Finland

It was a few summers ago, me an my family could not decide where to go. We were used to traveling every year, get a change of scenery, get away from the heat, even learn a thing or two. Since My little brother was studying about Finland he suggested that we should go there. After some persuasion and research my parents decided they wanted to go.

We went to Finland around 2007 2008 in summer. At first we didn't know what to expect from where they are wise and the people the food even the hours in the day. First we want to Helsinki we stayed in Helsinki for about 4 days before going to the Island. In Helsinki we went to shopping malls, we tried different foods. we would go to farmers markets and farms how people live their experience their world. There are so many places to visit in Helsinki itself. I think the worst thing about going to Helsinki was that we never knew when the day ended and then night started because it would be 10 at night but the sun will still be out that made it hard to know when it was time to pray. The first few days we were in Helsinki we did not have a car we would use their taxis at the hotel we stayed in and we would ask them to order us a taxi and it would come within a few minutes it did not take long that is why it is easier to get a taxi when you order it then wait around.

So now it was time to go to the island. When we went to the island I think we were the only people there. There was a beautiful lake which had other people across from us but they did not stay for long we saw them maybe once or twice other than that there was full privacy. Our Cottage was huge it's had 5 bedrooms a sauna outside and even a tennis court it also has a garage big enough for two or three cars. 

When we we're going to the island we had to take a ferry from land to the island and when we reached we had to drive for a few miles to reach the actual cabin. When we finally reached my siblings and I ran to the house to choose which room we would stay in. I took a room that was up by the roof it looked pretty cool because the roof was slanted and we don't have rooms like this in the UAE. The cabin looks amazing it was fully made up of wood, the kitchen was fully equipped after we got settled and we decided to explore the place.

We ran out and saw the lake was almost 10 steps away just outside house, on the other side was the tennis court. There was a boat out by the lake with life jacket but my parents they don't want us to take it out, we did once not for long but it was still fun.
We played tennis maybe every day because there was no one around so we could go out freely. Not having to worry about what we're wearing taking off the hijab was fine.
It was very safe I remember sometimes at night I would sit by the lake looking at the frogs jumping I'm just stare at the water.. so relaxing.
We also loved to explore the forest around us. My sister and I decided that we wanted to go explore we went and found some wild mushrooms but we didn't eat them because who knows if they're poisonous.. would have been cool if we did though.

In the morning my dad and I would go to the market which was far away. We had to take the ferry back to land and from there it would be around 10 minutes to go to the actual markets we would buy groceries for lunch and breakfast. Most of the time we would get fresh salmon because it was salmon season there so every morning we will go to get the freshest salmon. When we got Home my mother would cook us the best meal.

I remember me and my dad went to this place that sold honey up in the mountains it was so cold! To make matters worse this giant husky that was looking me dead straight in the eye and I didn't know what to do, but even the dogs there are nice. We ended up playing together.

So far from my experience I will advise you to go visit Finland.

 Why you ask? because Finland is one of the most beautiful places I've ever seen. It's also so relaxing the people there are so nice to you. No don't be scared just because you're wearing a hijab they do not treat you differently, they do not look at you differently. It's very easy to find food that you can eat if you're staying in a hotel and need help just ask the people there they will help you with anything transportation, Halal restaurants near you, prayer timings, or they will help you get in touch with the islamic society of Finland.

If you're afraid of the cold maybe go during the summer time it's still cold but it's cold we can handle. I would definitely not recommend going in the winter time because let's be honest we're not used to the cold here, we're not used to snow. The most important thing you should always know.. always have an umbrella! it rains like crazy there but rain is good Don't make that ruin your trip.