Finland, Finland, Finland

Finland, Finland, Finland
The country where I want to be
Pony trekking or camping
Or just watching TV
Finland, Finland, Finland
It's the country for me

We're back from Finland. It was a wonderful - and relaxing - vacation. I needed the time away from work and the regular stride of life.

I really adore Finland. Each time I go back to visit family I am struck with the same sense of magic as I was when I first went to there when I was 19.I first notice the beautiful people. I don’t know how else to describe it. It is that Scandinavian-blonde, dreamy-blue-eyed look that I find so irresistible - my wife being the epitome of this. It gives my first few days when arriving in Finland an unreal, almost Hollywood-esque feel. There are just too many attractive people around for it to be real.

The fantasy-feel continues with the colour green. There’s just so much of it in Finland. Finland is a country of thousands of lakes and islands; 187,888 lakes (larger than 500 m²) and 179,584 islands. The landscape is covered mostly (seventy-five percent of land area) by forests and fens. And it rains a lot. All this translates into lots of green growing things. And it is simply beautiful.

My initial experience stepping into a Finnish coniferous taiga forest was like stepping into a child’s story book. For a boy from New Mexico, it was surreal and miraculous and I half-expected elves and fairies to appear in the thick foliage. I still have that same sensation each time I walk through the forest.

I think the people are wonderful; I guess that comes as no surprise as I have a Finnish wife. And although the inherent shyness of Finns can still be maddening to me at times, they are munificent and affable once you get to know them.

Although I am happy to be back in New Mexico once again, back into the normal routine of life, I miss Finland – as I always do.