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Finland
The country of thousands lakes.
World famous for the most beautiful landscapes, arts and design,
unique culture, sauna, mobile phones, high technology
products and success in sports.
Travelling Finland
There are many
attractions in Finland. The Finnish landscape is covered with large
forests and thousands of lakes and inlets. The most visited
destinations are Helsinki the capitol of Finland, the Archipelag of
Southwest part of the country with thousands of Islands near Turku
and Mariehamn, the Finnish lakes starting from the City of Tampere
and Lahti. Other popular cities in this area are Jyväskylä, Kuopio,
Lappeenranta, Mikkeli and Savonlinna. The worldwide famous Lapland
is known as residence of Santa Claus alias Joulupukki (in Finnish).
Lapland has original landscape with hills, small vegetation and it
is the home of reindeers (Poro).
The biggest cities
Helsinki, Vantaa, Espoo, Tampere, Turku, Oulu, Lahti, Kuopio,
Rovaniemi, Lappeenranta, Savonlinna, Rauma, Vaasa, Kotka and Kokkola
are urbanised regions with many cultural events and activities.
Finland is a modern
and attractive country to visit – additional to this it is a safe
and clean.
Finland the Winter destination
Finnish winter
attracts hundreds of thousands for its Christmas festivities and
winter sports. There are not only activities such as skiing, dog
sledding but also worldwide popular Nordic walking. North of the
Arctic Circle, there is a period when the sun doesn't rise for weeks,
known as a polar night (Kaamos). Something incredible and beautiful
is Aurora Borealis, atmospheric fluorescence, which is seen
regularly in winter.
Finland the Summer destination
Visit the
international festivals, markets and performing arts for song and
dance. The most famous events are Savonlinna Opera Festival,
Seinäjoki's Tango Festival in Spanish Festival de tango de
Seinäjoki, Neste Oil Rally Finland and naturally Juhannus the Summer
Festival round the 25th of June. Juhannus has a deep meaning for all
us Finnish people as the Festival of Midnight Sun and it is a party
which has the dimensions almost like the Carneval in Rio de Janeiro.
The Midnight Sun with everlasting sunlight also provide an
opportunity for an array of outdoor activities. These activities
range from golf, fishing, yachting, lake cruises, hiking, kayaking
among many others.
In Lappland the sun
does not completely set for 73 consecutive days. Bird-watching is
popular for those fond of flying fauna, however hunting is also
popular. Moose, elk, reindeer and hare are all common game in
Finland.
Sauna
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 has 1.7 million saunas.
The traditional sauna is a wooden building where the heat and steam
is produced by the water thrown on the hot stones. Sauna is a must
not only for the Finnish people but also for all Finland visitors.
‘Have a sauna’ and jump in to one of the most clean lakes and you
feel not only clean you feel like new born.
Cultural
attractions
Finland is a place
with a lot of culture for history, tradition and religion. There are
Finnish Lutheran churches and cathedrals across Finland. There are
museums and architecture remaining the time of the Swedish Empire in
Finland. The architecture and design are world known by Alvar Aalto
and Eliel Saarinen but also the finnish products as Marimekko,
Iittala, Arabia, Hackmann etc. are international top level.
Castles from the
Swedish period are found, for example in Turku (Turku Castle is a
museum), Hämeenlinna and Savonlinna (Olavinlinna in Savonlinna hosts
the annual Savonlinna Opera Festival).
Visual arts
Aino and Alvar
Aalto have made major contributions to handicrafts and
industrial design. Finland's best-known sculptor of the twentieth
century was Wäinö Aaltonen. Eliel Saarinen (designer of the widely
recognised Helsinki Central railway station and many other public
works). Alvar Aalto known for the work for the functionalist
architecture to Finland. Aalto is even famous for his work in
furniture and glassware.
Classical and
opera
The most known
Finnish composer is Jean Sibelius (1865–1957), a significant figure
in the history of classical music. In 1899 he composed Finlandia,
which played its important role in Finland gaining independence.
The most important
modern composers are Lindberg and Rautavaara. Finland has a large
number of great conductors such as Osmo Vänskä, Mikko Franck,
Jukka-Pekka Saraste, Esa-Pekka Salonen, Susanna Mälkki and Leif
Segerstam.
Heavy metal and
hard rock music has reached the music enthusiasts and international
markets with the Finnish bands like The Rasmus, Amorphis, Charon,
Children of Bodom, Kalmah, Eternal Tears of Sorrow, Finntroll, Hanoi
Rocks, HIM, Kotipelto, Nightwish, Sentenced, Sonata Arctica,
Stratovarius, The 69 Eyes and Waltari.
Ville Valo is top
not at least with the song Summer wine and the Finnish hard rock/heavy
metal band Lordi won the 2006 Eurovision Song Contest with a record
292 points with the song "Hard Rock Hallelujah".
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