Mölkky gains ground at home and abroad.

Consider it a Finnish answer to pétanque. It’s gentlemanly, relaxed and can be played by anyone, almost anywhere. It can be played in teams or with just two players. But like any good game; it is also deceptively challenging.

Not everybody knows that several museums across Finland have free entry on certain Fridays.

FINLAND’S collection of museums includes over a thousand venues – located all over the country – focussing on all kinds of topics: arts, history, technology, music and photography, among other things.

While planning a visit to a Finnish museum, one should keep this tip in mind: Friday is “happy hour” for museum lovers. In fact, several venues open their doors without admission fee, giving visitors an opportunity to enjoy a tour on the premises, completely without charge.

July is the main holiday month in Finland

If you are free in July and seem to fail to get things done efficiently, do not worry. All human beings need to recuperate at some point, and in Finland, the most probable month for this is at hand. This is not to say you should drop your tools where you stand; just remember to enjoy some of those passing summer moments before they vanish again.

I have to admit that I was surprised when friends in Canada or even here in Finland are familiar with Locarno. Not many know, in fact, that there is an Italian-speaking part in Switzerland. Locarno, my hometown, is situated in the region Ticino, in the South-Eastern part of the country, where Italian is the official language.

Cambridge University has come up with a novel way to help youngsters learn English.

WHILE watching endless reruns of MacGyver may increase their English-language vocabulary to include such words as paperclip, sticky tape, resourceful and mullet, the good folks at Cambridge University have come up with another solution for boosting children’s vocab.