If you do not get it here you do not need it? echoed a pre-recorded voice on ?Helsinki Audio Tour? as we stood in front of the big Stockman Mall that sits right in the heart of historic Helsinki. The Finnish capital offers everything which a traveller: treasures of the forgotten days kept safely in art galleries, awe-inspiring architecture and a fantastic public transport ? thanks to a wide network of bus, metro, train and tram. And to top it all, the adjoining seashore makes the experience more pleasurable.

Founded by Swedish King Guatav Vasa back in 1550, Helsinki is a bustling city, though not densely populated. The official population of Finland, at 5.5 million, is equivalent to half the population of Delhi. Independent since 1917 and now a member of the European Union, Finland was earlier a part of the Swedish realm for more than 600 years up to 1809. It was attached to the Russian empire for just over a century. I read somewhere that even Boris Yeltsin, former Russian Premier in early 1990s apologised on behalf of his predecessors for meddling with Finland?s domestic affairs during the Soviet era. Thus, a mention of Russia or Russians still raises frowns on Finnish faces.

After a bus journey of half an hour from the airport we reached the city centre at about three pm. The designer hotel, part of the Klausk chain of hotels, was located close by. Surprisingly the sun had set by that time, challenging my body clock all the more. It was freezingly cold, with temperature hovering around -2 to 2o C.

Spic and span as the streets were, the scattered cigarette butts do prick the eye. What really touched me was the way motorists (only tiny section of population own cars, thanks to the high taxes) allow pedestrians a patient passage without any of the unnecessary honking.

Once in Helsinki, you cannot but miss the 15 odd minute ferry-ride from the market square or Helsinki Harbour to Suomenlinna, the sea fortress. It has played a significant role in defending the country. Suomenlinna also has a lot to offer as a tourist destination ? war museum, toy museum, good sight seeing, caf? etc. It also has a lively city district with more than 1000 people living around it. In fact it can take an entire day to discover the fortress. I regret that due to time constraints I had to get back to the market square to pick up a few things. The local market is the place to hunt for souvenirs, woollen clothes, soft toys and much more.

Suomenlinna was built on the Helsinki coast in 1748. It is one of the treasures that is representative of the cultural heritage of Finland. Even though we had very little time at our disposal, exploring the island was fascinating and breathtaking. It?s definitely not worth a miss. Today it is a part of the UNESCO world heritage list.

Helsinki is a foodie?s paradise. There are a number of restaurants that offer all kind of delights ? besides Finnish you also get Indian as well as oriental and occidental cuisines. A trip to Finland, it?s said, is incomplete without savouring Finnish cheese, wine or reindeer meat. Yes, I did try all of them … and after traditional seven course Finnish dinner that took me four ? yes four ? complete hours to finish I reached the conclusion that it will take me a lot more effort before I can even attempt to call myself a ?foodie.? The word has acquired a whole new dimension for me now.

It is a different matter that typical Finnish food cannot match the wide variety of Indian cuisines. But the comparison is unrealistic as there is hardly any commonality between the two countries ? both in terms of size and social structure.

Helsinki is also well-known as the city of lakes. However, drinking water from packaged bottle at exorbitant prices is a luxury that only few can afford there. But for a traveller from India where clean drinking water is a prized possession, drinking water from the tap was, least said, an experience in itself ? quite a luxury.

The city has a lot to offer to a connoisseur of arts. You should visit Arabia Museum (an oldest and popular brand in crockery designing), where you could spot a variety of utility and art ceramics that were made in 1873 and after. The exhibition is held all the year round.

The next stop is at the Ateneum Art Museum where over 21,000 art work are on display. It is a part of the Finnish national museum and has the largest collections of Finnish art dating in between 1750 and 1960. It also houses western art that dates way back to the 19th century.

You can keep digging for more such creative endeavours in few of the other museums like Bank of Finland Museum, Hotel and Restaurant Museum, Finnish Museum of Photography,

Theatre Museum and Design Museum. However, we cannot deny that Finland is associated more with Nokia than all these city structures put together.

Six days are not sufficient to feel the pulse of any country but the serene surroundings and its people leave a distinct mark.

A lesson I learnt from my short sojourn in Finland was that despite stark differences between the two countries, India still creates a buzz among the people.

Who says Finland is far? Finland has a direct connection with India. After all the non-stop Finnair flight from Delhi to Helsinki took only six hours ? the same time that Shatabdi Express takes from Delhi to Lucknow. Let?s not compare the fares.