Spending Midsummer in Finland (Juhannus) For The First Time

It was quite a memorable and lovely experience spending 2013 midsummer in Finland (June 21)...the sun never sets and I had to make a conscious effort to take a nap or sleep before midnight or else I will never get over the sore throat I have acquired on my 5th day of visit!

Before anything else, here is a list of items I packed and I suggest you should too if you are thinking of visiting Finland (during its midsummer) for the first time:
1. A reliable thick all-around jacket with hood and pockets
2. plenty of socks or tights
3. scarves
4. shirt for those weird times that the weather in Helsinki is at 28C (I found it funny that they call this "oppresively hot" weather...at least coming from the PHL, 28C is already heaven-sent!)
5. a good camera with reliable memory cards (the nature views are spectacular, take note if you have a wide-angle lens, please do not hesitate to bring it)
6. sunglasses
7. sunscreen
8. lip balm
9. formal wear for some formal gatherings
10. leather boots for some hiking or cherry picking
11. bathing suit for the sauna and swimming in the lake (I do not do the nude, sorry..When in Rome, I still do not do as the Romans do...)
12. shoes that are fine to get wet, i suggest crocs - good for lake visits like rowing and simply admiring the view
13. Multivitamins and Vitamin C to prevent getting sick on a lovely holiday
14. Do not forget to bring at least 2 pairs of jeans, thicker the better
15. Pasalubong - the Filipino culture of bringing "pasalubong" (items or food brought to places you would be going to OR items/food brought to PHL friends and relatives from where you came from) is never lost in me. I brought very rare and authentic Barako coffee beans (Liberica) as well as Filipino sweets that everyone from Finland fortunately took to liking :)


The first thing I noticed when Finnair was about to land in Helsinki Vantaa Airport was that Finland is thick with trees! The city was a grid of trees. I can tell right away that the visit will do my lungs good-- all that clean air!

20 things I loved about Juhannus and my visit to Finland:
1. The sun never sets!
2. Barbecue!!!
3. Unlimited Sauna as long as you like
4. I can get lost in the view of the lake

5. The color of the sky and the silvery puffy clouds

6. Licorice:I have never been weirded out by licorice so bring it on Licorice candy, licorice ice cream, licorice shots (yes alcohol! and I loved it)
7. Seeing rudolph(s) for the first time and actually eating rudolph's meat!!!

8. the weather
9. the people are very polite
10. I appreciate the Finn culture of not being wasteful: that I learned to finish the food on my plate all the time!
11. rowing on the lake, of course I wasn't the one doing the actual rowing

12. Waking up in the morning and getting out on the front porch to admire the lake view

13. Sausages and steaks
14. Kallen Fish roe

15. Finnish mustard is not sour at all!
16. I have tasted cider in all possible fruity flavors

17. The trains reach all over the country, are reliable,clean, and they tell you if the ride is going to be late and in how many minutes.
18. Finnish ice cream
19. watching the opera for the first time, it was at Savonlinna Castle
https://www.google.com.ph/search?q=savonlinna&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ei=WDlWUufsJOTsiAeP_YHgAQ&ved=0CEEQsAQ&biw=1366&bih=677&dpr=1#facrc=_&imgdii=_&imgrc=kxBQDw1uwicNVM%3A%3BAzbxm7SVAk5FdM%3Bhttp%253A%252F%252Fwikitravel.org%252Fupload%252Fshared%252F%252Fthumb%252F2%252F2b%252FSavonlinna_hein%2525C3%2525A4kuu_2002_IMG_1635.JPG%252F400px-Savonlinna_hein%2525C3%2525A4kuu_2002_IMG_1635.JPG%3Bhttp%253A%252F%252Fwikitravel.org%252Fen%252FSavonlinna%3B400%3B300

20. Heureka (body shots museum) - this is a nice museum showing real human body parts, cross sections or actual preserved, isolated, and chemically treated muscles, nerves, bones, etc... Truly amazing and interesting!

My visit to Finland was a truly lovely one...I am a very lucky girl! I wish I can come back again next year 2014 :) But that is a very very very fancy wish............ We will see!