To clarify, flags are flown on specific flag days recognising religious days, cultural days, and various historic Finns who played important roles in moulding the country. There's no cultish 'patriotic' US flag flying.
Also this varies on each flag day if everyone is having the flag up or mainly just government buildings. Also seeing the flag half way up all around usually means passing of someone important/recognized in Finland or if it's only one flag at residential areas, then usually it signifies that someone in that apartment complex or household has passed away recently. Otherwise, you can often see Pennants flying in flagpoles at residential houses all over the country, these usually can be in Finnish flag style but often also used to signify families heritage or the region you live in. These could be considered "slightly" more patriotic but not anywhere near US style of flag flying.
Exactly what I was going to come and say. Do Lapland for Christmas, and do Helsinki or any southern cities in the summer, July being when we take our holidays generally but early August would do too.
two totally different experiences with most activities totally polar opposites. like two countries from different sides of the world. can't be compared. i would say most things you want to do in lapland in winter are not for budget travelers. everything costs money and most activities are REALLY expensive imo. helsinki can be done even on the tightest of budgets. live in a tent, eat food from shops, sauna in sompasauna (free) etc etc etc.
Sorry my autism levels went over 9000 with this one. Ammonium chloride is also a salt. It's Ammonium salt. But yes it's not table salt which is sodium chloride (or natrium chloride) NaCl
Salmiakki has licorice root in it, but not syrup and wheat flour, usually. Curious thing most people don't know, salmiakki comes from "sal-ammoniac", which means "salt of Ammon", the ancient Egyptian god. It was created by the alchemists of that civilization about 4000 years ago, in the alchemsit oasis, called Siwa.
They were eating that salmon soup in the most expensive tourist area where the prices are double. The normal behavior is to take a shower before and after sauna. If you're going to visit Helsinki, do it in summer, but if you're going to Lapland, then choose winter, because it's winter wonderland.
Those soups must be the most expensive salmon soups in Finland. It very much depends on the location. Usually it's between 8-12 euroes. Yes, you wash before going into the sauna. If it's your own sauna, then you can do whatever you wish but people still usually take a shower or dip into the lake/sea before entering the sauna.
Yes, you wash before you enter the löyly and when you have had enough, you wash away the sweat. It is useful to keep your hair wet while in the löyly and it feels nice to pour lukewarm water on your head sitting in the löyly.
where they ate salmon soup first was bit highly priced. it is much cheaper at lunch time. löyly ofc has much of extra costs because of ... well reasons
About the sauna. After sitting in the boiling steam for a while, diving into the cold waters outside is actually a really good thing. It doesn't feel bad at all, it is refreshing. You are so hot from the sauna, you really need this. And don't forget the beer. I'm a fan of glass bottle beer in the sauna, because metal cans get horribly hot and scorch your lips when you sip your beverage of choice. But there's the risk of broken glass, as remote that risk might seem, so they might not allow glass bottles in a public sauna.
Btw.. you can take a cruise ship from stockholm to helsinki or vise versa. It is quite cheap so you can easily visit both capitals in same trip. I can give you some tips and like any Finn we are happy to help foreigners.
Muikku (Coregonus albula) is in the family Salmonidae, it's kind of like "white salmon", such as siika (Coregonus lavaretus), but really small. 💁♂️ Lake fish taste really good and often contain a lot of vitamin D, which helps you to get through the winter. 👍🏻
Visiting Finland as a curious tourist is best done during the summer. Most music festivals are in the summer ( including the heavy rock festival Tuska = Agony). In addition, Finns are much more approachable and less shy in the summer. Lapland has a short Christmas season and it is magical to stay surrounded by snow and look at northern lights. Majority of the Finns spend the holidays with their families Sauna is a very important part of it. Museums, cinemas, restaurants and boutiques are closed December 24-26, We uphold the Christmas Peace started round year 1300 by the Swedish Kings. You can find the declaration on YT.
If you choose to visit in summer, go to South, like Helsinki, Turku, Tampere etc bigger cities. If you want to visit in winter, go north. In summer north and many other rural areas has a lot of mosquitoes and other bugs, but the winter is not always good in the south. Lapland winters are the best. But also summer at a cabin is the best and most authentic Finland experience you can get.
Anything North of Oulu tends to be closed for summer season. "Earliest" I'd suggest anyone to go visit Lapland is mid-August, just before the start of Ruska (the fall/autumn) season. But if all you need/want is a cabin and small local grocery 20+km away.. early summer is the best, IMO
they talked a bit about lohikeitto, and in my (definitely not biased lol) opinion, the best lohikeitto you'll find anywhere in Helsinki is in kahvila kampela in vuosaari
This original video was all about Helsinki, so not really about Finland in general. But still it was nice hearing about the ppl enjoying their time in Helsinki.
I think if you are interested in Finland in general, you should visit at summer. So much more to see and experience. But if the winter and Christmas stuff is what you specifically want to experience, then in winter. If you plan on doing both, then the order does not really matter. :)
Winter is nice when drunk out on a cabin, skiing or riding a snowmobile... winter in a city is just disgusting and all terasses and pavilions are closed :(
summer is the best. much nicer time to visit the nature unless you know how to ski or gear up for cold. summer and nature parks first, then the eternal long kaamos up in north
If you want to see the Finland in the winter, I would recommend coming after christmas. Southern Finland in december can be very wet and dark since the temperatures are mostly near zero degrees centigrade and the snow keeps melting. January and february are generally the coldest months and there will be snow on the ground no matter where you decide to go. Btw snow reflects light so it gets much brighter outside. Northern Finland is completely different of course. I would highly recommend going to any ski resort in Lapland during the winter.
christmas IS very good in finland! but to really experience it you should be with a finnish family. it´s all about being together, being warm, go to the sauna, cozy .. even "hygge" ... full of love and lights and maybe some glögi and just too much food. i think it´s like ... is it thanksgiving dinner when everyone eats too much in the usa?
The sauna temperature, there was a short snippet about the Finnish friend trying to increase the temp. My mum was Finnish, and my dad was Estonian. Both of them had sauna in their genes, so naturally I grew up with a sauna, here in Sweden. And they both commented on how Swedes saw the sauna as some kind of competition, or rite of passage. Who could survive the highest temperature? So they, the Finns and Estonians, took the challenge and turned the heat up. When there was a foreigner in the sauna. But when we had a regular weekly sauna bath, just the family, the temperature was quite modest. I don't remember now exactly what it was, it was hot, but not unbearable. You could sit there for a while, get out and cool down with a splash of cold water, and then get in again. And it felt good. Not like a competition. And the birch twigs, to beat your skin with, I remember them. The smell of birch. That was a long time ago.
You rinse or you don't rinse. It is up to you. Some people like to go in dry and some like to go in wet. Also if you dip in to the frozen sea or lake you actually feel warm when you get out. Its really weird how they said the smoke is in the Sauna. It is not. The sauna is warmed up so the smoke stays in but the smoke is released before anyone goes in. If you go in when there is smoke you would just die.
UK army unit (or company) was here having military exercise as Finland now in NATO. So our Finnish army had to borrow them our tents as their tents weren't prepared at all to handle the cold for what it means to be here. Was a funny small story for you =)
*Helsinki`s population is "only" 674 000(metropolitan area 1,58 million). Dwayne, if you want to visit Turku and/or Helsinki, i would highly recommend that you visit Finland in the summer time. Visiting Finland in the winter is just total gamble because of the unpredictable weather.
December isn't actually the coldest month - those are January and February - but it absolutely is the darkest! Be warned! 😁 When to come to Finland? Summer is the first choice, but March is also one of my favourite months. There still is snow, but a lot of sunshine, too. Take your sunglasses with you!
Lohikeitto is nowadays so popular to UA-camrs and other tourists visiting Finland so of course they have rised the prices. When we make it at home the price is less than one euro per portion.
If you want to visit Helsinki, do not expect that here would be any snow in December. It not always happen. I think best time would be End of the June (Midsummer around 20th) or anytime in July.
During winter the south might not have proper snow. It might or it might not. We have had winters like the uk and we have had winters - 20°C at the south but if you want wintery scenery, go north. Summer can be very hot +30 or mild and wet, kinda like uk as well.
I'd like to point out that public transport is excellent in Helsinki. So, apart from cool rides on scoots in the summer, it's nice to grab a tram on less perfect weather. Or a bus, or a metro, or a train. 😃 In the daytime, it's only maybe 5 - 10 minute's wait if you miss your vehicle. 👍 Absolutely one of the best things there. Exploring the city and its suburbs is nice even on a slushy, chilly autumn day when you can hop in a comfy, warm tram etc practically whenever you like.
With reynalds disease she should have taken the full sauna experience. Daily sauna will eradicate the symptoms of reynalds and the avanto will make you more resilient too, it's like opening and training blood vessels. I rarely loose feeling on my fingers no matter how cold it gets.
Thanks for your reaction video Dwayne. You will be okay with the winter. Comparing to your own experience (🇬🇧), coldest times in Finland are also most dry times so it doesn't feel so cold that you would think. Lights are off from November to the end of February but after that it is Disney winter. End of the spring will be Disney fairy forests but summers are Woodstock unfortunately. Please, don't come on midsummer, it is kind of a embarrassing time here to host the guests. But you should definitely visit us, and our nice neighbour(🇸🇪) as well. 2 trips Dwayne it is, 2 trips summer and winter. Take care.
You had a few nice Finnish words in there, like Keitto (=soup) and Muikku (no English word for it since it doesn't exist in English waters, but it's a tiny freshwater fish). The Finnish language has this odd thing, with long consonants. Like TT and KK. You are supposed to pronounce them long. So a T is different from a TT. Now you wonder, how in the world do I hang on to a TT and make it long? Well, think of it as two distinct and separate T's after each other. That's how it's written, anyway. So Keitto (soup) would be pronounced almost as two separate words, with a pause in between, Keit-To. But you don't actually bother to pronounce the second T, you just leave a silent space there for it. Keit-O. Just another charming Finnish quirk.
Most foreigners agree that summer is generally the best time to visit Finland - because that's the time the whole country wakes up from months of winter slumber and they go outside a lot after being without light for so long. If you're looking for the winter experience, Northern Finland is where to go.
Summer is the best time to visit if you are planing to do city touring, becouse in winter everything is mostly shit if i may say it as we locals see it. Only good things are the times of the night when snow has fallen and it haven´t plowed away from the roads and streets. But after the morning traffic everything looks shit again. But in sunny days in summer everywhere is pretty even if it isn´t warmest day to be outside. Only good reason to come in winter is if you want to go to Rovaniemi and into the Santavillage, reindeer sledge ride, ski or drive with snow mobiles (those go real fast). But the tourist season Rovaniemi is expensive place too. The closer of christmes you go the more expensive it is to get cabin, iglo or hotel room. And if you visit summertime there is more to see than just Helsinki. Tampere, Turku and Oulu (up north, close to Lapland). And if you like nature and want to go hiking or that kind of stuff Lapland or Kuusamo is very great place to do that.
No no no.. I wouldn't recommend visiting Finland in the wintertime, especially if you stay only at the southern parts. There is a high probability that it will be just dark, windy, and rainy. 😂 Summer is definitely the best time to visit. 😊
Definitely visit Finland during Autumn (Season of color) or winter. I don't know about the south but here in Lapland the amount of blood thirsty bugs can be unbearable at times during summer!
You can not only visit Finland once if you're having trouble deciding what season to come, you need to visit both in summer and in winter, if botyh of them interest you, there is no choosing between the two!
Each season has their beautiful and annoying sides. 😂 But maybe I would recommend summer, if you take a liking to Finland, then maybe you can take a tiny trip later on at winter so you won't get totally scared off from here right off the bat when visiting here. And yes, you were absolutely right about rinsing before getting into sauna. It's hygienic. I like how excited you seem to be about your trip to here and to learn things, it's very nice to see and hear about. 😊 Also, I would recommend to try cinnamon bun (korvapuusti) and blueberry pie (mustikkapiirakka). They're both wonderful. 😋
Heads up: In the spring, during vappu time (May Day), lots of people in the city centers and parks (drinking), and in the summer, during juhannus time (Midsummer), people are in summer cottages (drinking) and the streets are empty. 😂
When visiting Helsinki or Stockholm, it is actually quite easy to just visit both. The ferries are cheap, daily and an experience in themselves, cause they traditionally are places where finns and swedes also just go and get hammered overnight.
If you want to visit Helsinki - come at summer. July is the best month to come (lots happening, everyone is on vacation). If you want to see lapland + xmas stuff, go to Rovaniemi at winter. You don't wanna slip around in Helsinki at winter, it's nasty.
Summer is definitely the time when people are out and about and more social as well haha! But christmas time is cool too, and spring is really beautiful as well when the sun starts shining again. maybe you have to plan another trip in the future to Finland to experience it in another season!
I recommend visiting finland in the summer. There's much more stuff to see and do then. However if you really want that magical winter experience you shouldn't stay at Helsinki but go to Rovaniemi. Tho whenever you decide to visit I'd encourage you to visit several cities and not only Helsinki if you have time. Porvoo has beautiful old town area with cute shops and caffees and Lappeenranta is tiny but very green and walkable city with fortress area and harbor.
Finns live for the summer, so the long days of summer are a great time to visit. But if you choose to come in the winter I would recommend december for the cozy Christmas season.
Yeah definitely summer for Southern Finland. Lapland is great both in the winter and the summer. Winter for the snow and all the winter sports you can do, summer if you like hiking. There are some gorgeous national parks for hiking in the north.
Yeah, the thing you have to consider about the salmon soup is what the price of the salmon fillet would be if all the chunks were still together. Löyly sauna is very nice, but very expensive.
Salmiakki is something you try until you love it. No one hates Salmiakki, they just haven't tried it enough times :D. Also, if you choose to come here in winter, you should come in January-February to have the best chance of proper winter in the south. Otherwise theres quite a good change it's just wet, dark, muddy and all around miserable weather. In the summer July is probably the best month to visit. Also, if you happen to visit in the summer and take a trip outside the Turku-Helsinki area, I highly suggest stopping by Yyteri, which is in Pori around 3 hours drive from Helsinki: ua-cam.com/video/U8qQKKKChlo/v-deo.htmlsi=6s4liNzY01kmNmbe
If there is snow, it's not that dark since snow reflect light. Good times to visit winter Finland is either christmas time since christmas lights everywhere or february-march since there is enough snow and daylight. My favourite season is autumn, like september-beginning of october because of the autumn colours at nature and national parks are fantastic. If you try salmiakki, I recommend salmiakki ice cream, it's probably the best way to get into salmiakki and Finnish ice creams are delicious.
In regards to the summer/winter debate... who said you could only come once? :p Personally I think both seasons are just as good, only for different reasons, and it really comes down to personal preference for things like what activities are available. Both Lapland and the rest of Finland have fun and interesting things to do year-round, from educational hiking trails (notably in the summer season) to seasonal sports, tourist attractions, museums, and culinary experiences.
It is funny to see a tourist video from Helsinki and to see my own house as well. About the price of that salmon soup. The place where they were eating at Hakaniemi market hall is quite expensive. I haven't eaten there even though it would literally take me a couple minutes to walk there. You can get a bowl for around 10€ from other places.
Humidity makes cold feel colder. Finnish winter air is usually on the dry side. 'Bad Bad Boy' statue took part to an art exhibition in Sweden in 2013, but he got send back to Finland, because he was a naughty boy. Since then he's been doing his thing in several locations in Helsinki. Videos about some topics touched on that video:"BBC Moominland Tales: The Life of Tove Jansson?", "Suomenlinna Fortress in Winter - Unesco World Heritage Site FINLAND" and "Mateo & Lisanna SI ERES LATINO NO VENGAS AQUÍ | EN FINLANDIA"
Definitely visit Helsinki in the summer time. The whole city blossoms during the summer months. There are street performers, lots of parties, yoga and dance in parks, cool summer restaurants, you can take boat around the archipelago and go swim in the ocean.
My recommendation for seasons in southern Finland is: for winter, visit in late January / early February. Best chance of good winter weather even on the south coast. For early summer, visit in late May to mid June. Everything is fresh and in bloom, my favourite time of the year. If you want to spend time outdoors in the woods, maybe some time July for better weather, mid-late July for blueberry season. For autumn, visit in early October when the leaves are turning and it's not yet dark and rainy.
If sauna ain't at least 80 degrees Celsius, it ain't a proper sauna experience if you ask me :P And yes, rinse before going in, the air won't feel as stabbing hot (totally accurate scientific term), but starts by warming the water first evenly. (And if you're swimming in chlorinated water, rinsing is a must before going in, unless you wanna deal with all those chemicals in gas form.)
If u want to visit in the summer, go to the south of Finland but if u want to visit in the winter time, go to the north. Winter in Finland is a unique and quite magical experience (but extremely cold), however summer is absolutely best time for relaxing and having fun! U should always wash urself before going to sauna! The experience is way more pleasant and u want to clean urself before going to public sauna. And yes biking or scooter around is a must, u get around so effortlessly! :) Busses, tram and metro (= underground) are also very valid and quite cheap alternative of course.
Definitely visit, Deep winter, Early Spring, Late Spring, Early Summer, Mid summer, Late Summer, Early Autumn, Late Autumn and Early winter. Every time of the year has it's magic moments in Finland.
Hello from the Helsinki area. Here in southern Finland, the weather varies a lot in winter. Sometimes it's really cold and freezing, sometimes it rains. Sometimes tourists are disappointed when it rained in Helsinki at Christmas and there was no snow at all. Northern Finland has more snow and frost all winter. It is dark everywhere in Finland in winter. In summer, there is even too much light.
March to early april is best time to visit Lapland. There is still lots of snow but also bright and not that cold. Helsinki is definitely summer city. Winter in Helsinki is just awful :)
My suggestion to you would be: go FIRST to Lapland in the Winter and THEN go anywhere in Finland in the Summer! You HAVE to experience both, that's one big thing in itself, too (the contrast)! 😍🤩😊 However: don't get your expectations all too high, as you can come crumbling down because of those crazy high expectations, of course. 😉😁
People's attitudes are way more chill and happier in summer when most of our holidays are. In winter people have low energy, don't want to talk to strangers, minding to their immediate business and hurrying to get inside.
The winters unfortunately are not all magical and snowy throughout the winter the more south you get. It can be more wet and muddy especially until January, even though there are colder periods too. It varies. So if you do decide to visit in winter, maybe consider coming in somewhere around February or visit the more northern parts. I do love "the actual winter" (not the muddy parts of it), the snow and coldness and I think something like -10 with dry air feels less cold than +1 with wind and humidity.
We do like our personal space. I hate holiday shopping, even getting groceries before any holidays because there are too many people around! And now, there really aren’t that many of us in the whole of the country. Blueberry pie and cinnamon buns are best home made 😊
I just LOVE the night or dark time in Finland. Lot's of snow and just hike on some hill. You have moonlight giving you a light. And if the weather is right and time is right you can see northern lights.
i'd love to be anywhere else than in Helsinki during winter ._. i'm tired of slipping on ice or dealing with methods to prevent slipping... but if u have good winter boots or u like skating e.e welcome i guess
About the Xmas lights - those are something that we call the Christmas Street (or in Finnish Joulkatu and Jouluvalot) and it usually sztarts with Stockmann (think of our Harrods) putting up their window christmas special thing with the city putting on the lights onto the streets :) It's something worth to go and see :) We've gone every year since I was little :)
Yes, hello from Finland. I definitely encourage to visit Finland during christmas time if you haven’t seen much snow. Maybe even visit Lapland. I have a bit unique tradition. I use to meet my family during christmas eve but then leave ”early” during christmas day back to my place to spend some alone time. Usually people spend the whole christmas together and there is something truly magical to be driving the highway totally alone, not a soul to be seen on the road for miles. Freezing cold temperature outside but in a comfort of your car. Bright midday sunshine and all the fields and whole scenery is bright white. That is something hard to describe and is locked in my memory. It somehow brings inner peace.
You should absolutely come during the summer. July is the best time... usually. They must have had a typo on the water temperature when they said the water is 7C. During the summer the seawater gets up to 20C.
You should definitely come in February or March and visit either northern or eastern Finland. Also you should try ice swimming, it is totally worth it!
now that we have a small country in a certain way, we still take care of the beauty and take care of our city, thank for Stara Stara is the city of the company. the people who work at stara take care of our city. sanding in winter, salting ice to melt ice, freezing skating rinks and plowing snow.
I've had Raynaud syndrome after an internal bleed and a massive blood transfusion, the root cause still unknown. Normal room temperature would easily make the fingers go blue and real cold shut down the circulation so that they were white, had to wear woolen gloves even inside for years. The treatment was powerful vasodilators which lead to some nasty side effects. Now 15 years later I'm back to normal and off medication.
If you're planning a visit here to Finland then I highly recommend you pick between summer or winter; skip spring and autumn. I'd suggest late june to july during summer or late december to february during winter. Then you'll get the best experiences of the seasons imo :)
If you visit Finland on winter, northern Finland is safer bet for the white Christmas. When I was young snow was guaranteed on all of Finland, but with global warming there is not always snow in southern parts of Finland during Christmas.
To clarify, flags are flown on specific flag days recognising religious days, cultural days, and various historic Finns who played important roles in moulding the country. There's no cultish 'patriotic' US flag flying.
100%
Also when someone passes away, a flag may be lifted half way in the flagpole
Also this varies on each flag day if everyone is having the flag up or mainly just government buildings. Also seeing the flag half way up all around usually means passing of someone important/recognized in Finland or if it's only one flag at residential areas, then usually it signifies that someone in that apartment complex or household has passed away recently.
Otherwise, you can often see Pennants flying in flagpoles at residential houses all over the country, these usually can be in Finnish flag style but often also used to signify families heritage or the region you live in. These could be considered "slightly" more patriotic but not anywhere near US style of flag flying.
Joo joo. I was trying to make the point that the flags aren't flown all the time, not listing the full flag rules... 😉
Yeah, but those small flags on wall mounted poles can be flown when ever.
Oh that ferris wheel what was shown quickly there. One of the carts is a sauna, which can be rented
Rule of thumb when exploring Finland: Summer go to south, winter go to north.
Exactly what I was going to come and say. Do Lapland for Christmas, and do Helsinki or any southern cities in the summer, July being when we take our holidays generally but early August would do too.
I mean ruska is quite beautiful too and and northern areas are good for hiking in the other seasons as well
two totally different experiences with most activities totally polar opposites. like two countries from different sides of the world. can't be compared.
i would say most things you want to do in lapland in winter are not for budget travelers. everything costs money and most activities are REALLY expensive imo.
helsinki can be done even on the tightest of budgets. live in a tent, eat food from shops, sauna in sompasauna (free) etc etc etc.
Correction: Summer go middle, never go south... =)
Salmiakki isn't actually licorice with salt, it's Ammonium chloride.
Sorry my autism levels went over 9000 with this one. Ammonium chloride is also a salt. It's Ammonium salt. But yes it's not table salt which is sodium chloride (or natrium chloride) NaCl
And don't know of every Fin, but we also made some in our chemistry classes in school and got to taste it.
@@rasehorn Yeah, but as most think table salt if said salty licorice 😊
Salmiakki has licorice root in it, but not syrup and wheat flour, usually. Curious thing most people don't know, salmiakki comes from "sal-ammoniac", which means "salt of Ammon", the ancient Egyptian god. It was created by the alchemists of that civilization about 4000 years ago, in the alchemsit oasis, called Siwa.
@@juhokaartoaho We did too. We also made own menthol sticks. Between the classes we grinded them into out cigarettes :)
They were eating that salmon soup in the most expensive tourist area where the prices are double. The normal behavior is to take a shower before and after sauna. If you're going to visit Helsinki, do it in summer, but if you're going to Lapland, then choose winter, because it's winter wonderland.
Those soups must be the most expensive salmon soups in Finland. It very much depends on the location. Usually it's between 8-12 euroes.
Yes, you wash before going into the sauna. If it's your own sauna, then you can do whatever you wish but people still usually take a shower or dip into the lake/sea before entering the sauna.
Yes, you wash before you enter the löyly and when you have had enough, you wash away the sweat. It is useful to keep your hair wet while in the löyly and it feels nice to pour lukewarm water on your head sitting in the löyly.
And convenience one between 3-4 € from the market. Pretty good aswell
Yup, for sure in a public sauna rinse before going in, but at home I just prefer going right in lol
where they ate salmon soup first was bit highly priced. it is much cheaper at lunch time. löyly ofc has much of extra costs because of ... well reasons
yeah i mean helsinki is tourist trap everything there is hecking expencive
About the sauna. After sitting in the boiling steam for a while, diving into the cold waters outside is actually a really good thing. It doesn't feel bad at all, it is refreshing. You are so hot from the sauna, you really need this.
And don't forget the beer. I'm a fan of glass bottle beer in the sauna, because metal cans get horribly hot and scorch your lips when you sip your beverage of choice. But there's the risk of broken glass, as remote that risk might seem, so they might not allow glass bottles in a public sauna.
It is very relaxing to go first in the cold water and then warm up in the sauna
8:08 The name of that statue (as I recall) is Bad Bad Boy.
Btw.. you can take a cruise ship from stockholm to helsinki or vise versa. It is quite cheap so you can easily visit both capitals in same trip. I can give you some tips and like any Finn we are happy to help foreigners.
Muikku (Coregonus albula) is in the family Salmonidae, it's kind of like "white salmon", such as
siika (Coregonus lavaretus), but really small. 💁♂️
Lake fish taste really good and often contain a lot of vitamin D, which helps you to get through the winter. 👍🏻
In the Nordic family, Stockholm is the posh aunt wearing the latest fashion and Helsinki is the goth niece, who love heavy metal :)
You should visit both Helsinki and Stockholm. You can take a ferry which is an experience itself
Definitely this! The ferry is part of the experience, lots of vids on that can be found.
just avoid those middle-aged women wearing leather skirt and leopard print shirts XD
Visiting Finland as a curious tourist is best done during the summer. Most music festivals are in the summer ( including the heavy rock festival Tuska = Agony). In addition, Finns are much more approachable and less shy in the summer.
Lapland has a short Christmas season and it is magical to stay surrounded by snow and look at northern lights. Majority of the Finns spend the holidays with their families Sauna is a very important part of it. Museums, cinemas, restaurants and boutiques are closed December 24-26, We uphold the Christmas Peace started round year 1300 by the Swedish Kings. You can find the declaration on YT.
If you choose to visit in summer, go to South, like Helsinki, Turku, Tampere etc bigger cities. If you want to visit in winter, go north.
In summer north and many other rural areas has a lot of mosquitoes and other bugs, but the winter is not always good in the south. Lapland winters are the best.
But also summer at a cabin is the best and most authentic Finland experience you can get.
Anything North of Oulu tends to be closed for summer season. "Earliest" I'd suggest anyone to go visit Lapland is mid-August, just before the start of Ruska (the fall/autumn) season. But if all you need/want is a cabin and small local grocery 20+km away.. early summer is the best, IMO
If you visit in winter, then you need to go to Lapland. In summer, anywhere in Finland.
they talked a bit about lohikeitto, and in my (definitely not biased lol) opinion, the best lohikeitto you'll find anywhere in Helsinki is in kahvila kampela in vuosaari
This original video was all about Helsinki, so not really about Finland in general. But still it was nice hearing about the ppl enjoying their time in Helsinki.
I think if you are interested in Finland in general, you should visit at summer. So much more to see and experience. But if the winter and Christmas stuff is what you specifically want to experience, then in winter. If you plan on doing both, then the order does not really matter. :)
Winter is nice when drunk out on a cabin, skiing or riding a snowmobile... winter in a city is just disgusting and all terasses and pavilions are closed :(
summer is the best. much nicer time to visit the nature unless you know how to ski or gear up for cold.
summer and nature parks first, then the eternal long kaamos up in north
Also if you choose summer, I'd advise doing it around juhannus/midsummer. One of the best Finnish holidays, and one of the last pagan traditions.
4:53 Helsinki population is around 636 690. That 1.3 million is the approx. joint population of 14 municipalities including Helsinki city.
If you want to see the Finland in the winter, I would recommend coming after christmas. Southern Finland in december can be very wet and dark since the temperatures are mostly near zero degrees centigrade and the snow keeps melting. January and february are generally the coldest months and there will be snow on the ground no matter where you decide to go.
Btw snow reflects light so it gets much brighter outside.
Northern Finland is completely different of course. I would highly recommend going to any ski resort in Lapland during the winter.
christmas IS very good in finland! but to really experience it you should be with a finnish family. it´s all about being together, being warm, go to the sauna, cozy .. even "hygge" ... full of love and lights and maybe some glögi and just too much food. i think it´s like ... is it thanksgiving dinner when everyone eats too much in the usa?
The sauna temperature, there was a short snippet about the Finnish friend trying to increase the temp. My mum was Finnish, and my dad was Estonian. Both of them had sauna in their genes, so naturally I grew up with a sauna, here in Sweden. And they both commented on how Swedes saw the sauna as some kind of competition, or rite of passage. Who could survive the highest temperature? So they, the Finns and Estonians, took the challenge and turned the heat up. When there was a foreigner in the sauna. But when we had a regular weekly sauna bath, just the family, the temperature was quite modest. I don't remember now exactly what it was, it was hot, but not unbearable. You could sit there for a while, get out and cool down with a splash of cold water, and then get in again. And it felt good. Not like a competition. And the birch twigs, to beat your skin with, I remember them. The smell of birch. That was a long time ago.
You rinse or you don't rinse. It is up to you. Some people like to go in dry and some like to go in wet. Also if you dip in to the frozen sea or lake you actually feel warm when you get out. Its really weird how they said the smoke is in the Sauna. It is not. The sauna is warmed up so the smoke stays in but the smoke is released before anyone goes in. If you go in when there is smoke you would just die.
In from Finland it is THE best place you should go to Finland in THE Winter
UK army unit (or company) was here having military exercise as Finland now in NATO. So our Finnish army had to borrow them our tents as their tents weren't prepared at all to handle the cold for what it means to be here. Was a funny small story for you =)
*Helsinki`s population is "only" 674 000(metropolitan area 1,58 million). Dwayne, if you want to visit Turku and/or Helsinki, i would highly recommend that you visit Finland in the summer time. Visiting Finland in the winter is just total gamble because of the unpredictable weather.
There are only a few things that feel better than swimming in cold water (or making a snow angel in the snow) and immediately going to a sauna
December isn't actually the coldest month - those are January and February - but it absolutely is the darkest! Be warned! 😁
When to come to Finland? Summer is the first choice, but March is also one of my favourite months. There still is snow, but a lot of sunshine, too. Take your sunglasses with you!
Lohikeitto is nowadays so popular to UA-camrs and other tourists visiting Finland so of course they have rised the prices. When we make it at home the price is less than one euro per portion.
If you want to visit Helsinki, do not expect that here would be any snow in December. It not always happen. I think best time would be End of the June (Midsummer around 20th) or anytime in July.
During winter the south might not have proper snow. It might or it might not. We have had winters like the uk and we have had winters - 20°C at the south but if you want wintery scenery, go north. Summer can be very hot +30 or mild and wet, kinda like uk as well.
I'd like to point out that public transport is excellent in Helsinki. So, apart from cool rides on scoots in the summer, it's nice to grab a tram on less perfect weather. Or a bus, or a metro, or a train. 😃 In the daytime, it's only maybe 5 - 10 minute's wait if you miss your vehicle. 👍 Absolutely one of the best things there. Exploring the city and its suburbs is nice even on a slushy, chilly autumn day when you can hop in a comfy, warm tram etc practically whenever you like.
With reynalds disease she should have taken the full sauna experience. Daily sauna will eradicate the symptoms of reynalds and the avanto will make you more resilient too, it's like opening and training blood vessels. I rarely loose feeling on my fingers no matter how cold it gets.
You should definitely visit Finland during summertime.
Thanks for your reaction video Dwayne.
You will be okay with the winter. Comparing to your own experience (🇬🇧), coldest times in Finland are also most dry times so it doesn't feel so cold that you would think.
Lights are off from November to the end of February but after that it is Disney winter. End of the spring will be Disney fairy forests but summers are Woodstock unfortunately.
Please, don't come on midsummer, it is kind of a embarrassing time here to host the guests. But you should definitely visit us, and our nice neighbour(🇸🇪) as well.
2 trips Dwayne it is, 2 trips summer and winter. Take care.
You had a few nice Finnish words in there, like Keitto (=soup) and Muikku (no English word for it since it doesn't exist in English waters, but it's a tiny freshwater fish). The Finnish language has this odd thing, with long consonants. Like TT and KK. You are supposed to pronounce them long. So a T is different from a TT. Now you wonder, how in the world do I hang on to a TT and make it long? Well, think of it as two distinct and separate T's after each other. That's how it's written, anyway. So Keitto (soup) would be pronounced almost as two separate words, with a pause in between, Keit-To. But you don't actually bother to pronounce the second T, you just leave a silent space there for it. Keit-O. Just another charming Finnish quirk.
Most foreigners agree that summer is generally the best time to visit Finland - because that's the time the whole country wakes up from months of winter slumber and they go outside a lot after being without light for so long.
If you're looking for the winter experience, Northern Finland is where to go.
Our food culture always includes kalakukko bread, muikku fish and Karelian pies, and this Karelian pie is bread
Welcome to Finland, Dwayne! If you are not a fan of cold, I would choose summer then.
Summer is the best time to visit if you are planing to do city touring, becouse in winter everything is mostly shit if i may say it as we locals see it. Only good things are the times of the night when snow has fallen and it haven´t plowed away from the roads and streets. But after the morning traffic everything looks shit again. But in sunny days in summer everywhere is pretty even if it isn´t warmest day to be outside.
Only good reason to come in winter is if you want to go to Rovaniemi and into the Santavillage, reindeer sledge ride, ski or drive with snow mobiles (those go real fast). But the tourist season Rovaniemi is expensive place too. The closer of christmes you go the more expensive it is to get cabin, iglo or hotel room.
And if you visit summertime there is more to see than just Helsinki. Tampere, Turku and Oulu (up north, close to Lapland). And if you like nature and want to go hiking or that kind of stuff Lapland or Kuusamo is very great place to do that.
No no no.. I wouldn't recommend visiting Finland in the wintertime, especially if you stay only at the southern parts. There is a high probability that it will be just dark, windy, and rainy. 😂 Summer is definitely the best time to visit. 😊
Yeah maybe around Jan-March is not the most optimal time to visit the south but Lapland is just amazing that time! 😊
Definitely visit Finland during Autumn (Season of color) or winter. I don't know about the south but here in Lapland the amount of blood thirsty bugs can be unbearable at times during summer!
You can not only visit Finland once if you're having trouble deciding what season to come, you need to visit both in summer and in winter, if botyh of them interest you, there is no choosing between the two!
Each season has their beautiful and annoying sides. 😂 But maybe I would recommend summer, if you take a liking to Finland, then maybe you can take a tiny trip later on at winter so you won't get totally scared off from here right off the bat when visiting here.
And yes, you were absolutely right about rinsing before getting into sauna. It's hygienic.
I like how excited you seem to be about your trip to here and to learn things, it's very nice to see and hear about. 😊
Also, I would recommend to try cinnamon bun (korvapuusti) and blueberry pie (mustikkapiirakka). They're both wonderful. 😋
Heads up:
In the spring, during vappu time (May Day), lots of people in the city centers and parks (drinking), and in the summer, during juhannus time (Midsummer), people are in summer cottages (drinking) and the streets are empty. 😂
When visiting Helsinki or Stockholm, it is actually quite easy to just visit both. The ferries are cheap, daily and an experience in themselves, cause they traditionally are places where finns and swedes also just go and get hammered overnight.
If you want to visit Helsinki - come at summer. July is the best month to come (lots happening, everyone is on vacation).
If you want to see lapland + xmas stuff, go to Rovaniemi at winter. You don't wanna slip around in Helsinki at winter, it's nasty.
Come in the fall! The nature is so beautiful with all the different colors then!
Summer is definitely the time when people are out and about and more social as well haha! But christmas time is cool too, and spring is really beautiful as well when the sun starts shining again. maybe you have to plan another trip in the future to Finland to experience it in another season!
I recommend visiting finland in the summer. There's much more stuff to see and do then. However if you really want that magical winter experience you shouldn't stay at Helsinki but go to Rovaniemi. Tho whenever you decide to visit I'd encourage you to visit several cities and not only Helsinki if you have time. Porvoo has beautiful old town area with cute shops and caffees and Lappeenranta is tiny but very green and walkable city with fortress area and harbor.
Avanto (a hole in ice) with sauna is a great experience, it's good for health too.
Do two trips. In summer and in winter.
Finns live for the summer, so the long days of summer are a great time to visit. But if you choose to come in the winter I would recommend december for the cozy Christmas season.
Yeah definitely summer for Southern Finland. Lapland is great both in the winter and the summer. Winter for the snow and all the winter sports you can do, summer if you like hiking. There are some gorgeous national parks for hiking in the north.
Yeah, the thing you have to consider about the salmon soup is what the price of the salmon fillet would be if all the chunks were still together. Löyly sauna is very nice, but very expensive.
Dwayne, if you are that keen to try cinnamon rolls, you should try to bake them on your own. not too much work.
13:55 We have another large public sauna next to Kauppatori which has warm water (27 degrees) and sea water pools. It's called Allas - Sea pool.
Salmiakki is something you try until you love it. No one hates Salmiakki, they just haven't tried it enough times :D. Also, if you choose to come here in winter, you should come in January-February to have the best chance of proper winter in the south. Otherwise theres quite a good change it's just wet, dark, muddy and all around miserable weather. In the summer July is probably the best month to visit.
Also, if you happen to visit in the summer and take a trip outside the Turku-Helsinki area, I highly suggest stopping by Yyteri, which is in Pori around 3 hours drive from Helsinki: ua-cam.com/video/U8qQKKKChlo/v-deo.htmlsi=6s4liNzY01kmNmbe
If there is snow, it's not that dark since snow reflect light. Good times to visit winter Finland is either christmas time since christmas lights everywhere or february-march since there is enough snow and daylight. My favourite season is autumn, like september-beginning of october because of the autumn colours at nature and national parks are fantastic. If you try salmiakki, I recommend salmiakki ice cream, it's probably the best way to get into salmiakki and Finnish ice creams are delicious.
In regards to the summer/winter debate... who said you could only come once? :p
Personally I think both seasons are just as good, only for different reasons, and it really comes down to personal preference for things like what activities are available. Both Lapland and the rest of Finland have fun and interesting things to do year-round, from educational hiking trails (notably in the summer season) to seasonal sports, tourist attractions, museums, and culinary experiences.
Visit northern Finland in Winter will be amazing, you can go reindeer sledding and even visit Santas village / see the northern lights.
It is funny to see a tourist video from Helsinki and to see my own house as well.
About the price of that salmon soup. The place where they were eating at Hakaniemi market hall is quite expensive. I haven't eaten there even though it would literally take me a couple minutes to walk there. You can get a bowl for around 10€ from other places.
Humidity makes cold feel colder. Finnish winter air is usually on the dry side. 'Bad Bad Boy' statue took part to an art exhibition in Sweden in 2013, but he got send back to Finland, because he was a naughty boy. Since then he's been doing his thing in several locations in Helsinki. Videos about some topics touched on that video:"BBC Moominland Tales: The Life of Tove Jansson?", "Suomenlinna Fortress in Winter - Unesco World Heritage Site FINLAND" and "Mateo & Lisanna SI ERES LATINO NO VENGAS AQUÍ | EN FINLANDIA"
Yep. Bones in muikku are so small that they soften when fried and you can just eat it.
Definitely visit Helsinki in the summer time. The whole city blossoms during the summer months. There are street performers, lots of parties, yoga and dance in parks, cool summer restaurants, you can take boat around the archipelago and go swim in the ocean.
My recommendation for seasons in southern Finland is: for winter, visit in late January / early February. Best chance of good winter weather even on the south coast. For early summer, visit in late May to mid June. Everything is fresh and in bloom, my favourite time of the year. If you want to spend time outdoors in the woods, maybe some time July for better weather, mid-late July for blueberry season. For autumn, visit in early October when the leaves are turning and it's not yet dark and rainy.
If sauna ain't at least 80 degrees Celsius, it ain't a proper sauna experience if you ask me :P And yes, rinse before going in, the air won't feel as stabbing hot (totally accurate scientific term), but starts by warming the water first evenly. (And if you're swimming in chlorinated water, rinsing is a must before going in, unless you wanna deal with all those chemicals in gas form.)
if the temperature is below 80°c I would rather call it a bastu...😂
If u want to visit in the summer, go to the south of Finland but if u want to visit in the winter time, go to the north. Winter in Finland is a unique and quite magical experience (but extremely cold), however summer is absolutely best time for relaxing and having fun!
U should always wash urself before going to sauna! The experience is way more pleasant and u want to clean urself before going to public sauna.
And yes biking or scooter around is a must, u get around so effortlessly! :) Busses, tram and metro (= underground) are also very valid and quite cheap alternative of course.
12:58 In a public sauna? Absolutely shower first, and only after that do you go into the sauna. They'd end up filthy if people didn't shower first.
Definitely visit, Deep winter, Early Spring, Late Spring, Early Summer, Mid summer, Late Summer, Early Autumn, Late Autumn and Early winter. Every time of the year has it's magic moments in Finland.
Hello from the Helsinki area. Here in southern Finland, the weather varies a lot in winter. Sometimes it's really cold and freezing, sometimes it rains. Sometimes tourists are disappointed when it rained in Helsinki at Christmas and there was no snow at all. Northern Finland has more snow and frost all winter. It is dark everywhere in Finland in winter. In summer, there is even too much light.
March to early april is best time to visit Lapland. There is still lots of snow but also bright and not that cold. Helsinki is definitely summer city. Winter in Helsinki is just awful :)
My suggestion to you would be: go FIRST to Lapland in the Winter and THEN go anywhere in Finland in the Summer! You HAVE to experience both, that's one big thing in itself, too (the contrast)! 😍🤩😊 However: don't get your expectations all too high, as you can come crumbling down because of those crazy high expectations, of course. 😉😁
People's attitudes are way more chill and happier in summer when most of our holidays are. In winter people have low energy, don't want to talk to strangers, minding to their immediate business and hurrying to get inside.
The winters unfortunately are not all magical and snowy throughout the winter the more south you get. It can be more wet and muddy especially until January, even though there are colder periods too. It varies. So if you do decide to visit in winter, maybe consider coming in somewhere around February or visit the more northern parts.
I do love "the actual winter" (not the muddy parts of it), the snow and coldness and I think something like -10 with dry air feels less cold than +1 with wind and humidity.
We do like our personal space. I hate holiday shopping, even getting groceries before any holidays because there are too many people around! And now, there really aren’t that many of us in the whole of the country. Blueberry pie and cinnamon buns are best home made 😊
I just LOVE the night or dark time in Finland. Lot's of snow and just hike on some hill. You have moonlight giving you a light. And if the weather is right and time is right you can see northern lights.
i'd love to be anywhere else than in Helsinki during winter ._. i'm tired of slipping on ice or dealing with methods to prevent slipping... but if u have good winter boots or u like skating e.e welcome i guess
About the Xmas lights - those are something that we call the Christmas Street (or in Finnish Joulkatu and Jouluvalot) and it usually sztarts with Stockmann (think of our Harrods) putting up their window christmas special thing with the city putting on the lights onto the streets :) It's something worth to go and see :) We've gone every year since I was little :)
One traditional dish in the Finnish defence Forces is Baltic Herring Casserole, its nickname is piikkilankaeste (barbed wire obstacle).
Although the best dish with Baltic herring is "silakkapihvit" hands down.
Aint bad weather, its only worse gears. As Finns say.
Yes, hello from Finland. I definitely encourage to visit Finland during christmas time if you haven’t seen much snow. Maybe even visit Lapland. I have a bit unique tradition. I use to meet my family during christmas eve but then leave ”early” during christmas day back to my place to spend some alone time. Usually people spend the whole christmas together and there is something truly magical to be driving the highway totally alone, not a soul to be seen on the road for miles. Freezing cold temperature outside but in a comfort of your car. Bright midday sunshine and all the fields and whole scenery is bright white. That is something hard to describe and is locked in my memory. It somehow brings inner peace.
I might add that actually the summertime is very pretty too, especially July
You should absolutely come during the summer. July is the best time... usually. They must have had a typo on the water temperature when they said the water is 7C. During the summer the seawater gets up to 20C.
Yes! Wash yourself before sauna...always 😊
7:46 and the best part is that it is located in front of one of Finland's biggest electronic stores
Oh. You HAVE to try salty licourice chockolade. It literally has gooy licourice inside of it
In skiresort Levi, there is 1 saunagondol In skilift for 12ppls. You can rent it for 3 rounds (20mins total)
I live in Kuopio and very rarely visit southern Helsinki as there are way too many people for me there!
You should definitely come in February or March and visit either northern or eastern Finland. Also you should try ice swimming, it is totally worth it!
Haha when i saw the sauna part, the first thing that popped up in my head was an old beer commercial from Finland with Koff 😂 best commercial ever
I would suggest you visit near christmas and also on summer as they are so different
3:27 In Helsinki it’s not like you think. We call it loskapaska keli when the snow mix with water…
You should visit a big city like Helsinki or Tampere in the summer, but if you want to truly experience a Finnish winter i suggest going to Lappi!
now that we have a small country in a certain way, we still take care of the beauty and take care of our city, thank for Stara
Stara is the city of the company. the people who work at stara take care of our city. sanding in winter, salting ice to melt ice, freezing skating rinks and plowing snow.
I've had Raynaud syndrome after an internal bleed and a massive blood transfusion, the root cause still unknown. Normal room temperature would easily make the fingers go blue and real cold shut down the circulation so that they were white, had to wear woolen gloves even inside for years. The treatment was powerful vasodilators which lead to some nasty side effects. Now 15 years later I'm back to normal and off medication.
Rovaniemi/Lapland in the winter, and Helsinki in the summer! Can't wait for your vids! :D
If you're planning a visit here to Finland then I highly recommend you pick between summer or winter; skip spring and autumn. I'd suggest late june to july during summer or late december to february during winter. Then you'll get the best experiences of the seasons imo :)
If you visit Finland on winter, northern Finland is safer bet for the white Christmas. When I was young snow was guaranteed on all of Finland, but with global warming there is not always snow in southern parts of Finland during Christmas.
Summer in Helsinki and winter in Lapland