Recently I’ve come to realise that my overall impression and lasting memories of a place are often due more to the people I meet than the location itself. This is not to say the place has no significance; on the contrary I doubt I could ever forget the places I’ve been lucky enough to see on this trip. Its reawakened in me an awe and excitement I’d long forgotten existed; a feeling I recall from childhood which had been suppressed by responsibility, talk of pensions and making sure the council tax was paid on time. Its the chance meetings, though. The often insightful, occasionally pointless, generally hilarious discussions. Sharing anecdotes, sharing drinks, sharing experiences. Some places I remember for the scenery or the architecture alone, but most of my fondest memories are attributable to the people I’ve met.
One of Finland’s many lakes. They were all stunning.
Occasionally though, these two paradigms coexist; Finland was one such location. Finland is undeniably naturally, breathtakingly beautiful. We also met many wonderful, friendly, interesting and hilarious people. Each and every day was enjoyable in its own right; it was only when we crossed the border into Sweden I realised that I’d been smiling, laughing and enjoying myself for 11 days continuously. My entire opinion of the country would have been completely different if not for the chance encounters in a forest near Hamina and while floating, drinking, down a river in the sun towards Helsinki.
In Oulanka National Park
After the aftermath of the beer floating the first night was spent at Santi’s house in Jarvenpaa; a small town around 40km north of Helsinki. After a late night chatting, listening to music, playing music and drinking Valhalla we were all in need of a good breakfast; fortunately there was a kilogram of frozen bacon, some mushrooms and beans in the house which we were able to fashion into an excellent, albeit bacon heavy, breakfast. Although the house didn’t have hot running water, it did at least have a sauna. After making the most of it we suggested to Santi that she should join us on our trip to Lapland as she’d never been. After a minimal amount of cajoling she acquiesced and for the third time on this trip three became four.
We meandered north, headed towards Kuusamo on Maggie, the retired policewoman’s recommendation. As we drove we passed hundreds of lakes nestled in the vast forest which seems to cover the majority of the country; varying drastically in size and shape but all crystal clear and supposedly clean enough to drink. As dusk began to fall we began our customary search for a suitable location to camp for the night. It was at this point Santi informed us about “every man’s right”; this states, amongst many other things, that anyone is entitled to camp anywhere, provided the land is not private and no rubbish is left behind. We found a suitable spot just off a small road, set up our Hammocks, and ate our usual noodle with farmyard animal (finest Russian horse), safe in the knowledge we were not breaking any laws.
Camping out in the Finnish forests. The tennis racket thing in my hand is an electrified bug-zapper – our attempt at a defence against the millions of mosquitoes
As we arrived in Lapland the next day we were all very excited to see our first reindeer, stopping to take photos and admire the most festive of all the animals. A few miles later we encountered more. A few miles later more. Like the camels of Kazakhstan reindeer either have suicidal tendencies, do not fear death or are just plain stupid. I’m not sure why they congregate on the roads, or why they often choose to plod along the road rather than nip off to the side when faced with traffic; during our stay in Lapland we witnessed several near misses and heard several more when we were camping (apparently causing accidents is more fun than the swarms of mosquitoes in the forest!).
Reindeer blocking the roads!
The next morning Santi and I awoke early and set about picking some wild Arctic blueberries, which were abundant in our chosen camp area. With a small tupperware filled we brewed some coffee and chatted about what life was like living in Finland. I was also given an impromptu lesson in Finnish; apparently its a very literal language where longer words are generally an amalgamation of shorter words (e.g. beer floating- kaljakellunta). Just as I was thinking I might have finally found a foreign language I could learn she explained that nouns change depending on their location; at that point I decided “thank you” (kiitos) was probably all the Finnish I needed.
Santi picking wild arctic blueberries
It was as we were stocking up on food later in the day we realised that despite all needing to, none of us had managed to do laundry in Helsinki. We therefore added washing powder to our exciting list of Finnish items; “squeaky” Lapland cheese, raw fish in mustard, whole garlic cloves in oil, Ryvita, beer and incredibly tasty meat doughnuts (which are exactly what they sound like). We made our way to a beautiful lakeside and washed first our clothes, then ourselves in the cool blue water. While the clothes dried we ate lunch and decided once dry we should walk in the Oulanka national park a few kilometres north.
Trying to dry our clothes in the shade of the trees
By the time we arrived in the park (top tip to campers: clothes dry quicker in the sun!) it was getting late so we opted for the shorter five kilometre walk. The park reaffirmed the fact that Finland is varied and stunning; even on the short walk we passed through lakes, coniferous woodland, deciduous woodland, grassland meadow, above boggy marshland on wooden walkways, small streams, large rivers, rushing waterfalls and a steep canyon. There is a longer 88km “bear’s walk” which I’m very keen to return to one day.
Another of the thousands of beautiful lakes.
After our walk we felt we deserved a good meal and, as it was to be Santi’s last night with us we thought it would be nice to go for dinner out. We’d also passed an excellent looking game restaurant earlier in the day which may have had something to do with the decision… Unfortunately our restaurant was closed for refurbishment, however as luck would have it there was another one nearby. As we were in Lapland (and possibly as revenge for all the near fatal accidents caused) we ordered reindeer pasta, reindeer pizza and reindeer bake; the bake may be my favourite meal from the entire trip.
Graffiti in Rovaniemi
The next day we travelled north to Rovaniemi; purportedly the largest city in Europe (by area). The tourist information board also also boasts it as the second best place to see the northern lights AND the second most northerly McDonalds in the world. We went to the station and realised just how far north we’d travelled; it would take Santi around 15 hours to get back to Helsinki. There was a better train the next day, and as we were now just 10km shy of the Arctic circle it seemed a shame for her to miss out on actually being within the Arctic circle; with her train booked for the next day we travelled north into the Arctic circle.
Santi and me, excited to be this far North; it was the furthest either of us had been at that point!
Moose pate on crackers; the classiest starter ever prepared on the back of a crate of beer?
It doesn’t look incredibly appetising here, but trust me, it was amazing.
For our final (final) meal in Finland we decided we needed to top our reindeer feast from the previous night. None of us could afford to eat out again, so it was back to camping stove cooking. Sadly bear was too expensive (£25/tin!), so we opted for a moose based extravaganza of moose pâté on Ryvita to start, followed by mashed potato (from Russia), sautéed onion and morels in cream sauce, sautéed moose and loganberry jelly. Probably the single greatest meal ever prepared in mess tins!
It was with heavy heart we bid farewell to Santi and Finland the next day, the car felt strangely empty with just the three of us. It would have been easy to overlook Finland, wedged in between Russia and Scandinavia as it is. But after a hugely enjoyable stay, for me at least, Finland is now well and truly on the map.
Three Unwise Men 