everything you've ever wanted to know about Finland!

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  • eMMI
    eMMI Posts: 6,262
    Pacomc79 wrote:
    How expensive is it to visit relative to the rest of the region?

    umm. I'm gonna find out. okay? :)
    but I think it's cheaper here than in at least Norway..
    "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."
  • eMMI
    eMMI Posts: 6,262
    March to Fuzz wrote:
    I've heard of Lasse Viren, the Flying Fin, won some Olympic gold medals in track and field years ago.

    yup. :)

    somehow, all the athletes like him have disappeared. I personally blame doping!
    "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."
  • bostonlou
    bostonlou Posts: 2,849
    how's your nuppa??

    is that how you spell it?? My Nana was Finnish (last name Aimo - from Visu Vesi I beleive) and "How's your bellybutton" was the only Finnish I ever learned... she swore at me a lot too but I don't remember it :)

    I've very proud/fond of my Finnish heritage

    Someday I hope to make a trip. I've talked with BrotherLoveBone on here about it...
    Don't Believe Everything You Think
  • hippiemom
    hippiemom Posts: 3,326
    I read somewhere that Jacques Chirac said the Brits had the worst food in all of Europe .... with the exception of Finland. Is this true? What do people eat over there?
    "Nothing in the world is more dangerous than sincere ignorance and conscientious stupidity." ~ MLK, 1963
  • _Crazy_Mary_
    _Crazy_Mary_ Posts: 1,299
    eMMI wrote:
    Santa Park? never been there. never will go. :)

    yup, boose is cheap! :D that probably affects the drinking here. actually there has been conversation about wherther wine should be sold in regular grocery stores instead of liqour stores.. I think it shouldn't.


    Is there any alcohol sold in regular grocery stores? Beer at least? Why don't you want wine sold there?
    I really screwed that up. I really Schruted it.
  • eMMI
    eMMI Posts: 6,262
    bostonlou wrote:
    how's your nuppa??

    is that how you spell it?? My Nana was Finnish (last name Aimo - from Visu Vesi I beleive) and "How's your bellybutton" was the only Finnish I ever learned... she swore at me a lot too but I don't remember it :)

    I've very proud/fond of my Finnish heritage

    Someday I hope to make a trip. I've talked with BrotherLoveBone on here about it...


    my bellybutton's just fine thank you. :) it's spelled napa btw. :)
    why is "how's your bellybutton?" the only thing you've learned? :D but I guess Finnish actually is a quite difficult language to learn..
    well, I think I shouldn't really swear here, so.. :D

    you should be proud of your heritage! :) we all should be proud of our heritage, no matter where we live. :)
    you know when Finland's independence day is? *pop quiz* :)

    make that trip! in fact I think all of you should come to Finland, I welcome you! :) BLB too? great, the more the merrier. :D
    "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."
  • eMMI
    eMMI Posts: 6,262
    hippiemom wrote:
    I read somewhere that Jacques Chirac said the Brits had the worst food in all of Europe .... with the exception of Finland. Is this true? What do people eat over there?

    he did say that.. :(
    it caused a lot of commotion over here, but I guess that's not very surprising..

    we eat home cooked food. :)
    potatoes (a lot of potatoes), meatballs, sausages. porridge. :)
    peasoup with pancake-dessert. a lot of dark bread, not burnt, it has rye in it. :)
    umm, what else..? :)
    home cooked meals. :D

    we also have our own "special" candy, salmiac. which many other countries don't have. okay, at least the US doesn't have it. the same kind we have. :)
    "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."
  • eMMI
    eMMI Posts: 6,262
    _Crazy_Mary_ wrote:
    Is there any alcohol sold in regular grocery stores? Beer at least? Why don't you want wine sold there?

    in grocery stores we have cider, beer and long drinks. the mild stuff, you know.
    I don't think wine should be sold there because there's no need for that..
    we have nicely working liquor store business thingie ( ;) hard to explain, at least in the US it's very different) and there are liquor stores everywhere, in the same buildings with the grocery stores and supermarkets, so wine and that sort of stuff isn't hard to get if you want it.

    as I have mentioned, drinking is a problem here and I don't think it should be made any easier to get the drinks.. (cause some drunks drink almost only wine)
    besides, in everyday grocery stores there isn't the time or the resources to check the age of every client. I'm not saying it's better if the under-aged get "only" beer and all that, but..

    finally. cause we have this liquor store thing here, the people working in those stores are trained professionals. they know about different wines and so on.
    I know, I worked in a liquor store for a summer. :)
    "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."
  • eMMI
    eMMI Posts: 6,262
    kevinbeetle wrote:
    Why is it called Finland?

    okay, I asked around a little.
    and because I had only my friends as sources of information, this isn't very accurate. but this is the best I can do for now. :D

    apparently many many many years ago some Roman dude sailed around the world.
    as he was sailing, he somehow ended up all the way here and found some people. he then named these people Finns.
    afterwards (or during the sailing, dunno) this guy wrote a book. there he mentioned everything he had found on his wonderful journey.
    and there it was, FINLAND mentioned for the first time ever! :)
    naturally, he didn't call this place Finland and he mentioned this place like once, but still.
    apparently the naming was in latin, Finn or something.. :D

    the rest is history. :)

    satisfied? ;)
    "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."
  • OutOfBreath
    OutOfBreath Posts: 1,804
    Is this by any chance a "vinminopol", or as I believe it was called in Finland: "Alko"? Those places rock. We have them in Norway too. Instead of giving up the state monopoly on these things, we have rather built a lot of them. And their selection is marvelous.

    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
  • eMMI
    eMMI Posts: 6,262
    OutOfBreath wrote:
    Is this by any chance a "vinminopol", or as I believe it was called in Finland: "Alko"? Those places rock. We have them in Norway too. Instead of giving up the state monopoly on these things, we have rather built a lot of them. And their selection is marvelous.

    Peace
    Dan

    yes sir! Alko it is! :)
    we have a lot of them too, around where I live we have three of them within a 20 or less minutes car drive away. :D
    the selection is great. and, as I mentioned, the workers are professionals.
    and usually very nice people 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."
  • RavennaSeattle1911
    RavennaSeattle1911 Posts: 478
    cbs 60 minutes tv show had a thing on finland a few years ago

    they said finns are very morose people
    http://www.deliberatedumbingdown.com/

    http://groups.msn.com/PearlJamNirvana/messages.msnw
  • eMMI
    eMMI Posts: 6,262
    RavennaSeattle1911 wrote:
    cbs 60 minutes tv show had a thing on finland a few years ago

    they said finns are very morose people

    morose.? I think that's a common stereotype.. but also kinda true.. ;)
    finnish people don't like to talk a lot. especially about personal things, don't ask me why. :) I have no problem with talking.
    sadly we also ain't so kind and warm when it comes to strangers, hugging someone we barely know is very uncomfortable, unlike in Spain and so on.
    that's funny though, because we have been washing together (sauna) naked for hundreds of years. :D
    maybe the "main feeling" in Finland is kinda melancholy, maybe that's beacause of the long winter, dunno really.
    it's hard to say wherther we're morose or not being a Finn myself.
    I don't see us as morose people, but other people apparently do.

    we like to keep things to ourselves but if you really get to know one of us, we can be pretty fun too! :D
    I'd say that older people here still have that morose-thing going on, but luckily young people (like myself) are getting more free-spirited every day. :)
    but I can be morose too. you can bet on that! ;)

    how do YOU folks see us Finns? morose, eh? :)
    "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."
  • kenny olav
    kenny olav Posts: 3,319
    eMMI wrote:
    okay, I asked around a little.
    and because I had only my friends as sources of information, this isn't very accurate. but this is the best I can do for now. :D

    apparently many many many years ago some Roman dude sailed around the world.
    as he was sailing, he somehow ended up all the way here and found some people. he then named these people Finns.
    afterwards (or during the sailing, dunno) this guy wrote a book. there he mentioned everything he had found on his wonderful journey.
    and there it was, FINLAND mentioned for the first time ever! :)
    naturally, he didn't call this place Finland and he mentioned this place like once, but still.
    apparently the naming was in latin, Finn or something.. :D

    the rest is history. :)

    satisfied? ;)


    I find this stuff fascinating so I did some of my own research. Yes, a roman dude (Tacticus) went exploring northern Europe and called your country "Fennia", and the name "Fenni" may have meant 'wanderer' but no one's sure. But he did say that the people living in Finland at the time (around 100AD) were in the hunter/gatherer nomadic stage. Apparently in old Norse, the word Fenni means "heavy snow" so that could be it too... the land of heavy snow.


    Anyway, you probably know this, but before the scandinavian tribes invaded, the people living in what is now Norway, Sweden, Finland, the nearby parts of Russia and Estonia called themselves "Sami", and those who remain still call themselves that, so that's why you call your country "Suomi".

    This is pretty interesting:

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sami
  • even flow?
    even flow? Posts: 8,066
    How many "endless" days are there, if any in a year in Finland? Where the sun is up for all day. Or any all dark days?

    Why is there a sterotype of Finns who don't like to go into the corners in hockey?

    What does the symbol on the Suomi hockey shirts stand for?

    Have you ever been to North America? And if so, how does it compare to Finland?

    Does everybody have blond hair?

    Are there really 1000 lakes or are there more or less? Are they all fresh water lakes?

    Are the Swedes your number one nemesis when it comes to sport?

    Have you ever seen Santa Claus?

    Is it true that you keep reindeer as pets instead of cats and dogs?

    What is the name of your national anthem?
    You've changed your place in this world!
  • BysTanDeR
    BysTanDeR Posts: 6
    eMMI wrote:
    environment is very important to us Finns. we have a lot of forests and they're really important. many Finns make their living off of forests and wood.
    also we have many lakes (Finland, the country of a thousand lakes).

    protecting the nautre is really close to our hearts.
    we even have schools that have these special "environment courses". protecting the environment is something the children are told about quite early on in school and kid's programmes.

    we also recycle a lot. :)

    umm, is that a good answer?
    I can/will get back to this later? :)

    I have a technical degree in forestry and i remember we heard a lot about environmental protection policies in most scandinavian countries during our courses....how we should use you guys as an example and an inspiration to define our laws and policies out here in KKKanada. I'm glad you can confirm the praises i've heard from my teachers and i salute you guys for that. God knows more countries should spend more money on environmental protection. Especially Canada which, despite the false myth that it is a country ever caring for the environment, has had a very poor record on that issue for some
    time now. Even worse than the U.S., i think.... I just have to think of how we've been plundering the forests out here in Quebec for such a long time while at the same time being very lenient with our plantation policies and regulations.... No wonder we have to go further and further up north to collect the ressources every year.

    And about Koivu...god...this guy has beome some kind of hero, here, since he battled and survived his cancer and came back to the game. And what i love about this guy is that no matter how tall or fearsome a player from another team will be, he's always gonna go at him and fight him in the corner for the puck and stuff. I tell you man...Koivu's a fearless little bastard...and he always gives everything he's got. Gotta love him, man.

    Actually i'd have a question about your country...since this thread is about that, after all...

    Uhhh....how beautiful are women in Finland? :p
    "Never again will we be men
    if our eyes empty themselves of their memory"

    Literal translation of a few lines from one of my favourite poems by Gaston Miron
  • eMMI
    eMMI Posts: 6,262
    Kenny Olav wrote:
    I find this stuff fascinating so I did some of my own research. Yes, a roman dude (Tacticus) went exploring northern Europe and called your country "Fennia", and the name "Fenni" may have meant 'wanderer' but no one's sure. But he did say that the people living in Finland at the time (around 100AD) were in the hunter/gatherer nomadic stage. Apparently in old Norse, the word Fenni means "heavy snow" so that could be it too... the land of heavy snow.


    Anyway, you probably know this, but before the scandinavian tribes invaded, the people living in what is now Norway, Sweden, Finland, the nearby parts of Russia and Estonia called themselves "Sami", and those who remain still call themselves that, so that's why you call your country "Suomi".

    This is pretty interesting:

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sami

    thank you for the link. :)
    it is interesting, even for me. even when I know something about these things, I can ALWAYS learn more. :D

    and, nice of you to find this fascinating. :)
    and, thanks for the confirmation. ;)
    "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."
  • eMMI
    eMMI Posts: 6,262
    BysTanDeR wrote:
    I have a technical degree in forestry and i remember we heard a lot about environmental protection policies in most scandinavian countries during our courses....how we should use you guys as an example and an inspiration to define our laws and policies out here in KKKanada. I'm glad you can confirm the praises i've heard from my teachers and i salute you guys for that. God knows more countries should spend more money on environmental protection. Especially Canada which, despite the false myth that it is a country ever caring for the environment, has had a very poor record on that issue for some
    time now. Even worse than the U.S., i think.... I just have to think of how we've been plundering the forests out here in Quebec for such a long time while at the same time being very lenient with our plantation policies and regulations.... No wonder we have to go further and further up north to collect the ressources every year.

    And about Koivu...god...this guy has beome some kind of hero, here, since he battled and survived his cancer and came back to the game. And what i love about this guy is that no matter how tall or fearsome a player from another team will be, he's always gonna go at him and fight him in the corner for the puck and stuff. I tell you man...Koivu's a fearless little bastard...and he always gives everything he's got. Gotta love him, man.

    Actually i'd have a question about your country...since this thread is about that, after all...

    Uhhh....how beautiful are women in Finland? :p

    I agree with you on those environmental things. and glad I could help you, in a way. :)

    I'm gonna get back to your question as soon as possible, but I'll mention a little something about Koivu.
    I didin't know (how foolish of me.) that his fight against cancer was known globally, so I didn't mention it earlier.
    but yeah, he's a real hero. :)
    a good hockey player and all that. he's great!
    "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."
  • U-R
    U-R Posts: 223
    eMMI wrote:
    I sure don't know!! :D

    I guess right now we're consentrating on the Formula hero(es).
    we have the mumbling Kimi Räikkönen (whatever he speaks is incomprehensible!) and the almighty Mika Häkkinen.. I personally think they're both quite lame.

    the Finnish athletes aren't doing good now. worldwide.
    actually, they do quite suck, don't they? :(
    I wish we could stop Selänne and Koivu from aging!

    i wouldn't be worried. kipprusof is a freak, tommo ruutu is an all-star in waiting, pitkanen is well on his way, and god help us all when kari lehtonen matures a bit, with a decent defence infront of him he would be unbeatable
    if you love somebody, set them free. if somebody loves you, don't fuck up
  • eMMI
    eMMI Posts: 6,262
    U-R wrote:
    i wouldn't be worried. kipprusof is a freak, tommo ruutu is an all-star in waiting, pitkanen is well on his way, and god help us all when kari lehtonen matures a bit, with a decent defence infront of him he would be unbeatable

    thanks for the couraging.! :D
    "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."

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