FINLAND: Finland leads the way in novel ways of enjoying a beer

Record ID: 806974

  • Title: FINLAND: Finland leads the way in novel ways of enjoying a beer
  • Date: 26th October 2008
  • Summary: (SOUNDBITE) (English) TONI THE BARTENDER OF PUUTORIN VESSA PUB, SAYING: "This is the way we serve the beer for the customers" IN POTTY STYLE CUP TOILET BOWL AND TANK AS THE INTERIOR DECORATION OF PUB SERVING WINDOW THE HISTORICAL ILLEGAL OWN DRINK OF THE PUB "PIMIÄ POTTU" (BLACK POTATO) DRINKS LIST (SOUNDBITE) (English) TONI THE BARTENDER OF PUUTORIN VESSA PUB, SAY
  • Embargoed: 10th November 2008 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Finland
  • Country: Finland
  • Topics: Light / Amusing / Unusual / Quirky
  • Reuters ID: LVAE8YRF9CAH05WSFVI8A18K2KZY
  • Story Text: Visitors to pubs in Finland are given a special treat when enjoying a pint or two: with beers served in an old public toilet and a converted tram and wine stuck along a pharmacy's shelves.
    More than 10 years ago, pub owners in Turku in western Finland converted an old bank, a pharmacy and even a school to add a bit of humour to a night out.
    But the tour of the Finnish town's pubs -- now a major attraction promoted by the local tourist board -- became complete when radio producer Markku Heikkila decided to open the funniest of them all: the 'Puutorin vessa' or the toilet pub.
    The building had stopped functioning as a toilet in 1986 and it had stayed empty for about ten years until Heikkila bought the place.
    At first he thought he would just keep the name but then decided to incorporate the theme into the whole pub.
    Housed in an round-shaped public toilet in one of the town's main squares, the 75-year-old building has been refurbished and cleaned to welcome visitors in a small and cosy scene.
    Toilet seats hang from the ceiling and other restroom items are scattered around the pub.
    'The last drop', 'Prostate' or the 'Golden Shower' are some names the owners have come up with. For those who dare, they can even have their schnapps passed through a peeing statue.

    "I think the first idea is that this is a very funny place, and they have heard of it from the Internet, they don't really expect anything.
    They just come and they're looking, mostly they're laughing," said Toni, the bartender at the 'Puutorin vessa'.
    According to the bartender, alcohol could be bought illegally at the bus station's public toilet. This product was called Pimia Pottu and the bar now has its own Primia Pottu drink to commemorate the historical spirit.
    The pharmacy pub also uses the building in which it houses to better promote the business and attract crowds, both locals or from outside of town.
    In the pharmacy, customers can choose their medicine from the many on display along its wooden shelves.
    The pub's workers said they had not thought twice about the themes being any weird.
    The country's capital of Helsinki has a unique pub of it's own - which is run from aboard an old tram.
    British tourist Amanda Fox said it was the perfect way to combine sightseeing with having a night out.

    "We have so little time here in the city and it's good to be out to see the sights as well," she said, while sipping on her drink and watching the parliament and cathedral passing in front of her eyes.
    It's claimed the mobile watering hole, which was a real city tram in a former life, is the only one of it's kind in the world.
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