Germany and Finland – Through Each Other’s Eyes

The german perspective

When we landed in Finland, the first thing I noticed was how clean everything is. The airport looked really beautiful and they didn’t have garbage everywhere. The cities were also really clean compared to the german cities.

The second big difference was the traffic culture. Many finns didn’t have cars and the public transportation played a big role there. The busses and trains and trams also came in time.

I was very surprised when I first went to a finnish supermarket. Everything was really expensive. One bottle of Coca Cola could cost almost 3 euros and candy was also really expensive. When we went out to eat in McDonald’s the burgers were so expensive I couldn’t believe it.

One oft he biggest differences were the finnish people. They weren‘t generally friendly like in Germany and didn’t speak much. Most of them were really introverted, but perhaps that’s just how the finns are.

Nature was also a really big part of the finnish landscape. Everywhere we went there were trees or bushes, also in the middle of the city. Perhaps this closure of nature is one of the reasons why Finland is one of the happiest countries in the world.

The finnish perspective

The first difference I noticed in Germany was how friendly everyone was. In the airport, if you looked someone and they looked back, they smiled and didn’t look like they want to kill you. Also the cashiers in the stores smiled and were really friendly.

The german school system is really different compared to ours. In Finland we have laptops and all the books and tasks are in the laptop and we hardly write with our hands. Here in Germany they hardly use any electronics in school, which I think is really refreshing.

What I have really noticed in Germany is the architecture. Most of the houses are really beautiful compared to finnish buildings. In Finland many of our buildings look like in the Soviet Union, but in Germany I think the cities are much more beautiful.

Speaking about cities, it feels like German cities are alive. When you go to the central area you can see many people there and there also happen a lot of things. In Finland however the city centres are really dead. There are not so many people and there never happens anything.