Finland

I recently came back from a holiday in Helsinki, the capital of Finland. We chose it for our holiday because we had some special British Airways miles which needed using up and we could fly direct from where we live.



I was so wonderfully surprised by what a fantastic place it is - clean, green and beautiful, with relaxed, gentle, polite people everywhere we went. There was water everywhere and people swimming in it! I particularly noticed a public children's play park with buckets, spades, diggers and other toys provided - no one had stolen or broken them, and there was no litter or dog poo.



All the furniture and furnishings (in our apartment and in cafes and on the marvellous public transport) was so beautifully comfortable and well-designed, and all the people dressed in a way which I so admired - simple and elegant and, again, somehow comfortable. The architecture was stunning.



I think Helsinki would be a great place to lead a really full but very simple, environmentally conscious life. Unfortunately my husband has a spinal injury and would struggle with the icy winters (I would LOVE them - I used to live in Austria!) so I can't apply for a teaching job there - at least for now.

Finland