THE ROAD TO FINLAND
Written by MOTORBIKE EUROPE Road Writers -
Go for a walk in the woods, try a sauna, take a ride to the thousand lakes, where you can swim in peace and quiet, of course, drink vodka without anyone thinking twice about it. Finland has 187,888 lakes and 179,584 islands. The Finnish landscape is mostly flat, with few hills, and the highest mountain is Haltiatunturi, and sits 1,328 metres above sea level, in the northwestern part of Lapland. The region of Karelia in eastern Finland, stretches across the border into Russia.
Besides the many lakes, the landscape is characterized by woodlands, and a very small portion is cultivated land. The largest part athe islands are located in the southwest part of the Åland Islands, and along the southern coastline of the Gulf of Bothnia.
Finland has a northern temperate climate, characterized by cold, and occasionally severely cold winters, but with relatively warm summers. A quarter of Finland's territory, lies north of the Arctic Circle, and the sun doesn’t set in the summer for a period of 73 days, and later, in the winter, it doesn’t rise for a period of 51 days.
Åland is a Finnish autonomous archipelago of 26,530 inhabitants, situated in the northern Baltic Sea, at the entrance to the Gulf of Bothnia, and approx. 40 km from Sweden, and 100 km from the Finnish coast. The archipelago consists of over 6500 islands and skerries, and the capital is Mariehamn. The Åland Islands are one of Earth's few demilitarized zones, and since 1992, has been home to a peace institute. Åland's economy is fuelled by tourism and shipping. Ferry traffic to Sweden and Finland are supported with tax incentives, that favor preferential duty-free shopping. Interestingly, Swedish is the islands' only official language.
Sweden, Norway and Russia share borders with Finland, and after World War I, Finland earned a strip of land along the Norwegian border on the Arctic, such that Norway in the interwar period, had no common border with Russia. During the Second World War, Finland fought against the Soviet Union twice; the first time, in the Winter War from 1939-40, and again, in the Continuation War, in 1941-44. The last war was followed by the Lapland War of 1944-45, when Finland fought against the German forces in the north. In 1952, Finland was co-founder of the Nordic Council, and after the dissolution of the Soviet Union, it became possible for Finland to pursue a different foreign policy, and the country joined the EU, in 1995.
Take an interesting trip to Finland, and don’t forget your mosquito nets and mosquito repellent.
