Summer

Where have all the Finns gone?

On a summer weekend in the bigger cities, you will hear people speaking English, German and Chinese, but hardly anyone speaking Finnish. Where have they gone? Some have gone to a music festival - there are jazz, blues, rock, opera and chamber music festivals to choose from, dozens of festivals every summer. Or they're sailing in the islands. Or they're at their summer cottages, where they're swimming, fishing, and cooking dinner on the grill.

So why not slow down and live like a Finn, close to nature. Rent a cottage with a rowboat and bicycle. That way you can meet some Finns, on the lake or on an outdoor dance floor.

Endless Summer Days

There isn't endless summer in Finland, but there are almost endless summer days. In Helsinki at midsummer, the sun is still shining at 10 p.m. So when you leave a restaurant after a very long dinner, the evening is still young. And in Lapland, in Utsjoki, for example, a single summer day lasts for over two months. Even in the south, it's never really night, just a period of twilight for a few hours.