Interesting Things We Learned About Helsinki

As we drove around the city of Helsinki, we learned a little about the city, historically and culturally. Helsinki was founded in the year 1550 by the Swedish king as part of Sweden. Helsinki is the only European capital city without a medieval past. In 1809, there was a war between Sweden and Russia. Russia won the war, and as a result, Finland became part of Russia. Then in 1917, Finland gained its independence. During World War II, because Finland's proximity to Russia put it in danger of coming under Russian control again, they reluctantly allied themselves for a time with Nazi Germany.

The population of Finland is 5.5 million; the population of Helsinki is 630,000. There are two official languages here: Finnish, of course, and Swedish. All the signs are in both Finnish and Swedish. English is commonly spoken, and is in fact considered the most popular international language. (Since Swedish is actually an official language, it is not considered an international language.)

Finland is very forested, and pulp and paper are two of the biggest exports. The water adjacent to the Finland land mass is commonly called the Gulf of Finland, but technically it is really an inlet of the Baltic Sea. The water in the Gulf, though, is less salty than that in the Sea, and so it freezes over completely in the winter. The locals enjoy skiing and ice skating on it. Finland has a fleet of 8 icebreakers. Since the country is bordered by lots of water, it is important for them to keep the sea lanes navigable in order to continue their commerce year round.

There are 14 universities in Finland, the largest one being the University of Helsinki with 32,000 students. Finland has the highest tax rate of all the European Union countries. There is a "baby allowance" here: when a family has a child, the government gives them 100 euros/month to help support the child. Even so, the birth rate is pretty low - 1.6 children/family. Finnish people love saunas, as Kirta informed us that they are "sauna crazy". She said that there are 5.5 million people in Finland, and there are 3.5 million saunas.

A popular weekend trip here (and in Stockholm) is travelling between the two cities by way of a ferry. There are 2 popular ferry services that make the trip frequently. Usually the ferry travels overnight, with the people spending a day in the city, and then heading back again on the next overnight. There is food and entertainment aboard the ferries. Also, Tallinn (Estonia) is, according to Kirta, only 40 minutes away by "speedy boat" from Helsinki. Tallinn is a popular shopping destination for Helsinki people, as the prices of goods in Tallinn is cheaper than in Helsinki.

At the end of our tour, the bus returned to the cruise ship by way of the "coastal road". This was a very pretty drive along the coast of the Baltic Sea, with  marinas, islands off the coast, parks, and birds. We were told that most of the birds have already left Helsinki to head for warmer climes; they usually leave in August. Wow! That's a cold climate when the birds leave in August.

As we travel to these different countries, I've been trying to learn a little of the local language. Today I looked up how to say "Thank you" in Finnish (Kiitos), and when we de-boarded the tour bus, I said "Kiitos" to Kirta. She was so surprised and so excited that I spoke some Finnish that she almost hugged me. A Viking rep standing nearby also heard and quickly asked me if I speak Finnish, to which I had to reply that kiitos was the only thing I knew how to say. Shortly after, we stopped at a souvenir shop on the dock before re-boarding the ship. When I made a purchase and the salesgirls handed me the bag, I again said "Kiitos". The two young girls immediately started giggling and repeating "Kiitos, kiitos" and I could still hear them as I exited the store repeating "Kiitos" excitedly. I think people appreciate when you make the effort to talk to them in their native language.