Finland, which longs for the few sunny days it gets, has only a very brief summer. The winter days here seem as though they will never end. Conversely, during the summer months in Finland it sometimes seems like the sun never sets. This country is famous for the reindeer and sleigh-pulling huskies that live in its northern regions. With its beautiful blue lakes and rivers, Finland's forests, which cover a good 75 percent of its land, are a gorgeous shade of green. In fact, with 23 million hectares of forest, Finland has the most forestland in all of Europe.
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The industrialization of Finland began during the 19th century with the processing of its forest products. In fact, forests are still the most important source of raw materials for Finland.
The resolute efforts and hard work of the Finnish people in past years mean that they now inhabit a nation which, despite having been at one point a country of swamps, is now one of the most developed nations on earth. Finland produces internationally recognized brands of electronics and metal goods and is also famous for its engineering capabilities. Its goods sell well in world markets. Finland is a leader not only in production, but in trade as well. One of the greatest factors in this nation's growth during the 1990s was the spread of cell phones and other telecommunications technology. Today, this nation is both modern and developed.
Finland joined the European Union in 1995 and converted its currency to euros in 2002. The country has a population of 5,250,000. Newspapers sell an average of 3 million copies per day. A majority of these sales are to regular subscribers.
Helsinki, the capital of Finland, is a port city founded in 1550. It is the northernmost EU capital, and it hosted the Olympics in 1952. Helsinki is an orderly city with large parks. One of the most famous city squares here is Senate Square. This square is home to Helsinki Cathedral, a large white church with green domes, as well as a statue of Russian Czar Alexander II. The Russians ruled Finland between 1809 and 1917, and before them, the Swedes controlled these lands for many years. In fact, you can see evidence of the years of Swedish rule in the language and culture of Finland today. The official languages of Finland are both Finnish and Swedish, and in fact, both are taught in school. Of course, the Swedish spoken in Finland is a bit different from the Swedish spoken in Sweden. Around 6 percent of all Finnish citizens speak Swedish as a native language. Street and boulevard names are in both Finnish and Swedish here, as are street signs and placards.
The population of Helsinki is around 600,000. Actually, Finland, with its relatively small population, is doing what it can to encourage an increase in birth rates. Financial assistance is offered to families when they have a child, and in fact, these family payments are one of the largest expenditures of the Finnish government's budget. It doesn't matter how rich or poor a Finnish family may be; they will receive a special package from the government for each child they have. These packages include things like blankets, diapers, children's clothing and even toys.
Every morning people living in Helsinki head for the large parks that dot this capital city. The city has dog parks where you can take your dog and let him run free with other dogs all day long if you wish. In fact, there are 15 dog parks in Helsinki alone. Interestingly, Finland also has cemeteries for dogs and cats. These cemeteries are well maintained; you can see dates of birth and death on the headstones at these cemeteries, and candles are lit by the gravesites.
There is an open market near the presidential palace in Helsinki that you must visit if you are in Finland. In fact, because it is near the presidential palace, even the Finnish president sometimes takes her visitors to tour the open market and drink some coffee there. One of the most unique aspects of this open market is that sellers here still use the old liter system rather than a scale to price and sell their goods. For example, when you buy foods like potatoes, peas or mushrooms here, they will measure how many liters of these foods you are buying and charge you accordingly. The price for one liter of peas here is 3 euros, for example. The EU doesn't look warmly on this traditional form of pricing, so it appears that this method will go by the wayside and become history not long from now. The Seurasaari Open-Air Museum in Helsinki is also a very important spot for Finns. One of the first signs that you are about to head off on a historical tour through years past is that when you arrive at the museum, you are greeted by people wearing costumes from the 19th century. Inside the museum, you see examples of old Finnish homes. Visitors can experience old ways of living when they come here; the most distinctive quality of these old Finnish homes is that they are made entirely of wood. The Seurasaari Open-Air Museum is definitely a place to see if you are interested in traditional Finnish life.
Another popular spot to visit in Helsinki is Temppeliaukio Church. Carved from stone, this churched opened for services in 1969.
There are around 188,000 lakes, some large and some small, throughout Finland. Of course, it is not surprising that a country that gets as much rain as Finland does would have so many lakes. The homes that stand beside these lakes are also quite famous in Finland. Many Finns especially relish the idea of being able to spend their vacations on a quiet lakeside, leaving the crowds and chaos of city life far behind.
Another aspect of life much loved by Finns is the sauna. In fact, Finnish society adores saunas, and almost every Finnish home contains its own sauna. Apartment buildings have shared saunas that their residents use together. It is reported that there are 1,700,000 saunas in Finland, which is a lot when you consider that the nation's population is only 5,300,000. The word "sauna" itself comes directly from Finnish. A favorite tradition of Finns vacationing at their lakeside homes is to rush from their saunas straight into a cold lake. It doesn't matter whether it is summer or winter when they do this!
Finns are also known for their love of coffee. They are one of the top coffee consuming countries in the world, with an estimated 20 million cups of coffee drunk per day.
Following Helsinki, the second largest city in Finland is Espoo, with 240,000 residents, and the third largest Finnish city is Tampere, with a population of 200,000. There are two large lakes that lie outside Tampere. One place you must be sure to see in Tampere is the espionage museum. All sorts of interesting tools and devices used by spies are displayed there. Schools in Finland all provide lunch to their students for free. This is a service that everyone receives from preschool all the way through high school. In fact, special lunches are even offered for students from various religious backgrounds. One last note is that alcoholism is a big problem in Finland, not only for men but for women as well. And the divorce rate here is high, as is the unemployment rate. Around 7 percent of country's population is unemployed.
