Finland and the Northern Lights

The Northern Lights, or Aurora Borealis, can be seen roughly 200 nights a year in Finnish Lapland. From August to April, most nights are dark enough for the Northern Lights to be visible, however it requires clear nights and a little bit of luck. The further north into Finland you go, the more of a chance you have of seeing them.

The most common ways to go “Aurora spotting” are snowmobile, husky sledding, cross-country skiing and snowshoeing, which is a sport involving walking over long distances with special shoes made of light metal or plastic strapped onto your feet so that the weight is distributed over a wider area and your foot does not sink into the snow. However, if this is not quite your style there are many other options available for witnessing the spectacular light show that is the Aurora Borealis. Purpose-built igloos area very popular way, as you can stay wrapped up in bed and watch the lights through a glass ceiling.

The Auroras are a very rare sight over a city or populated area where too much light is being produced for them to be seen. So the best advice for trying to see them is to go as far away from populated areas as you can and to stay outside between sunset and sunrise, as sometimes they only appear for a few minutes and then disappear.

Finland is supposedly one of the best places in the world to see the Northern Lights and is an opportunity not to be missed if you are in the country.

This photo comes from the website www.scandi.travel

Sources:

http://www.visitfinland.com/article/doze-off-under-the-northern-lights/

http://www.visitfinland.com/article/on-the-hunt-for-the-northern-lights/

Helsinki

Helsinki is the capital city of Finland and is the most densely populated area in the country. It is a coastal city and is located on the Gulf of Finland which is part of the Baltic Sea.

In 2012, Helsinki was the World Design Capital as chosen by the International Council of Societies of Industrial Design. The Monocle magazine ranked the city as the most liveable in the world and Helsinki also ranked in the top ten cities of the world in the Economist Intelligence Unit’s August 2015 Liveability survey.

Aside from all of this though, Helsinki is simply a great place to visit in my opinion. There is so much to see and do, from amazing churches and museums to ice-skating in the Icepark in the centre of the city. There are many guided walks and tours around the city or you can take a walk through the Design District of the city and experience it that way. Alongside all of this you can take a boat tour along the coastline of the city or else out to the Suomenlinna Maritime Fortress which dates back to the eighteenth century during the era of the Swedish rule. The city is full of small little side streets with great cafes and shops and the Design District has lots of independent clothing and design shops, many using traditional Finnish design and materials.

Helsinki is well worth a visit and for me it would be the start of any adventure I was to go in in Finland.

This photo comes from the website www.musqot.com

Sources

http://www.visithelsinki.fi/en

http://www.lonelyplanet.com/finland/Helsinki

http://www.visitfinland.com/helsinki/

http://www.hel.fi/www/helsinki/en