Visitors to Helsinki often comment on how well everything works. The trains run on time, the movies start when they say they will and it is very rare to see anyone cross the street before the green man appears, even when there are no cars.
Another thing I’ve noticed is the displaying of lost property. It seems there’s an unofficial understanding that if you find something of little value you drape it somewhere it will be easily found should the owner come back.
As the weather warms up the lost property du jour seems to be gloves. They are everywhere. Strategically placed on bushes, fences and elegantly draped over power boxes.
Which is not surprising really as Helsinki recently came first in an experiment to find the world’s most honest city. Eleven out of 12 ‘dropped’ wallets were returned to the owner with everything inside.
While every city has street crime I haven’t noticed it here. While Sydney is a great city, working in cafes there I witnessed bag snatching, wallet snatching, phone snatching, kids breaking into cars and people trying to steal the tip jar.
We even had one guy who would come in and stuff whole pieces of cake in his mouth and run off without paying. All part of living in a vibrant city of 4.5 million people where there’s a gap between those who have and those who have not.
So to me these Finnish displays of lost property seem like an indication of the overall honesty of the city’s population. True, no one wants one glove but I’ve also seen hats, shoes and sunglasses strategically arranged that have been left behind.
To be honest, Jonny’s Ray Bans disappeared after being left in a Helsinki changing room but he recently had a friend request on Facebook from a cafe worker here that he didn’t know. She was asking him to return to collect the credit card he’d left last time he bought a coffee.
Hey Helsinki 
I’ve been shooting photos of lost gloves here for a couple of weeks now, there are sooooo many! My pictures will eventually be part of my From Helsinki photography project – http://fromhelsinki.com
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Ha! That’s great! I’m pleased to know I’m not the only one. To be honest it’s a relief to have written that post so I can stop now. 😊 I’ll be sure to check out your finished product
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Haha, it can be frustrating when you start seeing something EVERYWHERE and constantly have to stop and take a picture so that you don’t ‘miss one’
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Exactly! I had to set myself the limit of ‘gloves only’ too or I’d go crazy – although they are the majority right now! 😊
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There’s another glov…oh, it’s a scarf, boooooooring. Sounds like we’ve been going through the same hell, ha.
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Hubby has lost his wallet three times here and gotten it back every time. I’m asking him not to try his luck one more time.. 😉
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Wow – I hope it wasn’t the same person who kept finding it, they’ll get to the point where they may as well just hold onto it for him. ; )
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“just give me a call when you need your credit card number?” 😀
Nah, and he’s been the champ, always handing the cash in the wallet over (quite common practice) to the one who has bothered to pick the wallet up and get in touch with him, so I bet they’d be happy to find it again anyway 😉
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Happened to me today – I had my brand new travel changing mat placed in a nice obvious place that I would find it! Love honest people! Good Karma 🙂
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That’s great! It does work! ; )
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I just nominated you for a Liebster Award. No pressure but you can read all about it here if you’re interested 🙂
https://littletravellerthings.wordpress.com/2015/03/15/my-liebster-award/
Hope you had a nice weekend. Beautiful weather!
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Thank you! It was great to read your answers. I’ve recently done this on my blog so will just wait a little while. Hope you’re enjoying the sunshine today too!
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Loved this story, inspiring, heart warming and loved the photos too – little indications of people’s kindness XX
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Thanks Steph. I’m glad you liked the story and the photos – I’ve been taking and collecting them for weeks now. ; )
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Maybe a reflection on the lack of discrepancy between the have and have nots in the relatively socialist Finland too?
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I think so. At least the gap is not quite so obvious here in Helsinki as it is in Sydney.
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My dad came to visit during the 2012 World Hockey Championships and left his wallet on the bar at Sports Academy in Helsinki on one of the busiest games nights during the tournament. To make a long story short, we went and collected the wallet the next day with everything intact. My dad is one of those people who carries his life around in his wallet.
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Wow! That’s amazing. What a good experience to have of a city while visiting. 😊
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Hei! I lost my wallet with all my cards and identity card on a toilet of a busy restaurant on the Street Nr. 8 between Vaasa and Oulu. Four hours later and 400 km away (!) I recognized it… I called them and was greeted like an old friend: “Hei Tarja, you lost your wallet! Come back – I wait here, until you’ re there.” Of course, nothing missing – that’s Finnish life! The whole story you can find here: http://tarjasblog.de/?p=851
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What a journey! You must have been so happy to get it back! ; )
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