Our Travelling Trio (my sister, I and our best friend ever since teenage) has visited dozens of cities around Europe during the past decades. If you asked us what we get out of our travels, I'm sure you'd get three totally different answers. And that's the beauty of it.

Last spring we decided to go to Riga. Before the trip my sister came up with this great idea that instead of everybody reading everything about Riga superficially, each would actually pick one interesting aspect  or theme and focus on that - this way each of us would be responsible for one "guided tour" in Riga and we would get more insight on the city. In brief: less in breadth - more in depth. We agreed to launch this new approach immediately.

I knew very little about Riga, so I was pretty much open to any ideas. I happened to see a friend of mine who had been in Riga on business a couple of times in the past. She suggested that I'd concentrate on the Art Nouveau houses in Riga. Great - now I had my theme. But what was Art Nouveau really? I needed to get some expertise in that before the trip.

Thank goodness for Google! I learned quite a few things about Art Nouveau - the key idea was to create a better environment for everyday life with the help of art and architecture. Aesthetics was important. There were freely arranged windows, towers, balconies, gates, decorations etc. in the buildings. I got really absorbed in my theme. To my surprise I also learned that Finnish architects had had major influence on the Riga Art Nouveau houses and Helsinki was actually one of the finest Art Nouveau cities in Europe. What?

It's funny really how easily we miss the beautiful things that are closest to us - after our Riga tour I've seen Helsinki in a very different way. You need to see it through the eyes of a tourist! And that is why the Travelling Trio will gather in Helsinki next weekend - and guess what my theme will be?

You can admire the pearls of Art Nouveau in Helsinki from the tram or by walking - download your own survival package here:

http://www.hel2.fi/kaumuseo/jugend/jugend_esite_en_ve.html