Finland

[julia]

I recently came back from a holiday in Helsinki, the capital of Finland. We chose it for our holiday because we had some special British Airways miles which needed using up and we could fly direct from where we live.

I was so wonderfully surprised by what a fantastic place it is - clean, green and beautiful, with relaxed, gentle, polite people everywhere we went. There was water everywhere and people swimming in it! I particularly noticed a public children's play park with buckets, spades, diggers and other toys provided - no one had stolen or broken them, and there was no litter or dog poo.

All the furniture and furnishings (in our apartment and in cafes and on the marvellous public transport) was so beautifully comfortable and well-designed, and all the people dressed in a way which I so admired - simple and elegant and, again, somehow comfortable. The architecture was stunning.

I think Helsinki would be a great place to lead a really full but very simple, environmentally conscious life. Unfortunately my husband has a spinal injury and would struggle with the icy winters (I would LOVE them - I used to live in Austria!) so I can't apply for a teaching job there - at least for now.

[Teacher Terry]

That sounds so beautiful! My DIL is from Poland & we had a similar experience when we went to visit. Poland is also a cheap country to visit because they are not on the Euro. In fact, we are going back for our 2nd visit soon.

[julia]

Finland isn't cheap but I never felt ripped off - everything we bought (supermarket food, meals out, museum entry and public transport) was high quality.

I've heard that Poland is beautiful - there are a lot of lovely Polish people in the UK and my niece's grandfather on the other side of the family was Polish so she's been there lots of times and loves it.

Sometimes the countries which are not the obvious tourist destinations are surprisingly wonderful. I loved Venice and Prague but found the busyness exhausting and had a couple of nasty experiences with fraud.

I forgot to say that I left my iPhone in the taxi from the airport. Our Airbnb hosts assured us that we would get it back, even though we didn't even have the name of the cab company. They tracked it down for us and, sure enough, the taxi driver found it on the back seat and returned it to us. I'm sad to say that I don't think this would have happened in the UK.

[Gardenarian]

It sound like a wonderful place to visit, or to live. I've read many articles on Finland in the past few years, all saying what a happy and prosperous and healthy place it is.

I wish the U.S. would follow their example - in education, maternity/paternity leave, health care, etc.

[Teacher Terry]

My DIL says Prague is a great place to visit so we will go there in Aug when my hubby & I make the trip. My BF & I are going in Oct for a week because my son found us tickets for half price so could not pass up the opportunity. I have been to Italy 2x's but it was a lot more expensive. That's fantastic about your phone. That probably would not have happened in the US.

[Spartana]

I went to Finland many years ago (and am still in contact with some people I met there) and thought it was a wonderful place. I had a Eurail Pass so took the ferry (free with pass) from Sweden to Finland, stayed at hostels and then took a train as far north as I could thru Finland (and with a stop in a northern Finnish town at the end of the rail line called Korai or something like that) before going into Narvik, Norway - both towns about 100 miles north of the Arctic Circle. Was there (Narvik) for the Summer Solstice (camping on the beach watching in the midnight sunshine!). I also though Finland would be a great place to live. The people are reserved but friendly. Just don't think I could master the language though :-)!

From somewhere in Northern Finland:

[flowerseverywhere]

Terry, Just got back from Prague. Be prepared to walk on cobblestones. A lot. Check out Rick Steve's and eyewitness guides for good places to eat. Watch the following movies filmed in Prague:immortal beloved, operation daybreak and Amadeus. I went to the Jewish museum but did not go to the local concentration camp. I am glad I went but had nightmares that night. The architecture is stunning. Also, many of the churches and the Rudolphinium have wonderful concerts and operas. Well worth to familiarize yourself with Mozart before going. I was surprised how many people spoke English. More casual dress than I suspected
haven't made it to Finland, thinking of maybe Holland next.

[Dhiana]

One of the most amazing people in my stitch group is from Finland. She is a beautiful person inside and out. Speaks Finnish, Swedish, English, is married to a German which she speaks in their home. They lived in Shanghai for several years so she speaks Chinese and now Japanese also!

She'll walk in with about 8 rows of knitting in a gorgeous yarn and at our next meeting about 2 weeks later will show up wearing the item; a beautiful maxi dress =0
If I could be even half as amazing as her I would consider my life well lived.

[julia]

I went to Finland many years ago (and am still in contact with some people I met there) and thought it was a wonderful place. I had a Eurail Pass so took the ferry (free with pass) from Sweden to Finland, stayed at hostels and then took a train as far north as I could thru Finland (and with a stop in a northern Finnish town at the end of the rail line called Korai or something like that) before going into Narvik, Norway - both towns about 100 miles north of the Arctic Circle. Was there (Narvik) for the Summer Solstice (camping on the beach watching in the midnight sunshine!). I also though Finland would be a great place to live. The people are reserved but friendly. Just don't think I could master the language though :-)!


From somewhere in Northern Finland:

I tried to learn some Finnish before I went - I already speak fluent German and other European languages - and found it incredibly hard! I really wished I'd made a bit more effort.

What a lovely picture!!

[Teacher Terry]

Flowers: thanks for the info about Prague!