Finland

My next stop is Finland! Just like Estonia, I felt a vibe. It was a true European city. With a population of only 5 million and an area on par with Germany, the country is hardy populated.  The small population allows the county to make decisions and implement them with greater ease. I caught myself thinking why the US can’t be like this... but it is important not to forget that the US has much larger population and it is impossible to have free education, healthcare, and many more services they offer in Finland. But Finland also has a lot of advantages. Unlike all of the other countries we visited, Finland has been independent since 1917.  The Swedes or Russians had always ruled Finland in the past. Neighbored by both, it was hard to be independent and break free. During the Russian rule, Alexander the First promised them autonomy, the ability to use their own language, and freedom of religion. This was really so unlike any other ruler of the time

and definitely good for the Fins since their language had been repressed during the Swedish rule. This idea of a nation within a nation gave Fins the ability to progress even though they were still under another country’s rule. But towards the end of the Russian rule things were not the same and times got worse. Soon enough the Fins wanted independence and broke away from Russia. Finland took advantage of the Russian revolution and became independent. Some Fins say that Lenin let them go because he had friends and connections in Finland and on top of that his hands were already tied because of the revolution happing in Russia. The threat of Russia came back during World War II. Finland was never part of the Soviet Union but it did have a couple problems with it. To start, they both felt like Finland was too close to the iron curtain and St. Petersburg (Leningrad at the time). Before the war, Finland had 15 percent more territory. But during the winter war from 1939-1940, the Soviets took the finish territory that they wanted. Then later, Finland allied with German Nazis against soviets. Not because they agreed with Nazi ideology, but because they wanted to resist the Soviet threat. After the war they had to pay 250 million dollars in war reparations to the Soviets because they lost. But they were never under them again. Enough with the history! I was also pretty shocked by the extremely high prices. We ordered water at a café and it was about $13! Apparently the average wage is $3,000 per month and the taxes start at 20% can go up to 55%. Everything is included in the taxes, even charity. A funny quote that locals say is “A poor person can't afford to buy cheaply,” it means that it is better to invest in something than buying cheap things over and over again. Another interesting fact was that in 1907, Finland was the second country to give women the right to vote in Europe and also the first to allow them to be in parliament. On the religious front, the country is largely Lutheran. The difference between Catholics and Protestants in Finland (according to our Protestant guide) are: Protestants accept gays, don't worship saints, do not follow the pope, the priest can marry and ladies can be ordained, they also recognize divorces and are not obliged to go to church. These differences don’t necessarily apply to all protestant denominations around the world. Overall, Helsinki was a great city and I look forward to Oslo!