Finland

We arrived in Turku, Finland, in the evening, and picked up our rental car from the railway station. I was able to see a double-decker train there - the first in my experience! The rental car pick-up was also interesting; our car company didn’t have an office at the actual train station, so they sent a man with a car at the appointed time to hand it over to us. We were glad our estimated time of arrival had proved accurate! For once, he didn’t try to sell us any insurance policies, or encourage us to upgrade to a better car for a dearer price (for obvious reasons) - it was the most informal handover we’ve had, and he was the friendliest car guy we’ve dealt with so far.

The next day we passed an absolute multitude of speed cameras on our way up to Kuopio, where we were staying with friends of Mum and Dad, Helena and Teuvo. Mum and Dad had started a friendship with a Finnish girl 30 years ago when they were all in Moscow, and now this girl (or woman, married and with three sons around our age) kindly offered several days’ hospitality to a couple she’d never met! We had been unsure how the time would pan out, but they were both so warm, lovely and friendly that it didn’t take long for us to feel right at home - if home is where you have great company and all your needs are lavishly supplied. We had some really good conversations, and also relished the meals...

Get ready for food descriptions: the first night we had numerous little gourmet tomato, chicken and courgette stacks, with new potatoes and salad and blueberry pie for dessert. The next day we had a typical Finnish dish for breakfast: cooked rice wrapped in rye bread, warmed in the microwave and topped with slices of meat and cheese. For the main meal we enjoyed bacon-topped mushrooms, with smoked salmon, wedges and salad, finished off with white chocolate and strawberry parfait for dessert. This sounds delicious on its own, but surrounded by the packaged meals we are used to these days, it was even more amazing.

We did also get out and partake in Kuopian life; we went along with our hosts to their Pentecostal Church, which thankfully had a volunteer interpreter and some headphones you could wear to hear the translation. I don’t think the interpreter this Sunday knew how to translate everything, but we got the gist of the sermon. We also recognised a couple of the songs, which was nice!

Our hosts had a lakeside cottage, so naturally their normal house was also by the edge of a lake!

mirror-clear water

That evening we all visited the Puijon tower, one of the town’s key tourist attractions, and beheld the great 360 degree view. Looking at a map of Finland shows you how many lakes there are in the country, and the area around Kuopio is particularly lake-rich, which was confirmed at the top of the tower. There was so much water around us, interspersed with some really tiny islands, and lots of forested areas too. Our main impression of Finland was of forests and lakes, and it’s a very scenic combination.

 view from the top

even better view from the top

The next day we ventured out on our own, investigating some handmade Finnish craft at the central market area, exploring the town, and going for a 2km walk in the area around Puijon tower. However, with the hot weather having continued all throughout our time in Scandinavia, it was still really warm during our time in Finland, which made even shortish walks quite uncomfortable!

 pretty forest walk

Random sight on the way back - two guys comparing their sweet rides. We presume.

That evening the four of us, along with Helena and Teuvo’s youngest son, all headed off to the lakeside cottage they own. They were kindly letting us stay here by ourselves for a couple of nights. It was a beautiful setting; the cottage was about 20 paces from the edge of the lake, surrounded by forest. Typically, Finnish people require their cottages to be completely remote, with no neighbours anywhere close by, but this one happened to have one reasonably close, as the two cabins were originally built for the one family.

part of the wooded area by the cottage

Helena, Teuvo, John and me outside the cottage, by the lake's edge.

The cottage itself was spacious and surprisingly well-equipped, as it was built fairly recently; it had a shower with hot water, a full kitchen, even a dishwasher! There was also a separate sauna, right by the lake. Before they left us to it, we all enjoyed some delicious “fire soup” (actually not spicy at all, some of you will be sorry to learn), and then they cranked up the sauna for us to experience a quintessential Finnish pastime!

Our comfortable yet cosy dwelling!

The traditional way to do a Finnish sauna is to go in naked, with dips in the lake between sauna sessions. Once we learned this, the desire for isolated cottages became clearer to us. Anyway, we weren’t quite that bold, but went in with our togs on. In a few minutes we were sweltering. I felt like I couldn’t breathe properly - how could people do this for enjoyment? With regularity? We stuck it out, until we were sweating pretty much all over. Again - not the prettiest thing to describe, and it felt weird, as well, since having numerous rivulets of sweat running off me is normally something I would avoid, rather than aim for.

The view from the back of the cottage, with the deck, the sauna right beside the lake and John in a hammock to the right.

The lake looked quite inviting after saunaing it up! Look - it's literally sparkling!

I bravely plunged waist-deep into the lake after our first session, finding my desire for cooling off was adequately met without going in completely (we’re still sissies when it comes to cool water). John went for a somewhat proper swim, although that was due to losing balance on the lake bed more than any desire to completely submerge. Then it was back in for round two! To our surprise, it seemed much more manageable this time round. I found that lying down on the towel-covered wooden ledge worked well, as my face didn’t get all the hot air. Once we had worked up a good sweat again, we washed off in the shower, in the next room, and then rejoined our hosts to bid them farewell. We had spent about an hour in total. My skin felt quite smooth afterwards!

The next day was a proper holiday on this busy six-month trip. We slept in, relaxed, read our books, and enjoyed the surrounding scenery. There were no traffic sounds; just the light breeze through the trees and the gentle lapping of the lake. It was a beautiful day, mild but warm, with dappled sunlight shining down through the trees when we sat outside. We had another go at the sauna in the evening, with the requisite dip in the lake (up to my shoulders this time!), and cooked up a smoked salmon for dinner, eating outside on the deck while watching the sun set. It was a pretty perfect day.

 sunset on the lake

The nights were just as quiet as the days, so we slept well and felt rejuvenated for the next leg of our journey. It was lovely to meet some actual Finns and sample some actual Finnish traditions and cuisine, and we were so glad we had set aside these few days to explore the country. And now John wants us to get a summer cottage, by the lake, with a sauna. We’ll see.

Another big lake we saw on the drive down.

A smaller lake on the drive back down.