Multicultural Helsinki

Those searching for some authentic Russian culture in Helsinki need look no further than the office of Russia's airline Aeroflot, situated smack-bang near the busiest tram station.

I went there in the morning out of curiosity. The window has some long outdated posters of Russia and the interior isn't much more exciting. There were two Russian ladies working at the office. One of them was serving an eccentric-looking man who was asking about flights to Havana via Moscow, so I went to the other one (plump, middle-aged, with a surprisingly fancy cell phone) and, just for fun, asked about flights to Kamchatka. First I had to explain to her that Aeroflot flies to Petropavlovsk-Kamchatski (she looked sceptical) and gave her some imaginary dates next August. Apparently, I made her day when she realised that yes, really, there are flights from Moscow every day!

While she was typing away, trying to find me a cheap fare from Helsinki, I asked to take a look at the timetable book, which, I then realised, was only valid for spring 2005. Nearby the other agent was calmly trying to explain that Aeroflot operated to Cuba only three times a week. Suddenly the cell phone of my agent started ringing and she silenced it with a quick move. Much to my surprise, I was told that the cheapest seats for next August to Kamchatka from Moscow were all sold out - and we tried about five consecutive days! Maybe it's not as remote as I thought!

Then a loud Russian man marched in and greeted the ladies with a familiar air. I was just starting to wonder who the intruder was when he walked behind the counter and sat down with them. The few words I grasped from their conversation in Russian were "antibiotics" and "vodka".
Anyway, I left the office with a nice print-out with the flights I requested (most of it in Russian) and the knowledge that Kamchatka could be only 670€ away - and that fare includes a stopover in Moscow and flexible dates according to seats on the plane. Stepping out into the rainy and crowded Mannerheimintie seemed like a real culture shock.