Sample travel article: Finland
Finland
Written by: Cristina Dima
Date: Apr 6, 2006
The Republic of Finland is one of the Nordic countries. Located in northern Europe, the country is bordered by the Baltic Sea and the Gulf of Finland to the South and the Gulf of Bothnia to the west. Interesting to note, the Finnish name for the country is Suomi. The capital and the largest city is Helsinki. The official language is Finnish and Swedish is the second official language.
Finland offers a wide array of holiday options, though it isn’t the land of mass tourism. If you are looking for a quiet place, away from crowded beaches, noise and traffic, the best destination is Finland.
If you are passionate of unspoiled landscape and lakes, if you like to go hiking, Finland is the best option for you. But nature is not the only reason to come to Finland. Swedes, for example, like to come for romantic and exotic holiday in Finland, while Italians look for out of the ordinary. Germans have known Finland as a travel destination for years and come to Finland to enjoy the nature. The British come to Finland for the lovely winters and to visit Santa Clause in Lapland. The Americans come to enjoy Europe and its old history. If you think the language differences might pose problems for you, fear not because English is the most widespread foreign language in Finland.
Finland’s climate is influenced particularly by its geographical position; hence the climate has characteristics of both maritime and continental climate, depending on the direction of air flow. Hence the temperature in Finland is usually several degrees higher than in other areas on the same latitude, like Siberia or south Greenland. When the western winds prevail, the weather is warm. When the Asian continental climate extends to Finland, the winters are very cold and the summers very hot. However, the weather can change rapidly especially in the winter.
What to visit? Where to go? Helsinki is the best destination if you want to go shopping, particularly before Christmas. You can find anything and everything can be found in shops, from gifts, cards and wool sweaters, to the fancy stores on the Esplanade, the most picturesque boulevard in Helsinki.
Of course you can take the kids and visit Santa Clause in Lapland. It will be the trip of their lives and I bet everyone will have fun being kids again.
Finland is also a great destination if you like to visit cultural sites. There are several World heritage sites in the country: Petäjävesi Old Church, Bronze Age Burial Site of Sammallahdenmäki, Old Rauma, Fortress of Suomenlinna, Verla Groundwood and Board Mill.
~~~~meant as sample; all copyrights reserved to Cristina Dima~~~
