End of the year is probably not the best time to visit Finland, when it is cold, grey, and dark there,  and especially Northern Finland, where the Sun stays below the horizon all day. However, that did not stop us from enjoying our week before Christmas in Helsinki, Tampere and Saariselkä, Lapland. And here are a few reasons in comparison to the place we live in:

1. Cleanliness. I used to think that the streets of Helsinki are smelly, but they do not compare anywhere close to Grenoble. Neither was there practically any trash on streets — this also surprised me — and particularly no cigarette butts and dog poop. Also the air quality in Helsinki, which is much larger city, was so much better. And people did not smoke everywhere (and especially not at the front of the entrances)!
2. Selection in supermarkets. The selection of foods and drinks even in smaller supermarkets is so much better than in  any supermarket I have been in France. I can (and probably should) start with a variety of bread, but the same also applies to variety of cold cuts, meats in general (both animals and cuts), kinds of fish and seafood, and surprisingly to types of cheeses and coffees, too. I don’t even want to get to beers and wines.
3.  Modern and cosmopolitan. The French people do not like change, and that’s probably why their towns look like they did hundred(s) years ago, and the same applies to eating and drinking establishments. It is hard to find trendy coffee shops with fancy coffee drinks, or restaurants with creative menus. In Helsinki I really liked the area with the new Music Hall and the Central Library Oodi. It is upbeat and contemporary, with people of all ages enjoying it. The French don’t take care of their buildings — this town alone would be much prettier if the facades were shown some new paint or at least they were cleaned once in a century!
4.  This point is related to the two points above: in Finland you can have a meal in a restaurant practically at any time of the day; here in France we are frequently confronted with the fact that we are supposed to have lunch or dinner exactly at the same time as everyone else — 30 minutes earlier or later, no way! Breakfasts are unheard of; there are some brasseries or coffee shops that open early, but they only serve coffee and beer, and a croissant if you are lucky.

This is not to say that there are not things I don’t like about my hometown or my home country, but these are things I noticed during our 10-day vacation.

As mentioned above, I really liked the new central library, Oodi. We met our friends there two times for breakfast/brunch. The regular breakfast buffet, which was very extensive, cost 7.50 euros per person (in comparison last weekend in a hotel here we paid 8 euros per person for a cup of coffee, and two croissants with jam and butter).

We left Helsinki after a couple of days, first to visit my mother in Tampere and then to fly to Ivalo, and stay with Tomi’s parents in Saariselkä in Lapland, with a plan to do some serious skiing. The sky was clear when we arrived in the early afternoon, so it was not too dark.

We skied on four days, on average 10 kilometers a day. Not all tracks were made, but those that were, were in good condition. We were surprised how hilly they were, practically with no flat sections but long up and down hills.  There were not too many skiers, and most of them did classic, while we were skating.

The first two and the last day were quite black and white, but on the third the sky was clear and it was also much colder. You may notice in the photos below (most taken between 10am. and 1pm.) that it does not get completely dark even if the Sun does not rise above the horizon.

We did not have very many culinary adventures in this trip, but we tried to eat as much fish as we could (one point to add to the list I started this post with),  since in Finland it is fresh and reasonably priced.  We also had some reindeer in Lapland, and three little portions — a peculiarity I have only seen in Finland — in a Chinese restaurant on Christmas Eve. Our return flight was cancelled — without Finnair bothering to tell us, but we found out when attempting to check in online — so, we rescheduled us to an early flight for the following morning. We stayed in the airport hotel Glo for the last night. Our dining options were limited on Christmas Eve evening; the only place open after 8pm. was Burger King. We ordered Whopper+beer set meals. We received super good service and some nice small talk from the server who was tired of other travelers giving him hard time. This certainly left us with a good memory of Helsinki and Finland.

I finish this post with some wintry pictures of Helsinki — you see that there was not much more light than there was  in Lapland.