I went to feed in the happiest country on earth – now I am happy too

'Am I happy?' is a question many of us ask ourselves. If you are Finnish, you should be really happy. For the seventh year in a row, Finns have topped the world happiness report.

Some attribute it to a sense of community and kinship. Others, like chef Sami Tallberg, claim their connection with nature – hiking in forests, relaxing by lakes and foraging for food.

By a happy coincidence, Sami shows me how to forage for food. We are on an island near the southwestern city of Turku and are covered by Finland's “everyone's rights”, which allows us to enter private property.

Once I learn to identify blueberry leaves, I find plenty of berries hidden under the forest floor. Less common are juniper berries, which take three years to ripen, and wild cranberries and strawberries, the scent of which can be felt long before they are found.

It's dessert. But when it comes to mushrooms, Sami – a brilliant man with blond hair – gently reveals that I still have a lot to learn. He asks me to smell one – it's almond croissants. But it's called fish milk because the fishy flavors come out when cooked.

I get excited when my eyes land on a giant toadstool, but Sami tells me that while it's not poisonous, it's not particularly tasty either.

“When you're foraging, finding something is a bonus,” Sami says, sensing my disappointment that my find was rejected. But in this game of Pokémon Go, where Sami leaps like a deer into the bushes and spies on delicacies unseen by the rest of us, he wins this competition.

A summer storm is approaching, so we head to Sami's kitchen, where flowers and leaves are prepared – purple flowers of hare bells, dandelion, sheep's sorrel, wall lettuce, orsin, common sorrel and St. John's wort. The effect when mixed with deer tartare is astonishing. Each forkful tastes different, a dizzying explosion of fresh, spicy and peppery flavors.

For the main course, Sami prepared sea perch with pike roe sauce and new potatoes. But the standout ingredients are the mushrooms – girolles, hedgehogs and baby fish, as well as the pickled black trumpets – their complex flavors vying for attention.

I feel excited, but there is one more treat ahead of me – these wild berries served in a herbal meringue crown, their smell and taste so reminiscent of the sunny forest floor – even when thunder hits the windows of our villa overlooking the sea.

Finland encourages foraging again. The market square in Turku, opposite my hotel, hosts a food market six days a week where vendors pay no tax for selling locally grown food.

So the next day I wander around the former capital of Finland, munching on berries. The city has plenty to see with its medieval cathedral and castle and the old quarter of Luostarinmäki, preserved as an open-air museum.

If you are looking for a lunch with local products, the market hall in Turku has a wonderful atmosphere. The 151 beautiful wooden cabins date back to 1896, and many have their own lunch counters. To keep this culinary tradition alive, Turku must make it accessible to its young population.

As I sail down the Aura River in an electric boat, I pass party boats full of the city's 40,000 students. They pass on their youthful energy to retirees whom I see dancing tango in public squares.

Fortunately, the city's restaurants offer good value for money – right up to the fanciest establishments. At Nooa Waterfront, a four-course tasting menu costs €69 (£57).

Dinner cruises around the Finnish archipelago of over 40,000 islands are also at a good price. On the Ukkopekka steamer, I enjoy the pink journey through pink granite islands, with pine trunks lit red in the sunset.

The next day brings a visit to Naantali, the gateway to the Moomin World. This riviera-style town is home to a large spa hotel suitable for families and boutique hotel-restaurant Tammiston Kuulas, which has won acclaim for its sustainability. I am aware that my foraging has so far involved a lot of consumption, so I need to improve my skills.

This is the mission of the Finnish Rural Women's Advisory Organization, and Anna Kari is available in Kurjenrahka National Park, north of Turku. When it comes to mushrooms, he focuses on three – russula, ceps and chanterelles – because they are easy to recognize. The onions resemble beef in consistency and taste, and the chanterelles are light in broth with spring onions, which Anna cooks on site.

We walk through the swamp in search of cloudberries and swamp blueberries. In the forest we collect rowan berries and use them to prepare lemonade resembling almonds. We will make jam resembling honey from our dandelions.

That's the joy of foraging. Not only do you keep alive the skills of previous generations, but also the taste of those carefree summer days.

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