An amusing look at Finland in foreign media 2005-

From Helsingin Sanomat writer Ritva Liisa Snellman, a must read.... an excerpt (the whole article covers many more topics, from Conan to Matti):

Things may come and things may go, but one subject never goes out of style: you cannot have a year without foreign journalists writing about Finnish drinking.
Estonian newspapers continued to sigh and tut-tut about male binge-drinking and the consequences, and about the ugly, fat Finnish women.
In the Serbian and Montenegran papers, Finnish drinking habits continue to prompt amazement. What is it that makes a nation turn to drink when things are so good at home?
In Slovenia they wrote that it is no shame to be seen drunk in Finland. Because alcohol is expensive, people produce home-made white lightning on stills. Readers were also generously given a recipe for the moonshine.