Destinations

Naked Heat in a Cold Climate | Norman Miller | Finland, Helsinki and the South, Helsinki

I reach the top of the wooden steps and look down at a hole cut in the ice which stares back at me like a very dark pupil in the white eye of a very frozen Gulf of Finland.

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Kaurismaki’s Finland | Vijai Maheshwari | Finland, Helsinki and the South, Helsinki

.....with almost naked men in skivvies roller skiing along the highway

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All the Rage in Helsinki | David Atkinson | Finland, Helsinki and the South, Helsinki

Outside the blizzards of the bleak Finnish mid-winter may be howling a chilly symphony but, inside, the exotic beat of tango fills the room

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Northern Lights, Finland (with Kids) | Adrian Mourby | Finland, other areas of Finland, Saariselka

When my son was 8 he approached Philip Pullman in the checkout of our local Sainsburys and discussed Northern Lights with him at considerable length. I was impressed with both of them, John for having read the book and Pullman for not thumping him

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Savoring Saunas | Greg Breining | Finland, Helsinki and the South, Lauttasaari

What compares to your first deep breath in a genuine Finnish sauna, where the aroma of spruce mingles with a hint of wood smoke? Nothing. Nothing, perhaps, except pouring hot lead up your nose

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Finland | Dea Birkett | Finland, Helsinki and the South, Kuopio

We pretended we were Swiss Family Robinson, surviving in the wilderness all on our own, picking mushrooms as big as dinner plates from the path down to our pontoon

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So Far, Snow Good | Jasper Winn | Finland, Helsinki and the South, Kuopio

Then there was a salutary trip to the Austrian Tirol with a local friend who had skied from birth and was frankly cruel in her efforts to get me to ski like a member of the human race

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Bear Faced Encounters in the Finnish Forest | Tim Bird | Finland, other areas of Finland, Suomussalmi

Then Jani points to our left, where the soft brown shape of a handsome bear comes brushing, almost silently, on all fours through the saplings and undergrowth

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Making the Case for a Baltic Odyssey | Tim Bird | Finland, other areas of Finland, Toija

Lurking Trojan warriors, perhaps, preparing for attack? No. My wife and the children returning with a bag full of fresh chanterelles plucked from the forest floor

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Blazing Paddles | Clive Tully | Finland, other areas of Finland, Kermankoski

Devoid of motor boats, Lake Saimaa in Kolovesi National Park is a tranquil wilderness.

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