FINLAND - DETAILED PREVIEW

ooo INTRO ooo

This collage shows all the items for what Finland is known. And the next collage presents the 8 main cities and their core architecture.

The following detailed map shows the southern part of Finland, with all main cities up to Vaasa, and Russia's St Petersburg.

ooo VARIETY OF FINLAND VIEWS ooo

Here are 4 pictures as examples of Finland's large cities, little towns, tiny islands and sheer endless lake areas.

ooo HELSINKI ooo

The most eye-catching building is Helsinki's cathedral. Its main train station (for Finland's considerable railway network) contains weird architecture. The main library has a stunning central venue. And Helsinki's local traffic service is based on lots of modern trams.

ooo TURKU ooo

Turku was founded 1229 as a basically Swedish city, and is Finland's oldest one. Its huge castle was crucial, as was its (finally Protestant) church.

ooo TAMPERE ooo

In the center of it: A gorgeous church.

ooo PORVO ooo

Here is a cute example that Finland is not just a very modern and 'hi-tech' country - there are also many art shops, covering hundreds of years of the Finnish history.

ooo ESPOO ooo

There are quite a few traditional and modern buildings in Espoo - but its real feature is to be the headquarter of Nokia, company which shaped, until its death, worldwide mobilphones Nokia's most succeful model was the "3210".

ooo SHIPS ooo

Finland is only a small country - yet it is a world power in designing and building ships. Here are 4 examples, reaching from huge to little.

The most demanding task is to build ships for use in Arctica and Antarctica, which need to crack ice. And here Finland excelled as well!

ooo REINDEERS ooo

In Finland's northern region are very many reindeers, mostly living as wild animals, yet some are also trained as semi-domesticated deers. These are mainly used for sled tours.

ooo SAUNA ooo

It's not possible to report about Finland's features without mentioning the sauna. Finnish saunas, built with wood, exist thousands of years. And I myself go to saunas since decades..

In Finland, as in Germany, Belgium, Canada and Japan, people are usually naked, but may sit on a towel. What to do and not to do when taking a sauna bath has been described in countless essays. It is always a combination of sitting in the very hot room and then to dive into cold water. Some saunas have actually been built right beside a river or lake!

Going to a Finnish sauna is meant to be fun, however, it is also a health activity, because heavy sweating is reducing all sorts of viruses in one's body. That's why I am still a sauna customer!

ooo FINALLY ooo

So, is Finland worth a visit? Clearly "yes", in my view, because of the wild variety of landscapes, the stunning mixture of very modern versus rather old-fashioned towns, and the fun of doing an excursion in a sled drawn by reindeers!