, I knew immediately that the weekend would be great since the bloggers were all such lovely people! 

We went straight on a two-hour-long city sightseeing tour and I couldn't have been more pleased with our guide. We had discussed the route by emails beforehand, but I think she did a superb job in realizing the guided tour. At the end of the tour, we made two stops: at the newly opened Kamppi Chapel of Silence, which I've written about in an earlier blog post here, and the Design District Helsinki

In the Design District Helsinki, we went to the Design Forum Finland, a showroom for the Finnish design that gathers items from the whole district and puts them on display all under the same roof. In total, the Design District Helsinki consists of over 200 different design related actors, so the showroom is a great place to start if one wants to get a general idea about what the whole district is all about.

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The Design District Helsinki can be thought of as an umbrella organization for all the design actors in the area and this organization is responsible for tons of fun events that are arranged in the district, e.g. late night shopping nights and design markets.

Three of the bloggers had been to Helsinki before, but one more than ten years ago and even the other two, that had been here before, had to say that this weekend showed them a completely new side of the city, yey! The bloggers had blogs that are concentrated in design/interior, food, and music/culture, so I tried to plan a program that would interest all of the bloggers despite the fact that they focus on different things blog-wise.

After the guided tour, we had to relax a little bit all together so we headed to one of Helsinki's most legendary cafés called Fazer. Fazer is a true must see in town, and is most known for its delicious sweets and chocolate. Lately Fazer even launched an interesting Finnish co-operation with Angry Birds and now there are Fazer Angry Birds' sweets, have you tried them?

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After our quick coffee, we went to the hotel that hosted the bloggers - Radisson Blu Plaza - for check in. It was exciting even for me since the hotel has been redesigned and I hadn't been on a hotel tour since the renovation. Now the hotel is the first in Finland to offer restaurant menus on Ipads and actually all around the hotel, there were several touch screens with e.g. the map of Helsinki and hints on what to do in the city! I loved the interior of the hotel, it looked very fresh and the design items that were present made the hotel experience unique. I fell in love especially with the hotel's bar called 7 Blings that had amazing, almost churchlike, glass windows!

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After the bloggers had done their check in, we headed to Russian restaurant Saslik for lunch! This wasn't my first time at a Russian restaurant, but it is always an incredible experience since it differs so much from an ordinary eating setting. Saslik is known for its homelike interior and huge portion sizes! We had a three-course lunch which was fabulous! I recommend this restaurant to everybody that loves good food! Finally, I got to try some brown bear meat, a first time for me! The bear salami was a part of the enormous starter plate. I also loved the combination of pickle, smetana (sour cream) and honey - yummy!


And look at this dessert - baked Alaska (ice cream with slices of pudding and topped with meringue)! What can I say - finger-licking good! Have you ever tried baked Alaska?

What's your opinion?

  1. It sounds like such a wonderful experience! I'm so glad that things went well. Sometimes it's nice when all of the planning pays off! These pictures are fantastic. Thanks for sharing them!
    the-creationofbeauty.blogspot.com

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    1. Thank you Shannon for your super kind words!

      xxx
      E

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  2. Beautiful pictures! Looks like you had such a good time! I'll bet it's neat to meet other bloggers, blogging conventions sound fun!

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    1. Yes they are, even though this time I was a hostess so not really representing my blog. But maybe one day I can participate in a blog event!

      xxx
      E

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  3. Oijoi mitä kuvia ! Alku kuulostaa jo erittäin lupaavalta :) Ja mitä herkkuja, njam !

    Satu
    Indie by heart

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  4. Aa, ja vastaus kysymykseesi! :) Meillä on paljon näitä perusketjuliikkeitä. Kaksi kauppakeskusta, paljon erikoisliikkeitä keskustassa ja vähän kauempana tuo Esta Casa. Perus-sisustusliikkeitä (Sotka,Asko,Jysk) on myös pikkusen matkan päässä keskustasta, tänään juuri pääsin pitkästä aikaa käymään Askossa ostamassa uudet tyynyt ja peitot (5 vuotta asunut omillaan ja ei edes kunnon peittoja vielä:D) ! Sitten on Kenkävero, Tertin kartano omine herkkuineen. Kyllä täällä saa rahaa palamaan ;>

    Satu
    Indie by heart

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    1. Tuo Tertin kartano kuulostaa mielenkiintoiselta, mikä se on? :) Vastaan aina vastauksiisi kysymyksellä :D

      xxx
      E

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  5. the thing I probably like the most is that restaurant even though I don't like big portions (luckily my fiance does, hehe and he often eats my so called leftovers). that dessert looks beyond delicious and I would have it NOW if I could. I'm sure I would love it since I like ice cream and pudding as well. mmmm and now I'm dreaming about that dessert.. and I kind of miss Helsinki, too bad it's so far away.

    Maiken,
    Maikeni blogi - part of me

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    1. Haha we have the same deal at home as well :) Luckily our boyfriends eat more than we do!
      No, we have people coming to Helsinki from all over the world - so actually I think Helsinki is quite close to you! :)

      xxx
      E

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  6. Hi Elisabeth, sounds like an amazing weekend, it must have been immensely fun and exciting getting to bond with other bloggers and showing them around. The Design District looks like an uber chic place to hang out. The hotel decor is exquisite, wow..never had Russian food before it seems quite adventurous, is it popular in Helsinki? Would love to hear a post on all the traditional cuisine from your country :)

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    1. The Design District Helsinki is a divine district of Helsinki, one can browse the shops for hours and always find something delightful!
      We have some 5-6 good Russian restaurants in Helsinki, and considering that we have about 1 200 restaurants, one understands that it's not that common to visit a Russian restaurant. But of course from time to time people tend to go to them, maybe if there is a special occasion and so on. Russian restaurants usually serve larger portions than Finnish restaurants do. And then right now Finnish restaurants are focused on seasonal, local and organic food - things you won't find in Russian restaurants here. Thanks for the post hint Sam, keep them coming, I will definately make a food related post in the future :)

      xxx
      E

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  7. I spent my weekend feeling under the weather and not doing much of anything, so jealous of your fun-filled weekend!

    Alexandra xo

    tovogueorbust.com

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  8. The second last photo kind of reminds me of the film Titanic.
    I am happy to read that your weekend turned out to be a blast
    and I really like the qoute (title). Who is it from?

    xx
    me-travelleroftheworld.blogspot.com

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    1. Haha maybe a little bit, but this photo is actually current :D
      This quote is one of Martin Luther King Jr's.

      xxx
      E

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  9. Thank you for your kind comment!

    xxx
    E

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  10. Your blog explaining all the main points very awesomely. Thanks for sharing this knowledgeable post.
    helsinki guided tours

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@elisabeth.rundlof