Finland

They say that it is the planning and anticipation of long-awaited travel that really feeds and heals your soul. (One possible reason why last minute vacations just never feel quite as satisfying.) With that in mind, I've started thinking about my upcoming trip to Finland, which I just discovered from looking at a map, will span almost the entire country. We're starting in Helsinki and ending up in the region north of the Arctic Circle known as Lapland, in a small cottage in Luosto.  Along the way we'll stop in Vahakyro, Vaasa, and Ylistaro, where current (3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th?) cousins still live. In fact, Ylistaro is still home to my grandfather's ancestral family farm, and a cousin still owns the property.

Some people travel and love being tourists. I don't mind those people one bit, I'm just not one of them. Show me a place as an insider. Show me the country, show me the culture. I actually don't mind that I never went to Rome while I was in Italy. I much preferred spending a week on the Lignano beaches where we were the only American tourists within miles. I loved having to take pictures of signs on the way to Oido, just so we could compare the Korean characters, in hope of finding our way back, one "breadcrumb" at a time. And drinking beer with Korean students and Korean Americans while eating chicken butthole might have been one of the most ridiculous nights of my life. Don't judge - "when in ...Korea," right? I'd rather do what the locals do and go where the locals go. So this trip to Finland is going to really be tough to beat, I think, on a personal level.  Not that Finland has a large tourist population, but I like that the only place where I'll have a clue what anyone is saying, being that the majority will probably speak fluent English, is in Helsinki, where I'll spend maybe 24 hours, flying into and out of the country. I'm excited to spend time with extended family and learn about their home, in broken Finn-English. And while slightly nerve wracking, even driving through Finland, mostly on our own, stuttering to pronounce the road signs, and hoping the GPS speaks English, will be quite amusing. Oh and though it's probably too much to ask, I'm hoping the cottage in Luosto shows up on the GPS, which is doubtful. Hell, I'm hoping the cottage in Luosto has plumbing, which is, again, doubtful. Finns bathe only once a week and really enjoy the whole sauna/swimming in a lake thing, don't you know?

So... what do I hope to do?

• I've heard the produce in Finland is great in the Summer - strawberries and potatoes, in particular.
• We're going to be there for the Finnish Summer Solstice, which is a big deal. They have a week long celebration that culminates in a 24 hour bonfire/drinking/swimming/eating celebration. This will be how we begin our trip. Only time will tell if the next few days after are labeled as "recovery" in the photo album.
• They're big on reindeer. I'd like to see some. I don't want to eat one, but I might. When in Finland, eh? 
• They're big on blood... blood sausage, blood pancakes. I find it hard to believe that I'll partake here.
• Gonna have to try that sauna / swimming in a lake combo.
• Very excited to see the homes and ancestral farm.
• It will be my 2nd adventure north or the Arctic Circle, and for now, I can only imagine what this trip north has in store.