Finland

Best of Finland

December 10, 2013 /

We visited Finland for 6 days from October 11 to October 16, 2013, making stops at the capital Helsinki and Rovaniemi, home of Santa Claus. During our stay we fell in love with the colors of autumn, the clear sky, the pedestrian friendly Helsinki and the unique landscapes of the Arctic Circle. We welcomed the first snow of the season with food by the fire in the forest of Rovaniemi and finished our night with a traditional sauna visit, including rolling in the snow to cold off. Every night began with the hopes of viewing the aurora borealis and although we were not able to see them, Finland revealed the magical colors of its nature in many other ways.

During our short visit we learned about the native people of Finland and their history. The Sami are an ethnic group defined as indigenous people living in Europe and residing in four different countries: Russia, Finland, Sweden, and Norway. The present Sami population numbers between 60,000 and 100,000 and over 6,000 live in Finland. Reindeer herding has been regarded as the main means of livelihood of the Sami, but a considerable part of the Sami population subsisted on fishing.

Several wars with Sweden and Russia changed the borders of Finland territory across centuries. After the nation attained independence on December 6, 1917, the country went through several wars and suffered great losses, but the Finnish people always recovered. In less than one hundred years, the country transformed from a poor, agrarian part of the Russian empire into a wealthy, industrial, and welfare state.

We left Finland with a huge desire of coming back, a lot left to explore and enjoy!

Below are other great things we enjoyed about Finland:

Food and Drinks

  • TilliSilakka: piclkled herring fish marinated with dill

  • SinappiSilakka: pickled herring fish marinated in honey mustard

  • Rye Bread

  • Karhu Ruis: Rye Beer

  • Reindeer Deli Meat

  • Wild Blueberries

  • Wild Gooseberries

  • Wild Lingonberries

  • Homemade Cinnamon Rolls

Favorite Sights and Activities

  • Taking a wilderness walk near Rovaniemi, then going back to spend time in the sauna and rolling around in the snow to cool off

  • Enjoying the beautiful views of Helsinki

  • Visiting the official home of Santa Claus and the Arctic Circle at the Santa Claus Village

People

  • Heidi and her son, Elias: from Finland, connected through CouchSurfing and met for a couple hours in Helsinki.

  • Tarmo: from Finland, our CouchSurfing host in Helsinki.

  • Hanna: from Finland, our CouchSurfing host in Rovaniemi, who took us on a wilderness walk with a Finnish barbeque and shared her sauna with us.

Animals Viewed

  • Reindeer

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