Nokia

For several years now, I’ve been coming back to Finland again and again, in winter as well as in spring. There are so many things I love about this country, but the one that stands out the most is its nature. Finland is a big country with a small population, which means a huge amount of wilderness has been left untouched. Having grown up in France and now living in Germany, I’m used to densely populated places where wild nature often comes at a premium. In Finland, it’s everywhere. Step out of your front door, walk a few minutes, and unless you’re right in the middle of the capital, you’re already among the trees. And while I haven’t lived there and don’t want to make sweeping statements, I really get the feeling that Finns appreciate this, and that they enjoy and respect the nature around them.

So, once again, I rented a cabin, this time in a village called Nokia, not far from Tampere. It turned out to be the sauna house of a larger property, where a lovely family lives: Heidi, Kalle and Eemel. Traditionally, Finnish saunas were built as small wooden buildings, separate from the main house, mostly for fire safety reasons. Our little cabin had a kitchen, a cosy living room and bedroom, and of course our very own wood-fired sauna. If that isn’t the perfect place to spend a few days in winter, I really don’t know what is. We were also kindly invited over for tea one afternoon, and Heidi, Kalle and Eemel turned out to be wonderfully warm and welcoming hosts, sharing all sorts of stories about the region and what life is like there.

As tempting as it was to stay inside the sauna all day, we also ventured out into the forest for long walks in the snow. We came across abandoned cabins, listened to the birds, spotted white-tailed deer in the distance, and rewarded ourselves with hot chocolate on the way back.

On our last day, we headed to Näsijärvi, a large lake just north of Tampere. It stretches about 40 km northwards and is dotted with islands and forested shorelines. In winter it freezes over completely, and we saw people ice skating, cross-country skiing and ice fishing. We went for a long walk on the ice ourselves, which eventually led us to a small cabin serving hot coffee. The perfect reward.

Once again, this little holiday in Finland has been fantastic, and as always, I’ll be back to discover more of this beautiful country.