🇫🇮 10 amazing facts about life in Finland

What do you imagine when it comes to Finland? Northern Lights, sauna, Joulupukki or top education, standard of living, strong passport? Both are here. Finland is also a northern cold territory, where in winter the temperature can drop to minus 40°C. From year to year it is included in the rankings of the happiest countries in the world. And now we’ll tell you about why Finland is also so amazing.

Safety

If you are a novice traveler, you have little experience and a lot of fears, but you want to go somewhere alone – choose Finland. This country is absolutely safe for tourists: 11 out of 12 lost wallets are returned to their owners, and locals do not always lock their houses and cars. Keep in mind that they will come up to you and help you, even if you don’t ask for it, but just stand somewhere with a confused look – almost all of Kandy Navia is famous for this. So if you are not afraid of changeable weather, you will not find other reasons for fear there.

Northern lights

The hunt for this rare phenomenon often becomes the number one quest for avid travelers. If you consider yourself one of them, Finland is waiting for you. You can see the aurora in winter from almost any part of the Lapland region (sometimes even in Helsinki, if you are lucky and arrive there in suitable weather).

But you will have a much better chance of catching an Aurora if you move away from cities, somewhere in the open or into the countryside. We need a sky without clouds and darkness without illumination. The best time to hunt the northern lights is from February to March and from September to October. So wait for autumn. Finns recommend observing the lights in Kilpisjärvi, as well as in Saariselkä, the village of Nellim and Sodankylä.

Saunas

Part of the cultural code, nothing less. Saunas, baths, spas of all kinds are everywhere and in any quantity. The Finnish sauna is the hottest and driest of all existing ones. The temperature in it can reach up to 130 °C. The Finns are sure that a sauna helps with everything; they even have a saying: “If tar, vodka and a sauna don’t help, then nothing will help.” In terms of the ratio of one sauna per three people, the Finns rank first in the world in terms of this parameter. Even many transactions and negotiations are carried out in the sauna. Allegedly because without clothes you become as sincere and real as possible – you have nothing to hide or embellish.

Unusual competitions

Finns know very well how to cheer themselves up and how to involve others in it. Judge for yourself, Finland annually hosts world championships in mobile phone and boot throwing, wife-carrying competitions, air guitar playing, swamp football, competitions in sitting on anthills, winter swimming and much more. By the way, if we are used to calling people who swim in icy water “walruses,” then the Finns refer to them as “seals,” “otters,” or “nerpas.” What exotic competition would you like to take part in? Write in the comments.

Drinking water

Tap water in Finland is some of the cleanest in the world, and you can drink it safely almost everywhere. There are drinking fountains everywhere; you can drink water from the tap or ask for it in a restaurant. Finland annually occupies a leading position in the world in terms of the purity of drinking water.

Service without tip 

In Finnish establishments it is not customary to leave a tip. Of course, they won’t offend anyone if you offer, but most likely they will refuse you, but with a wide and sincere smile. In Finland, all the service staff are very friendly and empathetic, people can even get upset if they didn’t help you enough – I speak from personal experience. So forget about the sour faces of cashiers and salespeople, in Finland you will want to smile at everyone you meet. 

Finnish rock

Finland is considered the world leader in the number of rock and metal bands per capita. The musical Finnish language combined with deafening heavy music creates something completely unique. It is not surprising that the country hosts dozens of different concerts and rock festivals every year, most of which are held outdoors in the summer. The most popular fests: Ruisrock, Pori Jazz, Provinssirock, Tuska, Ilosaarirock, Ankkarock, Sonisphere.

No ice on the sidewalks

The Finns solved this problem. You can walk in winter without fear of slipping. For example, in the central part of Helsinki, many sidewalks and boulevards have neither snow nor ice because the granite slabs are heated from below. The electric opal sidewalk first appeared in the Finnish capital in 1998. There is no ice there even on the coldest days of the year: snow falls on the paving stones, turns into water and flows into the city sewer. Heating pipes are laid under the tiles, the heating of which is regulated depending on the outside air temperature. ⠀

Skates

It is believed that it was on the territory of modern Finland that the prototype of modern skates was invented about 5 thousand years ago. Ancient people made them from sharpened animal bones or stone. Today in Finland, “winter skating trips” on the ice of rivers and lakes are popular. It looks like this: a group of people arm themselves with backpacks and special sticks and go skating on natural ice over long distances. Of course, if the weather and ice thickness allow this.

Easter in a glass

Bonus theme point – since it's Easter season. In Finland, Easter cottage cheese is packaged in plastic cups like yogurt. The dessert is called “Pasha” – a delicate curd cream, usually with the addition of citrus fruits and raisins. It seems that only the design has changed, but this is still surprising. And the religious holiday itself is celebrated in Finland not only in churches or at the family table: concerts, exhibitions and other festive events are held throughout the country.

So if someone tells you that Finland is a boring country, don’t worry, you now have a dozen counterarguments to this case.

PS: what would you add to our selection?