Travel diary pt 14: This is how it should be
(completely forgot to post this a few weeks ago… so here goes)
The last night before leaving Finland we strolled aimlessly in Helsinki with my buddy. We ended up in a café called Regatta, next to the Helsinki rowing stadium. We were not planning to have anything there until we started spotting weird signs. It said “This is a boat” painted in the rowing boat. “This is a wall flower” it said next to a pot of flowers. What really caught our attention was a sign that exclaimed “This is a note! Every time you re-fill your coffee mug we will pay you 5 cents.”
That was so much contrary to what I had experienced just a few days ago (“thou shalt not pass the gulf nay cash”) that I had to ask the waitress if it was real. She nodded and explained that drinking 41 cups of coffee there would be absolutely free. As if we were not perplexed enough already, she added that it’s ok to just get the coffee and come back later if one doesn’t have money – or ask one’s friends to come. We were dumb-founded. This was so distant from the cold harsh “reality” we had grown accustomed to.
The waitress made clear that their policy is to trust and respect people as they are. She insisted we’d stay and started wiping a table for us since it had just rained. I asked to hug her and explained the journey I was about to embark on. She recommended the sweet buns they had but we were happy with just the coffee. So, if you’re ever in Helsinki make sure you go and relax in this small cozy place next to the sea. This is how it should be.
