Road Trip through Finland
For two weeks, we mostly hiked along the European long-distance trail E6 through southern Sweden from Östergötland to Stockholm. Originally, we wanted to continue this trek through Finland but changed our mind and rented a car in Turku after arriving by ferry.
One reason for this was certainly that the landscape here in the north does not offer much variety when you are on foot.
Pure nature, lots of trees and lakes, yes, but after 2 weeks of hiking we saw our share of it. In Finland, the landscape would not be much different.
That's why we chose a faster means of travel to explore the whole country as far north as possible to Lapland.
I may say that it was the right decision.
"Dear Diary..."
August 18 – Arrival in Finland
We arrive punctually at 7 o'clock in the morning in Turku. Somewhere during the crossing from Stockholm we lost an hour; in Sweden it is only 6 o'clock.
We stumble through the morning city with our backpacks, overtired and not very refreshed (thanks to the pub on board), in search of the only café open this early.
We like it well to be in Finland. It's been a long time... In 2009, Seraina's and my first trip together took us to the east of the country, where we spent three weeks roaming the Finnish forests. Beautiful memories have remained.
We take a short nap in the park, then at 11 am our white VW Polo is ready to be picked up. We are ready to go.
Despite being tired, we drive another 100 km to an old, abandoned campground in the forest that we found on the Park4night app.
August 19 – Along the Coast to the North
The first day, we mainly drive through. There are many speed cameras on the way, but with the comfortable cruise and distance control it is no problem. We are not in a hurry.
Nevertheless, the long straights tempt us to step on the gas a bit more than allowed. To the left and right, the pine forests fly by. Again and again, we cross long bridges over rivers and lakes. There is generally little traffic on this road to the north.
In the evening, after some searching, we find a more or less suitable place in the forest to pitch our tent. It is humid and swarming with mosquitoes.
Seraina goes for a walk. She has found a new hobby: Macro photography.
Suddenly, a strong wind starts to blow, the sky darkens and the water falls down like from buckets. I crawl into the dry tent, just managed to finish cooking the pasta.
Seraina has been hit completely. Soaking wet, she returns to the tent later. The storm doesn't last long and we fall asleep relaxed.
August 20 – Food Festival
In the morning the sun shines again. We pack and drive and drive.
On the outskirts of Oulu we find a nice campground to wash clothes and take a shower.
We walk into Oulu, where there is quite a lot going on. The streets and the small harbor are full of people. At the international food festival you can find pretty much everything: from Thai to Mexican food, from Kanguru burgers to English fudges. You could dig in without stopping.
We, on the other hand, eat locally at the festival. At the Scandinavian stand, they fill our plates with fried salmon, sardines, beans and potatoes. My mouth is still watering as I write these lines weeks later - haaaa....... 🤤
August 21 – Onward journey
Leisurely, we drive on from Oulu towards Rovaniemi, the gateway to Lapland. Shortly before the small town we find a parking lot in the forest (again thanks to Park4night) where we want to spend the night.
Many suitable overnight places we looked at before were already occupied by motorhomes. Of which are not exactly few on the road up here.
Also here on this forest parking lot we are not completely alone. Visitors climb over the striking rocks that rise out of the woods.
August 22 – The gateway to Lapland
We spend the night in the car because it is getting rainy. In complete contrast to the late summer weather in Oulu, it is gray and cold when we arrive in Rovaniemi this morning.
Not much is going on in the little town. It is designed for winter tourism. Now in late summer, everything just looks gray and somehow unfinished. Still, it's nice to walk along the river and look into the wide horizon of the north. Forest and water landscapes as far as the eye can see.
Seraina picks out a restaurant where we can have lunch. It's right on the Arctic Circle and, as we now realize, in the middle of the kitschy Santa Claus village with hotels, souvenir stores, reindeer farm and the very restaurant where I want to try reindeer.
Now at the end of summer there is not much going on here. A few tourists roam around. But I can imagine how it looks like here in December in the eternal winter and snow.
In the restaurant, a replica of a traditional Sami hut, Seraina's salmon is being smoked on the fire in the middle of the house.
My reindeer steak is accompanied by mashed potatoes, cranberries and pickles. I can recommend it!
As soon as we cross the Arctic Circle, we spot the first of many reindeer grazing calmly along the highway. The first, second and third we photograph at length. Then we soon realize that the animals with the beautiful antlers are everywhere.
A few more hours north we find our little Airbnb in the village of Sodankylä. It's a small Finnish garden cottage right next to the owners' house, kept very simple.
It consists only of a sofa that pulls out into a bed, a table with a bench, a small kitchenette and - the most important thing - a fireplace that warms us in the evening.
August 23 – Pyhä-Luosto Nationalpark
About 50 kilometers from Sodankylä lies Pyhä-Luosto National Park, one of the highlights of the area.
We take advantage of the beautiful weather and hike along well-maintained trails through the forest and a deep, rocky gorge.
A steep staircase leads up to a hilltop. Up here we enjoy the phenomenal view into the flat distance of Lapland - nothing but trees and lakes, hills are only visible far away, a truly enchanted land.
In the evening we are back at our Airbnb. Over a fire and a fine dinner we watch documentaries about Finland's history and the culture and language of the indigenous Sami people.
August 24 – Urho Kekkonen Nationalpark
After two comfortable nights in the garden cottage we head out into nature again today. Again, we drive 120 kilometers to the north. In the Urho Kekkonen National Park Santa Claus is said to be at home. We want to make sure of that.
Parking in front of the entrance to the park, we see it is teeming with Finns, who want to explore the park with their bikes or like us hiking.
We pack our backpacks for a two-day walk and head off into the wilderness bordering Russia. Well, to the edge of the wilderness. You don't get too far in two days in this gigantic national park.
It is a bit hillier up here in the north (the hills are called fells). Fewer trees take away our view into the distance. A stony, barren landscape lies at our feet.
Although it looked like many visitors in the parking lot, we are now alone on the road; alone on the moon.
This changes when we arrive at the campground at Lake Rautulampi. There is a rush here. Many tents are already set up in the afternoon. There are several shelters, they look modern and new.
We decide to move on. Surely we can find a quieter place in nature. Besides, it's only 3pm, so we still have a few hours of hiking left.
Der Tag neigt sich dem Ende zu, als wir in Luulampi eintreffen. Hier ist niemand. Das „Wildniss-Café“ ist bereits geschlossen, die Feuerstelle am See ist unbesetzt. So auch die kleine, mit Holzofen ausgerüstete Schutzhütte.
How wonderful, we do not have to spend the night in the cold tent, but can heat up the hut and sleep on the wooden benches. There would be room for about 4-6 people. But nobody bothers us the entire night.
A spring nearby gives us fresh drinking water. Seraina has recently downloaded an app that shows the probability of seeing the northern lights. The season of the Aurora Borealis starts soon. But we are still too early. The night is clear and cold. And remains dark.
August 25 – Seraina's Birthday
After having a good rest in the small hut, we hike the few kilometers back to the parking lot, where we unload our hiking gear.
Then we climb Kilopää Fell, the highest point in the area at about 550 meters above sea level.
The view is unique. 360° panoramic view into the wild expanse - magnificent!
In the afternoon we check into our Airbnb apartment in a small tourist village. Saariselkä is the northernmost point of our trip.
We celebrate Seraina's birthday in the apartment, which includes a fireplace and a private sauna. We leave nothing unused today.
August 26 – Lazy Day in Lapland
Slow getting up. Today there is NOTHING on the daily schedule.
After a hearty breakfast we walk into the village. Not much seems to happen in Saariselkä through the summer months. But today some fans of American cars met. Cool old Chevis and muscular Mustangs are lined up to be admired. We would love to hijack one of them and roar away. Our white VW Polo is boring in comparison.
Again and again, we discover reindeer. Unperturbed they stand on the road and hinder the village traffic. Nobody bothers.
August 27 – Bear Trail
We take our time getting up, have breakfast and then clean the apartment.
At 12 o'clock it is time to leave. We head southeast towards Kuusamo, which is known for bear safaris.
We drive the whole half day and thanks to Maps.me and Google we find a nice shelter on the bear trail, the most popular hiking trail in Finland..
So it's no surprise that a few young hikers show up soon after us to camp at the same spot. They sleep in the shelters, we in the tent nearby.
Rain during the night.
August 28 – 5 Stars at the Lake
In the morning, we walk along the bear trail, watch a lonely reindeer in the forest, and finally drive on.
We pick out a nice shelter for the night (thanks, Park4night). Hardly a soul is at this 5-star spot. Only reindeer.
Start a fire, practice a bit, then BBQ by the lake.... Finland is great!
But the wind and the nights foreshadow the end of summer. Winter is coming.
August 29 – 5 Stars at the River
We like this place so much that we want to spend another night here.
Seraina wanders through the forest while I am at my morning practice. She finds another shelter at the nearby river, which is sheltered from the wind and just as beautiful.
So we go shopping for a quick bite to eat and soon head back into the woods, where we catch the last rays of sunshine of the day. The campfire later keeps the cold away until we finally crawl into our sleeping bags.
August 30 – Campfire Four-someness
After a day's break from driving, we have a lot of miles ahead of us again today. There is not much more to report.
In the evening, we decide to spend the night on a small, amazingly cheap (12 Euros) camping site. We take a warm shower, make a fire, as usual.
At the fire we meet the young French couple Flav and Xavier, who are on a Scandinavia and Eastern Europe trip with their bus.
After all the days of loneliness, it is nice to talk with other people about traveling, music and the world.
August 31 – Closing the Circle
The journey continues. Our last is at the same time our first stop: Turku.
There we spend the night once again on the campground, because there was hardly a good free camping site to be found near the city.
A storm passes over us, countered by several rainbows and magical sunlight.
It is our last night in the tent. Because from now on it will be too cold for us. We would rather spend a few Euros more than freeze our auroras off in Helsinki.
September 1st - 3rd – Helsinki
We return the Polo unharmed and take the train from Turku to Helsinki.
Kriistina, who rents us her spacious apartment via Booking, is a lovely, helpful person. The apartment is very close to the center of the city as well as to the airport. Ideal for us.
Have a look at it (affiliate link): Comfortable Apartment in Helsinki
We visit Helsinki. The tourist center with its churches, museums and 0815 shops we have quickly left behind.
Uns zieht der „alternativere“ Teil der Stadt an. In einer Metal-Bar trinken wir ein paar Bier (in Finnland wie schon in Schweden brauen sie wirklich gutes Bier in vielen kleinen Brauereien) und können uns nicht ganz aufraffen, an eines der Live-Konzerte zu gehen.
Instead, we enjoy the last evening, after a fabulous Pizza at Faselli's, in our appartment
Seraina is getting more and more involved in meditation and neigong. I must have infected her. This morning, as yesterday, we did a sitting session together. A simple but fundamental exercise: Anchoring the Breath.
Then time runs out. We pack, eat and bye-bye to the airport. The flight home passes carefree, not like the train ride to Sweden in the beginning.
This road trip through Finland is over, but the next one going downunder is already in planning.
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