الفوركس توركو

اكسسوارات السفر حقائب للرجال الأنيقين النساء تأسست أوربان ترافيلر في عام 2013 من رغبتنا في أسلوب وأداء وراحة أثناء السفر. نحن مصدر جميل اكسسوارات السفر الأنيقة حقائب السفر لأسلوب واعية الرجال النساء من جميع أنحاء العالم. اكتشاف مستلزمات السفر الأنيقة في الهواء الطلق والعتاد أساسيات السفر حقائب السفر حلول التعبئة مكعبات التعبئة هدايا السفر السفر الأحذية معدات السفر مثالية لقضاء عطلة الخاص بك، عطلة، استراحة المدينة، رحلة عمل، عطلة مغامرة النشاط، رحلات السفاري، كروز، استراحة المهنية، الفجوة سنة أو جولة رحلة العالم. المملكة المتحدة الدولية خيارات الشحن المتاحة. التوصيل المجاني في المملكة المتحدة أوروبا التسليم عندما تنفق أكثر من 50، 200 250 على التوالي. تسليم يوم العمل التالي هو متاح أيضا على أوامر المملكة المتحدة عندما كنت في حاجة الخاص بك اللحظة الأخيرة التسوق التبعي السفر في عجلة من امرنا أوربان المسافر المحدودة مسجلة في إنجلترا ويلز (مسجلة رقم 8560175). تسجيل ضريبة القيمة المضافة 168379166. مؤدب هي علامة تجارية، و أوربان المسافر شعار أوربان المسافر هي العلامات التجارية المسجلة من أوربان المسافر المحدودة. تسوق بأمان. هذا الموقع يستخدم شهادة صناعة كومودو سل القياسية لتشفير التفاصيل الشخصية الخاصة بك. يتم التعامل مع المدفوعات بشكل آمن من قبل ساجا باي أو باي بال اعتمادا على طريقة الدفع التي اخترتها. فنلندا (الفنلندية: سومي السويدية: فنلندا) في شمال أوروبا ولها حدود مع روسيا من الشرق، النرويج إلى الشمال، والسويد إلى الغرب. فنلندا دولة رفاهية حديثة تماما مع المدن والمدن الصغيرة المخطط لها جيدا ومريحة، ولكن لا يزال يقدم مساحات واسعة من الطبيعة البكر. ولدى فنلندا نحو 000 188 بحيرة (حوالي 10 من البلد) وعدد مماثل من الجزر. في الجزء الشمالي من البلاد يمكن رؤية الأضواء الشمالية في الشتاء والشمس منتصف الليل في فصل الصيف. يدعي الفنلنديون أيضا الجبل الأسطورية كورفاتونتوري باعتبارها موطن سانتا كلوز، وصناعة سياحية مزدهرة في لابلاند يلبي سانتا المشجعين. على الرغم من العيش في واحدة من أكثر البلدان تقدما من الناحية التكنولوجية في العالم، الفنلنديون يحبون أن يتوجهوا إلى منازلهم الصيفية في الأشهر الأكثر دفئا للاستمتاع بجميع أنواع الاسترخاء والتسلية بما في ذلك الساونا والسباحة وصيد الأسماك والشواء. اليوم، فنلندا لديها لغة وثقافة مميزة تميزها عن بقية أوروبا الشمالية. فهم تحرير التاريخ تحرير قلعة سانت أولافس، القلعة في العصور الوسطى في العصور الوسطى في العالم، الذي بني في سافونلينا من قبل السويد في عام 1475 لا يعرف الكثير عن فينلاندس التاريخ المبكر، مع علماء الآثار لا تزال تناقش متى وأين قبيلة من المتحدثين الفنلندية الأوغرية اقتصاص. المؤرخ الروماني تاسيتوس يذكر قبيلة البدائية الفاني وحشية في 100AD وحتى الفايكنج اختار عدم الاستقرار والتجارة والنهب على طول السواحل. في منتصف 1150s بدأت السويد للاستيلاء على المسيحيين الفنلنديين المسيحية بجدية، مع بيرجر جارل دمج معظم البلاد في السويد في 1249. ظلت فنلندا جزءا لا يتجزأ من السويد حتى القرن 19th، على الرغم من أن هناك حرب شبه ثابتة مع روسيا على الحدود الشرقية ومهنتين مختصرتين. بعد هزيمة السويد الكارثية النهائية في الحرب الفنلندية 1808-1809، أصبحت فنلندا في 1809 دوقية مستقلة ذاتيا تحت الحكم الروسي. كان الحكم الروسي يتناوب بين التسامح والقمع، وكانت هناك بالفعل حركة استقلال كبيرة عندما سقطت روسيا في الفوضى الثورية في عام 1917. استغل البرلمان الفرصة وأعلن استقلاله في ديسمبر، وسرعان ما كسب الموافقة السوفيتية، ولكن البلاد سرعان ما سقطت في مدنية قصيرة ولكن مريرة الحرب بين البيض المحافظين و ريدز الاشتراكية، وفاز في نهاية المطاف من قبل البيض. خلال الحرب العالمية الثانية، تعرضت فنلندا لهجوم من قبل الاتحاد السوفياتي في حرب الشتاء. لكنهم قاتلوهم إلى طريق مسدود رأى الاتحاد السوفيتي قهر 12 من الأراضي الفنلندية. ثم تحالفت فنلندا مع ألمانيا في محاولة فاشلة لصد السوفيت واستعادة الأراضي المفقودة، وهزمت، وكشرط للسلم، كان يجب أن تتحول ضد ألمانيا بدلا من ذلك. وهكذا خاضت فنلندا ثلاث حروب منفصلة خلال الحرب العالمية الثانية. في النهاية، فقدت فنلندا الكثير من كاريليا وفينلاندس المدينة الثانية فيبورغ. ولكن السوفييت دفعوا ثمنا باهظا لهم مع أكثر من 300،000 قتيل. بعد الحرب، تقع فنلندا في المنطقة الرمادية بين الدول الغربية والاتحاد السوفيتي. التزم الاتحاد السوفيتي الصداقة والتعاون والمساعدة المتبادلة فنلندا بمقاومة الهجمات المسلحة من قبل ألمانيا أو حلفائها (كما يلي: الغرب)، ولكن أيضا سمحت لفنلندا بالبقاء محايدة في الحرب الباردة وتجنب حكومة شيوعية أو عضوية وارسو . وفي السياسة، كان هناك ميل إلى تجنب أي سياسات وبيانات يمكن تفسيرها على أنها مناهضة للسوفيات. وقد عرف هذا العمل الموازن لفنلنديا بأنه روح التقوس إلى الشرق دون أن يهب الغرب. وعلى الرغم من العلاقات الوثيقة مع الاتحاد السوفياتي، تمكنت فنلندا من الاحتفاظ بانتخابات ديمقراطية متعددة الأحزاب وظلت اقتصاد سوق أوروبا الغربية، وبناء علاقات وثيقة مع جيرانها من بلدان الشمال الأوروبي. في حين كانت هناك بعض اللحظات المتوترة، سحبت فنلندا ذلك: في نصف القرن التالي، حققت البلاد تحولا ملحوظا من اقتصاد الغابات الزراعية إلى اقتصاد صناعي حديث متنوع يضم عمالقة التكنولوجيا الفائقة مثل نوكيا، والدخل الفردي هو الآن في أعلى 15 من العالم. بعد انهيار الاتحاد السوفياتي، انضمت فنلندا إلى الاتحاد الأوروبي في عام 1995، وكانت الدولة الشمالية الوحيدة للانضمام إلى نظام اليورو في بدايته في يناير 1999. تحرير الجغرافيا على عكس الصراخ النرويج والسويد، وتتكون فنلندا في الغالب من منخفضة، مسطحة إلى المتداول السهول التي تتخللها البحيرات والتلال المنخفضة، مع الجبال (من نوع) فقط في أقصى الشمال، في حين أن أعلى نقطة فينلاندس، فيل هالتي، ترتفع فقط إلى متواضعة 1388m. فنلندا لديها 187888 البحيرات وفقا للمسح الجيولوجي لفنلندا، مما يجعل من الأرض أرض ألف بحيرات في الواقع التقليل من شأن. على طول الساحل وفي البحيرات 8212 وفقا لتقدير آخر 8212179،584 الجزر، مما يجعل البلاد وجهة القوارب ممتازة كذلك. فنلندا ليست موجودة في شبه جزيرة اسكندنافية، لذلك على الرغم من العديد من الروابط الثقافية والتاريخية، فمن الناحية الفنية ليست جزءا من الدول الاسكندنافية. حتى الفنلنديين نادرا ما يكلف نفسه عناء لجعل التمييز، ولكن المصطلح الصحيح الذي يشمل فنلندا هي بلدان الشمال الأوروبي (بوهجويسمات). ومع ذلك، فإن العاصمة، هلسنكي، لديها الكثير من الميزات الاسكندنافية، وخصوصا عندما يتعلق الأمر بهندسة وسط المدينة، ولغة اسكندنافية أخرى، السويدية، هي واحدة من اللغتين الرسميتين للبلاد. تحرير المناخ فنلندا لديها مناخ بارد ولكن معتدل، وهو في الواقع معتدل نسبيا لخط العرض بسبب تأثير معتدل من تيار الخليج. ومع ذلك، فإن فصل الشتاء، كما هو الحال في كل مكان في خطوط العرض هذه، يمكن أن تصل درجات الحرارة إلى 30 درجة مئوية في الجنوب، بل وتندرج تحت درجة حرارة 40 درجة مئوية في الشمال. الصيف الفنلندي القصير هو أكثر متعة بكثير، مع درجات حرارة حوالي 20-23C في الأيام المشمسة (نادرا ما يكون أقرب إلى 30C)، وعموما أفضل وقت من السنة لزيارة. يوليو هو الشهر الأكثر دفئا. أوائل الربيع (مارس-أبريل) هو عندما يبدأ الثلوج في الذوبان والفنلنديين مثل التوجه إلى الشمال للتزلج والرياضة الشتوية، في حين أن الانتقال من الخريف إلى الشتاء في أكتوبر-ديسمبر 8212 الرطب و dark8212 هو أقل وقت ممتع للزيارة. الساحل الجنوبي حيث تقع هلسنكي وتوركو ليست حقا وجهة الشتاء، لأنه لا يوجد ضمان للثلوج حتى في يناير أو فبراير. نظرا لخط العرض الشديد، فإن الأجزاء الشمالية من فنلندا تشهد شمس منتصف الليل الشهيرة بالقرب من الانقلاب الصيفي، عندما (إذا فوق الدائرة القطبية الشمالية) الشمس أبدا يحدد خلال الليل وحتى في جنوب فنلندا فإنه لا يحصل حقا الظلام. الوجه الآخر للعملة هو ليلة القطب الشمالي (كاموس) في فصل الشتاء، عندما الشمس أبدا يأتي على الإطلاق في الشمال. في الجنوب، يقتصر ضوء النهار على عدد قليل من الساعات الخبيثة مع الشمس فقط بالكاد تسلق فوق الأشجار قبل أن يرأس لأسفل مرة أخرى. ثقافة تحرير فينمينن الدفاع عن سامبو. من قبل أكسيلي غالن-كاليلا (1896) لقد كانت الثقافة الفنلندية كهوية متميزة، التي تبثها جيرانها على مدى قرون واستيعاب التأثيرات من الغرب والشرق والجنوب، ولدت فقط في القرن التاسع عشر: فنحن لسنا سويديين، ونحن لا نرغب في أن تصبح الروسية، لذلك دعونا نكون الفنلنديين. الأسطورة التأسيسية الفنلندية والملحمة الوطنية هي كاليفالا. مجموعة من القصص والقصص الكاريلية القديمة التي تم تجميعها في عام 1835 التي تروي خلق العالم ومغامرات فينمينن. بطل شاماني مع القوى السحرية. مواضيع كاليفالان مثل سامبو. وهو الوفرة الأسطورية، مصدر إلهام كبير للفنانين الفنلنديين، والأرقام والمشاهد والمفاهيم من الملحمة تستمر في تلوين أعمالهم. في حين أن أحد الشروط الأساسية اللازمة للحصول على حقوق مدنية كاملة في أرض فنلندا كان عضوا في الكنيسة الإنجيلية اللوثرية (التي تم الحفاظ على معظم التقاليد الكاثوليكية، والمذاهب هي بوضوح كريستوسنتريك ولا تزال تستند رسميا على كتاب كونكورد فقط )، فإن دستور فنلندا يضمن حرية كاملة للدين منذ عام 1923. واليوم، فإن الاحتفال اليومي للأغلبية العظمى يتراخي في أحسن الأحوال أو يكاد يكون معدوما (حتى بين بعض الوزارة) وعضوية الكنيسة اللوثرية في انخفاض حاد منذ 1960s. ونتيجة لذلك، السياح والزوار بحكمة من خلال ممارسة اللباقة معينة، واعية لحقيقة أن الموضوعات المتعلقة بالممارسة الدينية والإيمان الشخصي تعتبر مسألة خاصة للغاية من قبل معظم الفنلنديين. هناك احتمالية أن يتم العثور على الأسئلة ذات الصلة بالإيمان إما تدخلية أو محيرة في معظم الحالات. ويتم التمييز بين السياسة والدين في النقاش الفنلندي إلى الحد الذي يتوقع فيه ألا يسلط أي مشارك الضوء على معتقداته الشخصية. الفنلنديين يشتركون في معظم الفضائل والسوابق من جيرانهم الاسكندنافية. وتشمل هذه المبادئ أخلاقيات عمل لا هوادة فيها وفكرة شاملة للمساواة. وأصبحت الدولة الثانية بعد نيوزيلندا التي منحت حق الاقتراع العام. (ملاحظة: هذا اعتقاد خاطئ شائع، فقد كانت فنلندا في عام 1907 أول بلد يمنح المرأة الأهلية الكاملة للبرلمان والنرويج في عام 1917 ونيوزيلندا في وقت متأخر من عام 1919). وبالمثل، فإن فنلندا تحتل المرتبة الأولى في قائمة وأقل البلدان تضررا في منظمة الشفافية الدولية. وقد اكتسبت فنلندا سمعة عالمية في واحدة من أكثر البلدان تقدما في العالم، وذلك بفضل نظامها التعليمي الذي لا يرقى إليه التعليم الدولي، فضلا عن نظام شامل للرعاية الصحية العامة والرعاية الاجتماعية. وفي الوقت نفسه، تعاني البلاد من مشاكل مماثلة خاصة لدول الرفاه الشمال التي تشمل تجانس السكان المسنين ومعدلات عالية نسبيا من إدمان الكحول والاكتئاب والاستبعاد الاجتماعي والانتحار. ومع ذلك، غالبا ما يلخص الطابع المميز للفنلنديين مع كلمة سيسو. وهو مزيج من المثابرة المثيرة للإعجاب والعناد على رأس الخنزير في مواجهة الشدائد. وقد بنيت أساسا الثقافة الموسيقى الفنلندية والتعليم الموسيقى أساسا على حياة عمل الملحن الكلاسيكي جان سيبيليوس التي سيمفونيز هي التي تلعب بانتظام من قبل أوركسترا السمفونية الأكثر تقديرا في العالم والتي تحمل اسمها أكاديمية سيبيليوس، فينلاندس الموسيقى العليا المعهد. يتم عقد الملحنين من الموسيقى الكلاسيكية الحديثة (كايجا سارايو ماغنوس ليندبرغ، إسا بيكا سالونن الخ) والموسيقى الإلكترونية الفنلندية (بان سونيك دارود ريينيراديو جيمي تينور جوري هولكونين الخ) في تقديس كبير بين الخبراء والمتحمسين . بالإضافة إلى ذلك، بعض الفنلندية المعادن الثقيلة والبوب ​​(الأطفال من بودوم نايتويش هيم، و راسموس بومفونك ماك) قد اكتسبت شهرة عالمية. أصبحت الفرقة المعدنية البارزة لوردي المعروفة باسم الزي الوحشي اللاتكس إحساس دولي بين عشية وضحاها من خلال الفوز مسابقة الأغنية يوروفيسيون في عام 2006. في الفنون الأخرى، أنتجت فنلندا المهندس المعماري المصمم ومصمم ألفار آلتو. المؤلفين ميكا والتاري (المصري)، فين لينا (الجندي المجهول) وتوفي جانسون (المومينز) والرسام أكسيلي غالين-كاليلا. والمعروف عن الرسوم التوضيحية كاليفالا له. بلينغليسم إديتينغ ستريت ريفيرانس تشارت فنلندا لديها أقلية ناطقة باللغة السويدية 5.5، وهي رسميا دولة ثنائية اللغة، لذلك الخرائط تحمل دائما تقريبا كل من الأسماء الفنلندية والسويدية ل، على سبيل المثال. مدن وبلدات. على سبيل المثال، توركو و بو هي نفس المدينة، على الرغم من أن الأسماء تختلف تماما. الطرق يمكن أن تكون مربكة بشكل خاص: ما يظهر لأول مرة على الخريطة لتكون الطريق الذي يغير اسمها، في معظم الحالات، طريق واحد مع اثنين من الأسماء. وهذا أمر شائع في المناطق الناطقة بالسويد على السواحل الجنوبية والغربية، في حين أن الأسماء السويدية الداخلية أقل شيوعا بكثير. في أي مكان خارج المناطق ثنائية اللغة وأقصى شمال لابلاند في فنلندا أنت لن ترى السويدية، وعلامة ثنائية اللغة نادرة للغاية سوف، في بعض الأحيان، نرى لافتات في سمي بدلا من ذلك. يبدو أن خرائط غوغل، على وجه الخصوص، تختار اللغة بشكل عشوائي، على الرغم من أن الأسماء السويدية نادرا ما تستخدم في الممارسة العملية في معظم الأماكن. العطلات تحرير الفنلنديين أرينت عادة حار جدا على الكرنفالات العامة الكبيرة يتم قضاء معظم العطلات في المنزل مع الأسرة. وأهم استثناء هو فابو في 1 أيار / مايو، حيث أن الآلاف من الناس (ومعظمهم من الشباب) يملأون الشوارع. وتشمل العطلات الهامة والأحداث المماثلة: يوم السنة الجديدة (أودنفودنبيف)، 1 يناير. عيد الغطاس (لوبيينن)، 6 يناير. عيد الفصح (بسيينن)، مواعيد متفاوتة، الجمعة العظيمة وعيد الفصح الاثنين هي العطل الرسمية. ويرتبط هذا إلى لاسكيينن قبل 40 يوما من عيد الفصح، وهو اليوم المقدس الذي ينطلق الصوم الكبير، وعمليا وقتا للأطفال وطلاب الجامعات للذهاب انزلاق المنحدرات الثلجية، وعصر الصعود (هيلاتورستاي) بعد 40 يوما، يوم آخر فقط ل محلات مغلقة. والبورجيس ليلة أو في كثير من الأحيان فابو. 1 مايو، على الرغم من الاحتفالات تبدأ في اليوم السابق (فابواتو). مهرجان الربيع الذي يتزامن مع عيد العمال. في الأصل التقليد الوثني الذي يتزامن مع الاحتفال العمال الأكثر حداثة، فقد أصبح مهرجان عملاق للطلاب، الذين يرتدون وزرة التوقيع الملونة وتجول في الشوارع. العديد من الناس أيضا استخدام قبعات الطلاب البيضاء بين 18:00 يوم 30 أبريل ونهاية 1 مايو. في اليوم التالي، يتجمع الناس لممرضة هانغوفرز بهم في الهواء الطلق في الهواء الطلق، حتى لو كان تمطر لها. مهرجان منتصف الصيف (جوهانوس)، السبت في الفترة 20-26 يونيو. عقد للاحتفال الانقلاب الصيفي، مع الكثير من النيران والشرب و ميريماكينغ العام. المدن تصبح فارغة تقريبا مع الناس التسرع في البيوت الصيفية. قد تكون فكرة جيدة لزيارة واحدة من المدن الكبرى فقط للشعور غريب من مدينة فارغة. يوم الاستقلال (إتسنيسيسبيف)، 6 كانون الأول / ديسمبر. احتفالا قاتما إلى حد ما باستقلال فينلاندس عن روسيا. ويحمل الرئيس كرة للأشخاص المهمين (مثل أعضاء البرلمان والدبلوماسيين ويستحقون الرياضيين والفنانين الفنلنديين). عيد الميلاد الصغير (بيكجوجولو)، والناس يذهب حانة الزحف مع زملائهم خلال شهر ديسمبر. ليس عطلة رسمية، مجرد نسخة فايكنغ قوة حزب عيد الميلاد مكتب. عيد الميلاد (جولو)، 24-26 كانون الأول / ديسمبر. أكبر عطلة من السنة، عندما كل شيء كل شيء يغلق لمدة ثلاثة أيام. سانتا (جولوبوكي) يأتي عشية عيد الميلاد في 24 ديسمبر، يؤكل لحم الخنزير والجميع يذهب إلى الساونا. ليلة رأس السنة الجديدة (أودنفوديناتو)، 31 كانون الأول / ديسمبر. وقت الألعاب النارية وقت العطلة النموذجي هو في يوليو، على عكس أماكن أخرى في أوروبا، حيث هو في أغسطس. يبدأ الناس عادة العطلات الصيفية حول منتصف الصيف. وخلال هذه الأيام، من المرجح أن تكون المدن أقل سكانا، حيث يتوجه الفنلنديون إلى منازلهم الصيفية. ويبدأ تلاميذ المدارس عطلتهم الصيفية في بداية حزيران / يونيه. المناطق تحرير المناطق من فنلندا الأراضي مجموعة مستقلة مستقلة من الناحية السويدية وجزر السويد قبالة الساحل الجنوبي الغربي لفنلندا في حين تقسيم البيروقراطية مريحة لا لبس فيها، المقاطعات 8212 تعرف الآن رسميا باسم الوكالات الإدارية الدولة الإقليمية 8212 لا تتطابق حقا مع الحدود الجغرافية أو الثقافية جدا حسنا. من المصطلحات الأخرى التي قد تسمعها تافاستيا (هيم)، التي تغطي مساحة كبيرة من فنلندا الوسطى حول تامبيري، وكاريليا (كارجالا) إلى أقصى الشرق، فقد الجزء الأكبر منها للاتحاد السوفياتي في الحرب العالمية الثانية (لا يزال موضوعا محتملا في بعض الدوائر). في عام 2010، تم تقسيم فنلندا الغربية رسميا إلى فنلندا الغربية والداخلية (ل تامبيري والساحل بالقرب من فاسا) وجنوب غرب فنلندا (المنطقة القريبة من توركو). المدن والبلدات تحرير هلسنكي 8212 ابنة البلطيق، عاصمة فنلندا والمدينة الحقيقية الوحيدة همنلينا 8212 بلدة صغيرة على ضفاف البحيرة مع قلعة من القرون الوسطى وحديقة أولانكو جيفسكيل 8212 مدينة جامعية تقع في وسط فنلندا كوبيو 8212 مدينة جامعية في وسط فنلندا، منطقة لاكيلاند. لابينرانتا 8212 مدينة جامعية بالقرب من الحدود الروسية في جنوب شرق فنلندا، وبحيرة سايما. أولو 8212 مدينة التكنولوجيا في نهاية خليج بوثنيا روفانيمي 8212 بوابة إلى لابلاند سافونلينا 8212 بلدة صغيرة على ضفة البحيرة مع قلعة كبيرة ومهرجان الأوبرا الشعبية. سينجوكي 8212 فينلاندس الأسرع نموا بلدة صغيرة، مضيف العديد من المهرجانات الهامة كل عام. تامبير 8212 أكبر مدينة صناعية في فنلندا، موطن الثقافة والموسيقى والفن والمتاحف، في وسط المدن الكبيرة الأخرى في جنوب فنلندا. ربما أفضل مشهد الموسيقى في فنلندا. توركو 8212 العاصمة السابقة على الساحل الغربي. حصن، أيضا، كاتدرائية. فاسا 8212 مدينة ذات تأثيرات سويدية قوية على الساحل الغربي تقع بالقرب من موقع اليونسكو العالمي الطبيعي أرخبيل كفاركين وجهات أخرى تحرير الحصول على تحرير لا توجد ضوابط حدودية بين الدول التي وقعت وتنفذ هذه المعاهدة - الاتحاد الأوروبي (باستثناء بلغاريا وكرواتيا ، وقبرص، وأيرلندا، ورومانيا، والمملكة المتحدة)، وأيسلندا، وليختنشتاين، والنرويج، وسويسرا. وبالمثل، فإن التأشيرة الممنوحة لأي عضو من أعضاء الشنغن صالحة في جميع البلدان الأخرى التي وقعت على المعاهدة ونفذتها. ولكن كن حذرا: ليس كل أعضاء الاتحاد الأوروبي قد وقعوا على معاهدة شنغن، وليس كل أعضاء شنغن هم جزء من الاتحاد الأوروبي. وهذا يعني أنه قد تكون هناك فحوص جمركية فورية، ولكن ليس هناك شيكات للهجرة) السفر داخل شينغن ولكن في بلد غير تابع لالتحاد األوروبي (أو قد تضطر إلى مسح الهجرة ولكن ليس الجمارك) السفر داخل االتحاد األوروبي ولكن في بلد غير شنغن (. يرجى الاطلاع على المقالة السفر في منطقة شنغن للحصول على مزيد من المعلومات حول كيفية عمل المخطط ومتطلبات الدخول. على متن طائرة تحرير مركز فينلاندس الدولي الرئيسي هو مطار هلسنكي فانتا بالقرب من هلسنكي. الفنلندية. و فلايبي الشمال هناك. حوالي 30 شركة طيران أجنبية تطير إلى هلسنكي - فانتا. ريانير ق مراكز فنلندا هي تامبيري في وسط فنلندا و لابينرانتا في الشرق بالقرب من الحدود الروسية، في حين أن طيران ويز ينخفض ​​مركزها في توركو في الجنوب الغربي. شركات الطيران الأخرى لديها خدمات إقليمية محدودة لمدن أخرى، في الغالب فقط إلى السويد، وفي موسم الشتاء في فصل الشتاء، والمواثيق المباشرة في بعض الأحيان (وخاصة في ديسمبر) والرحلات الموسمية المجدولة (ديسمبر-مارس) إلى لابلاند. الهواء البلطيق يربط العديد من المدن الفنلندية المحافظات مريح إلى أوروبا عبر ريغا. قد يكون من المفيد أيضا أن تحصل على رحلة رخيصة إلى تالين واتباع تعليمات القارب أدناه للوصول إلى فنلندا. بدءا من أوائل عام 2011، أنشأت النرويجية المكوك الجوي هلسنكي باعتبارها واحدة من قواعدها، ويقدم الآن كل من الرحلات الداخلية والدولية. بواسطة القطار تحرير فر 2 والسكك الحديدية الروسية تعمل بالاشتراك الخدمات بين سانت بطرسبرغ وهلسنكي، والتوقف في فيبورغ. كوفولا ولهتي على طول الطريق. وقد تم تطوير الخط في عام 2010، والقطارات الجديدة أليغرو - branded البقعة تنزلق بين المدينتين في ثلاث ساعات ونصف الساعة تصل إلى 220kmh. حاليا يتم تقديم الطريق أربع مرات في اليوم الواحد، والعودة إلى يومين يوميا من نوفمبر 2011. هذا هو بالتأكيد أغلى طريقة للوصول إلى هلسنكي من سانت بطرسبرغ، مع أسعار 92 خلال فصل الصيف و 84 بقية السنة في اتجاه واحد تذكرة. ومع ذلك، يمكن شراء تذاكر القطار الأول في الصباح، الذي يغادر في الساعة 6:12 صباحا، بسعر يصل إلى 39 في أشهر الصيف. وهناك أيضا نائمة بطيئة بين عشية وضحاها التقليدية من موسكو. والتي تستغرق حوالي 15 ساعة. لا توجد قطارات مباشرة بين السويد أو النرويج وفنلندا (مقياس السكك الحديدية مختلف)، ولكن الحافلة على الفجوة من بودن لول (السويد) إلى كيمي (فنلندا) هي حرة مع تمرير السكك الحديدية إنتر رايل، ويمكنك أيضا الحصول على 50 خصم من معظم العبارات مع هذه التصاريح. بواسطة الحافلة تعديل الحافلات هي أرخص ولكن أيضا أبطأ وأقل طريقة مريحة للسفر بين روسيا وفنلندا. وتتوافر حافلات منتظمة منتظمة بين سانت بيترسبورغ. فيبورغ والبلدات الجنوبية الجنوبية الفنلندية مثل هلسنكي. لابينرانتا. جيفسكيل وعلى طول الطريق غربا إلى توركو. تحقق ماتكاهولتو للجداول. هلسنكي سانت وتقدم بطرسبرغ ثلاث مرات يوميا، وتكلف 38 ويستغرق 9 ساعات خلال النهار، 8 ساعات في الليل. توجد حافلات صغيرة مباشرة مباشرة بين فندق St. بيترسبورغس أوكتيابرسكايا (مقابل محطة قطار موسكوفسكي) و هلسينكيس تنسبالاتسي (إتلينن روتاتيكاتو 8، على بعد بناية واحدة من كامبي). في 15 في اتجاه واحد، وهذا هو أرخص خيار، ولكن الحافلات الصغيرة تترك فقط عندما كامل. أما الرحلات المغادرة من هلسنكي فهي الأكثر تواترا في الصباح (حوالي الساعة 10:00)، في حين أن المغادرين من سانت بطرسبرغ عادة بين عشية وضحاها (حوالي الساعة 22:00). يمكنك أيضا استخدام حافلة من السويد أو النرويج إلى فنلندا. هاباراندا في منطقة نوربوتنيا في السويد لديها اتصالات الحافلات إلى تورنيو. كمي وأولو. رؤية المزيد من ماتكاهولتو. إسكيليسن لابينلينجات يوفر اتصالات الحافلات من الأجزاء الشمالية من النرويج، على سبيل المثال ترومز. عرض المزيد من إسكيليسن لابينلنجات. عن طريق القارب تحرير داخل العبارة الركاب سيلجا واحدة من أفضل الطرق للسفر من وإلى فنلندا هو عن طريق البحر. القوارب إلى استونيا والسويد. على وجه الخصوص، هي العملاقة، متعددة الطوابق القصور العائمة والمتاجر، مع أسعار رخيصة مدعومة من مبيعات الخالية من الضرائب الخنزير: رحلة العودة إلى تالين بما في ذلك المقصورة لمدة تصل إلى أربعة أشخاص يمكن أن تذهب منخفضة تصل إلى 50. إذا كان السفر بواسطة السكك الحديدية بين. يمكنك الحصول على 50 قبالة فارس فارس. أفضل طريقة للوصول إلى هلسنكي تقف على السطح الخارجي مع نظرة قدما. استونيا ودول البلطيق تحرير هلسنكي وتالين ليست سوى 80km بعيدا. خط فايكنغ. خط إيكر وتالينك سيلجا تشغيل كامل خدمة عبارات العبارات على مدار السنة. اعتمادا على نوع العبارات أوقات السفر هي من أكثر قليلا من ساعتين (فايكنغ الخط و تالينك سيلجاس ستار، سوبر ستار و سوبيرفاستس) إلى ثلاث ساعات ونصف (إكر وتالينك سيلجاس أكبر السفن السياحية). بعض الخدمات السفر بين عشية وضحاها وحديقة خارج المرفأ حتى الصباح. تقدم ليندا لين خدمات سريعة تكمل الرحلة خلال ساعة ونصف، لكنها تتقاضى المزيد قليلا، ولديك القليل نسبيا للترفيه عنك على متن الطائرة وتعليق الخدمات في الطقس السيئ وأثناء فصل الشتاء. إذا كان الطقس يبحث المراوغة وكنت عرضة لداء البحر، وأفضل ما في اختيار للقوارب بطيئة كبيرة. هناك اتصال إضافي بالعبارة بين هانكو و بالديسكي. التي تديرها نافيرايل. لا توجد خدمات مجدولة لاتفيا أو ليتوانيا. ولكن بعض المشغلين أعلاه تقدم رحلات شبه منتظمة في الصيف، مع ريغا كونها الوجهة الأكثر شعبية. ألمانيا تحرير فينلينس 3 تعمل من هلسنكي إلى ترافيمند (بالقرب من لبيك وهامبورغ) ومن هلسنكي إلى روستوك. تستغرق رحلة هلسنكي-ترافيمند حوالي 27 ساعة بينما تستغرق هلسنكي-روستوك حوالي 34 ساعة. يتم تشغيل خط ترافيمند بواسطة السفن السريعة والكبيرة من الدرجة ستار بينما سفينة واحدة، أصغر بكثير من الدرجة هانزا تعمل في خط روستوك. ويعتبر هذا الأخير أكثر فخامة ومريحة على الرغم من أن الرحلة تستغرق وقتا أطول من ذلك بكثير. روسيا تحرير لسنوات خدمات العبارات المجدولة لروسيا كانت توقف والتنقل. ابتداء من أبريل 2010 يوفر خط القديس بطرس خدمة العبارات العادية من سانت بطرسبرغ إلى هلسنكي لمدة تصل إلى 30 طريقة واحدة. كما تقدم كريستينا كرويسس رحلات بحرية من هلسنكي. السويد تحرير سيلجا سيريناد ترك هلسنكي تقدم كل من سيلجا وفايكنج رحلات بحرية بين عشية وضحاها من هلسنكي وبين عشية وضحاها وكذلك رحلات نهارية من توركو إلى ستوكهولم. وعادة ما تتوقف في الجزر البرية على طول الطريق. هذه هي بعض من أكبر وأكبر العبارات الركاب في العالم، مع ما يصل إلى 14 طابقا ومجموعة كاملة من المطاعم والحانات والمراقص وحمام سباحة ومرافق سبا، الخ. أرخص فئات المقصورة أسفل الطوابق سيارة هي سبارتان بدلا ، ولكن ارتفاع كابينة عرض البحر يمكن أن يكون لطيفا جدا في الواقع. تجدر الإشارة إلى أنه نظرا لحشود الشبان المدمرين الذين يستهدفون الحصول على خروقات معفاة من الضرائب، لا يسمح كل من سيلجا وفايكنغ للشباب غير المصحوبين الذين تقل أعمارهم عن 23 عاما بالرحلات البحرية أيام الجمعة أو السبت. (الحد الأدنى للسن هو 20 ليلة أخرى، و 18 فقط للمسافرين الذين ليسوا في رحلات سياحية في نفس اليوم.) بالإضافة إلى ذلك، سيلجا لا تقدم الطبقة سطح السفينة على الخدمات بين عشية وضحاها، في حين فايكنغ يفعل. لاحظ أيضا أنه مع فايكنغ الخط غالبا ما يكون أرخص لحجز رحلة بحرية بدلا من حركة المرور على الطريق. وتشمل الرحلة كلا الطريقين مع يوم واحد بين. إذا كنت ترغب في البقاء لفترة أطول كنت ببساطة لا أعود - قد يكون لا يزال أرخص من حجز تذكرة حركة المرور في اتجاه واحد. هذه الحسابات لا سيما في اللحظة الأخيرة تذاكر (هل يمكن، على سبيل المثال الحصول من ستوكهولم إلى توركو لمدة 10 ليلة بين عشية وضحاها - حركة المرور على الطرق سيكون أكثر من 30 لمقصورة ذات جودة أقل). بالإضافة إلى اثنين كبير، تقدم فينلينك أرخص اتصال العبارة سيارة من كل نانتالي إلى كابلسكر (من 60 لسيارة مع سائق). عادة ما تتوقف عبارات السيارات لبضع دقائق في ماريهامن في جزر الأرض. والتي تقع خارج منطقة الضرائب في الاتحاد الأوروبي، وبالتالي السماح للعبارات لتشغيل المبيعات المعفاة من الرسوم الجمركية. بين فاسا وأوم هناك عبارة التي تديرها واسالين. بالسيارة تحرير فنلندا لديها شبكة الطرق الشاملة التي تربط ويمتد عبر جميع المدن الكبرى. القيادة من خلال فنلندا خلال أي وقت من السنة هو علاج مع الطرق المتعرجة والتلال لطيف مؤطرة من غابات الصنوبر والبتولا مع الأراضي الزراعية الزراعية هنا وهناك. ليلة المساء محركات الأقراص مع شمس منتصف الليل توفير ضوء لطيف هي ذات المناظر الخلابة وخاصة ممتعة. خلال أشهر الصيف تصليحات الطرق على قدم وساق حتى بعض التأخيرات الطفيفة قد تكون من ذوي الخبرة. وتستخدم كاميرات الدوريات على نطاق واسع لرصد حركة المرور وإنفاذ حدود السرعة. السويد تحرير كما ذكر أعلاه، واحدة من أسهل الطرق للحصول على بالسيارة من السويد إلى فنلندا هي عبارة عن سيارة. الطريق الأوروبي E12 (الطريق الوطني الفنلندي 3) يتضمن خط العبارة بين أومي وفاسا. وهناك طريق آخر يتضمن عبارة سيارة E18، من ستوكهولم إلى توركو. النرويج تحرير روسيا تعديل الطريق الأوروبي E18، والطريق الروسي M10، يذهب من سانت بطرسبرغ عبر فيبورغ إلى محطة الحدود فاليماتورفيانوفكا بالقرب من هامينا. من هناك، يستمر E18 والطريق الوطني الفنلندي 7 إلى هلسنكي، ومن هناك، على طول الساحل والطريق السريع 1 إلى توركو. في فاليما، سوف تضطر الشاحنات إلى الانتظار في طابور شاحنة مستمر. هذا الطابور لا يؤثر بشكل مباشر على المركبات الأخرى. وهناك حاجة إلى مراقبة الحدود والفحص الجمركي في فاليما وجوازات السفر وتأشيرات شنغن إن وجدت. من الجنوب إلى الشمال، يمكن العثور على معابر حدودية أخرى في نويجامابروسنيشنوي (لابينرانتا)، فاليماتورفيانوفكا، إيماتراسفيتوغورسك، نيرالا (توهماجرفي)، فارتيوس (كوهمو) كيلوسيلك (سالا) وراجا-جوزبي (سودانكيل). كل ما عدا الأول بعيد جدا. إستونيا تحرير كما ذكر أعلاه، هناك عبارة سيارة بين تالين وهلسنكي. وهي تشكل جزءا من الطريق الأوروبي E67 عبر بالتيكا الذي يمتد من العاصمة الاستونية تالين، يعبر ريغا في لاتفيا وكاوناس في ليتوانيا إلى العاصمة البولندية وارسو. المسافة من تالين إلى وارسو حوالي 970km، وليس بما في ذلك أي الطرق الالتفافية. التجوال تعديل شبكة السكك الحديدية الفنلندية (خطوط الركاب باللون الأخضر) فينلاندس بلد كبير والسفر مكلفة نسبيا. وسائل النقل العام منظمة تنظيما جيدا والمعدات دائما مريحة وغالبا ما تكون جديدة، والحجوزات مسبقا نادرا ما تكون ضرورية خارج أكبر فترات العطلات. مخطط رحلة المحلي يقدم موقعا على شبكة الانترنت مفيدة مع جداول زمنية متكاملة لجميع القطارات والحافلات والطائرات بما في ذلك النقل بين المدن والمحلية. إذا كنت بحاجة إلى معلومات عن عنوان في فنلندا، يمكنك العثور عليه من خلال Jokapaikka. fi (محرك البحث عن المعلومات المحلية مجانا). لديها جوجل ترجمة شملت لغير المحليين. على متن الطائرة تحرير الرحلات الجوية هي أسرع ولكن عموما أيضا أغلى وسيلة للالتفاف حولها. تقوم فين إير وبعض شركات الطيران الأصغر بتشغيل رحلات جوية إقليمية من هلسنكي إلى جميع أنحاء البلاد، بما في ذلك كوبيو. بوري. روفانيمي وإيفالو. يستحق حجزها مقدما إذا أمكن: في هلسنكي - قطاع أولو، البلد الأكثر ازدحاما، تذكرة سفر العودة مرنة تماما تكلف 251 ضخمة ولكن تذكرة شراء في اتجاه واحد غير قابلة للتغيير في اتجاه واحد يمكن أن تذهب منخفضة تصل إلى 39، أقل من تذكرة القطار. قد تكون أيضا قادرة على الحصول على تذاكر مخفضة المحلية إذا كنت تطير إلى فنلندا على فينير. وهناك احتمال آخر هو الهواء البلطيق الذي يطير أيضا القطاع توركو-أولو بأسعار تنافسية للغاية، أقل بكثير من القطار. بالإضافة إلى ذلك، في عام 2011 النرويجية للطيران المكوك بدأت تحلق من هلسنكي إلى أولو و روفانيمي. تعمل الحافلة المكوكية (باص المدينة فينير) بين مطار هلسنكي-فانتا ومحطة السكك الحديدية المركزية في هلسنكي تقريبا. 20 دقيقة (30 دقيقة مدة الرحلة، 6.30) خط الحافلات 615 (في اليوم) 620 (في الليل) هو بديل أرخص قليلا (36 دقيقة مدة الرحلة، 5 أيام، 7 ليلة، أسعار 102015). هناك أيضا اتصال القطار في المطار، ويأخذك في 45 دقيقة (سيتم فتح الوصول إلى محطة القطار الجديدة في وقت متأخر من عام 2015، وسوف يكون وقت السفر حوالي 35 دقيقة. وهي حافلة نقل مكوكية مجانية إلى أقرب محطة القطار في الوقت الراهن) إلى محطة هلسنكي المركزية للسكك الحديدية. الأسعار هي 5 يوم، 7 ليلة. تحقق من هلسنكي منطقة النقل مخطط رحلة لجداول زمنية وغيرها من المعلومات. هناك ثلاث شركات طيران كبرى تبيع رحلات داخلية: فينير. شركة الطيران الوطنية الرائدة. يخدم ما يقرب من جميع أنحاء البلاد، مع بعض الرحلات التي تديرها شركتها التابعة نورديك الإقليمي الخطوط الجوية. النرويجية الذباب إلى المدن في الشمال، مثل روفانيمي، أولو، إيفالو، وكيتيل. وبالإضافة إلى ذلك، باس الخطوط الجوية و Air100 ملء في عدد قليل من الثغرات. بواسطة القطار تحرير قطار بيندولينو، وأسرع في أسطول فرس (220 كم) فر 4 (السكك الحديدية الفنلندية) تشغيل شبكة السكك الحديدية واسعة إلى حد ما. القطار هو الطريقة المفضلة للسفر من هلسنكي إلى تامبيري. توركو ولهتي. مع مغادرة مرة واحدة على الأقل في الساعة وسرعات أسرع من الحافلة. تتوفر فئات الخدمة التالية، على سبيل المثال أسعار ومدد خدمة هلسنكي الشهيرة - Tampere بين قوسين. قطارات إمالة بيندولينو (الرمز S)، الخيار الأسرع (836432، 1:26) إنترسيتي (إيك) و InterCity2 (IC2) القطارات السريعة، مع رسوم إيك (836426.9، 1:46) التعبير العادي (بيكاجونا P) (836424.6، 2: 12-2: 16) القطارات المحلية والإقليمية (ليليكينجونا ليجونا أو تاجاماجونا)، أي رسوم إضافية، بطيئة جدا (836421، 2:03) القطارات عموما مريحة جدا ، وخاصة الخدمات السريعة. بيندولينو و إيك القطارات لديها السيارات مطعم والسيارات العائلية (إيك فقط، مع روضة للأطفال) ومآخذ الكهرباء بيندولينوس و IntercityIC2 القطارات حتى توفر مجانا (وإن كان في كثير من الأحيان بطيئة جدا) اتصال واي فاي. رسوم إضافية إضافية تنطبق على السفر في الدرجة الأولى، وصفت الأعمال على بعض القطارات، والتي تحصل على الجلوس أكثر اتساعا والصحف وربما وجبة خفيفة. تتوفر للنوم ليلة واحدة لمسافات طويلة وقيمة جيدة جدا في 8364112143 لسرير في حجرة ثريتوون السرير، ولكن المقصورات سرير واحد متوفرة فقط في الدرجة الأولى. يمكن لطفل تحت 7 سنوات السفر مجانا مع كل شخص يدفع أجرة، وكبار السن فوق 65 سنة والطلاب مع هوية الطالب الفنلندية (بطاقات إيزيك الخ لا تقبل) الحصول على 50 قبالة. مجموعات من 3 أو أكثر الحصول على 15 قبالة. وتشارك فنلندا في نظامي السكك الحديدية والسكك الحديدية. Residents of Europe can buy InterRail Finland passes offering 3-8 days of unlimited travel in one month for 8364109-229 (adult 2nd class), while the Eurail Finland pass for non-residents is 8364178-320 for 3-10 days. VRs own Holiday Pass ( LomaPassi ), at 8364145 for 3 days including up to 4 free seat reservations, is available to all but only valid in summer. You would have to travel a lot to make any of these pay off though by comparison, a full-fare InterCity return ticket across the entire country from Helsinki to Rovaniemi and back is 8364162. Generally, the trains are most crowded at the beginning and end of the weekend, and that means Friday and Sunday evening. Shortly before and at the end of major holidays like ChristmasNew Year and Easter, trains are usually very busy. If you try booking for these days at a late time, you may find the seat you reserve may be among the least desirable, that is, facing backwards, without recline, and facing towards and sharing the legroom with other passengers. While VRs trains may be slick, harsh winter conditions and underinvestment in maintenance mean that delayed trains are not uncommon, with the fancy Pendolinos particularly prone to breaking down. As in the rest of the EU, youll get a 25 refund if the train is 1-2 hours late and 50 if more. By bus edit Matkahuolto 5 offers long-distance coach connections to practically all parts of Finland. Bus is also the only way to travel in Lapland, since the rail network doesnt extend to the extreme north. Buses are generally slightly higher priced than trains, although on routes with direct train competition they can be cheaper. Speeds are usually slower than trains, sometimes very slow (from Helsinki to Oulu), sometimes even faster (from Helsinki to Kotka and Pori). On many routes, though, buses are more frequent, so you may still get to your destination faster than if you wait for the next train. Unlike the trains, student discounts are available also for foreign students by showing a valid ISIC card at Matkahuolto offices (in every bus station) and getting a Matkahuolto student discount card (5). There is also BusPass travel pass from Matkahuolto 6. which offers unlimited travel in specified time, priced at 149 for 7 days and 249 for 14 days. Onnibus 7 offers a cheaper alternative (ticket prices beginning from 3 on all routes when bought online) for long-distance coaches on routes HelsinkiTurku, HelsinkiTampere, TamperePori and beginning from the autumn 2012 also TurkuTampereJyvskyl and JyvskylOulu. Note that the routes in Tampere dont serve the city centre (with exception the Pori route) but instead stop in Hervanta (10km south of city centre), which will be Onnibus bus terminal serving as an interchange station between different routes. Local transport networks are well-developed in Greater Helsinki, Tampere and Turku. In smaller cities public transport networks are usable on weekdays, but sparse on weekends and during the summer. There are easy-to-use high-tech English route planners with maps to find out how to use local bus services provided by national bus provider Matkahuolto 8. Demand responsive transport edit Demand responsive transport (DRT) is a form of public transport, in which the routes are determined based on the customers needs. You can find the zones where DRT services are available by using the map or address search services9. By ferry edit In summertime, lake cruises are a great way to see the scenery of Finland, although most of them only do circular sightseeing loops and arent thus particularly useful for getting from point A to point B. Most cruise ships carry 100-200 passengers (book ahead on weekends), and many are historical steam boats. Popular routes include Turku - Naantali and various routes in and around Saimaa. By car edit Moose on the loose The use of sand instead of potassium formate and salt leads to a dirty environment. In Spring, the breathing air is often polluted by dust and thus can result in respiratory malfunctions. Srninen, Helsinki. Car rental is possible in Finland but generally expensive, with rates generally upwards of 80day, although rates go down for longer rentals. Foreign-registered cars can only be used in Finland for a limited time and registering it locally involves paying a substantial tax to equalize the price to Finnish levels. If you opt to buy a car in Finland instead, make sure it has all annual taxes paid and when its next annual inspection is due: the deadline is the same day as the cars first date of use unless the registration form says 00.00.xx in first date of use. In that case the inspection date is determined by the last number of the license plate. All cars must pass emissions testing and precise tests of brakes etc. Police may remove the plates of vehicles that have not passed their annual inspections in time and give you a fine. Traffic drives on the right, and there are no road tolls in Finnish cities or highways so far. Roads are well maintained and extensive, although expressways are limited to the south of the country. Note that headlights or daytime running lights must be kept on at all times when driving, in and outside cities, whether its dark or not. Drivers must stay very alert, particularly at dawn and dusk, for wild animals. Collisions with moose (frequently lethal) are common countrywide, deer (mostly survivable) cause numerous collisions in South and South West parts of the country, and semi-domesticated reindeer are a common cause of accidents in Lapland. Bear collisions happen sometimes in eastern parts of the country. VRs overnight car carrier trains 10 are popular for skipping the long slog from Helsinki up to Lapland and getting a good nights sleep instead: a Helsinki - Rovaniemi trip (one way) with car and cabin for 1-3 people starts from 8364215. A few unusual or unobvious rules to beware of: Headlights are mandatory even during daylight. Always give way to the right, unless signed otherwise. There is no concept of minor and major road, so this applies even to smaller road on your right. Almost all intersections are explicitly signposted with yield signs (either the stop sign or an inverted triangle). There is no explicit sign on the road that has priority, instead watch out for the back of the yield sign on the other road. Signs use the following shorthand: white numbers are for weekdays (eg. 8-16 means 08:00-16:00), white numbers in parentheses apply on Saturdays and red numbers on Sundays and holidays. In Helsinki, trams always have the right of way. Collisions do a surprising amount of damage. Dont get into arguments with a vehicle that cant change direction and weighs as much as a small battle tank. A vehicle is required by law to stop at a zebra crossing, if at least one other car has stopped, regardless of whether or not there is a pedestrian (in a similar manner as if there were a stop sign). A car is obliged to stop at a zebra crossing, if the pedestrian intends to cross the road. Many pedestrians intend to cross the road only when there is a sufficiently large gap in the traffic. When crossing the road as a pedestrian at a zebra crossing, do not leave a shadow of a doubt that you will cross the road, and cars will stop. With some practice, this works out smoothly, efficiently and without taking undue risks. By default, drivers will assume that the pedestrian does not intend to cross the road right now, in other words, cars will not stop. A car horn may only be used to prevent a collision or a similar hazardous situation. Using the horn for other purposes such as expressing frustration in surrounding traffic is unlawful and quite strongly frowned upon. Circular traffic can be rather complex. For example, in one spot, two new lanes are created while the outer lane is suddenly forced to exit. This creates a difficult situation, when the lines are covered by snow. Pedestrians walking on unlighted roads without sidewalk or cycle tracks in the dark are required by law to use safety reflectors. Their use is generally recommended, since the visibility of pedestrians with reflector improves greatly. Winter driving can be somewhat hazardous, especially for drivers unused to cold weather conditions. Winter tires (MS) are mandatory from 1 December through the end of February. The most dangerous weather is in fact around the zero degree mark (C), when slippery but near-invisible black ice forms on the roads. Finnish cars often come equipped with an engine block heater ( lohkolmmitin ) used to preheat the engine and possibly the interior of the car beforehand, and many parking places have electric outlets to feed them. Liikenneturva, the Finnish road safety agency, maintains a Tips for winter driving page 11 in English. Note that especially in the Helsinki area, the majority of cars are equipped with steel-studded tires that allow more dynamic driving and shorter braking distances on frozen surfaces than conventional traction tires (MS), as used in other European countries. Finnish speeding tickets are based on your income, so be careful: a Nokia VP whod cashed in some stock options the previous year was once hit for US204,000 Fortunately, the police have no access to tax records outside Finland and will just fine non-residents a flat 8364100-200 instead. Speed limits are 50 kmh in towns, 80-100 kmh outside towns and usually 120 kmh on freeways. From around mid-october to april, speedlimits on freeways are lowered to 100 kmh and most 100 kmh limits are lowered to 80 kmh. Software for GPS navigators that warns of fixed safety cameras is legal and installed by default in many mobile phones. Warning signs before fixed cameras are required by law. A blood alcohol level of over 0.05 is considered drunk driving and 0.12 as aggrevated drunk driving, so think twice before drinking that second beer. Finnish police strictly enforce this by random roadblocks and sobriety tests. If you are driving at night when the gas stations are closed (they usually close at 9 PM), always remember to bring some money for gas . Automated gas pumps in Finland in rare occasions do not accept foreign visacredit cards, but you can pay with Euro notes. In the sparsely-populated areas of the country, distances of 50 km and more between gas stations are not unheard of, so dont gamble unnecessarily with those last litres of fuel. If you come in your own car, note that all petrol in Finland contains ethanol . If your car should not be run on ethanol-containing petrol or you are unsure use the 98 octane petrol. This contains residual ethanol from the pump station up to a maximum of 5 and can be used in all cars that run on petrol. By taxi edit Finnish taxis are heavily regulated by the government, so theyre comfortable, safe and expensive. No matter where you go in the country, the starting fee is fixed at 5.90, rising up to 9.00 at night and on Sundays. The per-kilometer charge starts at 1.52km for 1 or 2 passengers, rising up to 2,13km for 7 or 8 passenger minivans. A 20-25 km journey (say, airport to central Helsinki) can thus easily cost 40-50. Taxis can come in any color or shape, but they will always have a yellow TAXI sign (sometimes spelled TAKSI) on the roof. Hailing cabs off the street is difficult to impossible, so either find a taxi rank or order by phone (any pub or restaurant will help you on this, expect to pay 2 euros for the call). Taxi companies around the country can be found at the Taksiliitto 12 site. In the Helsinki city center, long lines at the taxi stops can be expected on Friday and Saturday nights. It is not uncommon to share a taxi with strangers if going towards the same general direction. Using of unofficial taxis is illegal and to be avoided. You might lose your walletpursephone, despite Helsinki being maybe one of the safest capitals in Europe. The Uber service is illegal in Finland and the driver may face a notable penalty. If you decide to use Uber and your driver gets caught by the police, youre on your own. By thumb edit Hitchhiking is possible, albeit unusual, in Finland, as the harsh climate and sparse traffic dont exactly encourage standing around and waiting for cars. The most difficult task is getting out of Helsinki. Summer offers long light hours, but in the fallspring you should plan your time. The highway between Helsinki and Saint Petersburg has a very high percentage of Russian drivers. See Hitchhiking Club Finland liftari. org 13 or the Finland article 14 on Hitchwiki for further details if interested. By bicycle edit Most Finnish cities have good bike paths especially outside the centres, and taking a bike can be a quick, healthy and environmentally friendly method of getting around locally. The roads are generally paved well, although gravel roads are sometimes unavoidable. As long as you dont go off-road, you will not need suspension or grooved tyres. Because of the long distances, bicycle tourists are advised to plan well and be prepared to use public transport for the less interesting stretches. Long-distance coaches are well-equipped to take bicycles on board, trains take bicycles if there is enough space. Ferries take bikes for free or for a small fee. Due to the relatively gentle topographic relief, too hilly terrain is rarely a problem, but in the cold months, windchill requires more protection against cold than in walking. Talk edit Finnish language map. Finnish is a Official Language (dark blue) and Finnish spoken by a minority (aruba blue) Finland is officially bilingual in Finnish (spoken by 90 of the population) and Swedish (spoken by 5,6 of the population), and both languages are compulsory in all schools, but in practice most of the population is monolingual in Finnish. Finnish is spoken everywhere in the country except land islands and Finnish is the main language of Finland. Finnish is not related to the Scandinavian languages (Danish, Swedish, Norwegian, Icelandic and Faroese), Russian, or English. In fact, it is not even an Indo-European language, instead belonging in the Uralic group of languages which includes Hungarian and Estonian, making it hard for speakers of most other European languages to learn. Reading signboards can also be difficult as Finnish has relatively few loan words from common European languages, and as a result it is very hard to guess what words in Finnish mean. Swedish is the mother tongue for 5.6 of Finns. There are no large towns with a Swedish majority, and the Swedish-speaking communities are mainly smaller rural communities along the Southwest coast. Many towns and road signs on the coast use alternate Finnish and Swedish names, so road signs can be confusing, but bilingual signs outside bilingual areas never appear. The small autonomous province of land and the municipalities of Nrpes, Korsns and Larsmo are exclusively Swedish-speaking, and people there typically speak little or no Finnish at all, so English is a better bet. Swedish is a mandatory subject in Finnish-speaking schools (and Finnish in Swedish-speaking schools), so everyone is supposed to speak and understand it in reality, though, only 41 of the Finnish-speaking population is conversant in it, and most of these people live in coastal areas and in predominantly Swedish-speaking areas. Even this varies: for example, in Helsinki and Turku most people can speak Swedish enough to deal with important conversations you engage in as a tourist and often somewhat beyond, but living would be impossible without knowledge of Finnish, whereas towns like Vaasa and Porvoo have significant Swedish-speaking minorities and are more genuinely bilingual (i. e. it would be possible to live there with Swedish only). Most hotels and restaurants, especially in areas where Swedish is widely spoken, do have some Swedish-proficient staff. Russian is best understood near the Russian border, such as in Lappeenranta, Imatra and Joensuu, which are areas frequented by Russian tourists. Tourist destinations which are popular among Russians in Eastern and Northern Finland have some Russian-speaking staff. Elsewhere, knowledge of Russian is often far rarer. In bigger towns, with the exception of the elderly, many people you would meet as a tourist speak good English, and even in the countryside younger people will nearly always know enough to communicate. In fact, outside of the Swedish-speaking communities, English is usually far better understood than Swedish . Conversely, within the Swedish-speaking communities, English is often better understood than Finnish. 73160 of the population in Finland can speak English. Dont hesitate to ask for help: Finns can be shy but will help you out in need. Besides English and Swedish, some Finns can speak German (18160) or French (3160), other secondary languages (Spanish, Russian) being rare. Foreign TV series and movies are nearly always subtitled. Only childrens fare gets dubbed into Finnish. The grammar of Finnish language has relatively few exceptions but quite many rules (where some rules might be considered cleverly disguised exceptions). There are about 17 different cases for getting some coffee and getting the coffee, going into a pub, being in a pub (or in a state of drunkenness), getting out of the pub, being on the roof, getting onto the roof, getting off the roof, using something as a roof and so on that are encoded into the word endings. In written text, the plethora of cases makes it a challenging exercise to even look up a single word from the dictionary. The conjugation of verbs is unfortunately somewhat more complex. See edit add listing Sunset with reflections on a lake in Finland. A selection of top sights in Finland: Central Helsinki. the Daughter of the Baltic . on a warm and sunny summer day The Suomenlinna Sea Fortress, 15-minute ferry trip from Downtown Helsinki. A Unesco World Heritage Site. The historical sites of Turku and the vast archipelago around it, best viewed from the deck of a giant car ferry. Pottering around the picturesque wooden houses of Porvoo. Finlands second-oldest town Renting a car and exploring the Lake Land of Eastern Finland, an area dotted with around 60 000 lakes with a similar number of islands, which in turn have their own lakes. Olavinlinna Castle in Savonlinna. Finlands most atmospheric castle, especially during the yearly Opera Festival Hmeenlinna Castle in Hmeenlinna is Finlands oldest castle. Built in 13th century. Relaxing at a sauna-equipped cottage in the lake country of Eastern Finland Icebreaker cruising and the worlds biggest snow castle in Kemi Seeing the Northern Lights and trying your hand sledding down a mile-long track at Saariselk A ride on the historical Linnanmki wooden roller coaster (Helsinki). Unlike modern designs, only gravity keeps it on the track, and it requires a driver on each train to operate the brakes. Do edit add listing Sports edit Notably lacking in craggy mountains or crenellated fjords, Finland is not the adrenalin-laden winter sports paradise you might expect: the traditional Finnish pastime is cross-country skiing through more or less flat terrain. If youre looking for downhill skiing, snowboarding etc, youll need to head up to Lapland and resorts like Levi and Saariselk. During the short summer you can swim, fish or canoe in the lakes. They are usually warmest around 20th July. Local newspapers usually have the current surface temperatures, and a map of the surface temperatures can also be found from the Environment Ministry website 15. During the warmest weeks, late at night or early in the morning the water can feel quite pleasant when the air temperature is lower than the waters. Most towns also have swimming halls with slightly warmer water, but these are often closed during the summer. Fishing permits, if needed, can be easily bought from any R-Kioski although they take a small surcharge for it. For hikers, fishermen and hunters, the Ministry of Forestry maintains an online Excursion Map map 16 with trails and huts marked. The best season for hiking is early fall, after most mosquitoes have died off and the autumn colors have come out. And if youd like to try your hand at something uniquely Finnish, dont miss the plethora of bizarre sports contests in the summer, including: Air Guitar World Championships 17. August, Oulu . Mobile Phone Throwing Championship 18. August, Savonlinna. Recycle your Nokia Swamp Soccer World Championship 19. July, Hyrynsalmi. Probably the messiest sporting event in the world. Wife Carrying World Championship 20. July, Sonkajrvi. The grand prize is the wifes weight in beer. Sulkavan Suursoudut 21. July, Sulkava Finlands biggest rowing event Festivals edit Finland hosts many music festivals ( festari ) during the summer. Some of the most notable include: Most of the festivals last 2-4 days and are very well organized, with many different bands playing, with eg. Foo Fighters and Linkin Park headlining at Provinssi 2008. The normal full ticket (all days) price is about 60-100, which includes a camp site where you can sleep, eat and meet other festival guests. The atmosphere at festivals is great and probably youll find new friends there. Of course drinking a lot of beer is a part of the experience. There are also many more less-advertised underground festivals around the countryside every summer. Northern Lights edit Spotting the eerie Northern Lights ( aurora borealis . or revontulet in Finnish) glowing in the sky is on the agenda of many visitors, but even in Finland its not so easy. During the summer, its light all day along and the aurora become invisible, and theyre rarely seen in the south. The best place to spot them is during the winter in the far north, when the probability of occurrence is over 50 around the magnetic peak hour of 22:30 8212 if the sky is clear, that is. The ski resort of Saariselk. easily accessible by plane and with plenty of facilities, is particularly popular among aurora hunters. Buy edit add listing Finland has the euro () as its sole currency along with 24 other countries that use this common European money. These 24 countries are: Austria. Belgium. قبرص. Estonia. Finland . France. ألمانيا. Greece. أيرلندا. إيطاليا. لاتفيا. Lithuania. Luxembourg. Malta. the Netherlands. Portugal. سلوفاكيا. Slovenia and Spain (official euro members which are all European Union member states) as well as Andorra. Kosovo. Monaco. Montenegro. San Marino and the Vatican which use it without having a say in eurozone affairs and without being European Union members. Together, these countries have a population of more than 330 million. One euro is divided into 100 cents. While each official euro member (as well as Monaco, San Marino and Vatican) issues its own coins with a unique obverse, the reverse, as well as all bank notes, look the same throughout the eurozone. Every coin is legal tender in any of the eurozone countries. Finland does not use the 1 and 2 cent coins instead all sums are rounded to the nearest 5 cents. The coins are, however, still legal tender and there are even small quantities of Finnish 1c and 2c coins, highly valued by collectors. It is common to omit cents and the euro sign from prices, and use the comma as a decimal separator: 5,50 thus means five euros and fifty cents. Getting or exchanging money is rarely a problem, as ATMs (Otto) are common and they can be operated with international credit and debit cards (Visa, Visa Electron, Mastercard, Maestro). Currencies other than the euro are generally not accepted, although the Swedish krona may be accepted in land and northern border towns like Tornio. Russian roubles are accepted in some select touristy shops, such as Stockmann in Helsinki. Money changers are common in the bigger cities (the Forex chain 33 is ubiquitous) and typically have longer opening hours and faster service than banks. Credit cards are widely accepted, and the payment is almost always accepted by your PIN code. Visa Electron and Visa Debit cardreaders are found in all major and most minor shops, so carrying large amounts of cash is not usually necessary. As a rule, tipping is never necessary in Finland and restaurant bills already include service charges. That said, taxi fares and other bills paid by cash are are occasionally rounded up to the next convenient number. Cloakrooms ( narikka ) in nightclubs and better restaurants often have non-negotiable fees (usually clearly signposted, 83643 is standard), and 8212 in the few hotels that employ them 8212 hotel porters will expect around the same per bag. Costs edit Declared the worlds most expensive country in 1990, prices have since abated somewhat but are still steep by most standards. Rock-bottom traveling if staying in hostel dorms and self-catering costs at least 25day and its well worth doubling that amount. The cheapest hotels cost about 50 per night and more regular hotels closer to 100. Instead of hotels or hostels, look for holiday cottages, especially when travelling in a group and off-season, you can find a full-equipped cottage for 10-15 per person a night. Camp-sites typically cost between 10 and 20 per tent. Museums and tourist attractions have an entrance fee in the range of 5-25. Using public transport costs a few euros per day and depends on the city. One-way travel between major cities by train or by bus costs between 20 and 100, depending on the distance. Note that a VAT of 24 is charged for nearly everything, but by law this must be included in the displayed price. Non-EU residents can get a tax refund for purchases above 40 at participating outlets, just look for the Tax-Free Shopping logo. Shopping edit As you might expect given the general price level, souvenir shopping in Finland isnt exactly cheap. Traditional buys include Finnish puukko knives, handwoven ryijy rugs and every conceivable part of a reindeer. For any Lappish handicrafts, look for the Smi Duodji label that certifies it as authentic. Popular brands for modern (or timeless) Finnish design include Marimekko 34 clothing, Iittala 35 glass, Arabia 36 ceramics, Kalevala Koru 37 jewelry, Pentik 38 interior design and, if you dont mind the shipping costs, Artek 39 furniture by renowned architect and designer Alvar Aalto. Kids and not a few adults love Moomin 40 characters, which fill up souvenir store shelves throughout the country. In case one prefers souvenirs that are made in Finland and do not just appear Finn Made, caution is advised. Many wooden products are actually imported and Marimekko, for instance, manufactures most of its products outside Finland. Safe bets for truly Finnish souvenirs are products made by Lapuan Kankurit 41 and Aarikka 42. for example. Grocery stores are rather common, and there is usually at least one supermarket in almost all localities. The range of products in Finnish grocery stores tends to be a little bit more limited than in neighboring countries (except perhaps in Norway). Many products need to be imported, and this unfortunately shows in the selection of goods and the pricing. It is not uncommon to see exactly the same product in different shops, at exactly the same price. Finnish food markets are mainly dominated by two large groups: S Group (supermarket chains Sale . Alepa . S-Market and hypermarket chain Prisma ), and K Group (supermarket chains K-Extra . K-Market . K-Supermarket and hypermarket chain K-Citymarket , while local market chains like Siwa . Valintatalo . Tarmo and M-Market covers lots of gaps where larger chains do not operate. In addition to these chains, international discount store chain Lidl operates around 150 stores in Finland, mainly in cities and towns with population over 5,000. It usually offers the cheapest prices, and product range is similar to the rest of Europe. Previous restrictions on shopping hours were recently lifted, and now vary significantly by shop and location. For many smaller shops in large towns, normal weekday opening hours are around 08:00-22:00, but may be closed or have reduced hours during weekends. Larger shops and grocery stores in central locations are sometimes open later. Shopping hours for specialty stores, as well as shops in small towns and in the countryside, are often much shorter. Note that opening hours are often reduced considerably around national holidays, such as Christmas, Easter or Midsummer. Convenience stores like the ubiquitous R-Kioski 43 tend to have longer hours, but are often closed when you most need them. Some shops in Central Helsinki are open 247 or until 22:00 every day of the year. If in desperate need of basic supplies, gas station convenience stores are usually open on weekends and until late at night. Most notable 247 Gas station-chains are ABC 44 and Shell 45. While shopkeepers may vehemently deny this to a foreigner, prices in smaller stores are by no means fixed. When buying hobby equipment, it is not uncommon to get 30160 discount (hint: Find the international price level from a web shop and print it out). The more specialized the goods, the higher the gap between Finnish and international prices, and mail order may save a lot of money. When a package is intercepted by customs (which is quite rate for physically small items), the buyer is notified and can pick it up from customs. VAT and possibly import duty are charged, bring a copy of the order that is then signed by the buyer and archived. When buying consumer electronics, one should be aware that the shelf life of products can be rather long, especially if the shop isnt specialized in consumer electronics. There is a risk to buy an overpriced product that has already been discontinued by the manufacturer or replaced with a newer model. Eat edit add listing A typical Finnish meal. Clockwise from bottom: warm smoked salmon, boiled potatoes, cream sauce with chantarelles, lightly pickled cucumbers with dill Finnish cuisine is heavily influenced by its neighbors, the main staples being potatoes and bread with various fish and meat dishes on the side. Milk or cream is traditionally considered an important part of the diet and is often an ingredient in foods and a drink, even for adults. Various milk products such as cheeses are also produced. While traditional Finnish food is famously bland, the culinary revolution that followed joining the EU has seen a boom in classy restaurants experimenting with local ingredients, often with excellent results. Seafood edit With tens of thousands of lakes and a long coastline, fish is a Finnish staple, and theres a lot more on that menu than just salmon ( lohi ). Specialities include: Baltic herring ( silakka ), a small, fatty and quite tasty fish available pickled, marinated, smoked, grilled and in countless other varieties Gravlax (graavilohi), a pan-Scandinavian appetizer of raw salted salmon Smoked salmon ( savulohi ), not just the cold, thinly sliced, semi-raw kind but also fully cooked warm smoked salmon Vendace ( muikku ), a speciality in eastern Finland, a small fish served fried, heavily salted and typically with mashed potatoes Other local fish to look out for include zander ( kuha ), an expensive delicacy, pike ( hauki ) and perch ( ahven ). Meat dishes edit Reindeer stew ( poronkristys ), a Lappish favorite Meatballs ( lihapullat ), served with mashed potatoes and lingonberry jam Karelian stew ( karjalanpaisti ), a heavy stew usually made from beef and pork (and optionally, lamb), carrots and onions, usually served with potatoes Liver casserole ( maksalaatikko ), consisting of chopped liver, rice and raisins cooked in an oven it tastes rather different from what youd expect (and not liver-y at all) Loop sausage ( lenkkimakkara ), a large, mildly flavored sausage best when grilled and topped with a dab of sweet Finnish mustard ( sinappi ), and beer Meat balls ( lihapullat . lihapyrykt ) are as popular and tasty as in neighboring Sweden Reindeer ( poro ) dishes, especially sauteed reindeer shavings ( poronkristys . served with potato mash and lingonberries), not actually a part of the everyday Finnish diet but a tourist staple and common in the frigid North Swedish hash (pyttipannu), (originally from Sweden. Swedish: pytt i panna) a hearty dish of potatoes, onions and any meaty leftovers on hand fried up in a pan and topped with an egg Makkara traditional Finnish sausage. Affectionately called the Finnish mans vegetable since the actual meat content may be rather low. Milk products edit Cheese and other milk products are very popular in Finland. The most common varieties are mild hard cheeses like Edam and Emmental, but local specialities include: Aura cheese ( aurajuusto ), a local variety of blue cheese, also used in soups, sauces and as a pizza topping. Breadcheese ( leipjuusto or juustoleip ), a type of very mild-flavored grilled curd that squeaks when you eat it, best enjoyed warm with a dab of cloudberry jam Piim . a type of buttermilk beverage, thick and sour Viili . a gelatinous, stretchy and sour variant of yoghurt Other dishes edit Karelian pie ( karjalanpiirakka ), a signature Finnish pastry Pea soup ( hernekeitto ), usually but not always with ham, traditionally eaten with a dab of mustard and served on Thursdays just watch out for the flatulence Karelian pies ( karjalanpiirakka ), an oval 7 by 10 cm baked pastry, traditionally baked with rye flour, containing rice porridge or mashed potato, ideally eaten topped with butter and chopped egg ( munavoi ) Porridge ( puuro ), usually made from oats ( kaura ), barley ( ohra ), rice ( riisi ) or rye ( ruis ) and most often served for breakfast Bread edit Bread ( leip ) is served with every meal in Finland, and comes in a vast array of varieties. Rye bread is the most popular bread in Finland. Typically Finnish ones include: hapankorppu . dry, crispy and slightly sour flatbread, occasionally sold overseas as Finncrisp limppu . catch-all term for big loaves of fresh bread nkkileip . another type of dark, dried, crispy rye flatbread ruisleip (rye bread), can be up to 100 rye and much darker, heavier and chewier than American-style rye bread unlike in Swedish tradition, Finnish rye bread is typically unsweetened and thus sour and even bitter. rieska . unleavened bread made from wheat or potatoes, eaten fresh Seasonal and regional specialities edit Attack of the killer mushrooms The false morel ( korvasieni ) has occasionally been dubbed the Finnish fugu, as like the infamous Japanese pufferfish, an improperly prepared false morel can kill you . Fortunately, its easily rendered safe by boiling (just dont breathe in the fumes), and prepared mushrooms can be found in gourmet restaurants and even canned. From the end of July until early September its worthwhile to ask for crayfish ( rapu ) menus and prices at better restaurants. Its not cheap, you dont get full from the crayfish alone and there are many rituals involved, most of which involve large quantities of ice-cold vodka, but it should be tried at least once. Or try to sneak onto a corporate crayfish party guestlist, places are extremely coveted at some. Around Christmas, baked ham is the traditional star of the dinner table, with a constellation of casseroles around it. There are also regional specialties, including Eastern Finland s kalakukko (a type of giant fish pie ) and Tampere s infamous blood sausage ( mustamakkara ). Around Easter keep an eye out for mmmi . a type of brown sweet rye pudding which is eaten with cream and sugar. It looks famously unpleasant but actually tastes quite good. Desserts edit An assortment of pulla straight from the oven For dessert or just as a snack, Finnish pastries abound and are often taken with coffee (see Drink ) after a meal. Look for cardamom coffee bread ( pulla ), a wide variety of tarts ( torttu ), and donuts ( munkki ). In summer, a wide range of fresh berries are available, including the delectable but expensive cloudberry ( lakka ), and berry products are available throughout the year as jam ( hillo ), soup ( keitto ) and a type of gooey clear pudding known as kiisseli . Finnish chocolate is also rather good, with Fazer 46 products including their iconic Sininen (Blue) bar exported around the world. A more Finnish speciality is licorice ( lakritsi ), particularly the strong, salty kind known as salmiakki . which gets its unique (and acquired) taste from ammonium chloride. Places to eat edit Cold fish buffet at Liekkilohi, Savonlinna Finns tend to eat out only on special occasions, and restaurant prices are correspondingly expensive. The one exception is lunchtime . when thanks to a government-sponsored lunch coupon system company cafeterias and nearly every restaurant in town offers set lunches for around 8-9, usually consisting of a main course, salad bar, bread table and a drink. University cafeterias, many of which are open to all, are particularly cheap with meals in the 2-4 range for students, although without local student ID you will usually need to pay about 5-7. There are also public cafeterias in office administration areas that are open only during lunch hours on working days. While not particularly stylish and sometimes hard to find, those usually offer high-quality buffet lunch at a reasonable price (typically 8.40 in 2011). The cafe scene has quickly developed, especially since the 1990s and above all in Helsinki. The array of cakes and pastries is not perhaps as vast as in Central Europe. but the local special coffees (lattes, mochas etc.) are worth trying when it comes to the two big local coffee house chains: Waynes Coffee (originated in Sweden) and Roberts Coffee (Finland). You can now also find Starbucks in Finland. For dinner, youll be limited to generic fast food (pizza, hamburgers, kebabs and such) in the 5-10 range, or youll have to splurge over 20 for a meal in a nice restaurant. For eating on the move, look for grill kiosks ( grilli ), which serve sausages, hamburgers and other portable if not terribly health-conscious fare late into the night at reasonable prices. In addition to the usual hamburgers and hot dogs, look for meat pies ( lihapiirakka ), akin to a giant savoury doughnut stuffed with minced meat and your choice of sausage, fried eggs and condiments. Hesburger 47 is the local fast-food equivalent of McDonalds, with a similar menu. They have a Finnish interpretation of a few dishes, such as a sour-rye chicken sandwich. Of course most international fast food chains are present, especially McDonalds, which offers many of their sandwich buns substituted with a sour-rye bun on request. The Finnish word for buffet is seisova pyt (standing table), and while increasingly used to refer to all-you-can-eat Chinese or Italian restaurants, the traditional meaning is akin to Swedens smrgsbord . a good-sized selection of sandwiches, fish, meats and pastries. Its traditionally eaten in three rounds 8212 first the fish, then the cold meats, and finally warm dishes 8212 and its usually the first that is the star of the show. Though expensive and not very common in a restaurant setting, if you are fortunate enough to be formally invited to a Finns home, they will likely have prepared a spread for their guest, along with plenty of coffee. Breakfast at better hotels is also along these lines and its easy to eat enough to cover lunch as well If youre really on a budget, you can save a considerable amount of money by self-catering . Ready-to-eat casseroles and other basic fare that can be quickly prepared in a microwave can be bought for a few euros in any supermarket. Note that youre usually expected to weigh and label any fruits or vegetables yourself (bag it, place it on the scale and press the numbered button. The correct number can be found from the price sign), and green signs mean possibly tastier but certainly more expensive organic ( luomu ) produce. One should be aware that more often than not, cheap food contains disproportionate amounts of fat. At restaurants, despite the high prices, portions tend to be quite small, at least when compared to USA and Canada. and even many European countries. Dietary restrictions edit Traditional Finnish cuisine relies heavily on meat and fish, but vegetarianism ( kasvissynti ) is increasingly popular and well-understood, and will rarely pose a problem for travellers. Practically all restaurants offer vegetarian options, often marked with a V on menus. Two ailments commonly found among Finns themselves are lactose intolerance ( laktoosi-intoleranssi . inability to digest the milk sugar lactose) and coeliac disease ( keliakia . inability to digest gluten). In restaurants, lactose-free selections are often tagged L (low-lactose products are sometimes called Hyla or marked with VL), while gluten-free options are marked with G. However, hydrolyzed lactose (HYLA brand) milk or lactose-free milk drink for the lactose intolerant is widely available, which also means that a lactose-free dish is not necessarily milk-free. Allergies are quite common among Finnish people, too, so restaurant workers are usually quite knowledgeable on what goes into each dish and often it is possible to get the dish without certain ingredients if specified. Kosher and halal food are rare in Finland and generally not available outside very limited speciality shops and restaurants catering to the tiny Jewish and Islamic communities. Watch out for minced meat dishes like meatballs, which very commonly use a mix of beef and pork. The Jewish Community of Helsinki 48 runs a small kosher deli in Helsinki. and there are Halal grocery stores and restaurants in some larger towns. Drink edit add listing Thanks to its thousands of lakes, Finland has plenty of water supplies and tap water is always potable (In fact, never buy bottled water if you can get tap water). The usual soft drinks and juices are widely available, but look out for a wide array of berry juices ( marjamehu ), especially in summer, as well as Pommac . an unusual soda made from (according to the label) mixed fruits, which youll either love or hate. Coffee and tea edit Finns are the worlds heaviest coffee ( kahvi ) drinkers, averaging 3-4 cups per day. Most Finns drink it strong and black, but sugar and milk for coffee are always available and the more European variants such as espresso and cappuccino are becoming all the more common especially in the bigger cities. The biggest towns have had French-style fancy cafs for quite some time and modern competitors, like Waynes or Roberts Coffee, are springing up in the mix. For a quick caffeine fix, you can just pop into any convenience store, which will pour you a cuppa for 83642 or so. Tea hasnt quite caught on in quite the same way, although finding hot water and a bag of Lipton Yellow Label wont be a problem. For brewed tea, check out some of the finer downtown cafs or tea rooms. Dairy edit In Finland some people like to drink milk ( maito ) as an accompaniment to food at home or at the cafeteria at work or school. The most popular beverage is water, though. Another popular option is piim . or buttermilk. Viili . a type of curd, acts like super-stretchy liquid bubble gum but is similar to plain yogurt in taste. It is traditionally eaten with cinnamon and sugar on top. Fermented dairy products help stabilize the digestion system, so if your system is upset, give them a try. Alcohol edit Chilling out at the Arctic Icebar, Helsinki Alcohol is very expensive in Finland compared to most countries (though not to its Nordic neighbours Sweden and Norway ), although low-cost Estonia s entry to the EU has forced the government to cut alcohol taxes a little. Still, a single beer will cost you closer to 83644-5 in any bar or pub, or 83641 and up in a supermarket. While beer and cider are available in any supermarket or convenience store (until 9 PM), the state monopoly Alko 49 is your sole choice for wine or anything stronger. The legal drinking age is 18 for milder drinks, while to buy hard liquor from Alko you need to be 20. ID is usually requested from all young-looking clients. Some restaurants have higher age requirements, up to 30 years, but these are their own policies and are not always followed, especially at more quiet times. Surprisingly enough, the national drink is not Finlandia Vodka, but its local brand Koskenkorva 50 or Kossu in common speech. However, the two drinks are closely related: Kossu is 38 while Finlandia is 40, and Kossu also has a small amount of added sugar, which makes the two drinks taste somewhat different. There are also many other vodkas ( viina ) on the market, most of which taste pretty much the same, but look out for Strm . The Spirit of Santa, a Finnish attempt at a super-premium vodka. A local speciality is Salmiakki-Kossu or Salmari . prepared by mixing in salty black salmiakki licorice, whose taste masks the alcohol behind it fearfully well. Add in some Fishermans Friend menthol cough drops to get Fisu (Fish) shots, which are even more lethal. In-the-know hipsters opt for Pantteri (Panther), which is half and half Salmari and Fisu. Other classic shots are Jaloviina ( Jallu ) cut brandy and Tervasnapsi tar schnapps with a distinctive smoke aroma. Beer ( olut or kalja ) is also very popular, but Finnish beers are mostly nearly identical, mild lagers: common brands are Lapin Kulta . Karjala . Olvi . Koff and Karhu . Pay attention to the label when buying: beers branded I are inexpensive but has low alcohol content, while III and IV are stronger and more expensive. In normal shops you will not find any drinks with more than 4.7 alcohol. You may also encounter kotikalja (lit. home beer), a dark brown beer-like but very low-alcohol beverage. Imported beers are available in bigger grocery stores, most pubs and bars, and Czech beers in particular are popular and only slightly more expensive. In recent years, some microbreweries ( Laitila . Stadin panimo . Nokian panimo etc.) have been gaining foothold with their domestic dark lagers, wheat beers and ales. The latest trend is ciders ( siideri ). Most of these are artificially flavored sweet concoctions which are quite different from the English or French kinds, although the more authentic varieties are gaining market share. The ever-popular gin long drink or lonkero (lit. tentacle), a prebottled mix of gin and grapefruit soda, tastes better than it sounds and has the additional useful property of glowing under ultraviolet light. At up to 610 kcalliter it also allows to skip dinner, leaving more time for drinking. Different variations of lonkero have become quite popular as well, for example karpalolonkero . which is made from gin and cranberry soda. Remember that most long drinks you buy from a supermarket are made by fermenting, and if you want to get real mixed drink youll have to look for them in Alko . During the winter dont miss glgi . a type of spiced mulled wine served with almonds and raisins which can easily be made at home. The bottled stuff in stores is usually alcohol free, although it was originally made of old wine and Finns will very often mix in some wine or spirits. In restaurants, glgi is served either alcohol-free, or with 2cl vodka added. Fresh, hot glgi can, for example, be found at the Helsinki Christmas market. Quite a few unusual liquors ( likri ) made from berries are available, although theyre uniformly very sweet and usually served with dessert. Cloudberry liquor ( lakkalikri ) is worth a short even if you dont like the berries fresh. Homemade spirits: you have been warned More common in rural areas, illegal and frequently distilled on modified water purification plants - which are subject to import control laws nowadays - anecdotical evidence suggests that those are occasionally played as a prank on unsuspecting foreigners. Note that normal alcohol slows the metabolism of poisonous methanol and thus acts as an antidote. Politely decline the offer, especially if still sober. Finally, two traditional beverages worth looking for are mead ( sima ), an age-old wine-like brew made from brown sugar, lemon and yeast and consumed particularly around Mays Vappu festival, and sahti . a type of unfiltered, usually very strong beer often flavored with juniper berries (an acquired taste). Sleep edit add listing Inside a Finnish sauna Sauna The sauna is perhaps Finlands most significant contribution to the world (and the worlds vocabulary). The sauna is essentially a room heated to 708211120176C according to an oft-quoted statistic this nation of 5 million has no less than 2 million saunas, in apartments, offices, summer cottages and even Parliament. In ancient times, saunas (being the cleanest places around) were the place to give birth and heal the sick, and the first building constructed when setting up a new household. If invited to visit a Finnish home, you may be invited to bathe in the sauna as well 8212 this is an honour and should be treated as such, although Finns do understand that foreigners may not be keen about the idea. Enter the sauna nude after taking a shower, as wearing a bathing suit or any other clothing is considered a bit of a faux pas . although if you are feeling shy, you can wrap yourself in a bath towel. (When there are guests, men and women usually bathe separately.) The temperature is regulated by throwing water onto the stove ( kiuas ): the resulting rush of heat, known as lyly . is considered the key to the sauna experience. Some sauna-goers also like to flagellate themselves with leafy branches of birch ( vihta in western Finland, vasta in eastern Finland), which creates an enjoyable aroma and improves blood circulation. Depending on the occasion, the temperature in a Finnish sauna may start quite hot and gradually cool down over the hours, especially in a wood-heated sauna. The lower benches are cooler, the corner that is the furthest away from the stove is usually the hottest place. In work-related events, the actual decision-making frequently takes place in the sauna afterwards. In public saunas (hotels, gyms and the like), it is customary to sit on a paper towel (dont forget to take it out when leaving). The environment is rather hostile towards germs, so there is no need to worry about catching a disease from the sweaty wooden bench. If the heat is too much, cup your hands in front of your mouth or move down to a lower level to catch your breath. In winter, it is common to go for a swim in an ice hole in a nearby lake. The ground can be much colder than the water - use beach sandals or the like, if possible. After youve had your fill of sauna, you can cool off by heading outside for a dip in the lake or, in winter, a roll in the snow 8212 and then head back in for another round. Repeat this a few times, then cork open a cold beer, roast a sausage over a fire, and enjoy total relaxation Finnish style. These days the most common type of sauna features an electrically heated stove, which is easy to control and maintain. In the countryside you can still find wood-fired saunas, but purists prefer the (now very rare) traditional chimneyless smoke saunas ( savusauna ), where the sauna is heated by filling it with hot smoke and then ventilated well before entering. Anyone elderly or with a medical condition (especially high blood pressure) should consult their physician before using a sauna. Accommodation in Finland is expensive, but many large hotels are cheaper during the weekends and summer. In addition to the usual international suspects, check out local chains Cumulus 51. Scandic 52. Finlandia 53 and Sokos 54. The small but fast-growing Omena 55 chain offers cheap self-service hotels, where you book online and get a keycode for your room, with no check-in of any kind needed. One of the few ways to limit the damage is to stay in youth hostels ( retkeilymaja ), as the Finnish Youth Hostel Association 56 has a fairly comprehensive network throughout the country and and a dorm bed usually costs less than 836420 per night. Many hostels also have private rooms for as little as 836430, which are a great deal if you want a little extra privacy. An even cheaper option is to take advantage of Finlands right to access. or Every Mans Right ( jokamiehenoikeus ), which allows camping, hiking, and berry and mushroom picking as well as simple (rod and hook) fishing on uncultivated land. Since this is occasionally mis-interpreted by visiting foreigners, it may be a good idea to discuss travel plans with a local - or simply ask - to avoid embarrassing situations. Note that making a fire requires landowners permission. For a taste of the Finnish countryside, an excellent option is to stay at a cottage ( mkki ), thousands of which dot the lake shores. These are generally best in summer, but there are also many cottages around Laplands ski resorts. Prices vary widely based on facilities and location: simple cottages can go for as little as 836420night, while luxurious multistory mansions can go for 10 times that. Beware that, while all but the most basic ones will have electricity, its very common for cottages to lack running water: instead, the cottage will have an outhouse (pit toilet) and youre expected to bathe in the sauna and lake. Renting a car is practically obligatory since there are unlikely to be any facilities (shops, restaurants, etc) within walking distance. The largest cottage rental services are Lomarengas 57 and Nettimkki 58. both of which have English interfaces. Virtually every lodging in Finland includes a sauna ( see box ) for guests 8212 dont miss it Check operating hours though, as theyre often only heated in the evenings and there may be separate shifts of men and women. Learn edit Finlands universities are generally well-regarded and offer many exchange programs, but the high cost of living and the prospect of facing the long, cold Finnish winter mean that the country is not a particularly popular choice. However, there are no tuition fees for regular degree students, including international exchange students. While lectures are usually conducted in Finnish, most universities offer the option to complete all courses through assignments and exams in English. Many universities also offer the option to study Finnish at various levels. A reasonable monthly budget (excluding rent) would be 600 to 900. Rents vary depending on location such that in Greater Helsinki and particularly Helsinki proper prices may be two times that of cheaper locations or student housing. Many exchange programs fully or partly subsidize accommodation in student dorms. However, the state does not provide student accommodation and dorms are usually owned by student unions and foundations. Student union membership at around 70-100year is obligatory, but this includes free access to student health services. EU citizens can simply enter the country and register as a student after arrival, while students from elsewhere will need to arrange their residence permit beforehand. CIMO 59 (Centre for International Mobility) administers exchange programs and can arrange scholarships and traineeships in Finland, while the Finnish National Board of Education 60 offers basic information about study opportunities. Work edit There is little informal work to be found and most jobs require at least a remedial level of Finnish. Citizens of European Union countries can work freely in Finland, but acquiring a work permit from outside the EU means doing battle with the infamous Directorate of Immigration ( Maahanmuuttovirasto ) 61. However, students permitted to study full-time in Finland are allowed work part-time (up to 25 hweek) or even full-time during holiday periods. For jobs, you might want to check out the Ministry of Labour 62. Most of the posted jobs are described in Finnish so you may need some help in translation, but some jobs are in English. A rapidly growing trend in Finland, especially for the younger generation, is to work for placement agencies. Although there has been a massive surge of public companies going private in the last ten years, this trend seems to be fueled by the increased demand for more flexible work schedules as well as the freedom to work seasonally or sporadically. Due to the nature of these types of agencies as well as the types of work they provide, it is common for them to hire non-Finns. Some agencies include Adecco, Staff Point, Manpower, Aaltovoima and Biisoni. If you are invited to a job interview, remember that modesty is a virtue in Finland. Finns appreciate facts and directness, so stay on topic and be truthful. Exaggeration and bragging is usually associated with lying. You can check expected salaries with the union for your field, as they usually have defined minimum wages. Salaries range from 1,200 - 6,500 per month (2010). Stay safe edit Crimeviolence: Low Most violence is alcohol-related andor domestic walking in the street is usually safe even in the night Authoritiescorruption: Low The police are generally courteous and speak some English, offering bribes will get you into serious trouble. Transportation: Low to Moderate Icy roads and sidewalks in the winter, mooses and other animals occasionally crossing the roads Health: Low Tick and mosquito bites Nature: Low to Moderate Blizzards in the winter, getting lost when hiking in the forests Crime edit Finland enjoys a comparatively low crime rate and is, generally, a very safe place to travel. Use common sense at night, particularly on Friday and Saturday when the youth of Finland hit the streets to get drunk and in some unfortunate cases look for trouble. The easiest way to get beaten is to pay a visit at a grill kiosk after bars and pubs have closed and start arguing with drunken people. It is, anyway statistically more likely that your home country is less safe than Finland, so heed whatever warnings you would do in your own country and you will have no worries. If you yourself run in with the law, remember that Finland is one of the worlds least corrupt countries and you will not be able to buy yourself out of trouble. Finnish police never requires a cash payment of fines which it gives. Do not ever give money to person who presents himherself as a police officer. An obvious way to stay out of most kinds of trouble is to stay sober and act businesslike, when dealing with police, security or the like. Racism is a generally of minor concern, especially in the cosmopolitan major cities, but there have been a few rare but highly publicized incidents of black, romani amp Arab people getting beaten up, attacks against immigrants and group fights with native Finns amp immigrants. Sometimes there might be group fights where immigrants do their part as well, but thats very uncommon. The average visitor, though, is highly unlikely to encounter any problems. Pickpockets are rare, but not unheard of, especially in the busy tourist months in the summer and almost always done by foreigners. Most Finns carry their wallets in their pockets or purses and feel quite safe while doing it. Parents often leave their sleeping babies in a baby carriage on the street while visiting a shop, and in the countryside cars and house doors are often left unlocked. On the other hand, you have to be careful if you buy or rent a bicycle. Bicycle thieves are everywhere, never leave your bike unlocked even for a minute. In case of emergency edit 112 is the national phone number for all emergency services, including police, and it does not require an area code, regardless of what kind of phone youre using. The number works on any mobile phone, whether it is keylocked or not, and with or without a SIM card. If a cellphone challenges you with a PIN code, you can simply type in 112 as a PIN code - most phones will give a choice to call the number. This is not possible with all phones For inquiries about poisons or toxins (from mushrooms, plants, medicine or other chemicals) call the national Toxin Information Office at (09) 471 977. At sea, the maritime search and rescue number is 0294 1000. Stay healthy edit Signs to watch out for vaara, vaarallinen160 danger, dangerous sortumisvaara160 risk of avalanchelandslidemudslide hirvivaara160 risk of mooseelks on the road hengenvaara160 life threatening danger tulipalo160 fire kielletty160 prohibited psy kielletty or privat no entry htuloskynti or htpoistumistie160 emergency exit lkri160 doctor poliisi160 police sairaala160 hospital apua160 help Youre unlikely to have stomach troubles in Finland, since tap water is always drinkable (and generally quite tasty as well), and hygiene standards in restaurants are strict. If you have any sort of allergies, many restaurants often display in the menu the most common ingredients that people typically are allergic to. Examples: (L) Lactose free, (VL) Low Lactose, (G) Gluten free, if you are unsure just ask the waitress or restaurant staff. There are few serious health risks in Finland. Your primary enemy especially in wintertime will be the cold . particularly if trekking in Lapland. Finland is a sparsely populated country and, if heading out into the wilderness, it is imperative that you register your travel plans with somebody who can inform rescue services if you fail to return. Always keep your mobile phone with you if you run into trouble. Dress warmly in layers and bring along a good pair of sunglasses to prevent snow blindness . especially in the spring and if you plan to spend whole days outdoors. Always keep a map, a compass and preferably a GPS with you while trekking in the wilderness. Take extra precautions in Lapland, where it can be several days hike to the nearest house or road. Weather can change rapidly, and even though the sun is shining now, you can have a medium sized blizzard on your hands (no joke) an hour or two later. If out on the lakes and sea, remember that wind and water will cool you faster than cold air, and keeping dry means keeping warm. A person that falls into cold water (close to zero C) can die in a few minutes. Safety in small boats . Dont drink alcohol, wear a life vest at all times, if your boat capsizes - keep clothes on to stay warm, cling to the boat if possible (swim only if shore is a few hundred meters away, never try to swim in cold water below 20176C). Finland hosts a number of irritating insects, but if you are planning to stay in the centres of major cities, you are unlikely to encounter them. A serious nuisance in summer are mosquitoes ( hyttynen ), hordes of which inhabit Finland (particularly Lapland) in summer, especially after rains. While they carry no malaria or other nasty diseases, many species of Finnish mosquitoes make a distinctive (and highly irritating) whining sound while tracking their prey, and their bites are very itchy. As usual, mosquitoes are most active around dawn and sunset 8212 which, in the land of the Midnight Sun, may mean most of the night in summer. There are many different types of mosquito repellants available which can be bought from almost any shop. Another summer nuisance are gadflies ( paarma ), whose bites can leave a mark lasting for days, even for month. A more recent introduction to Finnish summers are deer keds ( hirvikrpnen ), that can be particularly nasty if they manage to shed their wings and burrow into hair (although they rarely bite as humans are not their intended targets, and mainly exist in deep forests). Use repellent, ensure your tent has good mosquito netting and consider prophylaxis with cetirizine (brand names include Zyrtec . Heinix . Cetirizin Ratiopharm ), an anti-allergen that (if taken in advance) will neutralize your reaction to any bites. Topical anti-allergens in the form of gels and creams are also available as over-the-counter medication. A flea comb can be useful for removing deer keds. As in other European countries, mites can become a major annoyance, if walking bare-footed. As a remedy, Permethrin creme is available from pharmacies without prescription. In southern Finland, especially land. the Lappeenranta - Parikkala - Imatra - axis and areas near Turku s coast, there are ticks ( punkki ) which appear on summertime and can transmit Lymes disease (borreliosis) and viral encephalitis through a bite. Although these incidents are relatively rare and not all ticks carry the disease, its advisable to wear dark trousers rather than shorts if you plan to walk through dense andor tall grass areas (the usual habitat for ticks). You can buy special tick tweezers from the pharmacy ( punkkipihdit ) which can be used to remove a tick safely if you happen to get bitten. You should remove the tick from your skin as quickly as possible and preferably with the tick tweezers to reduce the risks of getting an infection. If the tick bite starts to form red rings on the skin around it or if you experience other symptoms relating to the bite, you should visit a doctor as soon as possible. The only venomous insects in Finland are wasps ( ampiainen ), bees ( mehilinen ) and bumblebees ( kimalainen ). Their stings can be painful, but are not dangerous, unless you receive several stings or if you are allergic to it. Theres only one type of venomous snake in Finland, the European adder ( kyy or kyykrme ), which has a distinct zig-zag type of figure on its back, although some of them are almost completely black. They are mostly found near lake sides and sometimes in the streets like Kristianinkatu and Kamppi. The snake occurs across Finland all the way from the south to up north in Lapland. Although their bites are extremely rarely fatal (except for small children and allergic persons), one should be careful in the summertime especially when walking in the forests or on open fields at the countryside. Walk so that you make the ground vibrate and snakes will go away, they attack people only when somebody frightens them. If you are bitten by a snake, always get medical assistance. If you are planning to travel in the nature on summertime, its advisable to buy a kyypakkaus (Adder pack, a medicine set which contains a couple of hydrocortisone pills). It can be bought from any Finnish pharmacy. It is used to reduce the reactions after an adder bite, however its still advisable to see a doctor even after youve taken the hydrocortisone pills. The kyypakkaus can also be used to relieve the pain, swelling and other allergic reactions caused by bee stings. If you see an ant nest, ants have quite likely taken care of all snakes nearby. As for other dangerous wildlife, theres not much more than a few extremely rare encounters with brown bears ( karhu ) and wolves ( susi ) in the wilderness. Both of these animals are listed as endangered species. Contrary to popular belief abroad, there are no polar bears in Finland, let alone polar bears walking on the city streets. The brown bear, which occurs across Finland, has been spotted on a few very exceptional occasions even in the edges of the largest Finnish cities, but normally bears try to avoid humans whenever possible. The brown bear hibernates during the winter. In the least densely populated areas near the Russian border, there has been some rare incidents of wolf attacks - mainly lone, hungry wolves attacking domestic animals and pets. During the past 100 years there has been one recorded case of a human killed by a large predator. In general, theres no need to worry about dangerous encounters with wild beasts in Finland, other than traffic accidents. In winter, lakes and the sea are frozen. Walking, skating or even driving a car on the ice is commonly seen, but fatal accidents arent unheard of either, so ask and heed local advice. If the ice fails, it is difficult to get back out of the water, as the ice will be slippery. Small ice picks are sold as safety equipment (a pair of steel needles with bright plastic grips, connected with a safety line). Given the size of the Finnish population, a surprisingly high number of people drown in the lakes every year in summer. As pointed out by an annual public awareness campaign (partly Finnish black humor, partly the truth), the stereotypical accident involves an intoxicated fisherman who capsizes his boat while standing up to pee. Respect edit Fishing Finnish style It was a beautiful summer day, and Virtanen and Lahtinen were in a little rowboat in the middle of a lake, fishing. Two hours passed, both men sitting quietly, and then Lahtinen said Nice weather today. Virtanen grunted and stared intently at his fishing rod. Two more hours passed. Lahtinen said, Gee, the fish arent biting today. Virtanen shot back: Thats because you talk too much. Drinking Finnish style Virtanen and Lahtinen decided to go drinking at their lakeside cottage. For a couple hours, both men sat silently and emptied their bottles. After a few more hours, Lahtinen decided to break the ice: Isnt it nice to have some quality time Virtanen glared at Lahtinen and answered: Are we here to drink or talk Finns generally have a relaxed attitude towards manners, and a visitor is unlikely to offend them by accident. Common sense is quite enough in most situations, but there are a couple of things that one should keep in mind: Finns are a famously taciturn people who have little time for small talk or social niceties, so dont expect to hear phrases like thank you or youre welcome too often. The Finnish language lacks a specific word for please so Finns sometimes forget to use it when speaking English, even when they dont mean to be rude. That being said, Finns are generally very helpful and polite, and glad to help confused tourists if asked. The lack of niceties has more to do with the fact that in Finnish culture, honesty is highly regarded and that one should open ones mouth only to mean what one is about to say. Do not say maybe later when there is no later time to be expected. A visitor is unlikely to receive many compliments from Finns, but can be fairly sure that the compliments received are genuine. Occasional silence is considered a part of the conversation, not a sign of hostility or irritation. Being loud in crowded places like public transport or a restaurant is considered rude. If you ever ended up to argue with someone, the social norm is to stay calm during an argument . Arguing loudly with a stranger is considered very rude. Punctuality is a highly regarded virtue in Finland. A visitor should apologize even for being a few minutes late. Being late for longer usually requires a short explanation. 10 min is usually considered the threshold between being acceptably late and very late. Some will leave arranged meeting points after 15 min. With the advent of mobile phones, sending a text message even if you are only a few minutes late is nowadays a norm. Being late for a business meeting, even by 1 or 2 min, is considered rude. The standard greeting is a handshake . Hugs are only exchanged between family members and close friends in some situations, kisses, even on the cheek, practically never. Personal space is important, and standing very near someone can make Finns feel uncomfortable. If you are invited to a Finnish home, the only bad mistake visitors can make is not to remove their shoes . For much of the year, shoes will carry a lot of snow or mud. Therefore, it is customary to remove them, even during the summer, and not doing so is considered impolite. During the wet season you can ask to put your shoes somewhere to dry during your stay. Very formal occasions at private homes, such as baptisms (often conducted at home in Finland) or somebodys 50th birthday party, are exceptions to these rules. In the wintertime, this sometimes means that the guests bring separate clean shoes and put them on while leaving outdoor shoes to the hall. Bringing gifts such as pastry, wine, or flowers to the host is appreciated, but not required. In Finland, there is little in the way of a dress code . The general attire is casual and even in business meetings the attire is somewhat more relaxed than in some other countries. Topless sunbathing is accepted but not very common on beaches in the summer, while going au naturel is common in lakeside saunas and dedicated nudist beaches. Finnish society is egalitarian . Finnish women participate actively in the workforce and are well represented in leadership roles. Finnish language also does not distinguish between he and she, which may lead to confusing errors. Signs of social rank such as official titles like Sir or Dr. are often not used, and it is very common for people to address their superiors like teachers or bosses informally, such as by first name. If you are someones elder or superior and addressed in this fashion, it is not meant as a sign of disrespect. Especially younger Finns usually speak excellent English, in part due to the policy of subtitling foreign language movies and TV series instead of dubbing them. However, picking up a few local words is also a good idea. Finnish is a hard language to master, but knowing a few words will definitely be received warmly. When interacting with Swedish-speaking Finns, knowing a few words of Swedish will be received very well. The cultural region to which Finland belongs is correctly referred to as Nordic or North European . Finns do not generally consider themselves Scandinavian or East European . and these usually refer to Finlands neighboring countries. While you wont really offend anyone if you use these terms, it might be considered ignorant or amusing if you do. Finns are typically very interested in perceptions of Finland abroad . an inside joke of sorts is the disproportionate feeling of pride when their small country is mentioned abroad, even for something minuscule ( Suomi mainittu, torille or Finlands been mentioned, to the town square ). It is good to keep in mind that Finns will often listen to your opinion of them very carefully. Even though it is unlikely that youll seriously offend anybody, certain topics of discussion can sometimes be slightly sensitive. Although once a part of the Russian Empire, Finland fought against the Soviet Union in WWII and has remained unaligned since the Cold War, and referring to Finland as belonging to the Russian sphere of influence most likely wont be appreciated. A majority of Finnish men still serve for some time in the Finnish armed forces, and expressing strong views on the military or on wartime history can sometimes stir up emotions. Finnish war veterans from World War II are highly respected and considered honorary citizens in Finnish society. Jokes about characteristic Finnish domestic problems should only be made only if you know they will be received well. Finns tend to have a pretty sarcastic and self-critical sense of humour, and jokes about high rates of depression, suicide and alcoholism may be common. However, it is nonetheless good to remember that these are serious social problems that cause misery to many people and their loved ones. Contact edit By mail edit Finlands mail service, run by Posti. is fast, reliable and pricy. A postcard to Finland and anywhere in the world costs 1. By phone edit