Elevate July 2019 | Air Serbia

TIKA THE BALTIC

Osim da je Finska dom zvanično najsrećnijih ljudi na svetu, da tamo negde u hladnoj, mističnoj Laponiji živi Deda Mraz, da je postojbina čuvenih Mumijevih, da ima divne, a istovremeno i zastrašujuće polarne dane i polarne noći, nisam znala – ništa Apart from the fact that Finland is home to the world’s happiest people, that somewhere there in the cold, mystical Lapland lives Father Christmas, that it is the homeland of the famous Moomins, and that it has beautiful but also terrifying polar days and nights, I knew nothing

M y closest contact with Finland during these 30 years of life was watching a Finnish lm in a cin- ema hall in which I was - not counting my friend - completely alone! I ac- tually don’t believe I would ever have found myself that far north, which they say is made tomeasureformodernman,hadInotbeenin the fortuitous situation to nd myself aboard Air Serbia’s rst ight to Helsinki, the capital of this Nordic country. The weather conditions in Serbia were such that even the cold Helsinki represented warmer climes, and the Finnish sun seemed to me like a slice of paradise on that rst day of June.Therstimpressionofthisstrongdaugh- ter of the Baltic was the same for all of us – the entire city is almost disturbingly clean, and for a moment you consider that you must have found yourself in the place that is Archime- des’paradise.Wherever you turn, you will see unusual architecture and shapes inspired by geometry, while the whole of Finland is the embodiment of spaciousness. Helsinki is a collection of everything and all sorts, and its still only 500-year-long history has plenty that’s interesting to oer, though it can be boiled down to just a few words: large, spacious, clean, calm and harmonious. The Serbian soul, which is accustomed to cha- os, noise, crowds and collisions, will initially feel almost uneasy in a city where everyone is minding their own business, but will just as quickly adapt to this strange moment of serenity. There is room for all in Helsinki and everyone is welcome. Looking around, you will see - wide boulevards, tidy footpaths, hun- dreds of monuments and coee at every step, as the Finns are actually the world’s number one nation when it comes to drinking coee, pedestrians patiently awaiting a green light

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