Above is a funny explanation of the differences between the Nordic countries and the language issue - Finnish is completely different from the others.
I am in the archipelago off Turku, Finland at a cottage of my host. You may not know, but the archipelago is the largest in Europe, and has 22,000 islands, many of them uninhabited.
Most Finnish families have a holiday house in the countryside usually by the lake or the sea. It’s called Mokki life (cottage life) in Finland. In the summer holidays most Finns head off for Mokki life to experience a rural or seaside escape.
These cottages are usually passed on through the generations, and sometimes there are multiple cottages on the same piece of land for the extended family. Its a great tradition as the whole family can get together in summer including grandparents who can dote on their grandchildren. The kids love it as they get to run around, climb trees, swim, mess around in boats, and play with their cousins.
Of course there is always a sauna building. I experienced a proper Finnish sauna for the first time.
What you do is throw water on the hot rocks, the more water you throw the hotter it gets, and then run out of the sauna and dive into the water. It feels great. I repeated the process several times, and felt so relaxed.
We are on the main deep water channel between Turku and Stockholm, so in the evening the two passenger ships that make the run arrive and leave after they have unloaded. You have two companies to choose between with a morning service and an evening service. This ship was built in the shipyards at Turku, and has a new piece of technology (the pipe that extends vertically from the top) that helps dramatically to cuts emissions (note no smoke bellowing). Clean Tech (environmental sustainable technology) is promoted heavily in Finland, and is a growing export activity. This pipe is an example of the Maritime research and shipbuilding technology at Turku.
http://www.cleantechfinland.com/ - click to learn about Clean Tech Finland
The women of this island seem to have a bewitching affect on men. My host's father was a young city law student who visited with a friend and saw a beautiful blonde Finnish country girl unloading sacks (this island is still a working farm) from a horse and cart, thought he would be a gentleman and help, but found he couldn't even lift one of the sacks. He was very impressed, and fell in love. There are numerous stories like this. The only way to reach this island is by boat, there are no cars, no fast food restaurants, so you have to walk everywhere or ride a horse. In summer the schoolchildren used to row a boat to school: in winter they would ski or ice skate as the river freezes over. The health benefits must be immense, because some people don't appear to age, and are fit and active into their late years. This is traditional Finnish rural living, and the Finns simply love being close to nature.
Meal times are announced by the ringing of a bell, and blonde haired kids seem to emerge everywhere from the countryside. Its amazing how fast they turn up!
However, I'm still connected to the outside world - Finnish telecommunications are an excellent network, and with super fast internet speeds.. Much faster than Australia's, although that is not hard. Finlands combination of healthy outside living, and advanced technology seems to be the answer to modern living. Its crazy to believe I'm still only half an hour by boat and car to the centre of Turku.
At night time I asked about the Winter War against the Soviet Union in WW2. The Finns are immensely proud of their military history. Every male had done military service, and they see it as a patriotic duty to do so. Finland still has what Australians call National Service, which my father completed in Australia. They have incredible group cohesion as a result, because it brings together men from all walks of life. Over 80% of male Finns have completed National Service, which is compulsory for males over 18, and there 900,000 members of the Army Reserve out of a population of only 5.5 million people. The Finns have to defend the longest land border in Europe, and are contemptuous of Sweden who don't have the same commitment to military tradition, and of course have Finland as a defence against the Russians. Sweden was neutral during WW2, whilst there was heavy fighting in Finland. Most Finnish families had at least one relative who served. Other countries are looking at Finlands defence model, especially poor Sweden, that had given up their National Service, and with the latest tension with Russia, realise they are in big trouble.
Why the world is looking at Finland's defence model: https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/finland/2017-10-09/finnish-model%3Famp
"In Finland Swedes are commonly thought of as gay, the men at least." said Roman Schatz. "They are soft and pale, they don't have hair on their balls. In the Swedish army they don't have to cut their hair. They give them hairnets!" (In 1971 the Swedish Army actually did order 50,000 hairnets to contain their soldiers newly fashionable long locks) wrote Michael Booth in, The Almost Nearly Perfect People behind the Myth of the Scandinavian Utopia.
The Finns are smart and haven't given up their guns either, they have the third highest rate of gun ownership in the world. A Finnish sniper, Simo Hayha, a national hero, in WW2 has the world record of over 500 confirmed kills with a bolt action rifle without a rifle scope - they can shoot straight, thats for sure! The hunting is still good, particularly in the North. Furthermore, many Australians, especially farmers and hunters, might know the Finnish arms manufacturer, Sako, that arguably makes the best bolt action rifles in the world.
I asked whether the Russians would try and come again.
One answered, "Of course, but we will be ready."
