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Matti (FIN)
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Posted: Sun May 3rd, 2009 02:12 pm |
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This is the authoritative, Official Foreigner's Guide to our fine country. Anyone planning to come here must read this and memorize the facts! You can send comments, suggestions, etc. into my guestbook.
Foreigner's Guide to Finland
Nudity in public
How to deal with polar bears
How to survive a blizzard
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Matti (FIN)
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Posted: Sun May 3rd, 2009 02:22 pm |
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Matti (FIN) wrote: This is the authoritative, Official Foreigner's Guide to our fine country. Anyone planning to come here must read this and memorize the facts! You can send comments, suggestions, etc. into my guestbook.
Foreigner's Guide to Finland
Nudity in public
How to deal with polar bears
How to survive a blizzard
The Basics
 To the left is the current map of our country. Note that Finland also owns the island of Bornholm, Svalbard Islands in the Arctic Sea, the Aleutian Islands on North Pacific Ocean, the islands of Kiribati, Line Islands, and Society Islands in Oceania, and a share of Antarctic continent, China and Mongolia which are not shown on this map.
First thing to know: Finland is not part of Soviet Union, although Russia is a neighbor - so are Sweden and Norway. Only the northernmost Finland is covered by glaciers, and polar bears are not common in the southern part of the country. Reindeer and lapps also live only in the northern part of the land.
Even if Finland is not part of Russia, you will still see a lot of russians around. They sell cheap vodka, cigarettes, pirate CDs, videos, DVDs, clothes, and lots of other things, including certain services, at large parking lots in the cities of Southern Finland. You can always trust these honest Russian folk, who sell the products of their country to earn some Finnish marks.
First thing you will probably see from Finland is a gray waste of asphalt, an endless parking place, and huge buildings - the airport. But it does look like the environment most of finns live in, the Finnish city.
It is true that there is a lot of woods and nature around. You would only have to drive ten miles from Helsinki to get into an uninhabited and mostly untouched wilderness. However, foreigners are not taken into woods, for some reason. Instead, they are shown the capital city, as if most foreigners had not seen cities before.
The arctic region of the land is called Lapland (the home of lap dancing - indeed, from these local folk dances lap dancing has spread over the whole world!). Most of it is covered by glaciers and impassable mountains. Natives (lapps or samí) travel by sleds dragged by dogs, or use snowshoes.
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Pseudo-Soviet Dictator
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Posted: Fri May 8th, 2009 12:16 am |
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I spent a few days in Helsinki just this past summer before taking the train over the border to St. Petersburg for a few weeks.
Once you cross the border in either direction, the differences are immediately noticeable. On the Russian side, you have gravel roads extending for miles and run-down broken factories from the 1930's, whereas the Finish side of the border has a decent highway, is immaculately clean, and home to big appliance shops.
Re-entering Finland via the Vaalimaa border checkpoint was a scary ordeal (even in 2008) with the armed Russian soldiers checking our US passports about a dozen times before we entered the Finish side of the border. They saw that my name and country of origin were Ukrainian inside my US Passport, and thus were particularly cold and demeaning in asking questions (in Russian) to me....
The Finish border guards (who unlike the Russian soldiers were civilian guards) saw that I had an American passport, and automatically stamped it without barely even looking at my face. Stark contrast!
@ Matti, yes... I really enjoyed the dried salmon, smoked mackarel and freshly-cooked bread that we bought at Helsinki's main seaside square on the Harbour. 
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Pseudo-Soviet Dictator
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Posted: Fri May 8th, 2009 12:18 am |
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Truth be told however, I didn't find Helsinki nearly as impressive and beautiful as let's say- Stockholm or Copenhagen.
Finland's nice, but having been to all of the Scandinavian countries this past summer except for Norway, I'd recommend travelers to spend more time in Denmark, Sweden and Norway than in Finland. More to do and see in the former... No offence to the Soumi!
Last edited on Fri May 8th, 2009 12:19 am by Pseudo-Soviet Dictator
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Pseudo-Soviet Dictator
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Posted: Fri May 8th, 2009 12:29 am |
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Finland has more forests per square kilomer of surface area than any other European nation. Learned this factoid when I returned to Seattle, but the large amount of Northern Forest was very apparent as we drove along the coastal flats of your country, between Vaalimaa and Helsinki, and later another 2-3 hours from Helsinki to Finland's west coast on the Baltic where we boarded an overnight cruise ship to Stockholm.
Once you leave Helsinki with its few hundred thousand population, you're just driving past farms and endless, endless woodlands. Similar scenery to what you'd see driving in southern Alaska, for example... The fir trees in the Far North are all short and stubby, unlike the massive 200-foot-tall conifers that grew here in the temperate latitudes of the world.
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Matti (FIN)
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Posted: Sat May 9th, 2009 12:15 pm |
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 Pseudo-Soviet Dictator wrote: I spent a few days in Helsinki just this past summer before taking the train over the border to St. Petersburg for a few weeks.
Once you cross the border in either direction, the differences are immediately noticeable. On the Russian side, you have gravel roads extending for miles and run-down broken factories from the 1930's, whereas the Finish side of the border has a decent highway, is immaculately clean, and home to big appliance shops.
Re-entering Finland via the Vaalimaa border checkpoint was a scary ordeal (even in 2008) with the armed Russian soldiers checking our US passports about a dozen times before we entered the Finish side of the border. They saw that my name and country of origin were Ukrainian inside my US Passport, and thus were particularly cold and demeaning in asking questions (in Russian) to me....
The Finish border guards (who unlike the Russian soldiers were civilian guards) saw that I had an American passport, and automatically stamped it without barely even looking at my face. Stark contrast!
@ Matti, yes... I really enjoyed the dried salmon, smoked mackarel and freshly-cooked bread that we bought at Helsinki's main seaside square on the Harbour.
I'm going to travel to Viipuri which was one part of old Sovjetunion. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Viipuri_Province
Finnish military parade in Viipuri on August 31, 1941, after its recapture
If you like sea, lakes and nature Finland is perfect. It's the paradise of outdoorstyle people. 60.000 lakes and 90.000 island in the middle of worlds most beutifull archipelago. Millions of sommorcottages. Just rent one of them. Rent a boat¨make the trip to archipelago. Heat the Sauna and then go and swim... You have plenty of places for swimming and a lof of space and privacy. And fresh air....
Archipelago Sea - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia - [ Käännä tämä sivu ] Archipelago Sea (Finnish Saaristomeri, Swedish Skärgårdshavet) is a part of the Baltic Sea between the Gulf of Bothnia, the Gulf of Finland and the Sea of ...
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Matti (FIN)
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Posted: Sat May 9th, 2009 12:17 pm |
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 View to Vyborg from St. Olaf tower.
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Matti (FIN)
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Posted: Sun May 10th, 2009 01:33 pm |
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The inner archipelago is wooded. The picture has been taken in the autumn, when reeds surrounding the islands have turned brown.
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Matti (FIN)
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Posted: Mon May 11th, 2009 01:19 pm |
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Pseudo-Soviet DictatorFinland has more forests per square kilomer of surface area than any other European nation. Learned this factoid when I returned to Seattle, but the large amount of Northern Forest was very apparent as we drove along the coastal flats of your country, between Vaalimaa and Helsinki, and later another 2-3 hours from Helsinki to Finland's west coast on the Baltic where we boarded an overnight cruise ship to Stockholm.
Once you leave Helsinki with its few hundred thousand population, you're just driving past farms and endless, endless woodlands. Similar scenery to what you'd see driving in southern Alaska, for example... The fir trees in the Far North are all short and stubby, unlike the massive 200-foot-tall conifers that grew here in the temperate latitudes of the world.
Rent a boat make the trip to archipelago. Heat the Sauna and then go and swim... You have plenty of places for swimming and a lof of space and privacy. And fresh air....
It doesn't matter if you can't swim. Just jump to the water and then you have to learn it. It's best way to do it. Here in Finland we learn it because our parents bring us to Archipelago and throw us down from the rocks.
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Pseudo-Soviet Dictator
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Posted: Mon May 11th, 2009 03:45 pm |
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| Oh, I know how to swim. It's the f*cking cold water that irks me. Even here in the Pacific Northwest, the ocean water is unbearably cold, so only swimming pools and summer lakes suffice...
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Matti (FIN)
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Posted: Tue May 12th, 2009 01:13 pm |
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Pseudo-Soviet Dictator wrote:
Oh, I know how to swim. It's the f*cking cold water that irks me. Even here in the Pacific Northwest, the ocean water is unbearably cold, so only swimming pools and summer lakes suffice...
Then you have to go to sauna
Sauna – A Finnish national institution — Virtual Finland
Finland is the land of the sauna and the Finns are a nation of sauna-enthusiasts. Finland has a population of 5.1 million and 1.7 million saunas — one for ...
Left: In the winter, the bravest take a dip in water kept free of ice.
Right: In the summer, a swim in a lake is the best way to cool off. Here a mother with children jumping into the refreshing water.
This is the third time in two hours we've emerged from the smoke sauna, bringing with us the scent of burning alder logs, and sunk our heated, sweating bodies into the treacle-coloured river. The contrast in temperature, from the 90C air that folds about you with each ladle's splash and hiss over the hot stones, to the 7C river water, is alarming. Your heart races, your breath catches and your blood comes humming to the surface of your skin. As you sit out the wake of this sensory assault, however, you begin to realise why so many Finns subject themselves to this process. It's calming and invigorating all at once, or as Eero puts it, "a chance to sit and listen to yourself, your body".
It's said that Finland has enough lakes and islands for every Finnish family to own one.
We have 4 Saunas.
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Matti (FIN)
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Posted: Tue May 12th, 2009 01:17 pm |
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| I have to stop now because I'm going to go to Sauna again.....
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Pseudo-Soviet Dictator
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Posted: Tue May 12th, 2009 03:41 pm |
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We compensate with something very special instead of saunas in the Pacific Northwest, in Washington and Oregon... They're called Natural Hot Springs, and they're Nature's own communal hot tubs created by volcanic activity beneath the earth.
This is the Bagby Hot Spring in Oregon's Mt. Hood National Forest. I went to it 2 weeks ago, and was sitting in the warm water buck-naked with my friends everyone else... Good times:
Last edited on Mon Jul 6th, 2009 11:08 am by
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Pseudo-Soviet Dictator
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Posted: Tue May 12th, 2009 03:47 pm |
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And here are the Mt. Baker Hot Springs (closer to home in my state of WA), which I drove to 2 days ago. Not NEARLY as good or developed as Oregon's Bagby Hot Springs, but comfy and rejuvenating either way:
 Last edited on Mon Jul 6th, 2009 11:13 am by
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Matti (FIN)
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Posted: Thu May 14th, 2009 01:32 pm |
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This is hottest place in the world. Bomb shelter in Itäkeskus in Helsinki. There is over 200 celsius only by taking a look to solarium. I'm there because of picking up polets for solarium..... If you go there you stay there. fysically you can be somewhere else but mentally you are there all the time. That's because you call it bombshelter... If you can't see any bombs dropping from the sky there you can imagine it... After it you don't have to do anything else except watch FoxNews..
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Matti (FIN)
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Posted: Thu May 14th, 2009 01:37 pm |
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| Talking to finns
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Matti (FIN)
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Posted: Fri May 15th, 2009 06:29 am |
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Pseudo-Soviet Dictator
We compensate with something very special instead of saunas in the Pacific Northwest, in Washington and Oregon... They're called Natural Hot Springs, and they're Nature's own communal hot tubs created by volcanic activity beneath the earth
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How it's with Yellowstone. I heard it will explode and all American continent will disappear.
In Finland we have a lot of nature but we have our own history and famous companys like Nokia. During long dark winter you can work for your company which is like family to you. We have strong unions and big employers which have labourmarcetnegotations every year together with goverment. But we have sommorcottages 60.000 lakes and big Archipelago where we can enjoy of our live. Better to do work first and then you can go there; good place for kids. And then we will go to army where we can forget everything what we have done before.
Here is some facts about Finland.
Facts & stats
All articles
Finland at a glance
Your friends cannot fail to be impressed with all the facts you'll know about Finnish geography, history, people and economy.
More »
The flag
The banner showing "the blue of our lakes and the white snow of our winters" was made official shortly after independence in 1918.
More »
Coats of arms
Have you ever wondered where the lion in Finland's coat of arms comes from?
More »
The Finnish national anthem
Find out more about the Finnish national anthem, which was first sung in Swedish.
More »
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Pseudo-Soviet Dictator
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Posted: Fri May 15th, 2009 08:14 am |
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Matti (FIN) wrote:
How it's with Yellowstone. I heard it will explode and all American continent will disappear.
Umm, no. It will eventually explode, but the continent wouldn't disappear or even become terminally affected by the ash output.
Also, when Yellowtone does erupt, ash would cover the place where I live, but
The Hot Springs in my state and Oregon aren't geysers, and can't erupt. They're alot of fun actually.
Last few times I went to Outdoor Hot Springs in Oregon, I went in fully nude... good when you have company and naked girls around to chat to and have a beer with! Last edited on Mon Jul 6th, 2009 11:12 am by
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Pseudo-Soviet Dictator
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Posted: Fri May 15th, 2009 08:25 am |
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Yes, I've been to Finland. But as I've said, although it was nice, I didn't find it as interesting in history and architecture as I did Sweden and Denmark.
But what Finland and the American Northwest share in common are High-Tech companies (Nokia, Microsoft, Boeing), clean cities, and Northern Wildnerness....
Here's the scene 5 minutes from my house near Puget Sound, north of Seattle. We're surrounded by the Cascade Mountains and the Olympic Mountains here in WA state:
Here in the Washington and Oregon, we have very little Old History and barely any ancient structures (other than the Native American tribes that were here before Urban Settlement began in the 1880's), but our level of life and pristine Northern Nature is similar to that of Scandinavia.Last edited on Mon Jul 6th, 2009 11:19 am by
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Pseudo-Soviet Dictator
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Posted: Fri May 15th, 2009 08:40 am |
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Helsinki, in its cleanliness, trendiness and high-tech cityscape did kind of remind me of my city (Seattle), Except without our mountains in the background.
Here's what Seattle looks like:
The University District (UW Campus from Lake Washington) :
Ballard, in north Seattle... Settled by Norwegians and Swedes in the early 1900's, it's regarded as the "Nordic Centre" of the Seattle metropolitan area  :
(Yes, Ethnic Scandinavians make up a large demographic of the Population here, especially in places like Ballard and Paulsbo)
Since I've been to Finland, perhaps it's your time to visit my neck of the woods? You'd feel at home here, given many of the similarities to Scandinavia.  Last edited on Mon Jul 6th, 2009 11:17 am by
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