The first thing that will surprise you in Finland is not the lack of automotive traffic jams in peak hours, not the extended prices for alcohol and not even an increased number of saunas per capita. Not. Your first strong impression will be ... air. Already directly on the platform of the railway station on you literally collapses the aroma of frosty forest. Without any industrial impurities. It is with this first sip of clean air you will understand: Finland is a parallel world, an absolutely different planet. And from the very beginning, everything is not exactly the way we are used to. One who has never been to Finland expects from these places well-defined: northern severity, simplicity on the verge of minimalism and even inhibition. And it turns out that most of the Finnish realities does not fit into these stereotypes. And the main intrigue of your journey will be completely unexpected surprises. In uninterrupted mode. From day to day.
Surprise First: City of Living Cards
The first destination in Finland for many will most likely become the capital of the country - Helsinki. Especially since in January and February, Ignore this wonderful Northern city is unforgivable. You can simply wander in the center of Helsinki just so, aimlessly: the main thing is to arm the camera with fresh batteries, stocking a warm scarf and best friends.
Well, and then you can rush somewhere deep into the country. For example, in the province of Hayam. Despite the fact that this province is located just an hour from the capital, everything is completely different there. And it pleases: similar one to another destinations can turn the trip on the grounds day.
So, Häme. Oasis of untouched nature. Just still zen-place with so silence, about the existence of which residents of large cities do not even suspect. For the first couple of hours, it is even somehow uncomfortable: accustomed to the sounds of passing cars, buzzing autho alarms, the chorus of human voices and melodies of mobile phones, you at first, perhaps a little tighte. And then the Zen will come. You will try this silence, literally merge with it. And it is likely that even stop charging your mobile phone. So that he does not disturb the harmony with his signals from another world.
By the way, the Finns themselves are very patriotic, they love to spend their holidays in their own country and find their charms in a quiet and peaceful rest. Hayam, for example, is a favorite place from the newlyweds. Here, in one of the hunting residencies, the well-known Formula 1 racer was held by Kimi Raikkonen.
Want an active holiday? Then you can go skiing. Finland is an ideal place for beginners who want to hone their freeride skills. A place where it can be done a hundred percent is the Sappa Ski Resort in the Häme region. There are no real black trails in the Alpine style here, however, no, but the slopes for lovers may well come up with the tracks of the same Courchevel (height difference at 120 meters - these are not near Moscow ski slopes). Live in sappoe is best in one of the wonderful local cottages: you will still remember evening sites in the fireplace, Mulled wine, cooked in your own cozy kitchen, and fish caught during treated fishing and baked on a personal mangal. And the sappae is located almost on the border with Russia: only 270 kilometers by car - and you are again in my homeland.
And about food
Most Russians, as residents of not the most southerly latitudes, have the full right to authoritatively arguing about the northern cuisine: food, they say, in such a climate should be greasy and heavy - for Sugrev, as they say. Finns are also trying to warm up all life, but they do it not with the help of antidietic food. In their menu, you will not find fatty meat under the cheese-mayonse "fur coat", and the oil cakes in cream robes Finns prefer low-calorie crank sweets (sweetness is quite an amateur, but do not try it - a crime). And in Finland, it is brilliantly preparing the most simple, almost peasant food. Especially good it turns out to cook chefs. Fields and forests extending to the plus infinity, a huge number of lakes - it is here that local cooks collect the most delicious mushrooms in the world and berries, it is in the local lakes there are excellent fish. Moreover, the products of the region are so tasty and self-sufficient that they do not require long "shamanism" at the slab. The usual smoked fish, baked meat and cloudberry jam will seem tastier than any complex dishes from the Michelin restaurant. And this is not surprising: the culinary traditions of the Häme is not something artificial invented. Recipes of traditional dishes of the provinces were born in the kitchens of landowners, priests and peasant families. And according to their culinary books here are preparing so far. You can spend the "test drive" of local gastronomic delights in most restaurants in the region: Just ask the waiter to bring you a set of delicacies "Khamymen." And do not doubt: familiarity with the authentic cuisine is a mandatory item of the program for a person who decided to find out Finland from the inside.
By the way, in Finland there is no dry law, but there is a state monopoly on alcohol. The hottest here is more expensive than in other European countries, and sold exclusively until 16 o'clock in the afternoon in specialized stores. Ville Haapasalo advises to look at the leather from the cloudberry - a tasty thing and a real Finnish exclusive.