4 things in London we could really use here in Helsinki
1. The Subway
I cannot express with words how much I loved and needed the tube in London every day. It's size surprised me: first by being so small, then being so all-encompassing. In Helsinki the Subway (Metro, as we call it) is heavy caliber. Way too big and clumsy and slow for a small town like ours: that, mainly is the reason it expands very rarely: It's expensive to build rails for such a beast of a thing. London tube is small and agile, old and vast. I didn't get lost but once: the direction boards at each station were very clear, making the navigation easy.
I live maybe 10 minute car drive away from the city center in Helsinki, and yet it takes both buss and subway and 30 minutes minimum to get there. I can only dream of a subway that some day could take me home by the fastest route.
2. The Bookshops
As is made clear by my previous blog writings, I live within a realm of literature as much as in a living world. No thanks to local bookshop culture. Only high quality bookshops are small, private enterprises few and far between. It takes effort to find even cult classics with a reasonable price tag. Not so in London. I can't claim to have expertise in the matter, as I only visited a few bookshops in considerably small area, but those few experiences I had made me very envious of bookshops in London. One place we visited is called the Waterstones. Despite it being store chain, the atmosphere was the same as in the small venues back at home, repertory included graphic novel classics (very rare in Helsinki), and when asked after a specific book the staff offered to order the book from States for no additional price to the buyer (This in Finland happens only in Academic Bookshop, which has a price level not suited for students purse). And no readers digest on sight!
3. The High-Quality (and cheap!) fast food.
Right next to our hotel was fast food venues EAT and Pret A Manger, both of which are designed a student or young worker in mind. Both offered cheap food made on location from fresh ingredients every day. As a reasonably new enterprises, all the services kept sustainable development and green values in mind, thus providing quilt-free dining. Also, warm take-away soups! How great would that be here with our horrible cold winter!
4. The Museums
I mostly have no complains about Helsinki's museums. They are really, really great when you take the size of the city into consideration. It's just that they pale in comparison to Museums in London. Tate? Free entrance. The Natural History Museum? Free entrance. The National Gallery? Free entrance. It just goes to show how much more London invests in culture and science. I know this is a unfair comparison to make: There is no way a small nation like Finland could really put that much money and effort into a culture. Especially when there is collective outrage among the people every time someone suggests bringing new culture into Helsinki: I mean, look at the Guggenheim-conversation. But I still think we could develop these great venues we already have. In museum in London the entrance was free, but for some special exhibitions that were there for a limited time, you had to buy a ticket. I went to see Damien Hirst in Tate and Animal Inside Out in Natural History Museum, and I truly felt that I got the worth of my money. I can see similar mechanism working in museums at Helsinki.
