Finland - General Information
The Nordic country of Finland shares borders with Sweden, Russia and Norway. It is the most sparsely populated country in the European Union and has many coastal islands in the Baltic Sea; the capital city, Helsinki, was built on a peninsula on the southern tip of Finland.
Finland has amazing views of the Northern Lights and is known as the home of Santa Claus or St. Nicholas. The Lapland region is the official home of St. Nicholas, but in many places in Finland they celebrate all things Christmas. There are even two amusement parks located in Rovaniemi. Santa Clause Village is outdoors and open year round so you can visit Santa and his elves, shops and even stay in an igloo hotel anytime. Santa Park is underground and includes a toy factory, a family train as well as an ice gallery.
So what would you be eating when visiting Finland? You would most certainly be eating food like cabbage rolls, pea soup, mashed potatoes, as well as Finnish squeaky cheese; this cheese is also called Juustoleipa or cheese bread and is a mild cheese that can be made from cow's beestings, goat milk or reindeer milk. To become squeaky cheese, the milk is first curdled and then fried or baked in a pie tin and then cut into wedges. It is delicious when topped with cloudberry jam, which is used on many things in Finland including waffles, pancakes and even ice cream. Finland is also famous for their dessert pancakes. The textures and flavors are described as a combination of a pancake, French toast, a crepe and custard.
Finland is also the founder of National Sleepy Head Day; on this day family members throw whichever family member is the last to wake, into a lake or the sea. If you are one who likes to sleep in, I would suggest eating many of the wonderful dessert pancakes Finland is famous for as it may serve as a deterrent to being carried to the lake!
Finland has four distinct seasons, however it is certainly a Nordic country and therefore a colder region. The summer in Finland lasts roughly from June to August. Summer is also the season of the midnight sun in Finland, and the nights are bright! In Lapland for two months of the summer, June and July, the sun never sets. By September the temperatures are already dropping into the 40s, so if you're not visiting during the summer, plan to bundle up!