Finland

Next on the travel agenda was a stay in Finnish Lapland, a bucket list item for me. From Kirkenes, Norway I took a shuttle bus to Inari, Finland. I had envisioned a bus with several travelers, but it was just me and a very pleasant yet quiet driver for the next 125 miles. Even toward the end of May, it was tundra as we remained above the Arctic Circle. We drove through snow and ice covered landscape with many frozen lakes, with some ice fishing still going on. Lots of not so very tall pines. I learned they grow very old, but they do not grow tall due to the climate. It was a bit bleak with landscape that felt very gray and white and this is even captured in the photos - they look black and white.

We drove along the Russian border. The Russian influence was evident (e.g. road signs were written in Russian, along with Finnish and Sami). The borders have been closed for the past 11/2 years, so no Finns in and no Russians out. Coincidentally, I had just read an article that NATO intelligence has shown that Russia is building up its military infrastructure along the border with Finland, preparing for the post-Ukraine plan. I asked my driver about the relationship with the Russians and his response was “we can’t panic, if they come, they come, and we will be strong”. I later heard from another Finn that the area along the border is wilderness and that the thought is Russia won’t have enough soldiers left after the war with Ukraine, so he wasn’t too worried, either. Both stated “but you can’t trust the Russians”. To me, it felt eerie being so close as there is so much unrest in the world right now with Russia at the helm.

As you’ve learned, experiencing culture and off the beaten path is a goal of my travel. My time in Finland did not disappoint! I was thrilled to stop along the way at the coolest bar and restaurant that seemed to be out in the middle of nowhere, in a Sami village of around 200 inhabitants. The bar was a local gathering place, it was fun listening to the chatter in Sami and/or Finnish, I am not sure. The coffee was over the top delicious as was the homemade kanelbulle (cinnamon roll).

I arrived at Wilderness Hotel Juutua, with a room with a balcony overlooking the raging, white rapids of the Juutuua River. Throughout the stay, the roar of the water was my backdrop. My room had a sauna as these are a way of life for Finns. The food was local and the chef amazing. I had rainbow trout and Artic Char from Lake Inari and, yes, reindeer, which is a staple in Lapland. And lots of lingonberries! My sister said, “you at Rudolph!”. When in Rome. The reindeer are now farmed by the Sami people, but they do roam freely and you see them everywhere. It did feel kind of strange to see them on the plain during the day and then on the plate that night for dinner.

Somewhere along the way, I missed that I was moving to a new time zone. As if I hadn’t already lost all track of what day of the week it was due to the travel and the ever lengthening days with the Midnight Sun. The extra hour difference did make it a little harder to communicate with those back in the States. It was also much colder than I anticipated. My weather app upon arrival said “32 feels like 22”. It was snowing when I arrived and when I woke up the next morning, the ground was covered. Fortunately, it did warm up to the high 40’s during my time there and I had the right gear.

Inari is the heart of the Sami indigenous people in Finland. They are the only indigenous people in the European Union (also in Norway and Sweden in larger numbers and some in Russia, although no one knows how many still remain there as the information is not shared). There are an estimated 10,000 Sámi in Finland. I say estimated, because it is not legal for the government of Finland to gather data about ethnicity. There are three distinct Sámi languages spoken and I learned that they are so distinct, they cannot understand each other. It was fun to be in the midst of this culture and to learn about the history and practices of these indigenous people.

Most of the Sami farm reindeer, there is little agriculture due to the clime. They are still a primarily hunter-gatherer society, although there is growing tourism in the area. Winter is the high season, and the Sami capitalize on visitors coming to watch the Northern Lights, snowmobile, winter hike, drive with the huskies, and visit their farms to meet the reindeer and share meals in Sami homes, and to hunt and ice fish (abundance of fish, fowl, moose). In fact, there was a large conference going on in my hotel with people from all over the world, sponsored by the Sami, related to tourism and indigenous people. There were some related activities at the hotel, including a party that I crashed with a two-man Sami band - the music was in their language and sounded like rap to me. Lots of Sami in their native dress, which they wear most of the time in their daily lives.

The SIIDA Museum (SIIDA means village in Sami) is relatively new and really nicely done. It won the European Museum of the Year in 2024. There are both indoor and open-air exhibits. I was guided by Jari, a native Finn, but not a Sami, through the exhibits. Jari had loads of knowledge about Lapland and Finland, in general - the nature, the seasons, the geography, the history, the culture. It was a great way to learn so much.

Turns out I was in Finnish Lapland in the shoulder season, if not the pre-shoulder season. That meant that I was pretty much the only one who had booked activities with the hotel so I had Jari as a private guide, without the private guide prices, for the museum as well as two incredible hikes. Imagine my surprise when he picked me up for the first three hour hike to Windy Lake (aptly named) and said we would need to use snowshoes. I was a bit panicked but thought, what the hell, this is all about new experiences. He had me stay back 1-2 meters so I could react if he fell through the snow. He fell through once, literally the snow came up to his thighs and he’s a tall man. The snow is powdery until it isn’t as there’s a lot of water under that powder. And I fell twice simply because I got tripped up with the snowshoes. When we got to the lake, he built a fire and cooked reindeer with lingonberries and pickled cucumber (what else). It was all a blast and so much fun! I was dang proud of myself.

As mentioned, I was far enough north to experience the Midnight Sun, including being there on the day of the last sunrise at 00:48, not to rise or set again for the next 2 months. Jari and I did a three hour Midnight Sun hike. After a stomach in my throat experience of crossing a suspension bridge over raging category 5 rapids with the water hitting the bridge (picture and video to prove), Jari asked if it was OK if we hiked off-trail. I was up for the adventure. We climbed to a peak to get a great view of the sun, remaining above the horizon, and a spectacular view of Inari Lake. It was really fun to have Jari to myself, we had great conversations about so many things. He was a pretty insightful and knowledgeable guy.

I absolutely loved my time in Finnish Lapland. Everyone was incredibly warm and welcoming. It was a once in a lifetime and quite unique experience for me. I am so happy I decided to visit there.

I’m now in Stockholm, Sweden for a couple of days, then heading to Copenhagen. And then back to Boston this weekend for a few weeks before heading off to Alaska. It is hard to imagine this initial journey through Western and Northern Europe will end soon but I’m now in the process of figuring out where the next six months will take me! Stay tuned for an update on Stockholm and Copenhagen and an overall summary of my travel experience - spoiler alert, it has been nothing short of amazing!

Peace on Earth!

Laurie