Tuesday, June 26, 2012

A Finnish Experience

Finland has a steadily growing economy and many foreign companies are taking interest to expand their operation to this tiny European country nowadays. Our company was not different. When we decided to start operations in Finland, the natural choice for the head quarters was the capital city Helsinki. Fortunately the task of establishing a branch there felled upon me and I have started preparing for the journey. The first thing I did was to take the details about cheap plane fares to that city. There are some good travel agents in our city, that are listed with our company and who are offering the best airfares. I have approached them to take cheap tickets to Helsinki.

With its recently attained importance as an economic center and a tourist destination, almost all the flights to Helsinki will be flying full at most of the time. The city is very famous for some annual events and festivals such as Helsinki Festival, Nights of Arts, Vappu etc. all major airlines including British Airlines and Air France used to fly some special flights during this season. Anyway, without much trouble I flew in one of the cheap flights to Helsinki.

The city has a long history and it has to suffer many setbacks in the past. It includes the plague that killed many of the residents in 1710 and a fire mishap in 1808 when major portion of the city got gutted in fire. Besides it witnessed several wars too. Fighting with all adversaries the city started its development in the 17th century and now became one of the most powerful economic centers in Northern Europe.

The city is also known as the Design Capital of the World with its excellence in designing. The city has used designing wisely for the economical, social and cultural development. It designed some known brands in the world such as a NOKIA and CONE. When the city is thriving in business it also excels as a hot destination for tourism.

I have visited the National Museum of Finland. Apart from the exhibits there, the museum itself is a showpiece and attracts many visitors. I happened to there on a weekend. The entire premise was crowded with visitors and most of them were foreigners. When the National Museum spread light to the past of the country the National Art Gallery speaks about the strong past of the country in art and culture. This gallery consists of three museums. When the Ateneum Art Museum exhibits the classic Finnish art the Sinebrychoff Art Museum exhibits the classic paintings and murals of European art as a whole. The third museum, Kiasma Museum is entirely dedicated to the modern arts.

There are many theaters and venues for performing arts in the city. I was lucky enough to see many cultural events in some of these venues. However the most thrilling experience during my stay over there was to participate in Vappu, an annual carnival. This carnival has been celebrated by labors and students with taking our colorful processions and conducting various cultural programs. I never forget the experience of dancing in the procession along with some youngsters.