I wanna go to Finland!

“I have an online friend from Finland and wanted to learn more about his country and I looked at hiking in Finland first, of course. The country is almost 85% forest, lake and tundra. The wierd thing is, you can go anywhere ya want weather it's public or private wilderness. It's called the Everyman's Rights and Obligations. It's kind of like a moral code of hiking and traveling. You can go anywhere ya want but you have to be respectful and don't do certain things like set up camp in someone's yard. Wierd!
http://www.vyh.fi/eng/environ/naturcon/everyman/manindex.htm


I wonder how much it costs to fly there?”

“Lowest fare I found from NYC to Helsinki is $511, through November this year.”

“Mmm, Finnish panckakes. :)”

“I'd go in August for hiking, March for snow travel.”

“We'd all benefit if you'd go there.”

“If you're serious about planning a trip to Finland let me know.

I'm half Finnish. My mother is a full-blooded Finn and her grandparents came to America on a boat to settle in the upper penninsula of Michigan.

I've always toyed with the idea of taking a trip to Finland. I also have a lot of family and family friends that have traveled and vacationed in Finland and could probably give some good pointers on travel there.

Since I have a little one on the way, this would probably have to be a trip for next fall for me.”

“i was there once in late july. it is flat, lots of lakes, not much to see. i was not impressed. didnt look like their wilderness was anything special. not much in way of views. there are better choices in europe and scandinavia. two week bus tours of scandinavia only spend like one day in finland. not a real popular place. also its expensive.”

“Never been there, but I hear it's it's spectacular. You could also look at Iceland, where I think cheaper flights are available. One thing I've heard is that you have to watch the season, cos if you think the mozzies here are bad....”

“IJ - did your grandfather work in one of the mines? I'm curious - I went to college in Houghton and know a little about the culture. Do you still have family in the U.P? How many "k"'s or "u"'s do you have in your last name??? :)”

“Do girls there mind One Inch Wang?

If not, maybe I go there, find wife.”

“Finnish women..... oh my God! :o)”

“"IJ - did your grandfather work in one of the mines? I'm curious - I went to college in Houghton and know a little about the culture. Do you still have family in the U.P? How many "k"'s or "u"'s do you have in your last name??? :)"

Smiley,

I think he worked in the mines for a very short time. He was an entrepreneur, started a hardware/grocery store and did quite well from what I hear.

I still have family in the U.P. around Negaunee and Ishpeming. My mother was a Maki, which, if you know anything about Finns, is a shortened version of a much longer Finnish name.

I haven't been to the U.P. in years, I used to spend my summers there in my grandparents lake house growing up. Lots of good memories.”

“I had several teachers with the name Maki when I was in school. The only problem is I have no idea about first names, just "Mr." or "Mrs."
Grade school, you know.”

“The chance of them being related is actually slim. There are literally millions of Maki's out there. Maki was just a common way to shorten a whole host of longer Finnish names.”

“The minute a Finnish woman discovers your "One Inch Wang," Wang, she is liable to break you in 2”

“Then I only be Half-Inch Wang!

Me no go Finland. You keep crazy women there.”

“There's a Maki who works at my company. I'm assuming that he's from da U.P. I'll have to ask him where he's from.”

“Nigal, I think this is a totally cool idea. I'm also very interested in Finnish travel. I saw a documentary a few yrs. ago about 4 gens. of women in a Finnish family and there were several shots of the beautiful forests and lakes. It looks really cool.”

“Thanks for the ivite IJ. I'm pretty much just dreaming now. I have no paid time off from work and I'd want at least two weeks there. Plus there is the money to go too. 8(

The far north part up in the Laplands is pretty flat and barren but for an Ohio boy that is still pretty stunning scenery. The openess is just as amazing to me as the mountains are. The mozzies are bad there the web site said. Better to take a chance on a few stray snows than to get eatten alive.”

“Nigal, there is a strong contingent of Finnish Americans in northern Ohio along Lake Erie.

As some here know, my trail name is a common Finnish man's first name, picked up because my wife is a 100% Yooper Finlander from Marquette & Copper Country. A map of Finland hangs on our kitchen door.

My wife was in Finland a couple summers ago and enjoyed it immensely. The south is pretty flat, but extraordinary number of lakes -- very like northern Minnesota and Wisconsin. Off the southwest coast is a group of rocky and forested islands my wife found enchanting -- a popular boating/sailing region. The coast is certainly not extreme such as Norway, perhaps more similar to the U.P. without the backdrop of big hills or dunes. Far northeast there are more hilly areas, including some preserves with established hiking trails, one of which at least has a series of huts. This is where the Finnish ski hills and whitewater can be found, too.

Go far enough north and you get the austere tundra, just like in far northern Canada.

Traveling around Finland can be fairly inexpensive if you are patient enough to use a combination of trains and buses (including little postal buses that reach very rural areas off the main routes). Students/youths can get reduced rates.

Bicycling, walking and hitchhiking are certainly options, too. However,the hospitality of the Finns expressed in the "Everyman's Right" has been tested by an increasingly insensitive foreign traveling public and may be under threat. As of my wife's visit, though, berry patches and wild mushrooms in the open woods still belong to all at picking time, and the discrete and well-behaved could still make camp in the forests. Organized commercial campgrounds can be found in many recreation-oriented areas, too.

For all you TT kayakers, the array of coastline, rivers and lakes would make Finland a dream destination. We are trying to find a clear time in our schedules to spend at least a summer there -- perhaps take my often discussed sabbatical there. Ah, dream on....”

“Finland makes Sweden look like the Bahamas. Go for it, Nigal.”