Background: Finland was a province and then a grand duchy under Sweden from the 12th to the 19th centuries and an autonomous grand duchy of Russia after 1809. It won its complete independence in 1917. During World War II, it was able to successfully defend its freedom and resist invasions by the Soviet Union - albeit with some loss of territory. In the subsequent half century, the Finns made a remarkable transformation from a farm/forest economy to a diversified modern industrial economy; per capita income is now on par with Western Europe. As a member of the European Union, Finland was the only Nordic state to join the euro system at its initiation in January 1999.
May 4th 2008Europe » Finland » Etelä-Suomen lääni » Helsinki From Tallinn I took the ferry across the straight to get to Helsinki. The two cities lie only 80km apart, and the crossing takes just under two hours. After boarding the ferry I took a nap, and when I ... 4 photos[full story]
April 26th 2008Europe » Finland » Etelä-Suomen lääni » Helsinki Tasta lennosta tulee mieleen lentoni Santiagosta Aucklandiin. Kone Osakasta Helsinkiin lentaa suunnilleen samaan aikaan kuin kone Santiagosta Aucklandiin, mutta aika lailla vastakkaisella puolella maa ... [full story]
April 22nd 2008Europe » Finland » Etelä-Suomen lääni » Helsinki So after a night of pure bliss I awoke at 7:00am to have some breakfast and salvage my kit from the three lockers that I had benn forced to use by my new flatmates. From the ferry I walked into the ce ... 11 photos[full story]
April 23rd 2008Europe » Finland » Etelä-Suomen lääni » Helsinki
Wednesday 23rd
Slept really well on the soft bed with feather doona and pillows.
We are off for more walking tours and nordic delights today. The designs are to die for and so are the prices - ... 3 photos[full story]
April 22nd 2008Europe » Finland » Etelä-Suomen lääni » Helsinki Tuesday 22nd and Wednesday April 23rd Day 11+12
Got into Helsinki. Flew in over spectacular Norwegian fiords and snow and glacier covered mountains. Over Sweden flatter and less snow and then Fin ... 3 photos[full story]
April 8th 2008Europe » Finland » Etelä-Suomen lääni » Helsinki När Viking Line bestämde sig att locka kunder att storspendera på deras imponerade fartyg med 11 däck och 2500 hyttplatser med casino, pub, bar, sauna, minimart etc, plus en invardrar-arbetskraft med ... [full story]
April 1st 2008Europe » Finland » Etelä-Suomen lääni » Helsinki Huomenta Kokemäeltä... Viimeiseen asti on pakattu, sekä laukkuja, että tänne muutettuja tavaroita kaappeihin. Kahdeksalta on sovittu että Pappa tulee hakemaan meitä. Mummu pukee täällä Lauria, Hen ... [full story]
March 18th 2008Europe » Finland » Etelä-Suomen lääni » Helsinki Nyt sit Suomessa ilman kämppää, massii ja duunii ja paskaa sataa taivaalta, mut ei haittaa saatana! Intian tuliaisina hengitystieinfektio ja rutkasti tarinoita joita ei ees jaksa kertoa.
Mitä jäi ... [full story]
August 16th 2003Europe » Finland » Etelä-Suomen lääni » Helsinki The ferry ride between Stockholm and Helsinki is commonly known as a booze cruise. It is therefore no surprise that the gang in the pub is very happy. More surprising is that they are Italians, not ve ... [full story]
January 21st 2008Europe » Finland » Etelä-Suomen lääni » Helsinki So this is the start of our big winter trip, thru Siberia in particular. Given the expense of flying one way to Russia we decided to visit Helsinki and use Finland as a 'back door' to Russia.
On th ... 15 photos[full story]
Map of Finland
Finland's Flag
