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Finland is a great place to enjoy cycling - it is flat and there is some nice scenery. The little towns are great to cycle through too. Bikes are easy to find, and a cheap alternative to expensive transportation costs - and it is fun too! Finns love cycling so there are many cycling paths. Leave a Comment
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Lakes cover about 10% of the country's area and can be found mainly in the southern part of Finland. They are not very deep, so they freeze easily in winter changing into snow-scooter routes. In summer they provide excellent opportunities for rowing or canoeing, and lots of Finns have their summer cottages by the lake.
Saimaa Lake District not far from Mikkeli and close to Savonlinna fully deserves its name of one of the most beautiful parts of Finland. This maze of lakes with rocky shores, tiny islands, strips of land covered by forests is literally breathtaking. And Litvesi road leading through six islands and over seven straits is definitely the most beautiful road in Finland. In some places you drive on embankment that is 15 metres high. Every few kilometres you can't refrain from getting off the car to admire another masterpiece of nature and take another picture of the fabulous scenery. Go further east and you will get to Punkaharju - a sandy seven-km longe ridge covered by pine trees and linking the shores of a big lake. To appreciate the view you should climb to the top of observation tower. Punkaharju looks from there like a green snake creeping along silver and blue carpet. Leave a Comment Directions: Saimaa Lake District
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I think that Lapland is this place that attracts tourists to Finland. We associate it with unspoilt nature, reindeers, endless hiking trails, husky safaris, and of course Santa Claus. Visiting Rovaniemi, the capital of Lapland, will give you only the foretaste of what this region may be like and, as it was in our case, the feeling that next time you must explore the 'real' North. And I regret to say that Santa Claus village and arctic circle was a big disappointment. They are too kitschy and commercial for me. Looking at the queue of people (often adults) who waited to shake hands with a fake Santa Claus and have a picture with him for 'mere' 17 Euro, made me think: 'Aren't they crazy?'. So we quickly left the place and took a nice stroll along Koujanoki river in Rovaniemi.
I wonder what is the best time to visit Lapland. For people like me, who are not very keen on winter sports and prefer higher temperatures, summer seems to be the best choice. We visited Rovaniemi in August and the days were long, at 10 p.m. it still wasn't dark. But during part of the summer the sun doesn't set at all. So next time I'll come here in July to experience night-less night. And i will go to Inari! Leave a Comment
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What a pity we haven't seen the northern lights. But I've been told abot this spectacular 'performance' by my Finnish friends and I got a little picture of them as a souvenir. Aurora Borealis appears quite often in the sky, especially on clear winter and early spring nights. The phenomenon is the result of a discharge of particles from the sun. When they arrive in earth's atmosphere, they collide with atoms in its higher layers and this collision releases energy seen as light. The most spectacular show may last about 15-20 minutes. First the sky near horizon turns light green, then the lights go up and the higher they are the more colourful they become. They seem to dance and whirl assuming different shapes. As the people of Lapland of ten say, they resemble a tail of a gigantic fox. Leave a Comment
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Pihlajasaari is a rather small island off the coast of Helsinki and you will find beautiful lonely beaches, forests, rocks, a wonderful kahvila with an even more beautiful terrace and even a nudist beach here.
I absolutely loved lying on the beach here (not the nudist one tho ;) - with views of ships on their way to Tallinn, bright sunshine and with the funny colourful huts behind us. Leave a Comment Directions: The island of Pihlajasaari is just 15 minutes away from Helsinki by boat. The boat leaves at Cafe Carusel in Eira (at the end of Laivurinkatu), a return ticket costs 4,50 €.
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Suomenlinna is a Unesco World Heritage site. The fortress was built in 1748 by the Swedish to defend their empire from Russia. Called Sveaborg, it was the biggest fortress in Sweden. In 1808 it was defeated by Russian troops, who changed its name into Viapori. When Finland gained independence in 1917, the island's name was changed again, into Suomenlinna. During the Finnish Civil War (1918-1919) it became one of twenty prison camps. It was here that about 10 thousand of the Reds were kept and more than 10 % of them died of starvation and disease.
Today the museum exhibitions remind us of the stormy past of the island. But many visitors come here just to relax, have a picnic or a meal in a restaurant. Leave a Comment Directions: about 15 minutes by ferry from Helsinki
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Typical Finnish sauna in the countryside stands on the shore of the lake. Jumping into the lake really refreshes after hot sauna. I enjoyed it almost every day:) At many-stored houses people have electrical saunas for common use. In the new houses people have their own little sauna in their flat. I guess, you won't find a house without a sauna in Finland. Leave a Comment
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Reindeers are Lapland's best known inhabitants. How important they are for the people is proved by the multitude of names given to them. Here are some examples:
vasa - a newborn reindeer
vuonelo - a reindeer in the second year of life
kunteus - a four-year-old reindeer
nimiloppu - a reindeer older than six years
While driving along Lapland's roads you must be careful. It often happens that reindeers come on the road and are not willing to give way to you. Leave a Comment
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Founded in 1550 by Swedish king Gustav Vasa the town didn't really count for several centuries. When at the beginning of 19th century a Russian tsar annexed Finland, he moved the capital of the country from Turku to Helsiki (1812) and its development started. Russian influences are still visible in the architecture of the city.
The centre is compact enough to be visited on foot. Another idea, suggested by many, is to take the tram number 3. The most important things to see in Helsinki include: Temppeliaukio ( a church in a rock), Sibelius monument, Kiasma (museum of modern art) and Tuomiokirkko ( Lutheran cathedral). The white solid of the cathedral looks really beautiful, especially against blue sky. The interior, however, is very modest. Apart from visiting the highlights of the city, an idle walk in kauppatori - the market square would be the best idea. Leave a Comment
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This castle situated on a rocky island in Savonlinna looks really inaccessible, mysterious and beautiful. It is said to be the best preserved medieval castle in northern Europe. It comes from the 15th century and was built to defend the Swedish Empire from Russia. As we know, the Russians finally managed to defeat the Swedish, so from the half of 18th century until 1918, it belonged to Russia.
Nowadays many cultural events are held here, including opera festival. It's hard to think of any better setting for the opera, isn't it? Leave a Comment Directions: Savonlinna
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on November 22, 2005
on October 1, 2004
on June 21, 2005
on June 28, 2007
