Escaping Summer With our time in Norway over too quickly (we were already planning our next trip there) we headed back across the border to Suomi (Finland), back past Kilpisjärvi which was so beautiful we had to stop to take more photos:
We spent most of the day driving to our overnight stop, Muonio. Despite being a few days from being full, the moon was still a stunning distraction while driving:
After staying the night at Muonio (which was our nicest accommodation so far) we found a lake, not the most amazing feat given Finland has over 180,000 of them. But still, it was pretty:
Ivalo: our last adventure in the Arctic Circle
Ivalo sits on the east of Finland, close to the border with Russia. It was close enough that there were signs for Murmansk, in northern Russia, which are currently useless given the border is closed courtesy of the war. From what we heard, the risk of war is on people’s minds enough that roads are being improved in Lapland so the military can move easier, especially since 2023 when Finland joined NATO and became its North-Eastern border along with Norway. Anyway, back to the important things like our trip.
Our accommodation at Ivalo, was a cute, small little wood cabin with no running water, that somehow managed to be warmer than our house in Australia (Australia, please make better houses). Showering consisted of collecting water from a river, and heating it in the wood fire sauna. Our accommodation was actually part of a husky farm (not related in any way to puppy farms other than both involving dogs). The husky’s were very friendly and liked to constantly remind us of this by howling at all times of day (and night). But the highlight was a litter of puppies that were so cute we had to stop at their enclosure every time we walked past.
Ivalo also gave us our most vivid view of the aurora so far:
Cute reindeer (and tasty)
The next morning we went to a reindeer farm to feed some reindeer their favorite snack: lichen. Reindeer are docile animals (except when the men are fighting over the ladies apparently). The older ones were very happy to eat lichen straight from our hands while the younger ones kept their distance.
After we fed the beasts we found another lake:
Our last night, we tried for the ultimate Finnish experience: grilling makkara (sausage) over a fire, eating them in a hot dog bun, with sinappi (mustard), and beer, followed by a sauna (that we had to light ourselves) and a dip in a partially frozen river, naked. Enjoy that mental image, and this photo (of our dinner):
Back below the Arctic Circle
Some how we managed to drive 1,500 km, across icy roads, in two different countries, in a wilderness surrounded by cute but stupid reindeer (who we discovered can run surprisingly fast) without crashing and dying. After congratulating ourselves on this epic feat, we returned our now dirty car and headed back south by train.
Our wonderful Finnish family treated us to an Ice Hockey game as an anniversary present:
It’s hard to tell who is more insane about their sport, Finns with ice hockey, or Melbournians with footy. The only thing Melbourne has up on the Finns, is perhaps the world’s most pointless public holiday in honor of their sport. But boy are these matches intense, and that’s just the pre-game entertainment, which consisted of a live DJ blasting tunes so loud that me and the infants there had to use our hearing protection, and flame throwers. Seeing it played live, reinforced my opinion that ice hockey is one of the most, if not the most, skillful sports.
Sauna and skinny dipping in icy water, skidding on icy winter roads, and cheering at the ice hockey; we may have become truly Finnish.