Things To Do...

I'll be honest. Although this blog is focused on Savonlinna (because I will spend the majority of my trip there), I am seriously looking forward to spending a couple days in Helsinki.

I'm not big on fashion, but strangely enough browsing the "Hel Looks" blog gets me pumped every time.
http://www.hel-looks.com/ <-- If you haven't seen it yet.

I don't want to see any monuments or things of that nature, really. I want to wander around the city. I want to go to vintage clothing shops, bookstores, record stores and bars. Maybe find a concert happening in a park. I hear that it is even possible to go to a disco in Helsinki. I want to see freaks, geeks and punks.

I would like to go to this bar:

http://www.arcticicebar.fi/

Although there is something touristy about it, the experience of being in an ice bar seems distinctly Finnish to me. The capes kind of make the place look cultish, but I've definitely worn less fashionable clothing.

Mostly I want to do things that I have to ask around to learn about. I want to go to places that locals are into. After all, the Chinese Gardens in Portland might be nice, but because I live here I've only visited them a couple times. There are more exciting things out there that one comes into consciousness about through trial and error, exploration, and references from friends. So why not just skip some of the mainstream attractions and ask people who've already had time to experience what the city has to offer!

I am hoping that Savonlinna has some exciting attractions, but it's hard for me to make plans ahead of time when there is so little information about the city on the internet. Actually, this lack of information is part of the reason I chose to make this blog: so that other people searching for information about Savonlinna might stumble across it and find something useful.

In just a couple days I'll be able to update this blog with REAL info about Savonlinna! Finally. Imagine that.