The Town Stuck in the Medieval Era

The oldest town in Finland originates from 13th century. Sometimes it seems, it can not get past its history.

While visiting Turku, there happened to be the Medieval Market event. The atmosphere was really genuine, with the dramatic abduction of a woman.

Even though the event goes back to the year 1412, for example the folk dance is still pretty much similar to the folk dance nowadays. Only the contemporary music is a bit more melodic.

More information about the Medieval Market in Turku can be found here.

From a Deserted City Center to a Crowded Market Place

The density of population in Finland is quite low. There are times, when you have to travel abroad to see other people.

There is one moment every year, when all the big cities look like a neutron bomb had gone off. During the midsummer Finns tend to migrate to the country side. The footage is shot in the afternoon of the Midsummer eve, just after the shops are closed and people started their travel to the lake sides.

The goal was to shoot the same street after the midsummer, when there is significantly more life on the streets. Unfortunately the schedule didn’t allow us to do it, so we had to use Stockholm as a second best choice.

However, taking boat trips is still fairly popular. Cheap alcohol used to be the main motivator for such trips, but after the EU membership and some taxation changes, people take boats mainly to party and relax.

Midsummer Special

There is nothing more beautiful than Finland during Midsummer. This time we will have a look at the Finnish Midsummer festivities and customs.

We wanted not only to tell something about Midsummer activities, but also deliver the feeling and atmosphere of the event. The peaceful haven between work and summer holiday - which for many of Finns - starts right after the Midsummer.

Bathing in Sauna is of absolute necessity, and the bonfire is a central place, where people gather to feel together - and very Finn.

Even though violence is mentioned, it is not so much violence towards other people, than to one self. With the excessive use of alcohol, the voice level goes easily very high and the ability to consider the consequences goes very low. So during the midsummer night, the calm lakes can be quite noisy. And usually at some point, guys want to take the boat to the lake. The midsummer weekend has the highest drowning rate of the whole summer. And usually the drowned men have their flies open.