Lahti Is a Paradise

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Lahti Is a Paradise

Its angels eat meat out of cups and parade through the city naked on floats.

Lahti is a hard-up Finnish business town located on the southern bank of Lake Vesijärvi, about 120 kilometres from Helsinki. It used to be known as the "Chicago of Finland" – not because it has a really busy airport or an amazing skyline, but because of all the crime and domestic violence. However, Lahti has a friendlier face. Whether you're a local or a tourist, the end of a long night out always comes with a "Lihamuki" – literally a "meat mug" – from a street grill and, if you're lucky enough, a black eye as a parting gift. Everyone's equal in Lahti.

Annons

Antti Sepponen is a photographer, who runs a blog, collecting the town's latest crime news and pictures of drunks passed out on the street. For more of his work check out his website.

Does your town or city qualify for paradise status? Feel free to send your pitches to sweden@vice.com. Don't be shy.

Previous Paradises:

_Stockholm / _London /_ Ayia Napa / Budapest / Leeds / Dublin / Manchester / Birmingham / Miami / Phoenix / Leicester / Tbilisi / Los Angeles / Berlin / Rotterdam / Reykjavik / Wootton Bassett / Brighton / Oslo / Bristol / Athens / Prague_