The Best Finnish App for Christmas

This time last year, I was celebrating Christmas in Lapland, having an amazing time that included a sauna on a frozen lake, a hot-tub under the stars and the Northern Lights on Christmas Eve.

That trip was also the first time I heard about one of the most useful Finnish phone apps.

Give pizza chance...

A few days ago, I had a sudden realisation: Finland’s national dish is not reindeer and mash, or pickled herring.

No, it’s actually pizza, aka “pitsa”.

Finnish Countryside Fashion

A few weeks ago, my friend Kirsi wrote on Facebook that she was relieved that her 3 year old daughter had finally grown out of her Crocs, as she thought the footwear was an "awful fashion-faux-pas".

I had to point out to her that she might be very mistaken about Crocs not being fashionable, as I had just returned from the Finnish countryside, and there, virtually everybody was wearing them!

The Dark Side of Mökki-life

No Finnish summer vacation would be complete without spending time at a mökki (summer cottage), and indeed sharing pictures on social media.

Mökkis are invariably lovely photogenic wooden buildings, set in the woods and close to a lake, a river or the sea. They are places to relax, go to [the] sauna, swim, barbecue food, drink beer, and enjoy life with friends and family.

But there is a dark side to this idyllic summer setting…