Lars Own

Finland is a Northern European nation bordering Sweden, Norway and Russia. its capital, Helsinki, occupies a peninsula and surrounding islands in the Baltic Sea. Helsinki is home to the 18th-century sea fortress Suomenlinna, the fashionable Design District and diverse museums. The Northern Lights can be seen from the country’s Arctic Lapland province, a vast wilderness with national parks and ski resorts.

The climate of Finland displays features of both maritime and continental climates, depending on the direction of air flow. Considering its northern location, the mean temperature in Finland is several degrees higher than in most other areas at these latitudes, e.g. Siberia and Southern Greenland.

Fish and meat (usually pork, beef or reindeer) play a prominent role in traditional Finnish dishes in some parts of the country, while dishes elsewhere include various vegetables and mushrooms. Finnish foods often use wholemeal products (rye, barley, oats) and berries such as bilberries, lingonberries, cloudberries, and sea buckthorn.