Summer in Finland can be tricky. Most people retire to their summer cottages, many of which are located by one of the country’s 190,000 lakes; the cottages provide a respite from the metropolitan hustle, a quiet interlude with space to pause and reflect. It’s easy to feel comfortably isolated, but you quickly learn to be cautious about baring your soul by the lakeside. Sitting by the water’s edge last week, my partner and I were struck by how easily we could hear our neighbours across the water. This isn’t a special property of Finland or even of Finnish lakes. It’s just that sound travels better over water and Finland has quite a lot of lakes dotted with lakeside cottages. Continue reading →