Any Travels

Finland is a northern European country of four seasons for the discerning traveler, not a land of mass tourism. Summer season in Helsinki, winter at the skiing centers in Lapland and few happenings all year round temp enough people to make it a crowd, otherwise you can enjoy the space and silence in the pure northern nature. During the winter months you can have a skiing holiday or visit the Santa Claus and take a reindeer tour. Summer offers you a wide variety of activity from trekking to urban holidays, or you can simply relax at a hidden summer cottage with a sauna near a lake. Besides the mainland with vast forests and thousands of lakes separated by few agricultural and urban areas, the Baltic Sea with widespread archipelagos offers plenty of possibilities for sailing and fishing. Helsinki and few other places are worth of visiting throughout the year. Finland has a high standard of living, comparable to other Scandinavian countries, facilities are good and especially the telecommunications are next to none in the world.

With an area of 338,000 square kilometers, Finland is the seventh largest country in Europe, located between Sweden and Russia. The Gulf of Finland separates southern Finland from Estonia and in the north Norway isolates Finland from the Barents Sea. Boreal forest cover two-thirds of Finland, one third of the country lies north of the Arctic Circle. Post-glacial lakes are a dominant feature, if marshes and bogs are also counted water covers about 10% of the country. Most of the country is relatively flat with few hills, the highest point of Finland, Halti in Lapland, rises 1328m above sea level. Finnish flora is rich and varied during the warm period between late May and September. The most common mammals in the forests include elks, foxes, lynxes, lemmings and hedgehogs, but also brown bear exists. Reindeer is a very common sight in the northern Finland, Lapland. There are over 300 species of birds including black grouse, whooper cranes and birds of prey, such as ospreys. With climate, Finland is more favored than most areas in the same latitudes, like Alaska. The average temperature in Helsinki is -3.1 C (26.4 F) in January and +20.5 C (68.9 F) in July. The summer months from July to August are generally warm, the midnight sun does its thing, but the nights can be chilly, and during the winter you should always take warm clothing with you.

Finnish language is different from the Indo-European languages; it belongs to the Finno-Ugric group of languages together with Estonian and Hungarian. Language is not much of a problem in Finland, however, because most Finns know some foreign language and many of them speak several. English is the most widespread foreign language and Swedish has the special status of being the country's second official language, German, French and Russian are not uncommon at the bigger towns and tourist centers. The five million Finns themselves may appear reserved at first, but they'll show the friendly face soon after first contact, especially if you show interest in the local culture like sauna. yes.

Finland is for the most part a quiet land, where a ramshackle cottage by a lake and a properly stoked sauna is all that's required for happiness. It's a vast expanse of forests and lakes and more forests, punctuated by towns full of people who are genuinely surprised to see tourists.

During the months of the midnight sun, coastal regions are a sailing and fishing paradise. Inland, the largest unspoilt wilderness in Europe attracts thousands of trekkers every year. In the south, the capital Helsinki is a paradise for lovers of art and architecture.

When the nights are long in Finland (and they can be very, very long) it's tempting to huddle inside with a vodka, but it's much more fun outdoors. You can ski across vast frozen lakes or relax in a sauna, beating yourself ever so gently with a fragrant branch of birch leaves to loosen the travel grime.

Events

Midsummer's Day (Juhannus) is the most important annual event for Finns. People leave cities and towns for summer cottages to celebrate the longest day of the year. Bonfires are lit and lakeside merrymakers swim and row boats. Enthusiastic alcohol consumption is a key feature of midsummer partying.
The Pori Jazz Festival in July is one of the country's most popular festivals, but the Savonlinna Opera Festival, held at medieval Olavinnlinna Castle, is the most famous. Some of the best (and the most international) festivals are the most remote: check out chamber music in Kuhmo, or folk music in Kaustinen (near Kokkola).
There are big rock festivals during the Midsummer weekend, and big annual events, such as Ruisrock, the longest-running of rock festivals, at Turku in July. On the lighter side, check out the Sleepyhead Day, where on 27 July the laziest person in the towns of Naantali and Hanko is thrown into the sea.
Finland's strangest event is the annual wife-carrying championship held every July in tiny Sonkajarvi.

Go to Sauna
Your host will be inviting you to sauna sooner or later, man and woman usually goes in turns, but not necessary, between good friends it can be mixed too. Good temperature is about 80 degrees c. Be natural and relax, that's the meaning in having Sauna.