Aland Islands Travel Guide, the People, Culture, Tradition, Activities

Aland IslandsTravel Guide, The People, Culture, Tradition, Activities. Aland is a province of Finland in the Baltic Sea, but its people are Swedish-speaking with more cultural and historical ties to Sweden than to Finland. Out of approximately 6,500 islands, 65 are inhabited with several connected through causeways and bridges. The rest are linked by ferries and private boats. Approximately 26,000 people live on Aland with the capital and only large settlement of Mariehamn being home to 11,000. �land's special political status is twofold: (i) the demilitarization and neutralization mandated by international treaties leading the name "Islands of Peace" and (ii) �land's autonomy from Finland and its special status within the European Union.I must admit, before landing in Finland I had never heard of the �land Islands. That is the wonderful thing about travel, no matter how much you do it, there is always a destination you have never heard of. When I found out that we had to take an overnight ferry from Helsinki to reach the �land Islands that intrigued me even more. Then I found out that most of the inhabitants speak Swedish and the islands are a demilitarised autonomous region and my interest in them soared.