|
|
|
Cuisine That Leaves Traces On Your Waist
Finland is the country where there is no point in trying meat. Well, no, it is really tasty and diverse there – from bear meat to venison. But it is worth trying only in case you don’t like fish. And if you don’t like fish, then what are you doing in Finland? The country’s flag depicts blue lakes and white snow, and there are thousands of fish looking at you from these blue lakes.
As you can understand, a good dinner in Finland is mainly prepared of fish. And mind that you are most likely to get potatoes as a garnish. Finnish «diet» also consists of a great diversity of cereals and pastries, which is connected with local climate. Because of severe winters local people had to «struggle» for their harvest and make use of everything that can be planted. That is how a great variety of buns and bread appeared in Finland. For Finns bread is one of the most important products, and a part of the country’s history. Bread is produced of all kinds of cereals, in the north they even add some blood to it. In one of her books, Astrid Lindgren mentions palts which are prepared of rye flour, pig blood and fat – first, they are boiled, and then fried with butter and apples. Not only Finns, but also the Swedes eat palts.
Another famous Finnish dish is Karjalanpiirakka, the easliy-cooked Karelian pastry, prepared of unleavened dough, filled with buckwheat, potatoes or barley. Finns usually eat it with a mixture of butter and boiled eggs. Cereals, porridge, pastries, cakes, pancakes… even if you try to avoid mashed potatoes, you will definitely put on weight. Another famous finnish «pie» is Kalakukko, a Christmas delicacy prepared of fish baked inside a loaf of bread. The filling is made of onion, fish fillet and cream.
Finland Real Estate Outlook
The real estate in Finland is great for the buyers, since it is quite a simple procedure for buying in Finland. The costs for buying in Finland are really low as compared to other countries in Europe. Helsinki is a major city as well as being the capital of the country. Even though Finland is known as the land of the Midnight Sun, Santa Claus and Reindeer, it is one of the most advanced and industrialized countries in the world especially in the field of telecommunications. It is also ranked as among the first 20 countries in the Human Development Index of United nations. In 2006, it was ranked as 11th most livable country in the world.
This year the Finnish real estate especially has seen double digit figure growth at 11.2% in 2010 first quarter as compared with 2009 first quarter. This has been the best performance in Finland in over a decade. The prices have even risen higher in Helsinki by more than 15% this year from the previous year. For the older dwellings and block of flats the average price for the Finland real estate for sale is 2071 Euros per square meter. While in the area known as greater Helsinki, the rise is spectacular and the average price for these dwellings is 2169 Euros.
Not only have the prices for the older dwelling and blocks of flats increased, the price rise for the newer block of flats has also increased appreciably. The price increase is not as high as the older dwellings. But depending on the location, the pieces for the new dwellings has increased anywhere from 8.5% to 14.7% since the previous year. Even though the international real estate for sale for really down in 2008 and 2009, Finland started to show recovery in the last year itself.
Finland is a Beautiful City
Finland is known for its beautiful lakes, they are around 200,000 in number not including the small ones. The water quality of Finland is just excellent; the city has lush green surroundings and dense forests all around the sea and other water bodies. In Finland, the travelers can sit on the shore of a lake for fishing and enjoy the glimpse of reindeer or moose in silence.
Alcoholic drinks are the significant part of the Finnish culture. The national favorites here are the Finlandia vodka, Koskenkorva, the Salmiakki Koskenkorva. The other drinks served here include cloudberry liqueur. During the winter period Finland provides outstanding opportunities for cross-country skiing. There are many ski resorts which are situated north of the Arctic Circle in Lapland. There is also a Santa Claus village in the town of Rovaniemi in Finland this place attracts tourists in large number.
Northern Finland and Winter Sports
