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Post by Nordis on Dec 4, 2008 2:51:41 GMT 2
I don't know why the flower is on the euro coins, atleast I can't think why it would be special. It's not our national flower or anything... I found a video that really captures the essence of Finland somehow. The news article is about a bus full of old people that slipped off from a road in the middle of nowhere. The video is from that place but somehow it still feels quite unrelated. Anyway, it's certainly 100% Finland ;D www.nelonen.fi/videot/uutisvideot/default.asp?video=6467&newpage=1&c=1Definitely not the same scenery they show you at visitfinland.com Hahah, it's like the McDonalds commercials vs. the actual turd of a hamburger you'll get ;D Yet somehow it still tastes just as you expect even though it looks totally different than in TV...
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Post by Sampy on Dec 4, 2008 14:44:07 GMT 2
Thanks so much for that link! I'll be spending two or so weeks in Finland in 2010, quite excited...
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Finland
Sept 29, 2009 16:05:57 GMT 2
Post by wyldechild on Sept 29, 2009 16:05:57 GMT 2
I plan on doing a trip to Finland with my girlfriend in 2010 as well! So people of Finland... what are some fun things we can do when we get there? We plan on staying in Helsinki but I definitely dont mind taking a train or a boat to go exploring as check out different places and things. Just being in Finland will make me happy but I do want to at least have a bunch of things to check out if we have time you know? Thank you!
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Finland
Sept 29, 2009 23:47:42 GMT 2
Post by kuusuru on Sept 29, 2009 23:47:42 GMT 2
I plan on doing a trip to Finland with my girlfriend in 2010 as well! So people of Finland... what are some fun things we can do when we get there? We plan on staying in Helsinki but I definitely dont mind taking a train or a boat to go exploring as check out different places and things. Just being in Finland will make me happy but I do want to at least have a bunch of things to check out if we have time you know? Thank you! Dude, if you have the time, you can't just stay in Helsinki. Go north, into Lappi. The sky seems bigger, and you feel close to nature. No wonder the Saami people developed such rich folklore. Helsinki is very pretty in summer, but for me Finland starts near Oulu and heads north from there . Have a meal in Mr Lordi's Rocktaurant (Rovaniemi). Biggest hamburger I've ever seen in my life, you get to check out all the metal memorabilia, and buy the t-shirt. www.rocktaurant.com/index2_en.htmlAlso in Rovaniemi: check out Santa Claus village www.santaclausvillage.info/eng/main.htmIn summer it's fairly quiet. In winter you get to laugh at all the Japanese and Russian tourists buying overpriced souvenirs, then you go buy some yourself because the range is extensive. Then a day later you see the exact same thing you bought for half the price somewhere else. Who's laughing now . They have a Napapiiri (Arctic Circle) sign you can photographed with (and it's free). There's a famous museum in Rovaniemi called Arktikum: www.arktikum.fi/actually I didn't think it was all that great. A much better museum of the north is the Siida centre, further north in Inari: www.siida.fi/english/en_menu.htmlIf you really want to learn more about Saami people and life in Finland, this is the place to go. There's an extensive outdoor museum as well, and the cafe served a nice poronkäristys In Varkaus is the Museum of Mechnical Music: www.mekaanisenmusiikinmuseo.fi/index_en.htmlwhich is a unique experience, I guarantee. The owner is one of the most eccentric people I've ever encountered, and while the instruments are beautifully restored and presented, he peppers the guided tour with his views on life, the universe and everything, and he seems to try to offend as many people as he can. Several Finns walked out during our tour and it was looking ugly for a while. Like I said, a unique experience you won't forget in a hurry Go sauna. Many times. The first time I tried sauna I thought I was going to die. The second time I lasted a few minutes longer but still thought all Finns are mad. The third time - I didn't want to leave, it was bliss. Check out the live music scene - use band web sites to work out who is touring, and when. You might even hear some really good local bands playing for free in the market square on a Friday night. Buy DVD's and CD's you can't easily get outside Finland. Movies like Talvisota, for example. I buy most of my stuff from Levykauppa-X (Recordshop-X). Food to try: makkara (Finnish sausage), korvapuusti (cinnamon buns), karjalanpiirakka (hard to describe - it's like a thin disk of rye bread filled with rice porridge - great for breakfast with cheese on top), more makkara, poronkäristys (reindeer stew), the salmon especially up north is always superb. Finnish kebab! It's great! Served on a bed of rice or chips/fries with salad, and everything in large quantities. And then makkara for midnight snack. Beer: is good. So is koskenkorva. I wouldn't bother with wine in Finland. As for beers, I generally drank Lapin Kulta or Karhu. Just keep an eye on the alcohol level, some of the beers are really strong (like 8%). There's one night in Liperi I can remember opening my second can of extra-strength Karhu, and I can sort of remember getting into the car the next morning, but for what happened in between I have to rely on what other people say Some food for thought, from someone who isn't a Finn but loves that place more than anywhere else on Earth.
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Post by wyldechild on Oct 1, 2009 22:38:19 GMT 2
Very much thanks for the time you put into that post! I saved the whole thing on my computer so I can check a bunch o that stuff out. I really do want to go North and check out alot of that stuff. Just a matter of finding the time for everything I suppose. I definitely plan on making many trips to Finland... but too bad I cant go every year.
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Post by Heer E. Tik on Oct 2, 2009 2:36:45 GMT 2
Kuusuru, you mentioned Koskenkorva - I actually just encountered it for the first time in local advertisements and saw it at airport duty-free shop (never saw it in the States, guess they don't export there yet). How does it compare to Finlandia? More superior or nothing really special? Worth getting to try? Can you describe it in any way? Contrary to what some may think, each vodka has its own unique taste and feel.
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Post by kuusuru on Oct 2, 2009 3:38:34 GMT 2
Alas Hjalagh, I cannot help you with a comparison, for I have only ever had Koskenkorva in Finland, and Finlandia here in Australia, and I'm normally a beer/rum/jäger drinker rather than vodka. They say that Finlandia is almost the same as Koskenkorva - but who knows, manufacturers change recipes on a regional basis, there's not even a guarantee that Finlandia sold here would be the same as Finlandia somewhere else (hint - it may be bottled in Helsinki, but Finlandia here has a "distributed in Australia by..." label, so it's quite possible they could have a particular Aus/NZ variety). As for describing it... both Koskenkorva and Finlandia remind me of gin. I cannot explain that, but (sniffs the bottle of Finlandia on the table next to him ) there is a tangible aroma, a hint of berry. Not stupid sweet strawberry, but something much tarter, like cranberry or lingonberry or juniper berry. Maybe that's my imagination, but that's my impression. Of course there's nothing at all berry-like in it, it's very pure... And Finlandia is not something I would normally drink straight (ulcerated oesophagus) but I recall that Koskenkorva is something I could, in small quantities, sitting on the bank of the Teno River, watching the midnight sun play peek-a-boo with the mountains of Norway, eating barbequed salmon caught from the river that day... and being totally devoured in turn by the world's most vicious predator, the Finnish mosquito.
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Post by wyldechild on Oct 2, 2009 20:38:04 GMT 2
From what ive heard Koskenkorva is very similar to Finlandia except that the Kosken has a much more sugur in it. So im sure its a bunch sweeter which is usually better for Vodka. I drink Finlandia straight alot so that would be nice to have something with a little more sugur to it.
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Post by Heer E. Tik on Oct 5, 2009 0:44:48 GMT 2
Kuusuru, thank you for that delicious description Freshly caught salmon and vodka, mountainous wild landscape and the midnight sun... the very stuff that legends are made of! Reinforcing my undying dream to visit Finland and experience its spacious wilderness, even if it wasn't strictly Finland in your description Vodka to me is a drink for good memorable times such as this, to enjoy and absorb the richness of life, not a drink to swill around at wild parties, or - lords forbid - to mix it with other drinks or juices.. (of course when my birthday will come I will forget my own disapproval and make a wild vodka party - but I'll still drink it straight ;D ) About the gin-like tartness of Koskenkorva, I enjoy my vodkas on the tart side, and hence must hunt down this elusive brand and give it a try. My curiosity is peaked. If you don't regularly drink vodka straight but can do so with Koskenkorva, it's a considerable praise for its smoothness... and that's another thing to praise in a good vodka. Vodka's smoothness is like a well-tempered sword, hard to achieve and is the benchmark of its quality... wyldechild: Sweet vodka? Never expected this combination, and now it sounds even more interesting.
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Post by kuusuru on Oct 5, 2009 3:59:27 GMT 2
Kuusuru, thank you for that delicious description Freshly caught salmon and vodka, mountainous wild landscape and the midnight sun... the very stuff that legends are made of! Reinforcing my undying dream to visit Finland and experience its spacious wilderness, even if it wasn't strictly Finland in your description It was very much Finland on our side of the river . The Teno forms the border between Finland and Norway in that part of the world. On the Norsk side it's very mountainous, but a little flatter on the Finnish side... and so there are plenty of mökki there. One of my favourite memories - driving along the road which winds along the river bank, listening to "Tales Along This Road"... perfect As for making your dream come true, a meeting in Lappi during summer sounds like a very klaanish thing to do . Get some fellow forum-members together, hire a cabin, build a fire, eat good Finnish food, drink good Finnish booze, listen to good Finnish music, go sauna, swim in river... Damn. Here I am trying to do some low-level packet analysis, and now my head is full of trees and makkara and tar-soap. Voi voi voi!
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Post by Heer E. Tik on Oct 5, 2009 4:24:38 GMT 2
A great idea!... It's 2am over here, but all sleep has left me when I read it, and now the tingly caffeine-like thrill of adventure is doing a troll dance in my head. Look what you've done, kuusuru! ;D Instead of dreaming any longer, now it's time to get occupied with the reality of it No matter how long it may take... What's the average cost of renting a cabin in that region of Finland? And, more importantly, calling all forum folk - who wants to join me? ;D
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Post by kuusuru on Oct 5, 2009 5:45:41 GMT 2
Instead of dreaming any longer, now it's time to get occupied with the reality of it No matter how long it may take... What's the average cost of renting a cabin in that region of Finland? And, more importantly, calling all forum folk - who wants to join me? ;D You can browse to your heart's content here: www.nettimokki.com/My recommendation: look for a place in Lappi (Inari, Rovaniemi, Sodankylä). You can visit Oulu etc on the way back As for cost, perhaps from 200 to 700 euros, depending on facilities, how close to a fishery (hint: if you don't plan to fish, don't rent a fishing cottage), but mostly around 300-400 euros I think. Amongst several people, it's quite reasonable. But you might need to add car hire, Lappi is a big place.
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Post by Nordis on Oct 7, 2009 23:02:34 GMT 2
Check out the live music scene - use band web sites to work out who is touring, and when. You might even hear some really good local bands playing for free in the market square on a Friday night. Instead of checking every band's webpage I suggest that you visit www.imperiumi.net/index.php?act=gigs . Just choose the right month ("Kuukausi") and year and you'll get pretty much every metal gig in Finland. You can also search for a certain band by it's name but you still have to have the right month and year selected. For other kinds of music (or even more metal ;D ) check meteli.net/tapahtumat . Choose time, city / venue and genre from the large menu buttons. You can also search by keyword or band name.
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Post by Humppaporo on Oct 7, 2009 23:21:26 GMT 2
I often use the Imperiumi Julkaisulista to see what metal albums will be released, or are released, but i never found a similar list for rock/pop and /or folk music. Does anyone know if such a list exists?
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Savi
Clansman
Artist meets Survivalist
Posts: 294
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Finland
Oct 31, 2009 23:57:36 GMT 2
Post by Savi on Oct 31, 2009 23:57:36 GMT 2
I would like to make an "exchange year" in Finland, you know something like Work and Travel but with a safe organisation I could ask for help in Finland, but most of the bargains are for America or Australia. Scandinavia is not often metioned so, is anybody familiar with this topic and could help me? I mailed to a lot of people who made this trip ( also Finland), but unfortunately I´m not receiving an answer.
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