Random romances in Helsinki this summer

Couple with a dog on a pier
英語

Start your romantic date by throwing dice. Look what number you get and find the matching location from the list below!

Meiju Niskala
Author & Artist
Meiju Niskala

Meiju Niskala is a performance artist who lives in Helsinki and is passionate about interaction, public spaces, experience the world in new ways and making things better. Start your romantic date by throwing dice. Look what number you get and find the matching location.

If you threw a 1, attend a birdsong concert at the Pitkäkoski rapids

Walk along the kilometre-long Pitkäkoski rapids from rock to rock, around the bends, under the bridge and over the white water. Prepare for the concert by making garlands from the flowers that grow along the shoreline or put a flower in your buttonhole. As the sun goes down in the evening, sit on a rock, forget everything else and listen to the singing of the nightingales, warblers and corncrakes.

If you threw a 2, practice your love moves at the Mustikkamaa beach

The swimming beach at Mustikkamaa has also private little areas where you can enjoy your own peace and quiet. In the warmth of a summer’s night you can practice your love moves in the water, such as the spinning albatross, a full rotation of the Eiffel Tower and the swordfish with legs straight. 

If you threw a 3, enjoy a hundred-minute nap at the Rhododendron Park in Haaga

Thousands of rhododendrons and azaleas grow in the park that was once wetlands. The heady scents in June can be enjoyed from the viewing platform high above the shrubs, but to experience the full dizzying effect arm in arm, lie down among the petals between the duckboard paths.

If you threw a 4, camp out on the island of Pihlajasaari

Greet the gentle summer winds on the easternmost island of Pihlajasaari and watch the sunset from the rocks by the sea. Set up your tent and memorialise your 21st-century romance by carving your names in the rock alongside those of Waldemar and Kaarina a hundred years ago. 

If you threw a 5, have a nature picnic at Kallahti

The long and narrow pine ridge at Kallahti leads to a wide-open sandy field with rocks sticking up here and there. Pull up the hems of your dress or roll up your trousers when you get to the water, carry your picnic basket on your head, and walk to the tiny rocky island along the underway path. After you have enjoyed your romantic three-course picnic, wade hand in hand back to the mainland. Note: If your true love is not a swimming expert, you can take with a rubber swimming ring just in case.

If you threw a 6, attend a couple’s study circle in Viikki

In the geographic centre of Helsinki in Viikki, among the fields of flowers, pine trees and the rare Eastern Finland cows, you will find narrow gravel paths. According to legend, if you manage to put summer flowers in the pocket of your partner while walking along these paths, true love will be ignited. Indeed, the reeds there are known as the Valley of Love, where couples’ study circles were held among the working classes in the late 1800s.

英語

Rate your random experience

❤︎ Just holding hands
❤︎❤︎ A hug
❤︎❤︎❤︎ A peck on the cheek
❤︎❤︎❤︎❤︎ A kiss on the lips
❤︎❤︎❤︎❤︎❤︎ True love

You can read more about random romanticism and other tips for urban explorers in Helsinki in Meiju’s book Olet tässä (Helsinki) published by Avain in 2008.

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Start your romantic date by throwing dice. Look what number you get and find the matching location.