Back through the looking glass in
Helsinki, I spend my final
day detoxing with shopping. Finnish design mirrors its people:
functional, avant-garde, sexy, well formed, and durable. I stride
through Helsinki's Design District, an eclectic downtown area with
more than 100 shops offering creative fashion, jewelry, art,
antiques, furnishings, and more. I walk in the shadows of the
romantic Art Nouveau buildings topped with fairy-tale touches like
gargoyles that come from not-so-scary nightmares. I hit the Arabia
Factory and its showroom, buying greatly discounted Iittala glasses
and Arabia bowls. I go to Stockmann, which is
London's Harrods
meets
Paris's Le Samaritaine - an awe-inspiring department store so
huge, I am certain people must live within it. And, at last, I
splurge on jewelry at Kalevala Koru, a shop offering modern and
traditional designs based on pieces found in Finnish archaeological
excavations.
Bags in hand, I consider one last vodka for the road, but without
the mantle of judges and an international cadre of competitors, it
just doesn't seem worthwhile.
Well, maybe just one more … and make it Finlandia.
Some Winning Drinks
Finlandia Blues
From first-place winner
Jan Lindgren, Finland; Level 5 Bar,
Hyvinkaa
3 to 4 lime wedges
2 teaspoons blueberries
1 centiliter blueberry syrup
3 to 4 mint leaves
2 centiliters Finlandia Cranberry Fusion
2 centiliters DeKuyper Sour Apple
Muddle limes, blueberries, blueberry syrup, and mint together. Add
in Finlandia Cranberry Fusion and DeKuyper Sour Apple. Stir and
then double-strain into a martini glass. Garnish with blueberries
and mint.
Butter Lee
From second-place winner
Aleksander Stipcic, Serbia;
Allingston's Bar, Belgrade
1 centiliter Finlandia Vodka
2 centiliters DeKuyper ButterShots