Finland Adventures :: Part One

Hi guys!

A few weeks back I had the chance to check off one of my (many) bucket list travel locations. My cousin is currently studying abroad in Finland and when my aunt and uncle mentioned they planned on visiting, I leapt at the opportunity to join!

I know it seems unlikely, but this was actually my very first trip to Europe. There’s a handful of reasons why, but I mostly chalk it up to having pretty bad travel + flight anxiety (will be sharing another blog post on this in the future!) You might be confused by this since most of my work revolves around travel, but there’s a simple explanation for that : road trips! This is probably why I love traveling by car so much, more control - no airplanes! ;)

Anyway, I knew this was one of those “get outside your comfort zone” type moments, so I hopped on the plane, journeyed seven time zones from home, and arrived in Finland. Our first official destination was to Rovaniemi, home of Santa’s Village and the magical Arctic Treehouse Hotel. After seeing countless images of this place, I was so beyond excited to see it for myself.

I’m not sure if photos can properly express how cozy and peaceful this place was! Our rooms had three beds in them, two double beds (which are placed together) and a sleeping bunk that you climb into - my cousin LOVED this! It was like his own private hideout. Mornings were lazy affairs, filled with coffee and grabbing breakfast in their beautifully decorated restaurant. On our first day, we also had to explore the nearby Santa’s Village, where you can find reindeer, hop over the Arctic Circle, write out Christmas cards, and of course, visit Santa. We also decided to go on a quick dog sledding tour here! It was so fun visiting all the dogs afterward. You can see how happy they are to have a chance to run and play in the snow :)

After our Arctic Circle adventures, we finished our evening curling up by a campfire. It was a perfect way to end the first chapter of our Finnish adventures, before packing up and heading north in search of the aurora. More on that in Part Two!

*If you’re curious about booking your own adventure at the Arctic Treehouse, head here !

xo

J.