One of the most beautiful countries in the world is Finland. The country is home to approximately 5 million people and 1.5 million saunas. The culture of Finland is such that many people have private saunas inside their homes. At the hotel I was staying, individual guest rooms also contained a sauna.
Throughout the course of its history, Finland has been controlled by different countries. For over 600 years Finland was a part of Sweden. Many street signs are in both Finnish and Swedish language. For almost 100 years in the 19th century, Finland was a part of Russia. Officially, Finland declared independence in December 1917, making it one of the younger countries in Europe.
Like many European countries, Finland has a great public transportation system. It is quite easy to commute nearly anywhere in the country via its modern rail system. There are also easy high speed rail trains that make both a clockwise and counterclockwise loop between the airport and the city center of the largest city and capital of Finland, Helsinki. The ride is approximately 30 minutes each way, and trains run every 5 to 10 minutes.
As Finland is located at such a high latitude when traveling to Finland in the winter, the sun will not rise until at least 9:30 in the morning and it is not uncommon for the sun to set as soon as 3:30 in the afternoon. Having such limited daylight does take getting used to the adjustment!
Within the city center of Helsinki, the city center is easy to walk around. There are two major cathedrals with distinctly different architectural designs. The Helsinki Cathedral is located at one of the tallest hills in the city and is easy to spot with its neoclassical architecture and green dome. This is a Lutheran cathedral. The second cathedral is the Uspenski cathedral which is home to the orthodox faith. Both cathedrals are within walking distance of each other.
Within the city, there are many underground tunnels that have been built. While many of these tunnels are closed off to the public, there are some areas such as near the main Helsinki train station where you can walk into the tunnels to escape the frigid winter cold.
As Helsinki is on the Gulf of Finland, there are many opportunities to explore beyond Finland. One of the most popular activities is to take one of the daily two hour luxury ferry rides to Estonia offered many times each day. I highly recommend visiting Finland!
