People seem curious about Finland!
I think part of the mystique stems from the fact it’s not a particularly common European tourist destination (it is cold), and also because it features prominently as the Happiest Country in the World (ranked first for nine consecutive years).
Here are a few things I’ve learned while temporarily living in Finland:
- Parts of Helsinki (and various other Finnish cities) have heated pavement. Buried pipes circulate warm liquid (usually from residual “waste” energy) automatically when sensors detect snowy/icy conditions, which helps prevent slippery sidewalks before they even form. Not only does it cut down on winter accidents, it means they don’t have to use nearly as much sand or salt. We could definitely use this technology for our driveway back home.
- Finland has two official languages: Finnish and Swedish. Almost every sign appears in both, and sometimes the names look/sound completely different. On our tram route, I’ll memorize the Finnish stop name, then look up and see the Swedish version flashing and suddenly have no idea where I am. I’ve found it very confusing! Finnish students are required to learn Swedish, so Finns are fully fluent in both languages (though most of them are also proficient in English). In fact, to graduate from university, students have to pass a Swedish language test. In Finnish it’s called virkaruotsi… in Swedish it’s tjänstesvenska. I rest my case about being confused!
- Despite people often grouping Finland with Scandinavia, this isn’t correct. Scandinavia = Sweden, Denmark, and Norway. Finland is part of the Nordic region which is Scandinavia + Finland, Iceland, the Faroe Islands, Greenland, and Åland. The Finnish language is also quite different. Swedish, Norwegian, and Danish are all Germanic languages, but Finnish belongs to the Uralic language family. Its closest major relative is actually Hungarian. It’s a notoriously hard language to learn. Also, Finns tend to mumble when they talk. As one person described it to me, they sound like they’re talking around a mouth full of marbles. (My Danish SIL said that’s how Danes talk, too.) They also tend to trail off at the end of their sentences!
- I’ve mentioned this before, but nobody here seems to use bottled water. Finland’s tap water is unbelievably good and without a doubt the best tap water I’ve ever encountered… and much better than our treated tap water back home. This must cut down on so. much. plastic.
- Finns are QUIET. Finland is quiet. Here’s a joke: “An introverted Finn looks at their own shoes when they’re talking to you. An extroverted Finn looks at your shoes.” Even crowded places feel calm and orderly. Apartment buildings are silent. Playgrounds full of kids are very quiet, even though they’re playing and having fun. Trams are quiet. Metros are quiet. I have not heard a SINGLE CAR HORN* the entire time we’ve been here; the quiet is palpable (but in a good way). After all the other cities we’ve visited, it’s shockingly quiet here… When John and Belle were out on Vappu—a day full of picnic parties for university students, a notoriously rowdy crowd—they couldn’t get over how quiet it all felt despite the crowds. (*Update: I finally heard a car horn! It was a taxi driver and he was honking to let a confused tourist know they could safely cross the street.)
- Pedestrian safety is unlike anything we’ve experienced before. Cars stop long before they reach crosswalks. Buses stop. Trams stop. Nobody inches forward impatiently. It’s so, so different from the rushed, frenetic vibe of most major cities.
- Finns consume more coffee per person than anywhere else in the world (about 26 pounds/year/person), and the energy drink culture is equally intense. At the grocery store there are giant coolers full of energy drinks. Everyone seems caffeinated at all times (even teens). Kahvipaussi—which literally translates to coffee pause—is often a mandated and contractually protected part of the work day.
- Helsinki has over 300 islands within city limits. One of them, Rajasaari, has a singular purpose: it’s off-leash dog park.
- Finland calculates traffic fines based on income (if you’re >20 km/h over the limit), which has resulted in some eye-watering six-figure speeding tickets for wealthy drivers. Police have immediate access to everyone’s tax information from a central database. The reasoning is that this way traffic fines will have a proportional financial impact.
Okay. That’s enough for today. I have lots more random observations for another “Finland Tidbits” post, so stay tuned 🙂
Your turn.
- How do you feel about speed fines being calculated based on income?
- What’s the quietest city you’ve ever visited?
- How many languages do you speak fluently?
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This post is EXACTLY why Europeans get twitchy when people casually say they’re “going to Europe” as though it’s one interchangeable blob 😄
People here are always like: “What do you MEAN by Europe?? Finland or Portugal? Switzerland or Greece? Scotland or Hungary?” The differences are huge. Language, social norms, pace of life, noise levels, coffee culture, public transport vibes… it all shifts dramatically from country to country, sometimes within just a few hours of travel. Your observations really capture that so well!
Also, I had NO idea Swedish was an official language in Finland! I knew there was historical overlap, but I didn’t realise all the signs were bilingual and that students are required to learn Swedish. I’d be completely lost with those tram stops 😆
In a similar vein, I’ll mention I’m from Canada and people will ask: Oh, do you know my cousin Bob who lives in Vancouver. Um… no. Canada’s actually a pretty large country, haha!
And yes to there being a VERY dramatic difference between many European countries.
I love this! Yes, Finland is mysterious to me. I mean, who goes to Helsinki? But YOU DID!!! I love all these details about Finnish culture. I wonder what Finns think when they come to America- probably, Wow, these people are really loud and obnoxious!
To answer your questions- I speak ONE language fluenty (ah, typical obnoxious American!) and I think speeding fines based on income would never work here, but I’m sure it works beautifully in Finland. I mean they need revue to pay for things like heated pavement!
It is so incredibly quiet here. My brother and SIL were noting it, too… and they live in Denmark which is SO close geographically and has lots of cultural overlap.
Everyone reading this wants to go to Finland! I just did some serious learning here.
Bravo for Dog Island! Doggo would love it.
I think that if the income based fines only apply if you’re 20km over the limit, they could be a good thing. If they were a draconian “you were driving 26km in a 25km zone” that’s a bit much, but when you’re 20km over the limit, you’re intending to speed.
Helsinki is very cool (literally and figuratively). It’s also out of the way, so I can see why it’s not a prime tourist destination.
Yes, I appreciated that it only comes into play when you’re significantly over the speed limit. I guess a famous hockey player had to pay several hundred thousand euros! Eeks.
The heated pavement is brilliant! We could definitely use that here.
Re the introverted joke, I heard a Finnish joke told by a Finn in 2022. “We were so relieved that social distancing ended and we stopped having to be 6 feet apart and could finally get back to 10 feet apart.”
Here’s a Finnish tidbit you may or may not know. There’s a decent Orthodox Christian population and they are very unique in Orthodoxy. We calculate the date of Easter differently than western Christians so many years it’s a week or so after western Easter. Except in Finland. If I remember correctly government declared all Christians had to celebrate on the same day, so they celebrate Easter on a different Sunday than the rest of us unless the two calendars happen to align.
I would love having heated pavements where we live because there are so many hills and they get ICY.
That joke is funny. I told John and he had a good chuckle.
We have seen several Orthodox churches here, but I did now know that about Easter dates.
This is FASCINATING! I am eagerly awaiting the next installment! Finland sounds so cool and seems to have such different priorities than the US.
Honestly, I find certain things about the US a much bigger culture shock (as a Canadian) than coming to Europe. The European influences are far more apparent in Canada than the US. Ditto going to Australia. When I tell people I’ve been there, they seem to think it’s very exotic… but it actually felt more like Canada to me than the US (I think some of that is being in a place in the Commonwealth. I mean… we have the same royals on our money for starters!)
This is so interesting. Heated pavement really does sound wonderful.
I visited Helsinki very very briefly and enjoyed it, but did not know most of these things. I did know about the traffic fines and think that is brilliant.
I wonder how it works for tourists who are visiting the city and renting a car…??
This is fascinating, I love it! It’s very interesting to see how people as a culture decide what their priorities are and how to execute them.
I speak two languages fluently, I can’t say I’m fluent in French at the moment. But give me a month in France and I’m sure I’ll be fine at the end!
Ps: not sure about your itinerary for Wales, but is a visit to Abakhan on it? It’s my favourite craft shop, and their main base is huge!
There’s nothing like cultural/linguistic immersion to get language skills back up! John felt the same during our time in Portugal.
Thanks for the idea. I still don’t have my head 100% in the planning game because Rachel has done such a fantastic job for me… but I am making a note!!!! I will be on the hunt for a great souvenir from Wales, and this sounds like it might be just the place.
That’s very true! It’s hard for me to fathom how big Canada is!!
It’s HUGE! We can’t drive across Ontario in a single day and yet in Europe could probably drive through a dozen different countries in that same time period!
Finland sounds like a delightful place… heated pavement, quietness, lots of coffee… sign me up! 🙂
I actually like the idea to calculate traffic tickets based on income! It makes it more fair because why should someone with a lot more money have the freedom to violate rules (which apparently they rarely do in the first place) just because they can afford it?
I speak two languages fluently but because for obvious reasons. I wonder why Finland chooses to have two official languages – is the history of Finland and Sweden so intertwined that they couldn’t just pick Finnish?
I think you would truly LOVE the culture here, San.
Yes, Sweden controlled what is now Finland for a very long time!
Finland sounds like paradise to me! Quiet, polite people who don’t stand too close, yell at you or try to run over you – sign me up! Even the cold weather sounds fine with the heated pavement. Thanks for all these lovely tidbits – I didn’t know any of them.
It’s a lovely place. Perhaps paradise EXCEPT for the long, cold winters??
I’ve heard the introvert/extrovert joke told about accountants.
How interesting that people are quiet and more measured about things while being hyper caffeinated!
Having one’s income known seems wrong wrong wrong. . . Americans value privacy, equality, and independence way too much for that to work here.
Ha. I know this would NOT fly in the US (or, to a lesser extent, Canada). It is a very transparent, trusting society. I suspect that has a lot to do with why Finland tops the list of being so happy and content.
Oh I love this Finland post! I have always wanted to go to Finland – I lived in Sweden for a year and was so surprised that Finns speak Swedish.
How interesting about speeding ticket fees!
When I was in Sweden the kids were so so quiet, a lot like Finland I guess. My kids are so so loud. I don’t understand how that becomes a cultural norm – how can 5 year olds be so quiet. When I got back to the UK I realized how noisy our trains are, but at least my kids fit in again.
Yes, Canadian kids (mine very much included) are SO MUCH LOUDER. I’m a bit jealous, if I’m being honest. As an introvert, I think I’d really enjoy the Finnish culture.
I’m learning so much through your travels!! And as an Aussie who complains when it’s under 20 degrees Celsius, the heated pavement is a brilliant idea. I know I’ll still be freezing though haha.
I had no idea that Finland wasn’t part of Scandinavia. (Never ask me to be a trivia partner!)
How funny about the mumbling and the caffeine. Do you think those two things are related? 🤣
I am a fan of ‘quietness’….so that is alluring to me for sure.
Interesting about the fines related to your income, and the fact that the police can access your tax documents? I don’t know how I feel about that.