Located within the Natural History Museum of Kauhava, the Jaeger Museum of Finland is a permanent exhibition telling the story of the formation, operations and history of nearly 2000 young men who went to Germany during World War One to learn military skills, with the aim fighting for an independent … Continue reading
Porkkanalaatiko is a traditional Finnish Casserole made from carrots and rice baked in a custard of eggs and milk. The vegetables are cooked and pureed, mixed with milk or cream and eggs, sweetened with brown sugar or molasses, flavored with nutmeg and then baked in the oven. The carrots make … Continue reading
Katinen Manor House Hotel & Restaurant is in Hämeenlinna (Southern Finland), only 3 kms from the Hämeenlinna city centre and surrounded by 850 hectares of land and forest belonging to the Manor. The Manor is only an hour’s drive from Helsinki or from Tampere and is a great place for a … Continue reading
Lihaperunasoselaatikko has similar ingredients to the English “Shepherd’s Pie” or “Cottage Pie” but is slightly different in that the mince is mixed thoroughly with the mashed potato before baking. However, many Finnish versions of this recipe nowadays follow the English approach, where the mashed potato mix is added above the … Continue reading
In early Summer as the first locally grown fresh vegetables become available in stores and markets, Finns make this simple and delicious summer vegetable soup. The soup really highlights the delicate flavors of the fresh vegetables in a subtle way. Even better when served with freshly baked bread, a light … Continue reading
Historic and attractive old Manor Houses are scattered across Finland, mostly in the southern regions. Quite a few of these are now operating as museums, restaurants or hotels. There are quite a number of Finnish Manor House Hotels, although for the non-Finn they can be a little hard to track down. … Continue reading
Formerly a landed estate, today Söderkulla Manor Restaurant welcomes its guests by offering them Finnish and international delicacies. Söderkulla’s kitchen specialises in meals made of fresh Finnish ingredients of good quality and served with carefully selected wines. The emphasis is on traditional Finnish food with an international influence. The Manor features a … Continue reading
If you’re aiming to visit Bengtskär, Hanko or the southern archipelago, it’s well worth checking to see if you can visit Örö – an island coastal artillery fortress in the archipelago that offers up some unique scenery and wildlife as well as the interesting military and cultural history. Örö is still … Continue reading
While there are many books on the Russo-Finnish Winter War of 1939-1940, there are very few available in English that cover the 2nd war that Finland fought against the USSR, the “Continuation War” of 1941-1944. While not neglected in Finnish-language studies, there is a dearth of historical works in English … Continue reading
Seventy to eighty years ago the majority of Finns were still living in rural communities and in general only had six years of school education. Most Finns spoke only Finnish and listened to Finnish-language songs. As a result, popular music was generally in Finnish and foreign hit songs were often … Continue reading
As elsewhere in the world, Fast Food is popular in Finland and there are any number of fast food outlets. But on the whole, Fast Food in Finland is dominated by half a dozen large chains along with some up and coming contenders. Kotipizza is the largest, with the Hamburger … Continue reading
Laskiainen is very old Finnish festival, with ancient pre-christian origins (it seems to have originally been a celebration marking the end of winter and the arrival of spring) that morphed into a popular orthodox christian celebration which falls just before Lent. In it’s current form it has been around since … Continue reading
