Pyhä Unplugged, sweet tones swirling towards the August sky

Here in the north we make sure to enjoy the summer months in as many ways as possible. We enjoy the great outdoors so much, that we bring life outdoors, do everything outdoors – eat, play and sleep. Culture is brought outdoors too.

This summer I was invited to Pyhä Unplugged, it is a half-acoustic music festival held in the great landscapes of Pyhätunturi fell. The event is organized by Pyhä Ski Resort and every year a great selection of best Finnish artists to Pyhä is gathered. So I was truly looking forward to a fun and relaxing weekend with good music!

The main attraction is the concerts in Aittakuru gorge, an open-air amphitheathre amidst magnificent nature. The second day of my stay in Pyhä I went to the afternoon concert which was started by Johanna Rusanen, a Finnish Opera singer. She entertained us with a potpourri of movie music. Her first song was a tender, tender love song “Sua vain yli kaiken mä rakastan” (I love you above everything). The acoustics in Aitakuru is incredible. As Johanna’s magnificent voice filled the gorge I got the chills and was totally absorbed by the moment. The setting in the midst of nature that is as tender as the song, yet rough and rocky as love and life can be. The fresh air, the sunshine of an August afternoon, the beautiful music – words are not enough to describe this experience. Tears, smiles, you truly stop to listen, to see and understand the beauty of nature, love and life.

Johanna continued taking us through the decades of movie music, mostly domestic, but some international tones too. In the middle of the concert, as I was sitting there gazing up towards the ridge of the gorge I saw some reindeer strolling up there. Wonder if they were there for the music too…

Applause brought on an encore and there could not have been a more perfect encore. The beautiful tones of the Titanic swirled up towards the August sky, dissolving into the grand nature, spreading emotions and pleasure on their way. How will I manage one whole year until the next time in Aittakuru? Luckily, I learnt that there is a Pyhä Unplugged Winter too.

Berries, berries everywhere I look!

I look at my watch before taking off from home on my bike. It is 8:47 on a Tuesday morning. Sunny, lovely and summerlike. I bike away to the local market place; it is only a few minutes ride away from my home. I can already feel the sweet, fresh taste, the lovely smell… of fresh strawberries, picked this morning. This is the best thing with summer – fresh strawberries. Here, in the land of the midnight sun the growth period is short but intense. When the berries grow, they grow 24 hours per day. I cannot seem to get enough of strawberries in the summer, I have at least one liter per day. Most certainly I buy as many liters as my co-citizens who freeze a lot of berries to last until next berry season. Mine never make it to the freezer.

We are spoilt with the clean and pure nature and environment here in the north. I think sometimes we do not realize how lucky we are, it is totally OK to eat blueberries from the forest, to pick wild mushrooms and berries. There are a lot of superfoods in our forests and luckily Finns are quite good in taking care of it. Probably the long winter has taught us to preserve the flavours and vitamins of the summer sun to be enjoyed during the cold winter months.

This brings my thoughts back to the first time I was served Crème Brûlé with berries at Restaurant Ukonkivi. There were some blueberries and some raspberries on top of the picture perfect and well known desert. They seemed fresh, but it was in the middle of winter and imported or cultivated berries do not have this kind of flavor. Later I asked the restaurant keeper, Heikki, what is the secret with the berries. He told me they are wild raspberries, they grow at the back of his garden and he handpicks them, freezes gently and takes up just the right amount for desert. Amazing, I thought. A restaurant owner who picks all the berries served in his restaurant. What a job, it is a lot of berries! No, but it is a hobby, so it does not even feel like work, Heikki explains.

Another berry-story is hidden in the desert of Forest Restaurant Huilinki. The berries are marinated in a light syrup, just the right amount of sugar to take off the sourness of the lingonberries and cranberries. Handpicked by the restaurant owners Hannu and Tellervo. “Well, they grow just there outside our home”; Tellervo laughed. Last fall I stayed in one of the cabins of LomaLopotti, that is on the premises of Forest Restaurant Huilinki and learnt mushrooms really grow in plentiful around the cabins. It was a dream to pick mushrooms, go indoors and prepare a delicious soup.

But it is not yet mushroom time, it is time to enjoy some tastes of summer. Back home with my daily portion of sunshine and vitamins, I sit down in my hammock and tuck in. There is not a better flavor than a sunwarm strawberry, picked this morning.

On the roads of Lapland

I was driving home one late one summer night, listening to the radio, happy that it was not as hot as during the day anymore, as my old car does not have air conditioning. I was driving a route that I quite often drive, so was not paying much attention to the surroundings, rather keeping my eyes on the road and trying not to speed too much. It is hard to keep to the limits on an empty road.

On this route there is a place where the road crosses a lake on its narrowest point; the large lake opens up on both sides of the road. Here I normally throw a glance on the landscape, as it is a very beautiful place. This particular night I had to stop. The sun was kind of setting the way it does late July, it hangs there just by the horizon and throws amazing golden and pastel colors on the landscape. This night there were some dark clouds that added some drama to the view – breathtaking. I got out of the car and took in this scenery with all senses. It was so silent and still, the lake was like a mirror and the night air fresh and smelled of pine forest. You could feel it had been a warm day and also that tomorrow would be warm. The cooler nights are a blessing on a hot summer like this one.

I was so taken by the scenery, that I did not even take a photo. But it looked very much like our main picture, which is taken on another shore of the same lake (Lake Kitka); just use your imagination to add the few dark clouds and some dramatic light effects.

I continued driving. On moments like this I can fully understand why travelers prefer to do Finland on fly & drive basis in the summer. Drive from town to town or cottage to cottage. Plan everything in advance or do a real road trip and take it as it comes. Traffic is non-existent compared to Central Europe and the roads are fine throughout the country. And like just stated; the landscapes are beautiful!

There are hazards on our roads too - the wildlife. Mostly reindeer come up on the roads and they can move around in herds, so this is what you are up against (picture taken by a friend of mine who drives the same route as I do just as often as I do):

I find the mighty elk scary when sighted from a car. Last summer I was driving late at night on this same route I had an encounter with an elk. It was by a large swamp, it was a bit foggy from the ground, as it gets when the air cools down at night and the moist swamp is warmer and evaporates. There he was, standing tall and mighty in the fog. Luckily he stayed there, as that is a huge animal and I am happy as long as they are not on the same roads as I am. That would also have been a photo-perfect moment; I have to start making photo stops to capture these moments when driving on the roads here in Lapland.

Among others, these European tour operators organize fly & drive tours to Lapland:

Voigt Travel, The Netherlands

fintouring, Germany

Kontiki Saga Reisen, Switzerland

Catai, Spain

A Finnish Summer Dream: Mökki

I turn my car up the gravel road, there are the familiar sounds of the wheels when accelerating a little – not too much as there are some bumps on the road. I am just leaving my “mökki” and returning back home. Mökki is cottage in Finnish, often us Finns automatically understand lakeside cottage under mökki. I would have loved to stay longer. Days at the mökki are spent sunbathing on the jetty, rowing on the lake, heating the sauna, bathing and swimming in the lake. Morning joga-stretching on the verandah. Enjoying the stunning summer nights from the verandah and the peace and quiet that surrounds you. Here, at my mökki, my soul truly rests and even though it is sad to leave, I leave with reloaded batteries.

Urbanization is a fairly recent feature in Finland. Only fifty years ago, most Finns lived in the countryside. Today, most Finns live in cities and towns, and very many have a cottage in the countryside. There are half a million cottages to where Finns escape city life every weekend and for a longer time in the summer. At the cottage, life is always good. Sauna, freshly caught fish grilled by the camp fire and peace and quiet is pretty much all Finns need at the cottage. We dress in “cottage clothes” that are old and faded, very but comfortable. I have to smile when thinking back of the outfits I have been wearing the past days… Well, soon holidays are over and it is power suits and high heels again. I bet I will be thinking back at the very comfortable combination of woolen socks and Crocs after walking a day in heels. Or my all time favourite, a faded and stretched out giant t-shirt right from the 80’s.

As I get further and further away from my cottage I ask myself can anyone understand the importance of a mökki for a Finn? Can non-Finns relax as well as us in a simple cottage in a stunning location? Do others also appreciate the peace and quiet and most importantly: do they share our strange love for old and faded cottage clothes? The drive home will take a while and I have my phone equipped with headset, so I might just as well find out.

I call my German friend. He is a Finland fan and I know he has been renting a cottage in Finland once. It is to be stated, that he enjoys exactly the same things as I do at the cottage. Except for the clothes-thing, which he cannot understand. And the sauna is not heated daily, but several times in a week, however. In my thoughts I also go back in time to the years I lived in Switzerland and worked in the travel industry. Several Swiss tour operators offered rental cottages and as far as I know, the demand has been increasing through the years. As I have time, I call a friend in London. She is a true city-girl, but says she dream of a retreat to a place where beautiful nature surrounds her and she can “just be”. I do not even ask her about the clothes, as I know she would look chic in the midst of a forest…

The fact that there are no close neighbours, that the cottage is directly by a pure-watered lake and the beauty and tranquility of nature are the desired things on a cottage holiday. You need a car to get to the cottages and Finland is easy to travel in thanks to the lack of traffic and still we enjoy a safe country with low rates in crime. Perfect setting and circumstances for a cottage retreat!

Luckily there are numerous rental cottages in Finland, this makes the Finnish Summer Dream into reality for many and many Finns and non-Finns every year.

Have a look at some rental cottages:

Ollilan Lomamajat

LomaLopotti

Rukan Salonki

Isokenkäisten Klubi

Oivangin Lomakartano

One of the largest selection of cottages in the whole country is found on the website of Wild North.

Santa has been spotted in Kuusamo!

You can believe I was amazed when I saw Santa sitting by the shores of Lake Vuotunki as I was out rowing on a sunny summer afternoon. There he was, the great man himself. Just enjoying the beautiful summer’s day, bathing his feet in the lake. I just had to row a shore to have a chat with him. How do you address such an important person, is he for real?

Well, as soon as Santa sighted me, he started chatting. Saying he came out here to relax a while. His cottage is here and we all know cottages are perfect places to relax at. Santa was holding a fishing pole

- Any catch today, Santa? I asked

- It is not the catch that is important, it is the excuse to sit here and enjoy the afternoon. Santa replied, lifting the line out of the water… there was no bait on the hook, so fishing was not really on his mind.

I sat down close to Santa and asked him how he is enjoying the summer, must be lovely to have some holidays after the busy Christmas season?

- We are quite busy in the summer time, the toy workshops run on full speed. Some elves have been sent out to the world to research on what kind of toys and gifts the children will want this year. We also do a lot of planning, how to make it to all the homes in time. So a moment here by the lake is just perfect to relax…

We sat there chatting for a while, the great man and me. One thing that Santa does not miss in the summer is making the sauna “vastas”, the small bunches of birch twigs that are used in the sauna throughout the year. In the summer when the leaves are new and soft, we make the “vastas” for the coming winter. They are dried; some people prefer to freeze them. In the coldest time of winter we can have a breeze of summer when a dried or frozen vasta is softened in hot water in the sauna.

Then I continued my rowing over the lake and left Santa to enjoy the beauty of the northern summer.

Arctic Flavours

When travelling, one way to experience a destination and a culture is through food and culinary experiences. Often we do it kind of without noticing, one must eat everyday and when travelling most people prefer to try the local cuisine. What more accessible way is there to learn about a culture than how its people satisfy and glorify a basic human need?

Food culture tells a lot about the people, the rhythm of everyday life and traditions. Not only the food itself is interesting, also how it is eaten: is having dinner a social event, do people have one main meal of the day or several small meals, a warm meal or a cold one – all these things shape the daily life of people in the destination you are travelling in.

One of the main features of Finnish food is pure flavours. Our food traditions root in the nature and still today our fresh forests and clean waterways are an inspiration for chefs – professional as well as passionate hobby chefs.

I meet Jarmo Pikänen at his restaurant, Studio Restaurant Tundra. I am here to plan the launch of our new product, a five day culinary break in Lapland. The programme is an excursion into northern cuisine and starts by acquiring the needed ingredients. During the stay the guests have seven gourmet meals prepared from the best local ingredients in season. There is also a hands-on cooking experience together with Jarmo.

The demanding arctic climate of the north makes the produce of waters and forests tasty and intense in flavor. Our culinary break will run all year around and the programme varies according to the season. In the summer and fall one of the highlights will for sure be to find and pick ingredients from the nature. As these goodies are under a thick cover of snow in the winter time, we then focus on getting familiar with the traditions of reindeer herding and the production of reindeer meat. Fish is available throughout the year and fresh fish plays a big role in the northern cuisine. The traditions and delicacies from fresh fish will be presented in Restaurant Juomuskota.

Jarmo tells me about the wild herbs that are in season now. Jarmo has prepared a salad of wild herbs, a symphony of fresh and intense flavours, taking my mind out to the fields and forests... Nettle, Lady’s Mantle and Dandelion. With the salad Jarmo serves smoked whitefish, a true Finnish summer classic. Soon the berries will be in season and later my personal favourite: the mushrooms. I just love to go mushroom picking, to stroll in the forest and then be able to enjoy the flavours of nature.

Anyway, the task of today is to plan our product launch! But somehow we get into talking about the actual programme, we look forward to presenting Arctic Flavours to our co-operational partners and customers very soon!

The Brown Bear and the Midnight Sun

Finland’s northernmost bear watching venues are in Kuusamo Lapland, in the deep forests close to the border to Russia. I will never forget the sight of the mighty brown bear in his natural environment. The bear’s are best sighted at night, so that is why the bright nights of Lapland serve very well in bear watching. I am told that it is 99% sure of seeing the fantastic brown bear during your visit to the wilds. Make sure to bring your camera and binoculars (there are a spar pair of binoculars at the hide), as the watch-out hides have large windows and provide a spectacular view of the wildlife.

We started our wildlife experience by checking in to Isokenkäisten Klubi Wilderness Hotel Kortteeri. The wildlife guide met us at Isokenkäisten Klubi, we got a snack to bring to the watch-out hide. We will spend several hours watching nature’s own show in the light of the midnight sun.


The last bit to the watch-out hide is done by foot. I had no thoughts of possible encounters with bears as we walked to the hide, I was enjoying the peaceful forest walk, we were asked to be quiet. That is the key: to be quiet, as bears will escape as soon as they sense humans nearby. The brown bear might look like a teddy bear, it has a round and a bit clumsy appearance, but it is a fast runner and a predator and like most animals, protective of its little ones. So it is wise to stay out of the way of the bears – stay safely in the watch-out hide.

We had a nice show of five (yes indeed, FIVE) adult bears, the largest is about 100 kg, according to our guide. There were also a few White-tailed eagles; I was quite surprised to spot them here in the forests of Lapland as I thought they are coastal habitants. Apparently there are about 20 pairs of them here in Lapland, they live by large waterways and there is no lack of such in Kuusamo!


Amazing! We all sat in silence, just watching these wild animals, listening to the sounds of the summer night. For many of us it was first time to see any wildlife in its natural environment. Shortly after midnight the wildlife had left us and we walked back to the car to return to Isokenkäisten Klubi. Even knowing that this walk is done safely every night during the summer season, I was looking around and hoping not to see anymore bears tonight. Actually, we had learnt during the night that silence is the most important factor in watching wildlife. Bears are shy of humans and will stay away if they can hear humans around.

I fell asleep as soon as my head hit the pillow and woke up to birds’ song late the next morning. Mmm, I look forward to a yummy breakfast and a large coffee on the terrace of Isokenkäisten Klubi. Actually, I enjoyed the peace and quiet so much, that I stayed one more night...