What to do when you slip and fall

Ice can be beautiful. Especially when the sun shines over the frozen sea. But if the streets freze over it can also get quite dangerous.

Around 20 000 people slip, fall and injure themselves on the ice every month in Finland. The question is what you can do if that happens to you as well. For that case Yle News put together some useful information that will help you to figure out what to do in case something happens. In yesterdays article you can read what your rights are and who is responsible in case you fall.

Check it out to be informed. Stay save and have enjoy the Finnish winter!

Wine at the supermarket

In Finland wine can't be bough at the supermarket but just at the state owned Alko shops, right?

Well, not exactly. At bigger supermarkets you will indeed also find some wine on the shelves next to the beer and cider. Those are no normal wines though but light wines. Since they have less than five percent of alcohol they can be sold at supermarkets as well.

So if you see them maybe give them a try. But be warned, they taste not like real wine and are also not much cheaper. An additional visit to Alko might make sense.

Alcohol from 9 till 9

As you might know in Finland any alcohol above 4.7 percent can only be bought from the state owned Alko shops. Anything below like beer and cider is also available at the normal supermarket. But also here you have to face some restrictions.

All alcoholic beverages are just allowed to be sold between 9 am and 9 pm. For the rest of the time the shelves are being covered or even locked and even if you find a bottle hidden somewhere between the milk and the sausages it won’t help you since the staff is not allowed to sell it to you anymore.

So keep those times in mind when you plan your next party. Don’t run out of booze after nine!

Zebra anarchists

Finns are probably one of the most rule loving nations on this planet. Everything goes by the book here. It even surprises someone like me coming from Germany. Just one example are those funny numbers you have to take whenever you want to get customer service anywhere in Finland. This system is useful, no doubt. But even if there is no other customer in a radius of the next 20 kilometers I can assure you that you won’t be served before you take one of those numbers. Not to mention all the regulations when it comes to the topic alcohol. But more on that some other time.

All those rules are of course important to keep the country as organized, clean and international successful as it is. And people in Finland are glad to follow them. The really low crime rate reflects that.

But there is one thing where the Finnish rule following need stops working. And that is when it comes to zebra crossings. Finns just don’t stop if there is a pedestrian waiting to cross the street. After observing this for while I began to doubt that zebras here even have the same function as in most other countries. Maybe they meant something completely different like “try to not to loose speed when you pass by here with your car”. But I was assured that this is not the case – at least not officially. 

But I have to admit that last week when I was again waiting to pass the street finally one car stopped and gave me way. I thanked the driver with a waving gesture being happy to prove my observation about the Finnish zebra anarchists wrong. Then I realized: the car was from Estonia.

Finnish Flagging

Today Finland got a new president. His name is Sauli Niinistö from the National Coalition Party (Kokoomus) and for that occasion there was a flag day in the whole country. Finns actually find a lot of occasions for flagging. You might have realized that if you have been spending some time here already.

Here some things you should know about the Finnish flag days.

When?

Occasions for flagging can be birthdays of great writers, composers or other Finnish heroes. But also on other holydays and political events like elections or the inauguration of the president (as today) are worth hissing the flag.

Here you find a list of all of Finland’s flag days.

How?

Every building has its own flag pole and has to organize that the flag is hissed on the official flag days. Usually the flag is then flown from 8 am till sunset. There are exceptions e.g. at Midsummer.

The correct usage of the Finnish flag is even defined by law. According to it the flag is to be treated respectfully. The flag must not be dirty or damaged and never touch the ground. Otherwise it has to be burned or cut into small pieces (that make it impossible to recognize it as part of a flag). Violating this law can lead to a fine.

All those regulations sound quite strict. Especially for me coming from Germany. I am not sure if there ever has been a fine for not using the flag correctly. But anyway it is quite interesting to know about this law I think.