The next morning, we got up bright and early (and thankfully hungover free) headed out to breakfast, swiftly followed by a whistle-stop tour of Helsinki after which we hopped into a taxi and headed to our next surprise destination… Rovio! The home of the Angry Birds.
The buildings slowly started to change as we drove out in the taxi and traditional buildings were slowly starting to get replaced with shiny modern ones…
Finally, we arrived in Rovio! I almost couldn’t believe it! I was one of those people (of which I think there were lots of us) who was addicted to Angry Birds and played every single opportunity I got. I pretty much finished every single game every time a new one was released and I even play some all over again from the start once I was done. Point is – I’m a huge fan! We both are!!! When Lloyd found out we would be going to Rovio, I pretty much had to help him pick his jaw off the floor. He tried desperately to play it cool but failed miserable. I think all that excited shrieking gave him away really…
Angry Birds were littered all over the office! I loved it!!! I kept resisting the urge to get myself a huge bag and just stuff it with all the Angry Bird plush toys I saw… It would have been a ridiculously huge bag if I did but I feel like it would have been worth it! 🙂
We grabbed a coffee and went out to the chill out area (which doubles as a barbecue area on summer evenings) to take in some sunshine and get some introductions…
How about this view for your morning coffees, right?
I then found something that got me really excited!!! The Angry Birds swing!!!
I had to kick the little piggy on it off (Bye Felicia!) and have a go myself! Of course, I had to take Stella (one of my faves) with me…
Lloyd on the other hand was making himself at home in a nest of piggies and angry birds…
Eventually, and rather unreluctantly, we had to say bye to our new found friends and head off to check out other parts of Angry Birds HQ!
Luckily, there were croissants on hand to distract us…
While we got to find out a lot more about Rovio. Turns out, Rovio is about a lot more than just Angry Birds. They are an entertainment studio and make things like cartoons, games (obviously), cool merch, amusement parks, learning tools for kids and here’s the big one – a blockbuster movie! A lot of the animation gets done in house and the guys and gals here are constantly busy creating new and amazing stuff here.
One of said amazing stuff is a virtual reality game. It’s still in it’s early stages but we got a chance to give it a whirl!
It was so much fun!!! This is the first time We’d both tried any virtual reality games and they’re absolutely fantastic! It’s so immersive and the best part – for those watching you is how silly you look while playing around in an universe no one but yourself can see. Everyone wins really! 🙂
Before long, it was time to head off to check out some more stuff and as though the high from the VR game wasn’t enough, we got given goodie bags with lots candy, cool stuff and our very own Angry Birds characters… (Guess who got a bird and who got a pig? Answer revealed further down…)
We headed out but again, couldn’t resist a photo op – so this happened! (Quite a lot actually!)
…before we finally entered the top secret lab where all the magic happens. No cameras allowed in here but try to imagine if you will, lots of angry birds running around and lots of pigs creating mischief everywhere! 🙂
Finally, we exited via the gift shop… It was time to head back to the Hotel Scandic Paasi, grab our stuff and head back to London!
*Excuse my filthy ‘hiking’ shoes…
Answer for who got the Angry Bird and who got the pig – I got the Angry Bird and Lloyd got the piggie! Did you guess correctly?
Back at the hotel, the manager, Minna left us with more chocolates and sweet treats than you should shake a stick at! We had almost a mini suitcase filled with all sorts of Finnish goodies and a guarantee that we probably wouldn’t need to buy any more chocolates for the rest of the year based on how many we currently had!
Over the last 48 hours, we’d done and seen so much – even more than we imagined or thought possible.
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