Summer 2020 is here! So now, as the world traveler you are, you might be walking around dreaming about, let’s say, Berlin, Balaton or the Bahamas?

Well, we all know that international travelling isn’t in the books for this summer. But instead, let’s think higher, better, and more exotic.

Let me take you on a journey through the land that has it all – Finland. How, you may wonder? Every truly successful journey requires a traveling companion. And a destination. May I present: The classic Finnish travel poster. Your friend and your destination.

Are you with me? Should we start with the great Finnish metropolises? (Actually we don’t have any, but don’t let that bother you)

With the help of a poster you can sit at an outdoor restaurant in downtown Helsinki, sip on a glass of champagne and wait for an interesting person to settle down at your table.

With the help of a poster you also learn that the city of Turku is the key to both the archipelago and the cradle of true culture. The stronghold of education!

With the help of a poster you understand that Tampere is the city where industry lives in harmony with green parks and happy bicycling city people.

Berlin? Poh. No match for the poster cities Helsinki, Turku and Tampere, right?

Good. Now let’s talk about the lakes.

In the poster of Lake Saimaa you stand up on a rock, in the middle of our national landscape, watching the proud pine trees, waving to the steamer down there. In Päijänne – the steepest lake in Finland – the water is truly azure and there eternity meets harmony on the horizon.

Balaton? Wonderful. But the Finnish lakes are waiting for you. And they are at least as wonderful.

Let’s continue with the beaches.

In Hanko, at the southwestern tip of Finland, you are more handsome than most people. Not to mention the sandy beaches of Lappeenranta where you smilingly play beach volley. And then we have the archipelago, where you as a man are muscular and you as a woman are otherwise just graceful.

The Caribbean? Well. We Finns have always boasted that we are realistic dreamers. And such people dream of places like Hanko, Lappeenranta and the Åland Islands instead.

These classic travel posters were created mainly in the 1930s and 1950s. They were created to attract foreign adventurers to exotic Finland.

The good news is that these posters still are around. So when you travel virtually to Finland this summer, make sure you have a good travel buddy and a destination.

The Finnish travel poster is both!