Finland In the Winter
The Finnish winter is great especially if you like lots of snow, really cold weather (-25c,) and no sun for months. Most Finns will do what they can to escape it. At least for a little while. They head off to the Canary Islands, Florida, Greece, Italy, the rest of mainland europe, and most anyplace south where the weather is warmer. (Does this sound familiar?)
Finns also travel north to enjoy skiing. Every family has a favorite ski resort where they relax for about a week. My favorite is Ruka located just under 60 kilometers south of the Artic Circle. Christmas and New Years are other times that Finns travel north. I will be at Ruka for New Years '99. So if you are in the area look me up:) Preferably before all the lights go out...
A yacht club in Helsinki Harbor. In the winter it is possible to travel over the ice. There are even winter roads for cars over many of the lakes up north.
A drydock in the island of Suomenlinna in Helsinki Harbor. Inside are some of the old ships still in use around Finland.
Skiing at -26c. It felt like skiing through an ice cube.
Ruka, Finland. Ski during the day, Party at night. Open until May.
There are no Polar bears in Finland. There are however brown bears and they are not very friendly.You can see some brown bears in the Zoo in Helsinki. If you want to see some polar bears, I suggest that you go to the Wildlife Center in Central Park, NY.