Geography
The Åland Islands, which are an archipelago of 6.5 thousand small islands off the southwestern coast of the country. See Finland abbreviations.
Finland has land borders with Sweden, Norway and Russia. The last border is the longest – 1265 km. Maritime borders separate the country from Estonia.
From the south, Finland is washed by the Gulf of Finland and the Gulf of Bothnia of the Baltic Sea.
The capital of the country is the city of Helsinki, which is the largest Finnish city and, undoubtedly, the cultural, scientific and business center of Finland.
The area of Finland is a total of 338 thousand square meters. km. Geographically, the country can be divided into three regions.
The lowlands of the coast of the Baltic Sea to the south-west pass into the Archipelago Sea from 81 thousand islands scattered along the coast.
The Lake District is located on an inland plateau near the center of the country. There are many forests and marshes here (by the way, about a third of the territory of Finland is covered with marshes ).
The northwestern territories abound in rocky mountains (the eastern part of the Scandinavian mountains) and small uplands. The highest point of the country is located here – Halti feld, whose height is 1328 meters above sea level. Among the rather high mountains, one can also distinguish the Korvatunturi fell and Mount Ruka, known to many lovers of skiing.
In Finland, there is just a huge number of all kinds of reservoirs. There are about 2 thousand rivers, almost all of them flow into the Baltic Sea, and only a few into the Arctic Ocean. Most rivers are quite short and connect lakes. The largest are the northern rivers Kemijoki, Oulujoki and Tornionjoki.
It is not for nothing that Finland received the title of “country of a thousand lakes”. There are about 190 thousand of them here and they occupy about 9% of the country’s area. Finnish lakes have many bays, islands and peninsulas, forming extensive lake systems. Most of the lakes are small, but there are also very large ones. The largest lake in the country is Saimaa in the southeast. You can also highlight one of the deepest lakes Payanne and large Oulujärvi and Inari.
Climate
According to 800zipcodes, Finland is characterized by a temperate continental climate, which is influenced by the North Atlantic Current from the north. In the southwestern regions, the climate is rather transitional from maritime to continental.
Winters are often quite mild and snowy, the air temperature ranges from -3 ° C – in the southern regions to -14 ° C – in the northern ones, although the thermometer often drops below -20 ° C. Summer maximum temperatures reach +25…+30 °C, which contributes to the rapid heating of water in lakes and the sea.
In the territories lying beyond the Arctic Circle, the sun does not set below the horizon for 73 days in the summer. In winter, the onset of a polar night lasting up to 50 days is ahead.
The amount of precipitation is 400-700 mm per year, and precipitation is more active in the inland lake regions of the country. August is the wettest month, while April-May is almost always dry. In winter, snow does not melt in the south for 4-5 months, in the north – about 7 months.
Major cities: Helsinki, Turku, Tampere.
Ski resorts: Vuokatti, Tahko, Paljakka and Ukkohala, Iso-Syuete, Kuusamo-Ruka, Rovaniemi, Salla, Pyhä, Ylläs, Levi, Olos and Pallas, Saariselkä, Koli, Kasurila, Maarianvaara, Himos, Ellivuori, Kalpalinna, Messilä.
Fishing: Aland Islands
Finnish Cuisine
National Finnish cuisine was formed under the influence of the harsh natural conditions of the country, and therefore, each recipe bears the imprint of the national historical heritage. Another feature is the addiction to hearty and fairly simple “home cooking” with elements close to the Russian tradition – the obligatory presence of fresh bread on the table during the meal.
The first place in Finnish cuisine is, of course, occupied by fish cooked in a variety of ways. The most popular fish dishes are: “graavi kiryelohi” – rainbow trout in its own juice; baked whitefish and salmon; salmon dishes in their own juice – “graavi suckers”; “rossoli” – fat from herring; “salamat” – assorted fish salad; “meti” – freshwater fish caviar with sour cream and onions; “kalalaatikko” – a casserole of herring and potatoes; “maitokalakateitto” – sea fish stewed in milk; “lohikeitteo” and “calakeitto” – fish soups cooked in milk; “maimarokka” – dried fish soup, pies “kyalakayareyttya” from sour dough with raw fish; “Kalakukko” – rye crispy pies with bacon and fish; the famous fish pie “calecucco”, made from unleavened dough.
For the preparation of national meat dishes, game and venison are mainly used. When visiting the country, you should definitely try venison roast with lingonberry jam and mashed potatoes, homemade cheese and cucumbers with honey, Karyalanpaisti – meat cooked in a Karelian pot, poronpaisti fried venison, sarya lamb stewed in a wooden crockery and more.
Among dairy dishes, yogurt, cheeses and viili are very popular, which is a kind of sweet and sour dairy product used as an additive for cooking many dishes.
As a rule, a variety of berries, as well as original jelly and yeast pulla buns, are a dessert dish in the national cuisine.
The favorite drink of the Finns is coffee, in terms of consumption of which the country confidently occupies one of the first places in the world. Also an indispensable attribute of any table is “kotikala” – homemade beer.
Vodka ” Finland ” and “Koskenkorva-vinna” are popular in the country. Local berry liqueurs infused with “lakkalikeri” (cloudberry) herbs and wild berries “karpalolikeri” (cranberry), “puollukalikeri” (lingonberry) and “mesimaryalikeri” (braumanica) are also in special demand, which give the drink an amazing special aroma and unusual taste..
In Finland, berries are also used to produce sparkling wines, which are popular even outside the country.
