Field notes from

FINLAND

December 14, 20241 min read

Finland snuck up on me. I was originally going to skip it entirely on the Nordic loop, but two things changed my mind: the SkySauna ferris wheel in Helsinki and the actual real Santa Claus Village up in Rovaniemi. I went for the gimmicks and stayed for the quiet.

Helsinki itself is calm in a way I wasn't expecting. People give each other a lot of space. Coffee is taken seriously. The design district is worth a slow afternoon, and the public saunas (Löyly, Allas) are non-negotiable.

Rovaniemi was the real surprise. Crossing the Arctic Circle in winter, getting a passport stamp from Santa himself, riding a husky sled through complete silence — it was campy and magical at the same time. Go with snowpants you don't mind getting wet.

Would I plan a whole trip around Finland? Probably not. Would I always add a few days here on any Nordic itinerary? Absolutely.

From the camera roll