Sundays in Helsinki

Are shops, galleries etc. open in Helsinki on Sundays?

I%26#39;ve just moved to Tampere and this place is a ghost town on Sundays.

|||

Shops and such are open on Sundays only during the summer months and before Christmas.

|||

You will get used to it, see item 14 in the %26quot;you-have-been-in-Finland-too-long-when...%26quot; list here: http://www.hs.fi/english/extras/toolong

;)

|||

ah, yes, I came across this list just a couple of weeks ago :)

|||

Blimey, you newcomers don%26#39;t realise how soft you%26#39;re getting it.

|||

what do you mean exactly?

|||

When I arrived (1974), there were 7 English-speakers in Tampere. Going out for a drink meant waiting in line in the frost to see if a surly bouncer would condescend to let you in. Purchasing a bottle of wine - IF Alko was open - meant venturing into a grim little clinic of a shop decorated with posters about the horrors of alcohol to apologetically ask an unsympathetic bureaucrat for what might laughably be called service; they would scan you for any possible excuse for refusing (laughing, or even smiling, was prima facie evidence of drunkenness - alcohol was a serious, but SERious business). And you%26#39;re grumbling because shops are closed on Sundays?

Anyway, opening hours are going to be liberalised more next year. Hopefully that will make Tampere even cosier.

|||

It%26#39;s a *light* grumble, John, a light grumble.

;)

|||

Well, I enjoy a good grumble myself from time to time.