What does
Turku feel like?
TURKU HAS BEEN SAID TO HAVE THE SOUL OF A METROPOL IN A BODY OF
A SMALLTOWN. AMONG THE CITIES OF FINLAND, TURKU IS THE ONE TO RAISE
FIERCE EMOTIONS. INSPIRED BY THAT, WE TOOK THE RISK AND ASKED ONLINE:
WHAT DOES TURKU FEEL LIKE? WE GOT 1359 ANSWERS. HERE'S ONE HUNDRED
OF THEM – FOR, AGAINST, AND A BIT OFF THE TOPIC.
"Turku feels like a big pop-up club in the summer. Turku feels like a small fair in the winter."
- Aapeli
"Ruissalo Island feels like a fairy-tale forest, its long shoreline like Paradise."
- Hanna-Mari
"The saying "Turku is the a*****e of Finland" is known by everybody in this country, but I dare to say: few really know Turku."
- Otto
"An encounter with Turku is, for example, the first warm day of spring when the whole city emerges from winter hibernation and flocks to the river banks."
- Ninni
"Turku feels merchantish and mustardey. Really good and genuine Finnish, that is."
- Hottis
"Life, livings, a smile here, a tear there. Shameless, happy, whole."
- Incidental Stepper
"Let's not stomp Turku under the sea, ok? We should rather move it in the place of the soulless Helsinki. A wheelbarrow by wheelbarrow, if needed."
- Minna
"Walking by the river in the twilight you forget you are mad at the bus driver who didn't take you aboard, even though he saw you running in desperation. You may even thank him in your mind and wonder if this beautiful melody plays in your head – or is the Fairy-tale Bridge loose again?"
- Poyhiah
"The dialect is not terrible any more, sometimes astonishing but not often infuriating."
- Heisky
"People always try to f**k with a Turkuner, but I always give as good as I get."
- Jallu
"As a 5th generation Turku girl I'm proud of my international hometown. The reason others slander our city is envy from the little upstart villages."
- Seija
"You'll find about the same amount of backward rednecks and aware idealists in Turku."
- Lothar of Turku
"Turku brings to mind the ferry that took me cross the river in 1966. I had a wart, and I believed it had dropped in the water."
- Taramara
"The old orange city ferry called FÖRI is the thing that always makes people go like WHAT!!!"
- Sepa
"I often point out that I'm not from Turku, but I like to represent the city and its people. I have to admit that I get some satisfaction from the reactions."
- I'm not from Turku
"Selfish Center of the Universe City. On the other hand, good service here and there."
- Anxiety
"Turku is my Paris, Tallinn and Stockholm. I love Turku, which is pretty strange for someone from Helsinki, considering the classic Helsinki-Turku love-hate relationship."
- Turkulove
"The banks of the River Aura are so cool and so full of life. Perfect spots for a beer-pack picnic."
- Mariastiina
"Turku feels good. Occasionally a little bit tiring, but mostly like an everyday adventure."
- Macrogurl
"My husband's uncle talks about #turkuonlythings, by which he means anything funny I say or do."
- Lotta
"I had a summer job in Turku in 1973. I returned in 2017. Unlike me, Turku had gotten younger. Lovely river banks, people cycling, international atmosphere!"
- Heila from Heinola
"In Turku I tend to feel this deja vu, just like I have always been there."
- A future citizen of Turku
"The whole city annoys me. People who have moved there are constantly hyping it in whatever media they can find but in reality they are just trying to make themselves feel good about their own bad judgement."
- Kimmo
"There is an apple tree, a currant bush and a cherry tree growing in my parents' garden. As a kid I carried sand to the root of the cherry tree, although I have no idea why. My sweetheart is softened by this, for her it’s idyllic that I’m from Turku. A bit childish but beautiful. I consider myself cosmopolitan. To her, I’ll always be a boy from Turku, a boy who talks a bit silly. A boy who gets emotional about Martti, who has a story from every corner. Who gets a bit hurt if someone makes fun of Turku."
- A boy from Vähäheikkilä
"Everytime I see a wooden house that hasn’t got tears anymore I feel like crying from happiness."
- Mell
"Turku is embodied in its silly main library building. One end is historical and dignified, the other a modern cube. Somehow they work seamlessly together and create a functional ensemble."
- Ulla
"In my home there are curtains of the River Aura and a wall print of a photo my dad took of fireworks during Turku Day. I have also infected my husband with some Turku-lingo."
- Cata
"It feels like there are more talented and pretty people in Turku than in the rest of Finland."
- Xenia
"Turku is like the distant, chic aunt who offers you a room to stay in while studying: who is not called “mom” by anyone but her own kids, and doesn’t even want to be. But there is a certain kind of pride I feel about her. I love showing Turku to my friends."
- Ulla
"A warm, deep, slightly bohemian velvety embrace, whose cultural fringes tickle your cheek."
- Kikka
"Turku is the best place in Finland, right after Stadi. My newest crush is the Jokke Jokijuna."
- A girl from Tölikkä
"I’m from Satakunta so dissing Turku has been a part of my life since the early days."
- Emma
"The man in the record store knows which vinyls interest you by the way you look, in a full restaurant a Swedish-speaking yacht club doesn’t mind you sitting at the end of their long table. In Turku you belong."
- Ilpo
"In Turku one does not get stared at, unlike in small towns, but either over and past like in Helsinki. Maybe it’s some kind of everyday presence."
- Lothar of Turku
"Personally; regrettably distant. Confident but insular. Beautiful and interesting but very traditional with no surprises."
- Lennu
"I actually went as far as starting to paint a picture of myself as a future Turkuner, and it looked good."
- In Tinder forever?
"What annoys me the most are Turkuners who have fled from their village and go around parroting “joovai?”. Well yea, yea!!!"
- From Tampere, nääs
"In Turku my fringe points upwards when I’m heroically crossing whatever town square in a headwind."
- Ulla
"There are four people in my family. We are all born in different cities. One is a Turkuner. He differs from the rest of us by being tall and handsome."
- From a herd
"Turku sucks some serious a**. However I find my OWN derriere there regularly. Why? Because the a**iness of Turku is the most beautiful thing in the world."
- Sibbobo
"Since I was four I’ve been a Turkuner mentally, to my family's horror, a proper black (and white) sheep."
- Johku
"I have learned to understand Turkuners, since my husband was born at Heideken."
- Turku FAN
"Turku feels like a breeze from history. Turku feels introverted. Turku feels like a hug from dad when I need encouragement."
- Piula
"It feels like Turku knows the treasures it’s hiding and makes conversation with a bypasser: We won’t be here forever."
- Mää
"Turku lives through wars and terrorism. In spite of all this, the River Aura flows into the Airisto Sea, a guitar plays on Puolalanmäki and people dance at Uittamo. And so life goes on, and that, if anything, is what being from Turku means."
- Karo
"Turku, ah, the city that is liked and at the same time so hated. I also recognize that in myself."
- Iisinen
"People are so proud of being from Turku, I’ve never met love that strong towards a hometown."
- PH
"People from Turku have to diss every other city in Finland just to make themselves feel better."
- Pave
"The intestine of Finland, the point of the cape, the fountain of civilization."
- Nessie
"Turku is small and convenient. Turku is parochial and open. Turku is proud for a reason and proud for no reason. Turku is wonderful and distressing."
- Irga
"After climbing over the language barrier I understood that the people here are simply awesome."
- A Chick of Tampere
"Why aren’t we kind to every country yokel? Well, the real question is: Why would we be?"
- Meiju
"At every encounter Turku has showed up as a place of beauty, kindness and hospitality. But never as a “softy”, always very well aware of its own worth."
- Sinappi
"I love the culture scene of Turku: the Cathedral, the Turku Castle, the River Aura. The nearness of sea and the archipelago are crucial to me. To me Turku also means living bilingualism."
- Anelina
"Turku in the spring time can be mistaken for Paris. The flowers blooming on the river banks, the murmur of an unfamiliar language, the clicking of dishes in a café."
- Ilona
"From what I've seen, they must put something in the water in Turku. Nothing else explains the overly positive people. I definitely want the same substance to be added to water in the Helsinki metropolitan area."
- Katariina
"There’s an unlimited access to everywhere in the world from Turku, and the Archipelago is like children in front of their mother."
- Katti
"The best thing ever is fries from the town square grill with all the flavourings. That's when Turku feels like a timeless moment."
- Tiitu
"There’s some kind of magic in Turku, especially in the spring nights along the river banks. When I’m lost and sad, I feel like Turku picks me up and holds me close."
- Inka
"As a journalist I play this little game of mine with the people from Tampere by writing articles to Aamulehti and often choosing a specialist from the University of Turku. I definitely have a love-hate relationship with Turku."
- Ellikki