A new adventure: outdoors Finland!
It’s going to be an exciting week for us! While Martijn is climbing some peaks in the Swiss Alps, Anto is staying on lower grounds, however quite a bit further up north. She’s going to Finland for the Outdoors Finland bloggers trip, hosted by Visit Finland.
What do YOU know about Finland? Some things we knew before we ever set foot in it were:
– There’s thousands of lakes. And even more trees!
– People stay in their cabins in the summer. And weekends. And winter. (Pure bliss if you ask us!)
– Everybody goes to the sauna. Or well, almost everybody.
– The northern part is called Lapland which is mostly above the Arctic Circle.
– Their language is impossible to understand with extremely long words and a lot of vowels.
– Mika Häkkinen comes from there. As does Jari Litmanen. Two sports heroes Anto followed during her teens.
And that was about it…
It’s been a while but we’ve both been to Finland a few times before. In fact, Martijn lived and studied there back in 2001, when we just met and started our journeys. He stayed in Helsinki for nearly 5 months and of course, Anto came to visit. During our 6 days together we explored Helsinki and rented a cabin on the shores of a lake, somewhere near the town of Tampere.
Then we traveled back together in 2007 for an introduction on wintertime in Finland! We flew all the way up north, above the Arctic Circle, and experienced some winter fun while dogsledding and snowmobiling. Oh, and we also got to meet Santa along the way …
And now Anto is going to enjoy Finland in the summer! The time of the year when the trees are green and the sun is out for a long, long time! She’ll be joining a bunch of other bloggers and experience the best of outdoors Finland for 4 days in the Saimaa region. Here the endangered Saimaa Ringed Seal can be found; nowadays only 300 of them are left to be found here. Spotting one of them would be awesome!
Also there’s a chance of catching our own fish and eating them at night. Not a first one, however this time it probably won’t be salmon… If Anto is patient enough to hold the rod for some time, we’ll have to learn.
And of course there will be some activities, the best way to enjoy the outdoors! Hiking at Punkaharju Ridge is on the schedule. Yay! And how about some canoeing in Linnansaari National Park? Because after all, how can you go to Finland without spending some time on one of their thousand lakes? And then, at night, run out of the sauna right into the water to cool down… Well OK, we’ll have to see about that one.
We’re very excited to be a part of this experience. Finland offers everything we enjoy in life: nature, the great outdoors and adventure.
Want to tag along on this amazing trip? Then follow us on Twitter, Instagram or Facebook and enjoy the Finnish landscapes and hospitality with us!
Psst: now be a real adventurer and share this with our friends!
anto
Anto is a 30-something outdoor fan who travels the world about 100 days a year, combined with a full-time office job. She loves to go hiking, enjoys a good class of wine and can usually be found with an iPhone in her hand. Favorite destinations: New Zealand, Patagonia, Austria and Alaska.
16 Comments
Raphael Alexander Zoren
Finland looks amazing this time of the year!!! Enjoy it before it gets too cold 😀
Samantha
Ooh Finland looks so beautiful! I’ve heard great things about Lapland, it looks like a great experience! I’d love to visit one day, but during spring or summer. I don’t know if I could handle the cold haha
anto
Finland is gorgeous! You have to love trees and lakes though, but if you do, it’s heaven for you!
Hannah
Sounds great Anto! I was in Helsinki in March, but only for a day from Tallinn (all I could afford) I loved it though, the people were great and the city was beautiful. Can’t wait for a chance to go back and experience more of the country. Excited to see what you get up to during your trip!
anto
Helsinki is great! One of my fave European cities in fact, so much to see and do. I’ve never been to Tallinn but M. has as it was “just around the corner” for him while he lived there. Hope you get to go back to Finland one day!
Jenna
Finland sounds amazing–I would love to go there! Experiencing Finland’s summer would be wonderful, but winter is intriguing as well–I would love to go as far north as the Arctic Circle! Hope it is great!
Meg @ Mapping Megan
Wow stunning photos guys! I’ve been to Finland before, but went during the dead of winter so would love to get back during the summer months. Can’t wait to follow your updates!
Annika - Live Laugh Explore
Oh how exciting! I’m originally from Finland but haven’t been there on summer time since…oh gosh, 2011! And my next visit will be in January, so I can just dream about the midnight summer at home (although that is done for this year already!). I am sure you will love Finland, enjoy!!
Oh and yes, everybody goes to sauna 😀
anto
Oh wow you will maybe see the Northern Lights then Annika! Or will you be too much south for that? We’d love to visit Finland again in the winter!
Alli
What a stunning place to visit. Looks like it is filled with such mystique and beauty everywhere you turn!
Chris Boothman
I was a big Jari Litmanen fan during his Ajax days and then when he moved to Liverpool in England. Plus Kimi Raikkonen is from Finland just to add to the list of sports stars 🙂 I would love to visit Finland one day just as I would with the rest of Scandinavia! Hope you have a great time there!
anto
Ah really? So cool! I love the Finns and their passion for sports and nature… I love Finland in general 🙂
Sarah
Fantastic! Looking forward to your pictures and some crazy Finland stories- always involving some kind of liquor? 😉
anto
Totally involving liquor! Coming up soon…
Damien Dante
The photos absolutely show how romantic and creative your souls are. Thank you for a great article guys!
anto
Thanks Damien!