24 bars in 24 hours

Jaahas, ploki näyttää haamupäivittelevän jatkuvasti, joten pannaan välillä oikeaa purtavaa, ettei mahdollisille kävijöille tule aina sama etusivu näkyviin.

Zepa tuolla oli eri mieltä Belgen tylsyydestä. Niin näytän minäkin olleen siinä jutussa, jonka reilu pari vuotta sitten kirjoitin englanniksi. En yrittänyt viilata sitä mihinkään juhla-asuun, koska tiesin että se julkaistaan vain ruotsiksi. Jos jotakuta huvittaa vilkaista, niin tällaisen sepustuksen tein.

Tässä vielä lepyttelyn merkeissä (;–p) kuva Belgen kirjastosta.


24 BARS IN 24 HOURS IN HELSINKI

Helsinki has a fine and varied catering for barhopping. Whether you want to enjoy bar sports with friends or on television, just taste some interesting beverages, or perhaps party until the wee hours, you’ll find lots of smaller and bigger bars to choose from in the very center of Helsinki.

A Friday afternoon is a good time to start a night on the town. Just relax and pick your favorite of Irish, British, Czech, Belgian, plain Finnish or even a Soviet bar.

At the railroad station Pullman Bar may “throb with the tragic poetry of departure”, if you search desperately for a cliche like James Bond did when boarding the Orient Express in Istanbul. There you can peruse a map and look at the busy surroundings from the second floor windows.

Short walk away, there's Sports Academy with two lively floors filled with television sets and two huge screens showing big sport events. Beer enthusiast can head for the popular Molly Malone’s, which has all you search for in an Irish pub.

Or the cosy Belge, where you can stop by the street-level bar, stay a while in the library corner on the second floor or eat a Belgian meal with original fries (but don't call them French fries!) These are nice places to meet your friends and pamper your tastebuds with a variety of beers, perhaps draught Kilkenny in Malone’s or a trappist brew in Belge.

You may also look for local specialities like Zetor, where out-of-towners photograph the old tractors, gather around drinks or eat a delicious Finnish meal. Saunabar is an alternative choice, where younger bar-loiterers play billiard and darts, surf the net, listen to afro rhythms – or bathe in sauna. On Sun and Mon 15-24, there are nonstop-saunas for men and for women.

For fans of Aki Kaurismäki movies, if you seek that subdued, bleakly romantic atmosphere, there are interesting small bars scattered around. Tiny U. Kaleva plays Finnish hits from decades ago and serves vodka with lingonberry juice. The name is a funny mix of the location (Kalevagatan), of Czech bar names and of president Urho Kaleva Kekkonen, whose bald head and glasses are in the logo. Kekkonen became a Finnish synonym for the word president by leading the country for 25 years.

A couple of blocks away Kaurismäki has his own set-up with film theatre Andorra, billiard bar Corona, with nine pool tables and one snooker table, plus a strange little Moskova bar, which is proud of its rude service, old vinyl player churning Russian songs as well as small variety of choices – vodka, beer and maybe a salami sandwich, if you are lucky – all in the best old Soviet style.

After nine you can check the grandaddy of Finnish rock bars, Tavastia, where upcoming bands yearn to gig and even seasoned veterans feel proud to step on the stage. Tavastia has also a small “backroom” Semifinal for the less famous attractions.

The party people gather later to huge bar complexes. Kaarle XII has a pub, several bars, karaoke, casino, hot disco and what not. Kaivohuone has seven bars and caters also for vip’s, so you may see hockey or formula stars there. Botta is a traditional and many-dimensional party place for students – St. Urho’s Pub has a fine selection of beers, Manala serves lunch during the day, but is a fervent dancing place on weekend nights, and Ostrobotnia has a ball room – all in all four floors of busy action.

Two new favorites are Onnela and Studio 51, which entice long queues of disco-goers to Fredriksgatan. Many party people end up in Lost & Found or DTM, which pack gays and straights during the late late hours.

After a busy Friday night, if you still feel the urge, thirst can be quenched with the leftover coins in the many pubs of Kallio (Berghåll) neighbourhood, for instance Roskapankki or Weeruska.

But a warning from the heart: after 24 hours of barhopping it is a hallucinatory feeling, if you jump by coincidence to karaoke taxi – and the driver holds a mike and sings Let It Be while driving!

Joopa joo, tosi jänskää juttua varmaan.