(or crazy people under the midnight sun...)
In July 1998 I went
on the longest trip I've ever been on. It took me in 3½ weeks almost
9.000 km from the Netherlands through Germany, Denmark, Sweden, Finland,
Estonia and the Åland Islands. This episode deals with the longest
part of my trip: Soumi (Finland).
This is the LAPIN KULTA brewery in Tornio
at the border to Sweden. Look at that clean water! No wonder that it tastes
so good...
On the road between Aavasaksavaara and Rovaniemi
you cross the polar circle. And if you're lucky you will meet some reindeers.
Unfortunately they are very shy in front of cameras...
About 10 km northwest of Rovaniemi, at the
polar circle near the Pello road, is the realm ´Kampsuherran
Valtakunta´. If you want to meet real Lappish traditions (including
reindeer husbandary): there is the place to. I will not tell more about it.
You have to check out yourself.
In order to enter the realm you need a passport
first. You can get it at the costums office at the border. Don't try to enter
without one...the ´foreign minister´ is dangerous! If you want
to learn to drive a reindeer sleigh you can try their driving school (winter
time only).
If you think Lappland is cold - in summertime
you are defenitely wrong. At this picture (about 5 p.m.) it was 25°C.
The next day the teparature rose up to 32°C...the hottest day during
my whole trip! There is even a little beach in Rovaniemi (near the camping).
When it gets too hot you can cool down in the arctic river Ounasjoki river
(10°C).The camping in Rovaniemi is really nice. It's a meetingplace for people from all over Europe. And people who went up so far to the North have to tell each other a lot ... by the way: that's me on the foto.
A typical Lappish dish: reindeer with potatoes
and craneberries and a LAPIN KULTA beer. Absolutely delicious... in the
restaurant of ´Hotel Oppilaitos´ it's even reasonably
priced.
Midnight sun over the Muurolajärvi
(about 1 a.m.) - needless to say anything about this atmosphere
...
Unbelieveable! Midnight sun and full moon
at the same time (about 1 a.m.) in Muurola.On the right that's Ville from Rovaniemi and 'Crazy Sanna' from Ounasrinne. Cheers!
Every family in Finland has a summer cottage
at a lake. This one is located at the Ähtarijärvi and owned by
Jani's family from Seinajöki. Like every summer cottage in Finland it
has of course a Sauna in it. And at the Ähtarijärvi you can find
the most mosquitos I've ever seen.
Jani and me went fishing on the lake. Good
that his father bought a salmon before: we cought only lots of small
fish!
"Nightlife" in the student town
Jyväskylä. During summer hollidays unfortunately most of the students
are gone. On the picture that's me with 'Madame Sanna' (middle) from Palokka
and a friend of her.From Lahti, Espoo, Helsinki and Turku you will not find any pictures here. But I am sure there are lots of them on the web. So it's nothing special. Only a few words:
Lahti: Nothing special to see, but nice to go shopping. Here you find a lot of stores and prices are usually lower than in Helsinki.
Helsinki: When you don't know where to go, you will be disappointed by the nightlife. Jani and I at least didn't find out where are the good places.
Turku: The 'secret capital' of Finland. It can compete with Helsinki! Lots of nice houses ...
ÅlandFinland is the country of the 1000 lakes - Åland is the country of the 1000 islands!
This autonomous province of Finland has it's own flag (left), stamps, parliament, number plates etc. Seemingly they have even an own banking system since it is very problematic to get cash from their automats.
The people here speak only Swedish! If you ask something in Finish (which is easier to pronounce) - you will get the answer in Swedish (which is easier to understand). So, there is no language problem at all, right?
The capital city Mariehamn has even two
harbours. This one is the Eastern Harbour(Österhamn) with me and Erika
from Mariehamn in front. I guess in summertime there are more sailing boats
than inhabitants on the islands!If you come to Mariehamn one day, you should try out the 'Ålands Pannkaka' (pancakes) in Café Julius at the main street in Mariehamn. Delicious!
No,no ... that's not in Holland. These wooden
windmills you can find on Åland!Finally a tip: when you want to go from Åland to Sweden - use the Eckerö ferry. It's cheaper and faster than the big ones from Mariehamn.
I hope you enjoyed this virtual holliday to Finland!
