After putting everything down and choosing our rooms, we all sat around and caught up on everything, we all had dinner together, some traditional dishes like cabbage rolls and blood pudding, then we had pizza’s, one of them had reindeer on it and the other had smoked salmon, after dinner everyone left and we nestled ourselves on the couches before heading to bed, I only slept 3 hours that night only because in northern Finland the sun doesn’t go down at all, so all hours there is at least enough brightness to wake you up.

Waking up the next morning was exciting, we we’re ready to have an adventurous day, first Dad and I went for a walk to the local shops but instead of following the map we took the extra-long way, we went to the shop to get some groceries and necessities to get us through the week, the bag was heavy when we walked home, and the temperature was only 12c.

After coming home I decided to have some breakfast and relax while we waited for the daily itinerary when they did come we split up into two cars, and then suddenly it started to pour rain, we headed to Kopara a reindeer farm that Ansi and Heidi own, a huge pictures farm with tepees and little huts plus a working shed with big heavy machinery. First we headed into the mess hall and we could already smell the soup slow cooking, once Heidi and their car arrived we started a tour, walking around the lot and watching everyone work, although it was pouring rain and cold so it was a bit hard to concentrate, mum and I headed back inside the food hall and dried off while everyone else did some more touring, when they came back I went to have a look at the oldest hut in Lapland, a small winter hut for the families to stay warm on cold winter days on the farm, it had beautiful wood and on the inside reindeer fur along a large man made day bed, a small table and a fireplace, it was amazing to see something like that, after the small cottage we headed inside and had some slow cooked reindeer soup, if you haven’t tasted reindeer before (no not venison) it’s usually mouth-watering good and tender, it was amazing.

After going to the reindeer farm the rain had finally stopped and we headed to Heidi’s place, a short drive and we we’re there, a beautiful farm house, something like off the movies, as we drove in I saw two horses one foal, the colours of them we’re so beautiful like a beautiful caramel, after parking I got to pat them and then we headed into the house, inside was a beautiful kitchen with a large open plan lounge attached and a big fireplace, such an amazing farm house.

After arriving half of us split up, one half went to the nearest town and the other half stayed back and had a sleep, I got to have a nap above the fireplace, a cute reading/sleeping nook with fairy lights and heaps of pillows, gosh it was so nice and relaxing. Eventually after a couple hours the other half of the group came home and we all woke up from our naps, Heidi then started making dinner, we had risotto and reindeer osso Bucco, the risotto was so amazing and the osso Bucco was incredible too.

After dinner the boys had a sauna and didn’t get out until very late, after only having at least 3 hours sleep I was getting tired, eventually my aunty drove us back, we all headed to bed and “slept” I only slept about the same, maybe an extra hour.
After breakfast we, my aunty and cousin decided to head to the top of the mountain, taking the chair lift up overlooking the entire Pyha region and also you could see all the way to Russia, it was very cold up there and while on the ski lift, but incredible views.

Once back down we headed to lunch to a little ski eatery, after lunch we headed back home and had an afternoon nap, I slept a good 3 full hours, finally, for dinner that night for dinner we went to the pub up the hill from us and walked passed many reindeers, they didn’t care about us they just kept sitting there, the pub was like a mini American saloon, I wanted a burger but accidently ordered a vegetarian burger instead, but never the less it was still good.
Once we finished dinner Patric came all the way from Sweden to see us arrived and we sat around talking the rest of the night.

The next day we headed to Heidi’s farm to walk the dogs and to see the lake, we walked to the beautiful lake and then we all hopped into the cars and headed to another farm to see the men farm hay, we had a quick stop at a local marketplace to meet Ansi so we could follow him to the farm he was working on, after basking in the nice sun we headed across the road to a house café and we had some morning tea, I had a delicious piece of carrot cake, we stayed at the café for a while relaxing more in the sun, also on the property there was a donkey, after morning tea we then headed back to our place to have another afternoon nap.

Later that evening we went out to an amazing ski resort that overlooked a beautiful lake, when we first got there we had to change our shoes and put slippers on, as we walked through the restaurant the only thing I could notice was that the place was made out of trees, it was amazing and you could still smell them, once everyone got there we started to get served the wine and then the first of the degustation meal came out and it was reindeer leg with a delicious coating (like a tiny chicken drumstick), it was gone in seconds, for the 2^nd meal we had pickled cucumbers and vegetables with a mayonnaise, for 3^rd I had a vegetarian dish, while everyone else had a fish, my dish was chat potatoes with egg yolk, for the4^th meal we had a malt bread and butter, for the 5^th dish we had lamb with cep mushroom sauce, for 6^th dish I had reindeer while everyone had the menu and for the last dish we had a rhubarb desert. After dinner we headed to the lake to take some photos it was a beautiful end to the night.

The next day we relaxed a little bit in the morning and then at lunch time we headed to a amethyst mine, and wow what a wonderful place that was, we first had to climb over 150 stairs to reach the top, then we got to go to the mine and dig for our own amethyst, you we’re only allowed to keep one the size of a closed fist, so we all dug in separate areas and we all found one or more, after the time was up we got the amethyst checked to make sure they we’re indeed amethyst and then we headed back down the mountain and headed to a late lunch close by to our resort. After lunch dad and Ansi went fishing and the rest of us went back to the resort to sleep again, after resting and near dinner time Heidi picked us up and took us back to her place to get ready for dinner, this night we we’re having minced reindeer tacos and a salad, the tacos we’re delicious.

The next day, we had to say goodbye to our friend and then mum and I headed back to the pub for lunch, this time we played uno for lunch I had a pizza which was huge and yum, after lunch we just rested before dinner again at the pub (it really was the only thing opened on a Sunday) after dinner we came back and went to “sleep

The next day we packed our bags and left Pyha (ahh big sigh) and went to Rovaniemi, on the way we made a little pitstop by a raging river and a bridge, such a beautiful little roadside stop, we hopped back in the car and headed to lunch, a small café on the water’s edge which also had a large sauna, I had the best burger in Finland there, after lunch we headed to Santa Clause’s village, wow what a cool place and tourist attraction, we went inside and headed upstairs to meet Santa and to take our photo with him, he was a covid safe Santa, he had a screen in between us and him, after taking our photos we headed for the airport, we hopped on our flight, a couple hours later and then we landed in Helsinki, we then made our way to our hotel right next to the train station, we had an early morning train ride so we wanted to be close to the train station, we walked to the dinner place, the place we chose was a newly opened Italian restaurant in the station, a beautiful large room filled room with olive trees and candles, so amazing, probably the best pasta I had in Finland.

The next morning, we woke up bright and early to go to a town northeast called Savonlinna, we had to catch two trains, one took about 2.5 hours however we played uno to pass the time, the other train took 1 hour, and it was an old train, very small. We arrived in Savonlinna around lunch time, our friends picked us up at the train station and we headed to their apartment in the city centre, we sat around and relaxed and also had some light lunch, after lunch we got in the car and headed to the boat harbour to get to the island, we we’re staying on.
We arrived on the island and went to our sleeping quarters to drop our bags and then got a tour of the island, once we we’re settled we sat around and talked and ate, we then had dinner and went to bed, the first night I slept and even slept in.
The next day we had breakfast and went to back to the town to the markets and to do a little bit of shopping, I decided to get the boat all the way to the markets with Dad and on the way we stopped and took pictures of Savonlinna castle, a beautiful historic castle built in 1485 where they have held opera performances since 1912,

we made it to town and met Mum and Anneli and we walked to a shopping centre, after shopping we went back to the markets to meet dad and Jorma and at the markets they had some delicious finish style pancakes, thin and crispy, (my dad still makes the best ones) however they were at par, after eating the pancakes we headed back to the apartment for a little time before hopping back in the car and heading back to the island.

Once back at the island mum and I played Uno for a couple hours and then eventually it was dinner time, for dinner that night we had boiled crayfish and I had sausages, eventually it was bedtime and we went to sleep, I slept really well that night and I even slept in the next day. The next day for breakfast Jorma made me finish pancakes, they we’re so delicious, for lunch we headed to a beautiful restaurant in the forest, unfortunately it was the waitress first day on the job and she got most of our orders and other peoples orders wrong, I asked for a starter but it never came so I was extra hungry and got stuck with a salad only, but the setting was beautiful none the less, after lunch we headed to the train art gallery and outdoor gallery next to it, however I found a cute puppy and played with it instead, all the little puppy wanted me to do was throw her a perfectly small pebble and she would bring it back to let me throw it, very very cute, after lunch we went to scenic way back to the road, it was so beautiful looking at the lakes both side, we made it back to the jetty and went back to the island, we got back a bit later around dinner time so we had a late dinner, played some uno and then went to bed.
The next day it was a bit wet and gloomy, we ate breakfast inside and I had a pancake again, gosh I could eat them every single day if I could, after breakfast, mum, Anneli and I went for a walk around the island, it was a beautiful walk and I was so surprised mum actually did it too, after the hike we sat and relaxed and waited for lunch to be ready, we had chanterelle risotto, it was so delicious, probably the best risotto I’ve ever had, after lunch we packed and headed back to the mainland because they we’re having some extreme weather forming and it wasn’t going to be a good couple days on the island. We arrived back to the mainland and settled into the apartment, for dinner we to a restaurant downstairs. The next day it was extremely gloomy and wet so there wasn’t much to do, we went to a fish restaurant in the middle of the harbour and all I could have was 4 different sausages and most of them were really good. After lunch we headed home again and just waited out the rain, playing uno or watching reality tv, for dinner that night we went across the road, and I had a really good cheeseburger.

The next day we got all our things ready and headed to the bus stop and headed to our first stop Jyvaskyla a big town not far from where we we’re heading, once we arrived, we headed out for dinner to an Italian restaurant and walked around the town centre. The next morning, we got in our hire car and drove to Mantta however before that we stopped in a small village to see a historic church made from beautiful timber, it also had an old graveyard. After that quick stop we arrived in Mantta, a place where dad grew up, he showed his first house and then we headed to lunch on the riverside and after lunch he drove around and saw his house he grew up until he left, after we saw the house we drove to get our key for our Airbnb we waited out in a big hall where they had old photos on the wall of what it used to look like, in one of the photos my grandfather would have been in.

After getting the key we drove to the Airbnb, it took us a while to find the place because there was no number or letter large enough to see which apartment complex we we’re staying, in Mantta there isn’t much options with accommodation so we booked a small studio which unfortunately wasn’t the best or what the photos on Airbnb look like. The first night of dinner we went to a laughable place on the water, the restaurant was a mess, the food was “ok” and the staff just didn’t really care, the next day Mum and I both stayed home for the morning to wait for dad to come home (he had a boys meeting) after him coming home we went to the museum where my grandfather’s office would have been, after the museum we went to a church in the middle of town and then went to get some lunch and then headed back to the studio to hang out and rest for a little while.
For dinner that night we went to a restaurant on top of the mountain top, it had such a beautiful view overlooking the ski fields and treetops. After dinner we went to visit my grandparent’s gravesite in a beautiful cemetery, it was a really sad moment and eerie to see our last name on the grave.

The next morning we woke up early to meet one of dads friends to take us for a boat tour around our family island, the boat ride took about 45 minutes to reach, it was amazing to see where my dad and my family spent all their summers! we took some photos and then took the boat back to another island before heading back to the mainland, once on the mainland we went to the café on the river again and had some breakfast to warm up before hitting the road, this day we took a short drive to Tampere, a large city not that far from Helsinki, when we arrived at the station we decided to take the hard way to our accommodation, at first the lifts weren’t working at the train station so we had to carry our heavy bags up the stairs and then down the stairs, at that time I really just felt like throwing my bags so they would get down there faster, after we made it down the stairs it was only a short walk up a hill to the apartments, we booked a beautiful apartment right in the centre of the city, the apartment had 1 ½ bedrooms, I say half because the room I was in was just a shoe closet that they put a single bed cramped in.

After settling in my cousin Ilari came over and we chatted for a while until dinner time, for dinner we went to this really trendy rooftop bar, very colourful and maybe a bit of a Spanish theme to it, I ordered mushroom tacos and when they came out their was only one tiny crumbed mushroom on each taco, the furriery I felt was huge, even so the mushrooms we’re so nice and tasty, I bit into each one like I was a tiny mouse eating cheese.

The next day we lazed around for some of the morning and then went to the Moomin museum, a fictional character created by Tove Jansson a Finnish author and writer, after the museum we headed for the growers markets and met my cousin for lunch, we went to a little Thai hole in the wall place, after the markets we headed back to the apartment and had an afternoon rest, later that night we headed to dinner, this time we headed upwards for a revolving restaurant, it had such beautiful and amazing views all over Tampere, the meals were good and unusual, I could hardly concentrate with the views around me.

The next day wasn’t the best unfortunately, I woke up to have what I thought and still think was food poisoning (just a low dose) after having a little energy we went for a walk around town and to the waterside, every single smell was making me feel sick so we headed back to the main centre and went to the market hall for lunch, a huge hall filled with all the food you could think of similar to the one in Helsinki, we decided on a Japanese restaurant probably the size of a NYC apartment, I probably shouldn’t have ordered food it was quite torture. After lunch we headed back to the apartment so I could rest and we had to check out and head to a hotel for the last night so we packed up and walked to the hotel which was only 100m from our place, for dinner that night we went to a German restaurant, a huge restaurant in a beautiful part of the city, hidden away, I of course had a wiener schnitzel with vegetables and a mushroom sauce, probably one of the best I have eaten, I luckily had my appetite back so I ate everything.
After dinner my cousin was nice enough to show us around the other areas of the city first a little fairy tale market place and the next we went to the waterside to take in the views, we also saw a WW bunker which was huge but really cool, next we headed to the top of the mountains, the views up there we’re so nice, a little chilly but so serene, after the top we headed for the bottom of the mountain and went to a lakeside with heaps of wooden boats lined up on the shore line, even more pictures than the top but also a little more windier, after those little excursions we went to our cousins place for a tour and then headed back to the hotel.

The next day we had to get the train from Tampere to Helsinki central, it was a cold wet morning, the train ride only took about 1 ½ hrs and we we’re back in Helsinki, we headed for the lockers again at the station and then went for a walk to find lunch, we went to the hard rock café for lunch, it was super busy however we finally got a seat, I ordered chicken wings and they we’re over-salted, I like my salt however I could hardly eat them until I gave up. After lunch dad headed to get the key and mum and I went shopping, we met dad back at the station a short time later and we all walked over to the apartment, it was so close to the station which was super convenient with so many annoying bags, we made it to the apartment and the cleaner just started cleaning, however she left quite quickly and didn’t clean the rest of the place, it was odd, so the place was dirty, we headed for dinner and we headed to the worst Nepalese/Indian restaurant nearby.

For the next evening we went to see our family, and we went to a beautiful a fine dining restaurant, for starters I had a beetroot salad, for our 2^nd course we had a delicious corn soup, I still think about the soup, I wish I could duplicate it, for the 3^rd course we had an eye fillet perfectly cooked and so tender and for desert I had a lemon cake with the best tasting lemon curd on top with blueberries and ice-cream.

The next day dad went to golf and mum, and I played some uno and did a little bit of shopping and we also went to a small Japanese place and I had the best chicken karaage, then around 3 Heidi, Ansi and Pietu came and we went to a an exhibition, after the exhibition we headed to back to our apartment and relaxed dad later joining us, unfortunately they didn’t have that long to stay because of a connecting flight but it was extra nice to see them again before we left Finland too.

For dinner that night we headed to an old-fashioned restaurant, where the maitre d’ took my jacket because he thought it wasn’t fancy enough to wear inside the dining room, the audacity.

The next day it was time for mum and dad to depart to head to Ireland and me to start the solo adventure, we headed to the apartment where I was staying for the remainder of the trip, we had one final lunch and said our sad goodbyes.

I settled in and decided to take a walk to the big shopping centre nearby to get some dinner and some groceries, I ordered a chicken fried rice and also bought the most fanciest butter I’ve ever tasted, I walked home and then settled in more watching some tv.
My first day alone I went to the fortress of Helsinki Suomenlinna a huge place right in the middle of the harbour, I decided to head there a bit later and that wasn’t very wise, I didn’t anticipate how big the island was so I only got to see ¼ of it, after leaving I headed to meet my friend I hadn’t seen in a very long time and we went shopping, then we had a delicious dinner at central station and then we went for a evening walk around Helsinki harbour before deciding to take the observation wheel around at sunset, it was so amazing catching up, it felt like old times.

The next day I decided to go to Helsinki zoo, I had to catch a short ferry it was a beautiful boat ride over, after only a short 20 minutes we got to the zoo, I headed straight for the bears and I’m glad I did because only 15m later they had a feeding, unfortunately there was only a couple animals out, I got to see a tiger too however it was too far away, I think they need better observation decks so we could have got a closer look at them.

The day after I decided to have a lazy morning and then I headed to the museum of natural history, a really good museum however they need numbers for the audio guides it was very hard to navigate where you were on the guide, after the museum I headed back to the apartment and packed up my bags and headed for the airport, because I had an early flight the next morning I decided to book a airport hotel, one of the best decisions ever, I booked the Hilton and it was such a great hotel, I also decided to take the club level, in the club level you get free drinks (any alcoholic) free food and also tea and coffee until 10pm, such a great deal, I also got breakfast included so I woke up earlier and headed down however it was so disappointing, no milk, nothing hot, it was so hard to find out what the limited foods were. I left the hotel and headed across the road to the airport to leave Finland behind.

Thank you to everyone that hosted us, dined us and made an big effort to come and see us wherever we were, a unforgettable adventure.