Finland or Suomi is the land of eternal sunshine in the summer, more lakes than you can imagine, and possibly the grossest candy on the planet? Finland is an amazing country to visit and whether it is the breathtaking nature, the kind yet quiet Finnish people, or the endless times you will visit the sauna there will always be things that may shock a tourist when they visit Finland.
10 Things That Shock Tourists about Visiting Finland
1. The Sauna Culture: Do expect to head into a sauna during your time in Finland. It is such a part of the culture that people have them built into their homes, and yes do expect to go naked and run out and jump into the snow for a little extra fun.
2. The Finns Can Talk While Inhaling: the Finns have so much to say when they do talk that they actually can talk while they exhale and while they inhale. Quite a sight when you see it for the first time.
3. The Natural Beauty of Finland: from the lakes and forests to the parks and islands Finland boasts a ton of nature and the locals love it. So whether it is skiing in Lapland or mushroom hunting or visiting the archipelago islands you will see so much beauty in Finland.
4. How Quiet the Finns Can Be: the Finns enjoy silence and you will see that in stores, on the street, and especially on public transportation. So do keep it down.
5. How Clean Finland Is: from pristine forests, to amazing clean and crisp air, to the locals having pride and keeping their cities and towns clean, Finns do love a clean country. Oh, and never wear your shoes in someones house.
6. Finnish "Tasty" Treats: Salmiakki is the child of black licorice and salt, and I mean that in the least tastiest way possible. The Finns love salmiakki candy (and Finland has a ton of great candy aside form Salmiakki). So be prepared for some great tasty treats, like their cinnamon rolls and anything made with mushrooms and do watch out for the funny ones.
7. How Difficult the Finnish Language Is: luckily for tourists most Finns speak very good English, so you do not need to speak any Finnish. The Finnish language is considered one of the most difficult languages to learn and when you see all those vowels you will understand why.
8. The Cities Have Two Names: in Finland, Finnish and Swedish are the two official languages and so all the signs on the highway are in Finnish and Swedish. This can lead to a bit of confusion when the cities don't have similar names in both languages, for example Turku is Turku in English and Finnish, but Abo in Swedish.
9. Finnish Logic: for as smart and clever as the Finns are some foreigners sometimes get lost in Finnish logic. When you see something around the country that just doesn't quite make sense, just chalk it up to Finnish logic.
10. You Have to Go to a Government Store to Buy Hard Alcohol: if you want to grab a bottle of Finlandia Vodka in Helsinki you can't just head to the local grocery store. You have to go to Alko, the government run liquor store. The prices are high and the hours are strange, but it is the only place to go.
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