I like this thread! I didn't know a single thing about Finland before, and now I do. My sis-in-law spent a week there a while back and loved it, sounds like a lovely country.
Ignore the negativity ... who even knows where she got the idea that anyone cares what she thinks of a thread topic, or anything else for that matter :rolleyes:
thanks!
I really appreciate that!
"Don't be faint-hearted, I have a solution! We shall go and commandeer some small craft, then drift at leisure until we happen upon another ideal place for our waterside supper with riparian entertainments."
i spent a couple of months living in stockholm, sweden, and i was lucky enough to make a day trip to helsinki. it is one of the most beautiful cities in the world!
i found the people to be much more friendly and open to conversation than the swedes (a broad generalization - sorry to any swedes)
the women in finland are also beautiful...in my opinion more beautiful than the swedes. there is not much variety in sweden, a lot of people are blond. the women in iceland are also incredibly beautiful....but back to finland...i wish i could have spent more than a day there. i visited a huge market by the ferry terminal, the art museum, the huge church with the massive pipe organ inside (i can't remember the name of it), and some coffee shops. the only negative thing i could say about finland is that the beer was not very good, but i am from canada, so i have high expectations!
KIPPIS!
thanks for starting the thread. i love finland, and am always interested in learning about other countries.
haha. kippis to you too!
thanks!
I too wanna learn new things all the time and I'm happy that I can help you.
"Don't be faint-hearted, I have a solution! We shall go and commandeer some small craft, then drift at leisure until we happen upon another ideal place for our waterside supper with riparian entertainments."
technically, we do have the "endless day"...in canada at least. not in toronto, but they would experience it in the northwest territories.
compared to canada, scandinavian countires would be considered expensive in terms of cost of goods, and cost of living, especially in sweden.
the finnish people are really wonderful people, i met quite a few when i was in sweden, and i got along better with them than many swedes. it's tough to get conversation out of some swedes!
canada and scandinavia in general could be considered similar in terms of landscape. i was there in the winter so i very much felt like i was at home, but the sun rising at 10 am and going down at 3 pm was hard to get used to.
...just trying to answer a couple of your questions as a canadian who has been to finland for a day!...
thanks for the help!
maybe I shoul/will visit North America/Canada some day.
"Don't be faint-hearted, I have a solution! We shall go and commandeer some small craft, then drift at leisure until we happen upon another ideal place for our waterside supper with riparian entertainments."
thanks to everyone who thinks this thread is good.
all your comments make me smile and I wanna jump up and down for joy!
it might sometimes take a little while for me to answer, but I always do that as soon as possible. I write down all of your questions but sometimes there are a lot of them at the same time (which is REALLY NICE ) so I have to take my time, you know.
I'm gonna get back to this very soon.
thanks and keep those questions coming! I'm ready!
"Don't be faint-hearted, I have a solution! We shall go and commandeer some small craft, then drift at leisure until we happen upon another ideal place for our waterside supper with riparian entertainments."
What is the name of the "endless" day? We don't have a day like that where I live.
What is the main fish that the people eat from the lakes?
What is the name of the leader of the country? President, Prime Minister, etc.
How often do you vote for your government leader(s)?
I think this is a very informative thread.
What is your favourite "Finnish" cousine and what goes into making it?
in Finnish the "endless" day is called Juhannus.. I don't know if there's a name for it in English. no wait, probably Midsummer. yeah, Midsummer.
it's a big holiday here. we burn bonfires and eat good food. everyone's happy and most people are drunk. nice festival but a lot of drowned people, and that's sad.. :(
mainly it's still good fun!
main fish we eat here is baltic herring, which doesn't live in the lakes but the sea.
from the lakes we eat pike and perch. and salmon too, though I doesn't actully live in lakes, but rivers and also the sea..
our presiden't name is Tarja Halonen. if you've watched Conan O'Brien you migt know what she looks like.
our prime minister's name is Matti Vanhanen.¨
the president is the leader, though many of the decitions are made by the administration.
we select a new president in every six years. a new presidential election is in February next year. Halonen is running for president again, yippee!
a new parliament is selected in every 4 years.
my favourite Finnish cousine? phew, that's a tough one.
maybe peasoup or cabbage casserole.. you can probably reason the main ingredients from the names. but if you want to I guess I could fix up the recipes somewhere.
I must admit that Finnish cousine is absorbing new foods all the time. mainly pizza but things like macaroni and lasagne have become very popular. and I'm not complaining. anyhow, Finnish food is surviving. maybe because of its simplicity, nothing too fancy, you know. home made food, yummy.
"Don't be faint-hearted, I have a solution! We shall go and commandeer some small craft, then drift at leisure until we happen upon another ideal place for our waterside supper with riparian entertainments."
in Finnish the "endless" day is called Juhannus.. I don't know if there's a name for it in English. no wait, probably Midsummer. yeah, Midsummer.
it's a big holiday here. we burn bonfires and eat good food. everyone's happy and most people are drunk. nice festival but a lot of drowned people, and that's sad.. :(
mainly it's still good fun!
main fish we eat here is baltic herring, which doesn't live in the lakes but the sea.
from the lakes we eat pike and perch. and salmon too, though I doesn't actully live in lakes, but rivers and also the sea..
our presiden't name is Tarja Halonen. if you've watched Conan O'Brien you migt know what she looks like.
our prime minister's name is Matti Vanhanen.¨
the president is the leader, though many of the decitions are made by the administration.
we select a new president in every six years. a new presidential election is in February next year. Halonen is running for president again, yippee!
a new parliament is selected in every 4 years.
my favourite Finnish cousine? phew, that's a tough one.
maybe peasoup or cabbage casserole.. you can probably reason the main ingredients from the names. but if you want to I guess I could fix up the recipes somewhere.
I must admit that Finnish cousine is absorbing new foods all the time. mainly pizza but things like macaroni and lasagne have become very popular. and I'm not complaining. anyhow, Finnish food is surviving. maybe because of its simplicity, nothing too fancy, you know. home made food, yummy.
When you say "drowned" people in your first answer............these people actually die drowning in water or is that a slang term for being really drunk?
Cool how we fish for perch and pike here too in our lakes.
A female president?! Good for you people. Is she the first woman to hold that position? Can you force an election if the president starts to fail in their duties or do you have to wait for the full six year term?
Have you ever been to the "ice hotel" in Sweden I do believe? Or do the Finns have a hotel made of ice at all?
What is the choice of toppings that the Finns like on their pizza?
But one question about the cuisine. Well first of all, pea soup is great, Especially with some lumps of sausage and salty meat put into it. But enough of that.
Do you have something we norwegians call "komle" or "raspeballer"? It's sort of lumps made from ground potato and flour that is cooked for some time, often served with salty meat, various cooked vegetables and such?
And are you familiar with "pinnekjøtt" or stick-meat as the direct translation would be?
That was two questions.
Peace
Dan
"YOU [humans] NEED TO BELIEVE IN THINGS THAT AREN'T TRUE. HOW ELSE CAN THEY BECOME?" - Death
"Every judgment teeters on the brink of error. To claim absolute knowledge is to become monstrous. Knowledge is an unending adventure at the edge of uncertainty." - Frank Herbert, Dune, 1965
the sami/lapps speak Sami. but naturally they also speak Finnish in Lapland.
they aren't the same as aleuts.
"Don't be faint-hearted, I have a solution! We shall go and commandeer some small craft, then drift at leisure until we happen upon another ideal place for our waterside supper with riparian entertainments."
tennis isn't that big of a sport here yet, but it's growing.. the big names that pop to my head right now are Emma Laine and Jarkko Nieminen.
so, not many people but as I said, it's growing. surprisingly many kids my age (18-19 yrs) play tennis. that is of course to MY surprise.
"Don't be faint-hearted, I have a solution! We shall go and commandeer some small craft, then drift at leisure until we happen upon another ideal place for our waterside supper with riparian entertainments."
When you say "drowned" people in your first answer............these people actually die drowning in water or is that a slang term for being really drunk?
Cool how we fish for perch and pike here too in our lakes.
A female president?! Good for you people. Is she the first woman to hold that position? Can you force an election if the president starts to fail in their duties or do you have to wait for the full six year term?
Have you ever been to the "ice hotel" in Sweden I do believe? Or do the Finns have a hotel made of ice at all?
What is the choice of toppings that the Finns like on their pizza?
they die. :( they drown because they're drunk and wanna go out on a lake (or something) with a boat or just swimming..
but there basically are less and less of these kind of accidents every year. thanks to all prevention and control programmes.
yes, a female president! I think we made a good choice. I mean the other people did, I wasn't allowed to vote back then. yup, she's the first one.
we can sack the president if we really need to.
I've never been there in Sweden.
we have a hotel/building made out of ice too. but I've never been there either.. it's in Kemi. http://www.snowcastle.net/photos/
the choice of pizza toppings.. I think it's the same everywhere. a worlwide taste. you know, tuna, salami etc.
"Don't be faint-hearted, I have a solution! We shall go and commandeer some small craft, then drift at leisure until we happen upon another ideal place for our waterside supper with riparian entertainments."
But one question about the cuisine. Well first of all, pea soup is great, Especially with some lumps of sausage and salty meat put into it. But enough of that.
Do you have something we norwegians call "komle" or "raspeballer"? It's sort of lumps made from ground potato and flour that is cooked for some time, often served with salty meat, various cooked vegetables and such?
And are you familiar with "pinnekjøtt" or stick-meat as the direct translation would be?
That was two questions.
Peace
Dan
ah, you've understood the true essence of pea soup. haha, just kidding. but it's real good!
I guess we have an equivalent to your 'raspeballer'/'komle'. called rösti, I think.. but it can be made out of other vegetables too..
stick-meat, huh? doesn't sound familiar even when translated to Finnish.
so, dunno. what are they like?
"Don't be faint-hearted, I have a solution! We shall go and commandeer some small craft, then drift at leisure until we happen upon another ideal place for our waterside supper with riparian entertainments."
I too am enjoying this thread. Always good to hear about another country. Finland, plus all northern or cool weather countries are places I would love to visit. (Don't like the heat!) Finland sounds like a definate visit. Where else would you recommend visiting if we did a trip?
where else as in other countries here?
well, I haven't travelled that much (as in not at all :( ), so..
but my sister has been to Sweden and Norway.
she recommends to visit them (though Norway is quite expensive compared to Finland) both. she sais they're the same as Finland but still different.
so it would be good to visit those places too to get the whole "Nordic feel".
"Don't be faint-hearted, I have a solution! We shall go and commandeer some small craft, then drift at leisure until we happen upon another ideal place for our waterside supper with riparian entertainments."
they die. :( they drown because they're drunk and wanna go out on a lake (or something) with a boat or just swimming..
but there basically are less and less of these kind of accidents every year. thanks to all prevention and control programmes.
yes, a female president! I think we made a good choice. I mean the other people did, I wasn't allowed to vote back then. yup, she's the first one.
we can sack the president if we really need to.
I've never been there in Sweden.
we have a hotel/building made out of ice too. but I've never been there either.. it's in Kemi. http://www.snowcastle.net/photos/
the choice of pizza toppings.. I think it's the same everywhere. a worlwide taste. you know, tuna, salami etc.
Thanks for the link to the hotel. EVERYBODY SHOULD CLICK ON THAT LINK AND CHECK IT OUT. VERY COOL!
Tuna on pizza????? I have to say that is the first I have heard of that.
Thanks for the answers to mine and everybody's questions. More to come.
Thanks for the link to the hotel. EVERYBODY SHOULD CLICK ON THAT LINK AND CHECK IT OUT. VERY COOL!
Tuna on pizza????? I have to say that is the first I have heard of that.
Thanks for the answers to mine and everybody's questions. More to come.
you're welcome.
seriously, you've never tried tuna on pizza? OMG!
try it, it's really good!
I'll be waiting for them. I enjoy answering your questions. and you're welcome again.
"Don't be faint-hearted, I have a solution! We shall go and commandeer some small craft, then drift at leisure until we happen upon another ideal place for our waterside supper with riparian entertainments."
Hey eMMI ... back to the food again ... how hard do you think it would be for a vegetarian to get along in Finland? Would it be really difficult to find meatless meals? It sounds like your traditional meals are centered around meat. Are there ethnic restaurants with more veggie-friendly cuisine (Thai, Indian, Chinese, etc.), at least in major metro areas? My daughter spent a year in Denmark and said if it weren't for the Thai and Indian restaurants in Copenhagen she would have starved. I'm thinking Finland is probably pretty much the same?
Tuna on pizza is a new one for me too, never heard of it. We have a pizza place near us where you can choose from about 100 toppings, and tuna isn't one of them.
By the way, that snow castle is COOL!!! ef? is right, everyone should click on that!
"Nothing in the world is more dangerous than sincere ignorance and conscientious stupidity." ~ MLK, 1963
Hey eMMI ... back to the food again ... how hard do you think it would be for a vegetarian to get along in Finland? Would it be really difficult to find meatless meals? It sounds like your traditional meals are centered around meat. Are there ethnic restaurants with more veggie-friendly cuisine (Thai, Indian, Chinese, etc.), at least in major metro areas? My daughter spent a year in Denmark and said if it weren't for the Thai and Indian restaurants in Copenhagen she would have starved. I'm thinking Finland is probably pretty much the same?
Tuna on pizza is a new one for me too, never heard of it. We have a pizza place near us where you can choose from about 100 toppings, and tuna isn't one of them.
By the way, that snow castle is COOL!!! ef? is right, everyone should click on that!
one of my friends is a vegetarian and she gets along just fine.
there are many places here that you can get vegetarian food, even in the smaller cities.
in my hometown we don't have that many ethnic restaurants yet but it's a growing market I suppose. we have at least two Chinese restaurants..
but you can get veggie-food elsewhere too. many pizza and hamburger places have vegetarian meals. and of course all the shops have veggies.
seriously, you people should try tuna on pizza, it's really good!
"Don't be faint-hearted, I have a solution! We shall go and commandeer some small craft, then drift at leisure until we happen upon another ideal place for our waterside supper with riparian entertainments."
Any relatives living in Thunder Bay? We have the largest Finnish population outside of Finland here. My mom is from Vaassa (spelling?).
I just got some cool pictures of the Winter War that my great-grandfather took while he was serving.
I also just got a cool movie called Letters from Karelia which you may enjoy if you can find it. Its a true story about a Finnish immigrant who moved back to Karelia in search of prosperity back in the late '20s. It tells the story of his life up until WW2, when his family lost contact with him. In 1998 (i think), his sister, here in Thunder Bay, received some letters from him that were written in 1945.
Do you celebrate St. Urho's day over there? In Thunder Bay (and northern Minnesota) it is a great festival of purple and green that basically mocks St. Patty's day. It is a reason to have drinks and celebrate St Urho driving the grasshoppers out of of Finland. "heinasirkka heinasirkka menetaalta hiiten!" The best part is that is always falls on a weekend.
I would think that stick-meat is makkaraa (sp?). I have heard that people eat it like crazy in Finland. My grandma eats it like crazy, especially when we are camping.
1/12/1879, 4/8/1156, 2/6/1977, who gives a shit, ...
Any relatives living in Thunder Bay? We have the largest Finnish population outside of Finland here. My mom is from Vaassa (spelling?).
I just got some cool pictures of the Winter War that my great-grandfather took while he was serving.
I also just got a cool movie called Letters from Karelia which you may enjoy if you can find it. Its a true story about a Finnish immigrant who moved back to Karelia in search of prosperity back in the late '20s. It tells the story of his life up until WW2, when his family lost contact with him. In 1998 (i think), his sister, here in Thunder Bay, received some letters from him that were written in 1945.
Do you celebrate St. Urho's day over there? In Thunder Bay (and northern Minnesota) it is a great festival of purple and green that basically mocks St. Patty's day. It is a reason to have drinks and celebrate St Urho driving the grasshoppers out of of Finland. "heinasirkka heinasirkka menetaalta hiiten!" The best part is that is always falls on a weekend.
I would think that stick-meat is makkaraa (sp?). I have heard that people eat it like crazy in Finland. My grandma eats it like crazy, especially when we are camping.
I don't have any relatives there. at least none that I'd know of.
you spelled it almost correctly, it's Vaasa. so you only had a letter too much.
I've also seen pictures of the winter war, they're interesting.
I like our war-history. (I know that it sounds bad and I don't mean that I'd hate any nation or like war.) it makes me feel proud of my country.
I haven't heard of that movie. I should try to dig it out. thanks for the tip!
there's a new movie about Finnish "war-children" (children that got sent to Sweden and so on because of the war). it's called Äideistä parhain (The Best of Mothers). I haven't seen it yet but i'm deffinately gonna check it out, itäs gotten great reviews and is Finlands Oscar-nominee.
I've also never heard of this St. Urho's day. so no, we don't celebrate it.
at least not nationwide.
maybe we should though, another reason to get drunk, eh?
and if stickmeat means makkaraa, yup spelled it right, (sausage of course), well then!
it's something that we eat enormous amounts of. it's crazy! especially on camping trips it's a must. sometimes it seems like Finnish men don't need any other nutrition than sausage and beer. and that's just gross!
"Don't be faint-hearted, I have a solution! We shall go and commandeer some small craft, then drift at leisure until we happen upon another ideal place for our waterside supper with riparian entertainments."
Do you celebrate St. Urho's day over there? In Thunder Bay (and northern Minnesota) it is a great festival of purple and green that basically mocks St. Patty's day. It is a reason to have drinks and celebrate St Urho driving the grasshoppers out of of Finland. "heinasirkka heinasirkka menetaalta hiiten!" The best part is that is always falls on a weekend.
man, now I really feel bad and ashamed for never hearing about St. Urho. or the grasshoppers.. so he drove those hoppers away, eh?
gotta find out about that dude, he sounds really cool!
"Don't be faint-hearted, I have a solution! We shall go and commandeer some small craft, then drift at leisure until we happen upon another ideal place for our waterside supper with riparian entertainments."
lol -- I'm pretty sure that St. Urho's Day is a Northern Ontario / Northern Minnesota reason for hard wroking Finlanders to get drunk and make fun of the Irish while we are at it. There are several websites on google.ca that describe the many legends of St. Urho.
I want to visit Finland, though I have heard that it is very similar to Northern Ontario. Ironically, my dad is the only member of my family to visit Finland since I was born and he is a 7th generation Canadian. Even more funny is that my mom's uncle recognized him in downtown Helsinki, without even knowing that he was there and invited him and his co-workers to dinner that night.
1/12/1879, 4/8/1156, 2/6/1977, who gives a shit, ...
Hey Bro, this thread is awesome, If I for some reason ever need to know anything about Finland, i will hit this thread...nice!
Where in the hell were all the people who knew about Japan when i was in the seventh grade and had to do a report??? That encyclopedia Britannica is way boring!!!
"I hate to advocate drugs, alcohol, violence, or insanity but they've always worked for me." Gonzo
'If my fuckin' ex-wife told me to take care of her dog while her and her new boyfriend went to Honolulu, I'd tell her to go fuck herself." -The Dude
lol -- I'm pretty sure that St. Urho's Day is a Northern Ontario / Northern Minnesota reason for hard wroking Finlanders to get drunk and make fun of the Irish while we are at it. There are several websites on google.ca that describe the many legends of St. Urho.
I want to visit Finland, though I have heard that it is very similar to Northern Ontario. Ironically, my dad is the only member of my family to visit Finland since I was born and he is a 7th generation Canadian. Even more funny is that my mom's uncle recognized him in downtown Helsinki, without even knowing that he was there and invited him and his co-workers to dinner that night.
haha. you're probably right.
I dunno about the similarity.. but you should deffinately visit if you wanna.
maybe also other places than Helsinki, though it's a great city too.
"Don't be faint-hearted, I have a solution! We shall go and commandeer some small craft, then drift at leisure until we happen upon another ideal place for our waterside supper with riparian entertainments."
Hey Bro, this thread is awesome, If I for some reason ever need to know anything about Finland, i will hit this thread...nice!
Where in the hell were all the people who knew about Japan when i was in the seventh grade and had to do a report??? That encyclopedia Britannica is way boring!!!
bro, eh? try something more "girly".
thanks! very much!
btw. I've done a report about Japan too, the geisha-culture, to be exact.
I didn't have to read nay boring books.. there were/are a lot of interesting books about other things in Japan for sure.
"Don't be faint-hearted, I have a solution! We shall go and commandeer some small craft, then drift at leisure until we happen upon another ideal place for our waterside supper with riparian entertainments."
so how come finns being a germanic people dont speak a germanic language??
are they non-germic then ??
and if the sami arnt aleuts, then who are the sami related to ?? is the sami language finno-ugric ?
I'm gonna get back to this, gotta do some research.
my knowledge about this.. well, I dunno much!
but I'm gonna find out, okay?
"Don't be faint-hearted, I have a solution! We shall go and commandeer some small craft, then drift at leisure until we happen upon another ideal place for our waterside supper with riparian entertainments."
Tell me about cycling in Finland. Are there lots of cyclists? I would tend to think not because of the climate. However, if Finland is pro-environment I can envision lots of mountain bike trails? My husband and I are cyclists/runners and every place we visit we always try to bike. I just wondered how it was in Finland. In the part of the US where we live drivers are very dangerous towards cyclists. Otherwise good people try to run you off the road or scare you off the road. Then we go to places like southern France and drivers are very polite and safe towards cyclists.
Is Finland hilly, mountainous, flat?
Thanks for the thread. It is very interesting. I love visiting foreign places even if it is through cyberspace.
The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way it treats its animals. Ghandi
Tell me about cycling in Finland. Are there lots of cyclists? I would tend to think not because of the climate. However, if Finland is pro-environment I can envision lots of mountain bike trails? My husband and I are cyclists/runners and every place we visit we always try to bike. I just wondered how it was in Finland. In the part of the US where we live drivers are very dangerous towards cyclists. Otherwise good people try to run you off the road or scare you off the road. Then we go to places like southern France and drivers are very polite and safe towards cyclists.
Is Finland hilly, mountainous, flat?
Thanks for the thread. It is very interesting. I love visiting foreign places even if it is through cyberspace.
there are a lot of cyclists in the summertime. in winter obviously less, but some people cycle then too.
drivers aren't dangerous to cyclists, unless the cyclists are acting stupid and cycling where they're not supposed to. all in all it's safe to cycle here. and you are able to do so if you wish.
haha, we don't have ANY mountains here! literally, none!
that's because our soil is so old that all of the mountains have "rubbed off" because of for example the ice age.
we do have hills here though. but altogether Finland is quite flat.
you're welcome. cyber-travelling can be really fun!
"Don't be faint-hearted, I have a solution! We shall go and commandeer some small craft, then drift at leisure until we happen upon another ideal place for our waterside supper with riparian entertainments."
btw. I've done a report about Japan too, the geisha-culture, to be exact.
I didn't have to read nay boring books.. there were/are a lot of interesting books about other things in Japan for sure.
Damn..sorry sista!!
"I hate to advocate drugs, alcohol, violence, or insanity but they've always worked for me." Gonzo
'If my fuckin' ex-wife told me to take care of her dog while her and her new boyfriend went to Honolulu, I'd tell her to go fuck herself." -The Dude
ciao! i love Finland, but i have never been there...sigh!
anyway, i just want to say to you my admiration for your country...and ask you what does your president think about war in iraq and usa, in general...
[I know i was born and that i'll die
the in between is mine... i am mine]
"Don't be faint-hearted, I have a solution! We shall go and commandeer some small craft, then drift at leisure until we happen upon another ideal place for our waterside supper with riparian entertainments."
Comments
thanks!
I really appreciate that!
haha. kippis to you too!
thanks!
I too wanna learn new things all the time and I'm happy that I can help you.
thanks for the help!
maybe I shoul/will visit North America/Canada some day.
all your comments make me smile and I wanna jump up and down for joy!
it might sometimes take a little while for me to answer, but I always do that as soon as possible. I write down all of your questions but sometimes there are a lot of them at the same time (which is REALLY NICE
I'm gonna get back to this very soon.
thanks and keep those questions coming! I'm ready!
in Finnish the "endless" day is called Juhannus.. I don't know if there's a name for it in English. no wait, probably Midsummer.
it's a big holiday here. we burn bonfires and eat good food. everyone's happy and most people are drunk.
mainly it's still good fun!
main fish we eat here is baltic herring, which doesn't live in the lakes but the sea.
from the lakes we eat pike and perch. and salmon too, though I doesn't actully live in lakes, but rivers and also the sea..
our presiden't name is Tarja Halonen. if you've watched Conan O'Brien you migt know what she looks like.
our prime minister's name is Matti Vanhanen.¨
the president is the leader, though many of the decitions are made by the administration.
we select a new president in every six years. a new presidential election is in February next year. Halonen is running for president again, yippee!
a new parliament is selected in every 4 years.
my favourite Finnish cousine? phew, that's a tough one.
maybe peasoup or cabbage casserole.. you can probably reason the main ingredients from the names.
I must admit that Finnish cousine is absorbing new foods all the time. mainly pizza
When you say "drowned" people in your first answer............these people actually die drowning in water or is that a slang term for being really drunk?
Cool how we fish for perch and pike here too in our lakes.
A female president?! Good for you people. Is she the first woman to hold that position? Can you force an election if the president starts to fail in their duties or do you have to wait for the full six year term?
Have you ever been to the "ice hotel" in Sweden I do believe? Or do the Finns have a hotel made of ice at all?
What is the choice of toppings that the Finns like on their pizza?
But one question about the cuisine. Well first of all, pea soup is great, Especially with some lumps of sausage and salty meat put into it. But enough of that.
Do you have something we norwegians call "komle" or "raspeballer"? It's sort of lumps made from ground potato and flour that is cooked for some time, often served with salty meat, various cooked vegetables and such?
And are you familiar with "pinnekjøtt" or stick-meat as the direct translation would be?
That was two questions.
Peace
Dan
"Every judgment teeters on the brink of error. To claim absolute knowledge is to become monstrous. Knowledge is an unending adventure at the edge of uncertainty." - Frank Herbert, Dune, 1965
finnish belongs to the languagefamily of Finno-Ugric languages that also includes Hungarian. here's a link for more info:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Finno-Ugric_languages
the sami/lapps speak Sami. but naturally they also speak Finnish in Lapland.
they aren't the same as aleuts.
tennis isn't that big of a sport here yet, but it's growing.. the big names that pop to my head right now are Emma Laine and Jarkko Nieminen.
so, not many people but as I said, it's growing. surprisingly many kids my age (18-19 yrs) play tennis. that is of course to MY surprise.
they die. :( they drown because they're drunk and wanna go out on a lake (or something) with a boat or just swimming..
but there basically are less and less of these kind of accidents every year. thanks to all prevention and control programmes.
yes, a female president!
we can sack the president if we really need to.
I've never been there in Sweden.
we have a hotel/building made out of ice too. but I've never been there either..
http://www.snowcastle.net/photos/
the choice of pizza toppings.. I think it's the same everywhere. a worlwide taste.
ah, you've understood the true essence of pea soup.
I guess we have an equivalent to your 'raspeballer'/'komle'. called rösti, I think..
stick-meat, huh? doesn't sound familiar even when translated to Finnish.
so, dunno. what are they like?
where else as in other countries here?
well, I haven't travelled that much (as in not at all :( ), so..
but my sister has been to Sweden and Norway.
she recommends to visit them (though Norway is quite expensive compared to Finland) both. she sais they're the same as Finland but still different.
so it would be good to visit those places too to get the whole "Nordic feel".
Thanks for the link to the hotel. EVERYBODY SHOULD CLICK ON THAT LINK AND CHECK IT OUT. VERY COOL!
Tuna on pizza????? I have to say that is the first I have heard of that.
Thanks for the answers to mine and everybody's questions. More to come.
you're welcome.
seriously, you've never tried tuna on pizza? OMG!
try it, it's really good!
I'll be waiting for them. I enjoy answering your questions.
Tuna on pizza is a new one for me too, never heard of it. We have a pizza place near us where you can choose from about 100 toppings, and tuna isn't one of them.
By the way, that snow castle is COOL!!! ef? is right, everyone should click on that!
one of my friends is a vegetarian and she gets along just fine.
there are many places here that you can get vegetarian food, even in the smaller cities.
in my hometown we don't have that many ethnic restaurants yet but it's a growing market I suppose. we have at least two Chinese restaurants..
but you can get veggie-food elsewhere too. many pizza and hamburger places have vegetarian meals. and of course all the shops have veggies.
seriously, you people should try tuna on pizza, it's really good!
yup, the snowcastle is real nice. maybe I should visit it someday.
I'll put the link here again.
http://www.snowcastle.net/photos/
I just got some cool pictures of the Winter War that my great-grandfather took while he was serving.
I also just got a cool movie called Letters from Karelia which you may enjoy if you can find it. Its a true story about a Finnish immigrant who moved back to Karelia in search of prosperity back in the late '20s. It tells the story of his life up until WW2, when his family lost contact with him. In 1998 (i think), his sister, here in Thunder Bay, received some letters from him that were written in 1945.
Do you celebrate St. Urho's day over there? In Thunder Bay (and northern Minnesota) it is a great festival of purple and green that basically mocks St. Patty's day. It is a reason to have drinks and celebrate St Urho driving the grasshoppers out of of Finland. "heinasirkka heinasirkka menetaalta hiiten!" The best part is that is always falls on a weekend.
I would think that stick-meat is makkaraa (sp?). I have heard that people eat it like crazy in Finland. My grandma eats it like crazy, especially when we are camping.
I don't have any relatives there. at least none that I'd know of.
you spelled it almost correctly, it's Vaasa. so you only had a letter too much.
I've also seen pictures of the winter war, they're interesting.
I like our war-history. (I know that it sounds bad and I don't mean that I'd hate any nation or like war.) it makes me feel proud of my country.
I haven't heard of that movie. I should try to dig it out. thanks for the tip!
there's a new movie about Finnish "war-children" (children that got sent to Sweden and so on because of the war). it's called Äideistä parhain (The Best of Mothers). I haven't seen it yet but i'm deffinately gonna check it out, itäs gotten great reviews and is Finlands Oscar-nominee.
I've also never heard of this St. Urho's day. so no, we don't celebrate it.
at least not nationwide.
maybe we should though, another reason to get drunk, eh?
and if stickmeat means makkaraa, yup spelled it right, (sausage of course), well then!
it's something that we eat enormous amounts of.
man, now I really feel bad and ashamed for never hearing about St. Urho. or the grasshoppers.. so he drove those hoppers away, eh?
gotta find out about that dude, he sounds really cool!
I want to visit Finland, though I have heard that it is very similar to Northern Ontario. Ironically, my dad is the only member of my family to visit Finland since I was born and he is a 7th generation Canadian. Even more funny is that my mom's uncle recognized him in downtown Helsinki, without even knowing that he was there and invited him and his co-workers to dinner that night.
Where in the hell were all the people who knew about Japan when i was in the seventh grade and had to do a report??? That encyclopedia Britannica is way boring!!!
'If my fuckin' ex-wife told me to take care of her dog while her and her new boyfriend went to Honolulu, I'd tell her to go fuck herself." -The Dude
Whisky Drinker, Non-Hunter from Denver.
ty.
so how come finns being a germanic people dont speak a germanic language??
are they non-germic then ??
and if the sami arnt aleuts, then who are the sami related to ?? is the sami language finno-ugric ?
Take my hand, my child of love
Come step inside my tears
Swim the magic ocean,
I've been crying all these years
haha.
I dunno about the similarity.. but you should deffinately visit if you wanna.
maybe also other places than Helsinki, though it's a great city too.
bro, eh?
thanks!
btw. I've done a report about Japan too, the geisha-culture, to be exact.
I didn't have to read nay boring books.. there were/are a lot of interesting books about other things in Japan for sure.
I'm gonna get back to this, gotta do some research.
my knowledge about this.. well, I dunno much!
but I'm gonna find out, okay?
Is Finland hilly, mountainous, flat?
Thanks for the thread. It is very interesting. I love visiting foreign places even if it is through cyberspace.
there are a lot of cyclists in the summertime. in winter obviously less, but some people cycle then too.
drivers aren't dangerous to cyclists, unless the cyclists are acting stupid and cycling where they're not supposed to. all in all it's safe to cycle here. and you are able to do so if you wish.
haha, we don't have ANY mountains here!
that's because our soil is so old that all of the mountains have "rubbed off" because of for example the ice age.
we do have hills here though. but altogether Finland is quite flat.
you're welcome.
Damn..sorry sista!!
'If my fuckin' ex-wife told me to take care of her dog while her and her new boyfriend went to Honolulu, I'd tell her to go fuck herself." -The Dude
Whisky Drinker, Non-Hunter from Denver.
anyway, i just want to say to you my admiration for your country...and ask you what does your president think about war in iraq and usa, in general...
the in between is mine...
i am mine]
that's better!