Turku is a beautiful port city on the South West coast built along the Aura river. Its also Finland's oldest city, and the old capital, before Helsinki became the capital. The city is officially bilingual with Swedish. Over 3 million passengers transit the port on the way to Stockholm where ferries leave twice a day usually the morning and the evening. You can also bring your car across if your doing a road trip in Scandinavia.
Turku cathedral is the oldest and most important building in Finland. Christianity was brought to Finland by Bishop Henry from England before he was martyred in the country. The Archbishop of Turku is the most senior bishop in Finland.
73% of Finland's 5.5 million people are Christian, and 72% belong to the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland, which is of course is Protestant, as you can probably tell from the lack of ostentation of the interior. There are only 12,000 Roman Catholics in the entire country.
Protestantism has heavily influenced Finland, because Martin Luther stressed the importance of scripture reading, Finland became one of the most literate countries in Europe. Education became highly valued in Finland, with secondary school teachers now requiring a Masters degree before being able to teach. Furthermore the Finnish school system is considered world class.
The Finns have what the German sociologist, Max Weber, called the Protestant Work Ethic, with a focus on discipline, hard work, and frugality. One result is they have the third most competitive economy in the world. They are also rock solid reliable, and honest - they will keep their word. As Michael Booth wrote in, The Almost Perfect People, "If a Finn tells you they are going to bring you firewood on Friday, you can bet your sweet ass the firewood will be there on Friday because, fifty years ago if the firewood wasn't there, you might die. Make a mistake in this country, and everyone will know you screwed up." Its also considered poor form to 'show off' or 'brag' about accomplishments in Finland, you just do your job.
Hesburger is a successful Finnish company based in Turku, that is the largest fast food restaurant in Finland. I went there for lunch, and I was very impressed. I can see why the Finns prefer this restaurant rather than McDonalds, which has struggled, especially in Turku. Hese, is a Finnish entrepreneur who started with one kiosk on the side of the road.
Turku has become the gastronomical capital of Finland with a booming restaurant business using fresh local products, and organic when possible. This is Cafe Art by the side of the river that is very popular.
"Kauppahalli" the indoor market hall of Turku from the late 1800's. This is foodie heaven, where you you can buy the best fresh meat, seafood, fruits, and baked goods available in Turku. MBakery is an award winning bakery in Finland.
I had a traditional Finnish dinner at a local family owned restaurant in my neighbourhood.
Finns eat a lot of potatoes and root vegetables. The country is renowned for the quality of its berries, which are full of vitamins and flavour from the amount of light.
Now, talking about light - today the sun went down at 10.50pm and will rise again at 3.30am! In the North, the sun will shine for 24 hours for three months, and in winter there is no sun for two months! This is the land of the midnight sun. In Lapland, the far Northern area the lowest temperatures in winter are between -45 Celsius, and -50 Celsius - you have to be tough and co-operate with your neighbours to survive in this country. Hence, the Finns have strong community bonds, and also shows why a sauna is a necessity - there are more than two million saunas in Finland. In the old days mothers would give birth in the saunas as they were warm and clean. When people died they were washed in the sauna before burial. Hence, a sauna is considered a sacred place in Finland.
Further reading:
Max Weber, The Protestant Work Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism
Michael Booth, The Almost Perfect People: The Truth about the Nordic Miracle
What is the Protestant Work Ethic - click to learn more
