Why Finland?

I wouldn’t say I didn’t know anything about Finland before my first visit there. I’d rather say that I knew too much. I studied Hungarian Grammar and Literature at the college and since the Hungarian-Finnish cultural and linguistic relationship, we learned a lot about Finland and the Finns, about the country, the language, the history. And about the climate.

I knew it very well this is a beautiful country with a lot of advantages but unfortunately, most probably I will never see it because this is just too cold for me. Under plus 20 C degrees and without sunshine I am suffering. Not to mention that I am a passionate, emotional, Mediterranean-typed woman. It was clear that I have nothing to do with Finland and Finns. Or still, do I?

‘Life has a good sense of humor’ – I said to myself when I met the Love of my life: a real Finnish man. We used to live in Budapest but after a short time it was clear that we will move to Finland one day. I told him if he would like me to go there more than once in my life, my first meeting with the country should be during the summer. It was a good decision because I had the chance to prepare and by the time we got there I couldn’t wait to meet his family, his friends and I couldn’t wait to see the country where he is from. We landed in Turku at the beginning of August of 2012. I still remember my first impressions when I stepped out of the plane. It was late evening, I could see a forest, those unbelievable clouds and I took a deep breathe and said: ‘It smells good!’

We came from the Hungarian summer heat and it was just 15 C degrees on the other day when we arrived at Vimpeli, where we planned to spend the first part of our holiday. When my boyfriend told me that he would heat up the sauna I was frightened but I took a deep breath and replied: ‘All right, I come and help you and please, open up a cold beer for me as well!’ Although I would have given almost everything for a cup of hot tea and a warm blanket. A few hours later when I was swimming into the sunset, naked in the 10 C degreed-lake, I already knew I would love this country.

Helsinki is wonderful. This is something completely different than what we have in Hungary. It’s much more and more exciting than what Hungarians know about Finland. I love the sea, the gulfs, the clouds and the sparkling sunshine. I love the houses, the trams, I love that the streets are clean and the well maintained public toilets. The taste of the Finnish mustard is matchless; the long drinks are divine as well as pastries. Helsinki is clean and quiet. No noise, no crowds, no stress.

We had gotten married in the summer of 2013 in Hungary and shortly after moved to Finland. After spending few months in the capital city now we are living countryside, although we are still not too far from Helsinki.

My blog is written in Hungarian but I would like to share a few things in English as well for my non-Hungarian readers. You can follow me on Instagram, Twitter and Pinterest too.

Oszd meg, ha tetszik: