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Finland
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'''Finland''' is a part of the Northern [[Europe]] and one of the Nordic countries. It is a member state of the [[European Union]] as well as the [[Schengen Agreement]]. Its neighbouring countries are [[Sweden]], [[Norway]] and [[Russia]], but the most probable transit country on your way hitchhiking there from Southern Europe is [[Estonia]] as the [[E67|Via Baltica]] ([[E67]]) road connects Finland with [[Prague]] via the Baltic States and [[Poland]].
It is illegal to hitchhike directly on motorways (''moottoritie'') and some two-land expressways roads (''moottoriliikennetie'') in Finland. You can recognize these from the green signs. On these roads, you can hitch from on-ramps (which often have bus stops that drivers will stop at) and [[petrol stationsstation hitchhiking|petrol stations]]. The cars cannot stop in crossing areas, and some drivers who disobeyed this rule and picked up hitchhikers have been fined.
In the south, it is a good idea to avoid motorways and opt for smaller local roads. Though there is less traffic, there is more room for cars to stop. Finnish drivers will only stop where they feel it is safe, so try to thumb at bus stops.
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*I disagree with most of the above. See the [http://hitchwiki.org/en/Talk:Finland Talk-page].--[[User:Astikain|Astikain]] 14:40, 6 September 2012 (CEST)
==Safety = Cities ===* [[Espoo]]* [[Hämeenlinna]]* [[Helsinki]]* [[Joensuu]]* [[Jyväskylä]]* [[Kuopio]]* [[Lahti]]* [[Oulu]]* [[Pori]]* [[Seinäjoki]]* [[Tampere]]* [[Turku]]Hitchhiking is quite safe in Finland. As always, common sense is your friend.
=== Other areas =Culture ==* [[Lapland]] == Border crossing == There are no border checkpoints between Finland, Sweden and Norway. You can cross these borders without stopping. * [[Torfyanovka-Valimaa border crossing]] with [[Russia]]* [[Brusnichnoe-Nuijamaa border crossing]] with [[Russia]] [[File:Washing car window Hitchhiking used to be popular in the North of Finland.JPG|thumb|240px|Hitchhiker [[User:guaka|guaka]] washing away mosquito corpses]] === From/to Sweden === Ferries to Stockholm go from [[Helsinki]] 70's and [[Turku]]. The latter is considerably cheaper. Both ferries also stop in [[Maarianhamina]] ([[Ahvenanmaa]])80's, or [[Mariehamn]] and many drivers will tell the hitchhiker([[Åland]]s), as its Swedish-speaking population calls it. The two companies which run ferries between Finland and Sweden are [http://www.vikingline.fi they''Viking Line''] and [http://wwwve hitched themselves back in their days.silja.com ''Silja Line'']. Both of the companies Nowadays this practice is rather rare among Finns, but there are focused on bringing the customers a cruise-experiencealways some, and are bound to be tackyespecially in summer time around music festivals. ''Viking Line'' sells cheaper tickets without a cabin, too, which would Hitching in Finland might be rather useless on difficult during the daytime trips between [[Turkuwinter]] and [[Stockholm]] anyway. As time because lack of August 2009, a morning ferry from Stockholm to Turku costs 15 euros, and Stockholm-Helsinki - 55 euros (both without a cabin, although prices vary according to season. ''Silja Line'' is the posher of the two, and thus more expensivedaylight. It's still tacky, though. The ''Viking Line'' cruise ships have free tourist maps of Turku at their information desks on board. Be aware, though, that if you take a daytime cruise (which is about half the price), weather differences in Finland seem to effect greatly how well people pick you will arrive in Turku at nightup. During the autumn, winter and early spring that means no daylight which is no Sunny weather might help for hitchhiking. In winter nights, extremely cold temperatures might occur as well. === From/to Estonia ===[[File:Erga-and-you a-friendly-finnish-man.jpg|thumb|240px|right|Hitchhiker Erga and a friendly Finnish driver]]There is no land connection between Finland great deal because it makes people more happy and [[Estonia]]. There are several daily boats from Helsinki to [[Tallinn]]. It takes usually 1open-3 hours, costs about 20 euros (the cheapest one, without a cabin)minded. Links:
== Language ==
Some older people, however, might have no English language knowledge at all, so you might as well learn some basic Finnish phrases. Note, that with a knowledge of Swedish, however, you can come pretty far (it is useful all over Scandinavia).
====Useful Finnish expressions for hitchhikers:====
* Hello = '''Terve'''
* Hi = '''Moi''' ''or'' '''Hei'''
* To hitchhike = '''Liftata'''
* A ride = '''Kyyti'''
* Thank you very much = '''Kiitospaljon'''
* Where are you driving to? = '''Minne ajat?'''
* I don't speak Finnish = '''En puhu suomea'''
== Safety Links ==Hitchhiking is quite safe in Finland. As always, common sense is your friend.
== Culture Nomadwiki & Trashwiki ==
{{Cities Finland}}
{{IsIn|Scandinavia}}
[[Category:Finland| ]]