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Helsinki's "Pub Tram": A Streetcar Named … Hic!

I can tell you from experience that the good folks of Finland sure do like their olut (beer). And come summer its capital’s denizens delight in soaking up both sun and suds at outdoor cafés and on their cute little archipelago islands. So I daresay you shan’t be shocked that Helsinki’s home to the world’s only streetcar-pub. And it’s actually a streetcar named, uh, SpåraKOFF (Koff being a popular Finnish brand of suds).

Whatever. In any case, you won’t have a drop of trouble spotting it: Most other streetcars in Helsinki are green, but this one’s as red as your face after a tipple or two. Originally built in the 1950s, it has 30 seats, lots of polished brass and burnished mahogany — and a bar from which a server keeps the brews comin’ (though there’s also cider and soft drinks). For 8 euros (4 for kids under 12), not including libations, you get an to ride an hourlong route that sloshes past many of Helsinki’s top sights, including Market Square, the neoclassical cathedral, Linnanmäki Amusement Park, Olympic Stadium, Finlandia Hall, the Museum of Contemporary Art Kiasma, and the Central Railway Station; plus you can hop (or stagger) on and off at five points downtown. Assuming anybody notices, what with the party going on inside. It’s strictly summer-only for the moment — specifically the second week of May through August (Tuesdays through Saturdays). All in all, a brilliant way for a visitor to Helsinki to get oriented and, at the same time, disoriented.