| Page Views: 659 Last Visit to Finland: - I Used To Live Here | White nights, forests, water & dark cold winters by annase - last update: Jun 23, 2008 |
Country of dark contrasts: climatewise Finnish summer is fab. It's warm (often as warm as +25C or more). There are masses of music and arts festivals including the art house film festival way up in the North in Sodankylä and the opera festival in Olavinlinna medieval castle. The sun hardly sets in summer, so it's light all night long -especially in the north. At the northernmost point, in the heart of summer, the sun does not completely set for almost 2,5 months. However, as a flip side to this, the sun doesn't rise at all for almost 2 months during winter. No wonder people become severely depressed!
Apart from being the lightest and warmest time of the year, summer is in a total contrast to winter when the temperatures drop well below freezing (sometimes even nearly -30C). There are also different climates between the northern, western and southern regions. Southern Finland experiences northern temperate climate whereas Northern Finland is dominated by a sub arctic climate. It is characterised by cold, occasionally severe, winters and relatively warm summers.
Although it might be safer to visit during the summer due to the decent weather, winter is also attractive time of the year – particularly around Christmas and around the time when there is plenty of snow if you are into winter sports. The Nordic Lights (Aurora Borealis), can regularly appear in winter in the extreme north of Finland. Now, I have only seen them once in my lifetime, so you might see them if you get lucky! Anyway, there are other activities such as skiing, dog sledding and Nordic walking. Finns will try to convince you that it is the home of Santa Claus. It’s up to you whether you want to believe that or not.
Although this may sound like a typical slogan in your average travel brochure, Finland really is a country of thousands of lakes and islands. There are all together nearly 190,000 lakes and almost 180 000 islands. Most lakes are clean enough to swim in and offer excellent facilities for yachting, inland water cruises, kayaking and fishing. Of some 70 species of freshwater fish, the northern pike, perch and salmon are plentiful.
The landscape is mostly flat with some hills. The highest point is (1300m) at the border between Finland and Norway. Landscape is covered mostly by coniferous taiga forests (Scots Pine and spruce) and wetlands, with very little arable land.
The most islands are found in southwest in the Archipelago Sea, part of the archipelago of the Åland Islands, and along the southern coast in the Gulf of Finland. It is the largest archipelago in the world by the number of islands.
Some of the most serious wild life includes the Brown Bear, Gray Wolf, moose and reindeer. Reindeer and moose are also local delicacies, with the hunting season for the moose being the late summer/autumn. A few bears and wolves are also hunted every year, however, bear is a very elusive delicacy, and it won't be found on any restaurant menu, since the hunters often eat the meat themselves due to a limited number of licenses granted every year. Wolves are not being eaten and normally they are only shot if they cause problems such as frequent attacks on domestic animals.
Some of the rare species include the flying squirrel, Golden Eagle, Saimaa Ringed Seal and the Arctic fox, which are all endangered. The national bird of Finland is the Whooper Swan. They breed Finland and migrate to west and central Europe for winter. Somebody recently told me in the UK, all the swans belong to the Queen. I don't think they belong to anyone in Finland though..
The Saimaa Ringed Seal, one of the few lake seal species in the world, exists only in the Saimaa lake system of south-eastern Finland which is the largest lake in the country. There are currently about 270 seals in Saimaa. It is endangered and is under WWF protection. |
|  | Population, languages and ethnic groups Finland currently has 5.2 million inhabitants and has an average population density of 17 inhabitants/km3, making it one of the most sparsely populated countries in Europe. The population has traditionally been concentrated in the southern parts of the country, which is even more pronounced after the 20th century urbanisation. The largest cities in Finland are the Greater Helsinki metropolitan area (including Helsinki, Vantaa, Espoo and Kauniainen), Tampere, Turku and Oulu.
The share of immigrants in Finland is among the lowest of the EU-countries. Foreign citizens comprise only 2.3% of the population.
Virtually all the Finns learn English at school and from the media as well as the internet. Although an overwhelming majority of the population (92%) speak Finnish as their native tongue, surprisingly I still get frequently asked whether I’m Swedish speaking. Swedish is the largest minority language, but it's only spoken by about 5% of the population as their native tongue. However, the right of minority groups to cherish their culture and get services in their own language is protected by law. Due to historical reasons, Finland is officially a bilingual country (Swedish being the is the 2nd official language) and education in the second language is compulsory from 13 years of age for both Finnish and Swedish speakers.
However, many people really struggle to speak the second official language due to the fact that the language studies start way too late and they do not get enough practice in the language. In addition, Swedish and Finnish are totally unrelated, Swedish being similar to most Germanic languages and Finnish being related to Estonian (and very remotely to Hungarian), which are Finno-Ugric languages. Other minority languages include Russian, Estonian and the Sami languages which are spoken by less than 7,000 individuals.
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This Monty Pyhton song sums Finland up pretty well (in a way). I like the comparison to Belgium as the least wanted country when picking holiday destinations, since I am such a huge fan of Belgium myself as well!!! ;)
"Finland"
Finland, Finland, Finland,
The country where I want to be,
Pony trekking or camping,
Or just watching TV.
Finland, Finland, Finland.
It's the country for me.
You're so near to Russia,
So far from Japan,
Quite a long way from Cairo,
Lots of miles from Vietnam.
Finland, Finland, Finland,
The country where I want to be,
Eating breakfast or dinner,
Or snack lunch in the hall.
Finland, Finland, Finland.
Finland has it all.
You're so sadly neglected
And often ignored,
A poor second to Belgium,
When going abroad.
Finland, Finland, Finland,
The country where I quite want to be,
Your mountains so lofty,
Your treetops so tall.
Finland, Finland, Finland.
Finland has it all." "
Monty Python's Contractual Obligation Album, 1980 |
From Stone Age to the accession to the EU The area now known as Finland was first settled during the Stone Age when the ice shield of the last ice age had moved away. The earliest people are thought to have been hunter-gatherers, living primarily off what the tundra and sea could offer. The speakers of the Finno-Ugric language arrived in the area also during the Stone Age.
In the past, the country has been sandwiched between Sweden and Russia who were fighting over the lands due to their expansionist aspirations. For this reason, even today most people would not like to be associated with neither Sweden nor Russia.
Despite this, there is no getting away from the fact that the country was initially ruled by Sweden and subsequently by Russia. The influences from the both countries are deeply seeded in the every day life and even the language (mostly in the form of loan words), whereas most Finns would probably play down this vast influence.
Ancient architecture remaining from the reign of the Swedish Kingdom include various castles around the country (e.g. in Turku, Hämeenlinna and Savonlinna). Helsinki, on the other hand, is famous for its Grand Duchy era architecture, which resembles that of imperial St. Petersburg.
The Swedes ruled Finland for 7 centuries from the mid-1200s onwards. During the time, Swedish became the language of administration and education. Finnish was a language for the peasantry, clergy and local courts in predominantly Finnish-speaking areas. Sweden systematically settled areas and built cities, particularly in the east.
After being conquered by Russia in the beginning of 19th century, Finland was made a semi-autonomous Grand Duchy under the Russian Empire. The Finnish language began to gain recognition by both the imperial court and the governing bodies, perhaps because the Russians wanted to break Finland’s cultural and emotional ties with Sweden. However, the relationship between the coloniser and the colonised gradually grew resentful as the Russians made moves to restrict the Finnish autonomy. Aspiration for national independence soon gained ground, first among radical nationalists and socialists.
Shortly after the Bolshevik Revolution in Russia in 1917, Finland declared its independence. However, even after gaining its independence the Russians exerted its influence over Finland, since they kept attacking the country. During World War II, Finland fought the Soviets twice. Treaties signed with the Soviet Union included obligations, restraints, and reparations on Finland as well as several territorial concessions. Finland ceded 10% of its land area, fifth of industrial capacity and almost half a million evacuees, in Finnish Karelia, Salla, and Pechenga.
After the war, Finland tried to stay neutral and continued to trade with the Soviet Union in the framework of bilateral trade after all its reparations were fulfilled. When the Soviets Union come crumpling down in 1991, the trade between the countries evaporated overnight. Finland was hit by a severe depression. This resulted in a mass unemployment which is still the case in some of the most remote areas in the country. In 1995, Finland joined the European Union, where it is an advocate of federalism contrary to the other Nordic countries.
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Famous and semi famous people with Finnish origins
Actress Pamela Anderson (Her grandfather is from Finland)
Actor Matt Damon (He also has a Finnish grandfather)
Socialite Camilla Al-Fayed (The daughter of Harrolds owner, Mohammed Al Fayed and his Finnish born wife Heini)
Actress Lisa Niemi (The wife of Patrick Swayze)
Rally Drivers Marcus Grönholm & Tommi Mäkinen
F1 Drivers Mika Häkkinen, Mika Salo, Kimi Räikkönen
Composer Jean Sibelius (1865–1957)
Linux Software designer Linus Torvalds | | |
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| Pros: | "I am slightly biased, but I love the summers and light summer nights in Finland" | | Cons: | "Cold, long and dark winters" | | In A Nutshell: | "I've come to think Finland is quite exotic =)" |
annase's Finland Travel Tips
| Overview | Things to Do
Tips: 3 - Photos: 3 | | | | Restaurants | Hotels & Accommodations | | | | Nightlife | Off The Beaten Path | | | | Tourist Traps | Warnings Or Dangers | | | Transportation
Tips: 1 - Photos: 3 | Local Customs
Tips: 10 - Photos: 9 | | | | Packing Lists | Shopping | | | | Sports Travel | General Tips |
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