My quest to see the Northern Lights began in September 2011 and we’ve been chasing them every winter season since. I had literally just left from visiting Tim while he was living in Iceland and the very next night the Northern Lights danced for a week straight. They were so bright and so active, they […]
5 Adventure Activities You Can Do on an Arctic Cruise
Part of what makes Tim and me excited for our next trip are all the adventure activities we get to experience. And all the different types of wine we end up savoring, of course. We’re definitely not as nimble as we were 10 years ago, but that has never stopped us from finding the next […]
17 Places to Travel in 2017
Putting together our annual best places to travel list takes us months. We travel far and wide in search of the best of the best: the most incredible destinations, to die for food, bucket list worthy activities and, of course, wine so good you’ll remember every last drop. It’s tough to narrow down all the […]
Suomenlinna: Castle of Finland
Located at the entrance to Helsinki’s harbor, Suomenlinna was built in the second half of the 18th century by Sweden for the purpose of serving as the main base of Sweden’s armed forces that were stationed in Finland. Suomenlinna was originally named Sveaborg, its Swedish name, and changed names to Viapori when Russia occupied it […]
Foodie in Finland
Local fish and game play a prominent – and delicious – role in Lappish cuisine. Lappish cuisine features many unique ingredients found only in the sparkling clear waters, the forests, and the bogs of the north. Lappish cuisine lives according to the season and is very much based on the natural resources available. Many traditional […]
Oulu Market Hall at Market Square
Oulu Market Hall has been an important part of the Market Square for over 100 years. Located at the sea front, the Market Square has and continues to be a popular meeting place for locals. The famous Market Square Policeman statue, erected in honor of the policeman that once patrolled the square and kept order, […]
Up Close with Arctic Animals at Ranua Wildlife Park
Arctic animals are ones many of us will never see in the wild in our lifetimes. My very first experience with Arctic animals was at Ranua Wildlife Park in Arctic Finland. I first visited in December 2011 during Finland’s Polar night, when the sun just barely rises above the horizon. Winter at Ranua Wildlife Park […]
Snowmobile Safari to the Sampo Icebreaker
Finland is the only country in the world in which all of its sea ports freeze in the winter time. Keeping those sea ports operational in wintertime is essential to Finland’s import and export industry. Icebreakers take on this task, plowing channels for ships to traverse the Baltic Sea, even in the coldest winters. The […]
The Bare Facts about Finnish Sauna
What would you say to this proposition? You’re invited to go to a little wooden room that is heated to nearly 100°C and get naked with the rest of your group, where you will sit sweating our your impurities, cooling off occasionally with a roll in the snow or dip in a frozen lake (while […]
Wine Wednesday: Finnish Wine
Traditionally Finns are not wine drinkers; they prefer beer with a family meal or they drink Vodka (supposedly about 1 liter per person per week!). Perhaps the un-enthusiasm for wine has to do with political reasons. In Finland the company Alko Oy has a monopoly over beer, wine, and spirits. Beer and spirits can be […]
