Visit Finland

Finland is situated in the northern part of Europe and it borders Sweden, Norway and Russia.  The capital of Finland is Helsinki with a population of about 539,000 people and  the president Tarja Halonen was the first woman to be elected as a president.

Europe’s largest archipelago, Åland, which is an autonomous region, is also situated in Finland. Finland is a country of lakes and island, it has about 187 888 lakes and over 179 584 islands.

Finland is a bilingual country, Finnish is the native language and about  93, 5% of the population speaks Finnish,  6% of people speaks Swedish. Many Finns speak English, some German and other European languages.

Weather

The weather in Finland is usually cold and winter is the predominant season that is why there are a lot of activities for winter  sport lovers.

Banks

Most of banks in Finland are open from 9.15 am to 16.15 on weekdays (Monday-Friday). Hotels, stores, restaurants, shops and even in some taxis accept credit cards – Access, American Express, Diner’s Club, Eurocard, Mastercard and Visa.

Passports, visas, insurance

For a trip to Finland, you must have a passport valid for at least 3 months and a schengen visa issued by the Embassy of Finland, the Consulate General or his department. For the citizens of EU countries there is no need for visa .

Clothing and security

As far as Finland is considered to be a cold country tourists are recommended to bring plenty of warm clothes. Nevertheless, specialized firms that organize a variety of safaris, offer their members a complete outfit, including warm overalls, boots, gloves, etc.

Smoking

In Finland smoking is prohibited in many places. Usually bars and restaurants  allocate a special non-smoking areas, hotels. The majority of Finnish trains are equipped with special isolated room for smoking people.

Food

Most of Finnish dishes are prepared from environmentally friendly natural products. Each region has its traditional dishes typical of the local tastes and preferences. In Finland Christmas and Easter are celebrated at home with the presence of the whole family and food is one of the main elements of the holiday. Christmas table, for example, is always rich in fish dishes, salads and casseroles.

Safety

The crime rate in the country as a whole is rather low as compared with most continental European countries. While traveling in Finland, there is no particular need to constantly worry about the safety of the property or worry about personal safety, but reasonable care is never superfluous, no matter what country you are in.

Tip

As a rule, tipping is not compulsory in Finland, and the only exception are the porters.  In restaurant bills a  charge for the service is automatically included. For the use of a dressing room at the restaurant you should pay  at least 0.5 euros  However, if you liked the service and you think it is worthy of additional compensation, why not leave a tip?

Photo credit to näyrde von g
Photo credit to harrypwt
Photo credit to dr_tr