We're Alex and Marko the Vagabrothers
and this series is about new Nordic cuisine
We'll be traveling across three Nordic capitols
exploring the culinary revolution that's turned this region into one of the most dynamic food destinations on earth
along the way, we'll be meeting locals
eating
drinking
and having a great time
hope you're hungry
In the final episode, we're in Helsinki's Flow Festival
What's up guys? Welcome back to another beautiful day in Helskinki
It's our last day but we're going to make the most of it we're hitting the Flow Festival and Restaurant Day
So Restaurant Day started here in Helsinki in 2011
and since then it has spread to 34 countries
it's a way of everyday citizens making their own pop-up restaurants
So we're going to check out a few for lunch starting in an interestingly named place called Plague Park
Sounds delectable
You can see these gravestones here, this used to be a cemetery back in the day
and now it's turned into one of the most popular parks in town
well it's definitely a very cool vibe here
Some of the people here are totally pro, there are definitely people here who are professional chefs
but then there are also a lot of normal folk who just want to cook for the public, maybe share some of their ethnic cuisine
So, it's a good way to sample all the different food that there are here in Helsinki
Finnish street food
It's like a Finnish taco, you have a potato tortilla deal
with some fresh foraged mushrooms from the forest around here
smells awesome
He's moving, he's moving!
So this is the third stop we've been to on Restaurant Day
they're literally all over the city but this is in Kallio the kind of hip, trendy neighborhood
we're going to get one last dish then head to the Flow Festival
well every one of these parks has been really crowded but this one in Kallio is by far the most crowded
we've had a lot of food but we're not quite done yet
it's like a never ending feast this week so, we're going to get one more dish here and then head out
well that was awesome
lots of food but onwards, we are heading to Flow Festival now, should be fun
so we finished eating all over the city for Restaurant Day
and now we are going to have a couple of drinks before we go into Flow Festival to save a bit of money
and we want to show you this little hack we have, check out our belts
what are you doing? Don't do that
Don't worry
this belt has a bottle opener
You know this is not the first time so, just going to drink two beers
You look so pervy and sneaky right now
all this action down by my crotch area
somebody actually just tweeted us and said "I don't even like beer but watching the Vagabrothers blog makes me want one right now"
So, this is a nice one, little Mexico
ok
A tomar Sol! Kippis! ("Cheers" in Finnish)
So we just got into Flow we're in the press room and we're going to talk to the organizers to find a bit more about how this Festival got started
It was a bunch of friends who just wanted to create something fun to Helsinki
we thought that they really didn't access the kind of festival or event we wanted to attend ourselves
It was like a huge success from the beginning and then it started to grow very organically
and here we are, it's a huge festival now
Finland is a little bit of a younger country than other Nordic countries
we're in a huge growing process
and I feel like Flow is a huge part of the that growth
alright guys right now we're going to speak to Richard McCormick
He's half American half Swedish, grew up in Southeast Asia, and finally settled here in Helsinki
but he's been revolutionizing the food scene in this city ever since
so we're going to ask him a couple questions and see what his favorite aspect of Flow Festival is
Everyone gets really excited about the food at Flow
I think from the beginning they had put a strong emphasis that we need to make the food properly and it needs to be done well
Helsinki is just starting to kind of come around to the food
and seeing "hey we don't have to eat this crap anymore, let's eat something new"
and that's what's kind of been my driving force or my inspiration to be here, to stay here
is to kind of, give something fun, and make something new, and excite people, and make people smile and have a good time
what do we have here?
we have, it's actually a local rainbow trout so it's organic
and then we have kale pesto, it's made with dill smetana with beetroots
Chanterelle, new potatoes, and some sprouts
usually the festival food is so bad but here, it's a destination in itself man
this is super good
alright guys well that's the end of the week we don't have permission to film the artists that are going on tonight with Beck and Florence and the Machine
but trust us there's a bunch of good music happening tonight
and that's why you have to come to the Flow Festival for yourself to experience the music live
there's only so much we can transmit back to you guys through our videos
but hopefully you enjoyed them
Kind of curious what was your favorite moment from the week bro?
I don't know, I really liked mostly just seeing the contrast between all three capitals
each one has something different
and it's one of those things where like, they are similar
sometimes when live in close proximity with each other they're like "oh we're the best!"
and it's kind of like brothers in a way when you have to be kind of like,
as an outsider, it's almost like being a dad where you go " you're all different in your own way
"You're all special" ya
and I really think that is the case though when you go from place to place
to see the differences and appreciate what makes each city unique
It has been such, such a feast
I don't think i've eaten as well or as much in one week in my life
what was your favorite food?
I loved the street kind of food market in Copenhagen
I thought that was really cool
lots of good food there
and then, I really enjoyed Woodstockholm, great feast
and that oyster, it was like a baked oyster
and then obviously the crayfish party was great
Helsinki has been amazing as usual
so it was really hard, I don't think I could choose a favorite
well anyways, if you guys liked the video make sure to give it a thumbs up, share it with your friends
and subscribe to our channel for new travel videos every week
in the meantime stay curious, keep exploring, and we'll see you guys on the road
PEACE