Finland

We landed in Helsinki and I was impressed by how modern this city is and by its stylish design. The city is full of galleries and museums filled with mainly glass and other innovative designs and structures. A light was the Kiasma museum of contemporary art and the famous Design Museum. Another thing about this country that highly impressed me was the seasonality and sustainability of their nutrition. This is not a trend like it is currently in other european countries but it is rather a way of life that is normal to the people of Finland. We had the privildge of trying extremely fresh food like reindeer, elk, bear, arctic char, salmon and the famous cloudberries. You will find a lot of these gastronomical delicacies at the Turku Market Hall in Helsinki. I also recommend the hop on hop off bus which you can also get with a boat pass which costs roughly 35 Euros. 

The next destionation during our trip was Jyväskylä. It is a waterside location and has a very lively art scene and nightlife. We stayed at the Hotelli Alba amd were lucky enough to get a view facing the water. we shared a room and payed about 112 Euros a night which is an okay price for the fact that it is Finland, rooms were tidy and spacious and the view was beautiful. If you are willing to pay 60-100 Euros more, you can also get a suite that includes a Sauna. Alvar Aalto, the famous finish architect is everywhere in this city and you definitely should not miss to go to the Alvar Aalto museum. On Kaupakattu street we visited two bars Sohwi and Vakiopaine. They have great drinks and are a good place to meet new people. 

Our last destionation was Rovaniemi which is located right on the arctic circle, surrounded by beautiful lakes and scenic forests. This city is known to be the place where Santa Claus comes from. There is even the famous Santa Claus Village which we visited. I personally thought it was very touristic but if you have children, it might be quite the fun experience for them. If you want to see Reindeer, you also find them right next to Santa Claus Village. If you are into walking in nature, try the Könkäänsaari Nature Trail. It is a relatively easy walk through the forest on an island. We did an arctic circle snowmobile tour to see northern lights. On that night, unfortunately we did not see any northern lights but driving with the snowmobile was still a lot of fun.