Archive: Culture
Innovation Gives Finland A Firm Grasp on Its Future
After Robert G. Kaiser returned to Washington, he wrote that Finland may be a model for the rest of Europe, especially as the continent faces an uncertain political future after France and the Netherlands rejected a proposed constitution for the...
By Scott Anderson | July 26, 2005; 02:52 PM ET | Comments: (22)
A Blond Nation, in a Bind on Immigrants
During his travels in Finland earlier this summer, Robert G. Kaiser discussed the delicate issue of diversity with his Finnish hosts. "Finland is Europe's most homogeneous society, a nation of mostly blond ethnic Finns whose declining birthrate creates the classic...
By Jeffrey Marcus | June 11, 2005; 10:30 PM ET | Comments: (34)
Farewell
HELSINKI -- Hard to believe our trip has come to an end. When we plotted it out, three weeks in Finland seemed like a major enterprise. Now that they're over, we can only wonder how it passed so quickly. We...
By Robert G. Kaiser | June 10, 2005; 04:30 PM ET | Comments: (407)
Porvoo's Bar Mary
PORVOO -- A band invited to perform at Bar Mary in the beautiful historic town of Porvoo, just 30 miles outside of Helsinki, is in for a real treat. Before going on stage the musicians first take in the sauna...
By Lucian Perkins | June 10, 2005; 11:30 AM ET | Comments: (44)
Kustom Kars on Helsinki's Streets
HELSINKI -- You won't see many SUVs or four-wheel-drives in Finland even though the driving in the winter can be quite treacherous here. The majority of the cars we've seen are small European ones that are comfortable and easy on...
By Lucian Perkins | June 9, 2005; 12:00 PM ET | Comments: (215)
The Precocious Young
HELSINKI -- One impression will stick with me for a long time from this trip: Finland has a lot of talented, precocious young people. They pop up in all sorts of places. The leader of the country's third-biggest political party,...
By Robert G. Kaiser | June 8, 2005; 05:00 PM ET | Comments: (137)
Finland's Classy Design
HELSINKI -- You don't need to go to Finland to appreciate its style and design. Finnish glassware and Arabia pottery, Marimekko fabrics and modern furniture, and its great modern architecture are all famous around the world. But it is still...
By Lucian Perkins | June 8, 2005; 12:30 PM ET | Comments: (155)
Down but Not Out
HELSINKI -- Finland is prosperous, and abject poverty is essentially nonexistent here. This does not mean, however, that everyone is happy or well-situated in life. There are people out of work (about 10 percent of the workforce) and people employed...
By Robert G. Kaiser | June 7, 2005; 12:30 PM ET | Comments: (108)
The Finnish Sauna
HELSINKI -- The small sign marking the location of the Harjuntorinkatu sauna on the side of the apartment building where it is housed was easy to miss, but you couldn't glance past the nearly naked men lounging out front next...
By Robert G. Kaiser | June 3, 2005; 10:45 AM ET | Comments: (126)
A New Baby Is Coming
LEMPAALA -- Paavo and Elina Suikki, both medical doctors, are about to have their first baby. Elina, 31, is an obstetrician, so it's been easy to watch her baby grow with the sonogram in her office. "It looks like a...
By Robert G. Kaiser | June 1, 2005; 10:06 AM ET | Comments: (282)
Nordic Walking
TURKU -- Not everything we've seen in Finland has looked entirely normal to our American eyes. For instance, since we arrived on May 19 I've noticed Finns of all ages cross-country skiing without snow and skis in the springtime weather...
By Lucian Perkins | May 31, 2005; 04:45 PM ET | Comments: (46)
Music: A Finnish Preoccupation
KUHMO -- Finnish parents can send their children to a state-sponsored music institute at any time after they are eight months old. Day care centers here have music classes and a stock of kids' musical instruments. Every Finnish school offers...
By Robert G. Kaiser | May 27, 2005; 01:35 PM ET | Comments: (125)
Women's Request Night
JOENSUU -- Four nights a week the big club on the second floor of the Karelia Hotel here jumps to the beat of the tango. With style and discipline, couples twirl around the dance floor, bathed in blinking light created...
By Robert G. Kaiser | May 25, 2005; 03:31 PM ET | Comments: (84)
Introduction to Finland Diary
Finland just might be the world's most interesting country that Americans know least about. It has the best school system in the world, some of the most liberated women (the president is female), more cell phones per capita than...
By Robert G. Kaiser | May 23, 2005; 10:00 AM ET | Comments: (897)
