Rudolph would be heartbroken. I’m about to tuck into my first reindeer meal – and Santa’s cute companion, served in a red berry sauce, is an unexpectedly mouth-watering introduction to the joys of Finnish cuisine.
Reindeer is just one of the delicacies at Helsinki’s Skord restaurant, where nothing on the menu is sourced outside Finland, so everything from beers and very drinkable berry wines to the fowl and foraged fungi comes from the land that’s brought us Angry Birds, Nokia phones and Moomins.
Edible delights include elk and reindeer steaks, moose burgers and venison fillets, often bathed in beguiling sauces from local fruits such as the bright orange sea buckthorn berry. These sweet, earthy and gamey meats are a revelation; I’m mystified why Finnish food isn’t more celebrated.
Perhaps it’s one of the reasons Finland has been ranked top in the UN’s World Happiness Report – for the eighth year in a row – beating the likes of Denmark, Sweden, the Netherlands and Costa Rica. The welcoming posters at Helsinki’s airport proclaim: ‘Welcome to your happy place’.
Capital Helsinki is a three-hour flight from the UK and is studded with award-winning restaurants such as the historic Savoy, with an eighth-floor setting boasting superb city views and across to the refurbished Hotel Kamp – its regal elegance has attracted celebs such as Madonna, Elton John and The Rolling Stones.
The Savoy’s discreetly luxurious dining room, opened in 1937, has entertained everyone from statesmen to spies in a country that walked a tightrope between East and West during the Cold War due to its borders with Russia and Europe.
Even James Bond has dined here, though the late Roger Moore had his cover blown when the pianist started playing the 007 theme, much to his embarrassment. What else keeps the Finns so happy even in the autumn with its dark days and temperatures consistently plunging below 10C?
Helsinki, the capital of Finland, is known for its blend of modern design and historical architecture
Glitzy Hotel Kamp (left) in the Finnish capital has attracted celebs such as Madonna, Elton John and The Rolling Stones
‘Helsinki’s public transport system puts ours to shame, with its brightly coloured trams which are clean, safe and punctual,’ writes Andrew
Well, Finns are justifiably proud of their biggest export: the sauna. Sauna is one of the few Finnish words to have been adapted across the world and there are more than three million of them for a population of just over five million.
Helsinki’s most famous ‘hotspot’ is Loyly, where visitors sweat out their stress before taking a chilly plunge in the Baltic Sea.
Its striking timber structure has seen it voted one of Time magazine’s World’s 100 Greatest Places.
On my trip, I met Finnish author Katja Pantzar, who tells me: ‘Sauna is like a cross between the British pub and a church, as it makes people open up and chat as sitting so close together in the steamy darkness creates an intimacy and openness that is liberating.’
It is a cheery country and a great place to visit as English is spoken widely everywhere (which is fortunate as the language is tricky to master with its terrifying polysyllabic names).
Most signs are in Finnish, Swedish and English (as the country was ruled by the Swedes for 700 years) so it’s easy to get around.
Helsinki’s public transport system puts ours to shame, with its brightly coloured trams which are clean, safe and punctual. And you’re never more than 200 metres from a natural area as one-third of the city is made up of green spaces.
Along with saunas, one of Finland’s most celebrated exports has been writer Tove Jansson’s Moomin trolls, endearing creatures who have brought smiles to millions with their tales of friendship, love and a home which welcomes everyone – like the country itself.
Nearly 34 per cent of Helsinki’s land area consists of green space managed by the city. Esplanadi Park and the statue of Johan Ludvig Runeberg are pictured
Saunas were historically used as winter dwellings and later evolved into a ritual for personal hygiene, relaxation and social gatherings
Pictured: The ‘Escape to Moominvalley’ exhibition, which explores the themes and environments of Tove Jansson’s Moomin stories at the Architecture and Design Museum in Helsinki
Finland is marking the 80th anniversary of Jansson’s debut children’s book with a Hollywood film and an exhibition at the capital’s Architecture & Design Museum, which highlights why the country has a reputation for sleek, eye-catching products.
Its designers have created everything from iconic egg chairs and orange scissors to Marimekko’s designs with their bright colours and patterns.
Professor Frank Martela, who has written books about happiness, says: ‘Even with our long winter, the incessant hours of darkness and an endearing devotion to heavy metal music, we Finns really are happy as society here does a better job of looking after us than in many other places.’
The Finns also have a sense of humour, illustrated by Martela, who jokes about his country’s wellbeing rating: ‘It might be good if we dropped down the list a little. Being the happiest country so many times is starting to put too much pressure on us!’
