Lappala

Previously, in early July, I told you about the cottage life in Finland and the traditions connected to it. From that you know that we didn't have our own cottage. Until now! 💙 For about 3 long years we've been seriously seeking the match made in heaven for our cottage to be. This summer we found Her. 

Her location is very special, rural and secret. You get there by the only ferry of Lapland, Finland. There are other ferries but they are in South Finland. Her ferry is small but runs non stop from 6 am to 10 pm with only 4 breaks of 20 minutes. It's free and only few car fit in on board at the same time.

The ferry across one point of the lake Kemijarvi nearby Suomu. Suomu is a hidden and secret gem in Lapland, Finland. Suomu is a quiet place and far away from mass tourism. Suomu locates by the Arctic Circle like Rovaniemi but is so much more authentic meanwhile Rovaniemi has turn out tourism industry center like Barcelona or any other European city.

We chose our very own cottage to be in Suomu. Exactly today we became Hers. We've been there twice before. 1st to see Her and find out if She feels the right one. And for the 2nd time with the inspector to see if everything is ok with Her. 

From Her windows we can see the lake Kemijärvi. Through Her windows many people have watched before us.

See, actually She is not a cottage at all. She neither is any kind of young lady anymore built after the wars. She was officially born in 1.1.1907. But it was the heart of the winter by then. Nothing was built in January by then. So, according to the old traditions and way of life, She probably was finished in summer 1906 or 1905 or 1904. It just took some time to travel through the wilderness to the authorities to get it all stamped officially. 

But that's not all of Her. She was born much earlier. She burned somewhere at the end of 1800 and was only re-built after the fire. And that's not all. She was originally built -long long time ago- on the place where Sámi people had their summer season home, when they arrived to fish by the lake Kemijärvi. That's from where She got her name by the authorities written on the official books. Her original and very old name is Lappala = the place where Sámi people live. 

We belong to Her now. And I will share our life with Her with you in the future in this blog. Isn't it all very exciting!

TampereCathedral

Another thing I have always wanted to see is Tampere Cathedral.

In July 2026 I finally had the change to walk through its gates.

It was hard to choose which gate so I tested them all.

When stepping into the cathedral I was happy to find the miniature of the cathedral.

You know I am a bit church freak. In Finland many things were destroyed during the wars. That's why the churches and cathedrals are excellent, and mostly the only places -like the local museums- to see the art and artisan work of Finland. They include a lot of national and local art and craft treasures. Churches receive funding, local museums don't.

Tampere Cathedral is famous because of its paintings but it has a lot of excellent wood and stone carving art also.

Also its windows are decorated. Not all and not full, which is understandable because of the dark winter seasons. In this way more light gets through the windows.

The art is everywhere in Tampere Cathedral, even its several staircases.

I have always wanted to see Tampere Cathedral mainly because Hugo Simberg's famous paintings.

The iconic The Wounded Angel is placed there, painted in the wall.

There's more art I ever expected to see. When you just sit there with eyes wide open and look around you begin to spot actually a lot of angel theme. There are many angel wings. To me it seems like The Wounded Angel is the point of Simberg's art of the cathedral despite it is not at the altar.

Also, he painted a lot of children there. He used local children to model. He painted normal working class children at the time when child labor was common. 

He never explained his work with The Wounded Angel. Lately, it is often decoded to describe his personal suffer when he was at a hospital or having a long term head ache because of syphilis he suffered. That's why he painted demons and angels, they say. In his work, I personally have always seen the statement of children's abuse and children's rights, because he painted children in the time when child labor was very common also in Finland's industry, and when adults started to wake up to see it is not right. Art is great, because we all can decode it up to our own thinking and understanding.

It is quite interesting he paint also a magpie. A bird you actually don't see in churches, cathedrals, fine art for kings and queens... You see eagles and other birds considered to be nobel. Magpie is very rarely described in church art like normal working class children. Usually the only child painted in a church art is baby-Jesus. Hugo Simberg painted ordinary children instead of baby-Jesus. Perhaps he understood something very deep.

If you visit Tampere cathedral you can spot The Wounded Angel at the up-right corned when stepping in. But there are so much else to see too.

It is interesting that there grows Rowan Trees which is considered a pagan tree. There are many interesting things. I spent there an hour and that was enough if you want to investigate it all with time. There are toilets too, so you don't need to hurry anywhere else.

I like church yards too. At Tampere Cathedral the church yard is small but enough for a break. I had my gluten free lunch pack with me: bread, peanuts and ice tea. I enjoyed a small break after visiting the cathedral.

Tammerkoski

It seems that this year I have been telling you what you can see under the snow in Finland. It is mainly because we work hard over the winter season and the warm snow-free season is something very special to us. In July I had an over night train trip to Turku and back. This is one stop on my journey. This is something I have always wanted to see. It is something I have only heard to been talking about. It is not in Turku.

It is the rapids Tammerkoski in Tampere. I was very lucky to happen to be in there exactly on the moment when they need to let it run free through the mills because of the rains and floods. Usually it is not let run free and wild like this because of the hydroelectric power plant. And usually you can't get this close to see it. In Tampere they had built a temporary pedestrian bridge over the rapids. So, if you travel there, don't expect to see it like this.

The rapids Tammerkoski was born over 7 500 years ago between two lakes. It runs 2 km from lake Näsijärvi to lake Pyhäjärvi, that locates 18 meters lower. Originally Tammerkoski had 4 separated rapids with backwaters after each. In 1916-1937 they built 4 hydroelectric power plants in Tammerkoski. In this video you can sense what kind of it might have be when running free and wild. 💙

Ylläsjärvi

At early June 2026 it has arrived the time start to slow down and land on holiday season mode. I work very hard and have found it best to start to slow down the control panel before the holiday. You can't always do it at work but playing "slow down" button on your free time does really great for your mental health and recovering & restorative holiday experience.

That's why I was happy to respond positive to the invitation to arrive to Talvenki cottage in Ylläsjärvi, Kolari.

It is a local family owned cottage where we had a family party to organize. That's why I spent there 3 days with my sister from Thursday to Saturday. We had fun and we visited also Särestöniemi.

Right next to Talvenki cottage is Kesänki cottage. They both are owned by a local family. These cottages and many other, also owned by local private persons, can be rent at Nettimökki. I have never used Nettimökki but it is Finnish option to find accommodation instead of worldwide know big operators for tourism industry. 

In Talvenki cottage I started to turn myself on slow mode for the holiday season by self-acupuncture, meditation, yin yoga, reading...

...cryptic crosswords (which I love but have far too little time to do).

Sometimes it is very difficult to slow down. It is easier there where is the silence and emptiness. Before the slow down mode can arrive, it needs you to put aside your smart phone and just be.

In Talvenki cottage is 2 bedrooms.

I had one just for Me & MySelf. I slept so well and a lot in there.

To be honest, I fell asleep several times on the sofa too while having my yin yoga sessions. But if you fall asleep it is what you need!

In Talvenki is modern electric sauna. Electric sauna means that it heats up by electric sauna heater which has the stones over it.

Instead of the electric sauna we used Talvenki's barrel sauna. Believe or not but this was my 1st time ever in a barrel sauna!!!

The barrel sauna in Talvenki has wood burning sauna stove. In my culture boys/men heat up the wood burning sauna stove. Girls and women can do it too if boys/men are not around. We had someone to heat it up for us. It is not something that's banned from female sex. It is rather something how males show care and respect for females. You warm up sauna for someone you care and want to provide hospitality and safety.

It is something like that when we had someone to roast sausages for us on the open fire in the rain with millions of mosquito. I really appreciated that. Instead of diamond rings I prefer this kind of action. 💙

We could have washed ourselves in the traditional way in the barrel sauna but decided to use modern facilities instead to make it faster and let other people to enjoy about the sauna too. You can read here more about how to behave in sauna if visiting Finland.

But hey, what for we arrived to Ylläsjärvi. What we did when we didn't have our "me-time" with my sister?

What we did when we didn't visit the local attractions? What was the family party we arrived to organize and participate? 

What for we had been working as a team also with people we did't know before in the past weeks in May 2026?

It was a baby shower!!!! I am 51 yrs old and it was my 1st ever baby shower. I've seen it on movies but never been in one until now! It is not our traditional cultural thing but of course I was in.

It all was gluten free because of the pregnant mom. It was a great idea to have it all gluten free so no one needs to worry and the pregnant mom could have it all like all the guests. Here is my GlutenFreeZone to find out more about serving gluten free. 

It was a small party and everyone participated. Everyone brought something and we put it all together. This beautiful and delicious gluten free cake was made by a talented young woman I had met never before.

I brought the candies because I knew what kind of they need to be. The ingredient lists can be very complicated even to coeliacs themselves. I helped to build up this watermelon baby carriage. I had never seen one, not to mention make one. But an artisan is always an artisan. We can create many things! 💪 At least then when we are given the instructions.

During the evening we re-decorated the watermelon baby carriage with rest of the fruits. It all was really fun, sweet and tasty.💛

TervolaMuseum

I have told you before that summer is a great season to visit Finland, if you want to see what's hiding under the snow. It is a perfect season to meet local people and get familiar with the local culture. Usually people work hard over the winter time because the arctic climate. It is not only the work-work. It is the snow work (keeping the drive ways open at home), heating the houses, making sure the drains & pipes don't get frozen etc. It is very time consuming.

Usually local people don't work at tourism industry because it is seasonal and doesn't provide permanent jobs -unless it is a small family business. That's why you meet locals easier on summer season by the local museums for example where they volunteer or just pop in for a visit to support it. In July 2026 I visited Tervola's local museum Tervolan kotiseutumuseo. This was not my 1st visit there, but I think it is the 1st one I show you. 😊

As you can see from the pic above, it has been there for a long time and has had other names too. But after all, it stands there and is run by local volunteers and without public funding. That's why it is recommended always to buy something when visiting the local museums. It doesn't need to be anything expensive. Even the post cards they sell, are private funded.

Tervola's local museum is exactly by the high way from Kemi to Rovaniemi (E4). It is very easy to pop in for a visit if you are on a road trip on summer season. What is special in Tervola's local museum is that they actually have a volunteer operated restaurant. They provide perfect lunch and have also gluten free options. All in fair price. It is local food in a historical property with modern kitchen facilities. Even I can always have something to eat there. Both salty and sweet. That's how we literally call it. Salty means something food-like that is spiced with salt and sweet means cakes etc. that is spiced with sugar. 😀

Tervola's local museum has a big estate that includes traditional buildings which have been transferred to the museum estate from somewhere surrounding area to save the building. That's why it is a great place also for the ones that are interested about the local architecture.  

In Finland there are many different kind of "aitta". "Aitta" is a building where you can storage something. Grain, clothes etc. If "aitta" has the second floor, it usually is for sleeping over the summer season. In my culture the girls sleep in "aitta" over the summer to have some privacy. As you can notice there are no firm stairs to the upstairs. Usually the ladders are used. Even if a girl would sleep in small "aitta" without upstairs and with straight access from the ground in my Forest Sámi culture the boys/men are not allowed in without the invitation. Even the fathers ask the daughters to come out. Girls need their own space and "aittas" provide it for them over the summer season. "Aittas" don't have the fire places for the fire safety, so they can be used only when it is not too cold.

Smaller "aitta" you can see all over the fields and forests. They are used to storage hay and fire wood. Boys and men can sleep in these. Also the shepherds use them to over night stay. But they are possession of someone. That's why no one else is not allowed to go in and sleep there. Not even the hikers. If you see one in the landscape, don't go in. It is considered very rude and people think you are a thief. At the museums you can visit them and see what it is like.

This "aitta" shows well the traditional idea of building the house. Traditionally, we build it over the stones, so that there will be space between the ground and floor. When it snows, we shovel the snow around the house. Then there will be air under the house as an insulation against the frost that rises up from the ground. When the snow begins to fade, we might help it by shoveling again. Usually it fades without any trouble. When the snow is gone, the wind gets under the house and keeps the floor structure dry. Usually they don't build the houses in this way anymore. But this style was one of the criteria when we were seeking a house of our own and finally buying one at spring 2009.

Because also Tervola's local museum is funded by local volunteers and has many buildings on a big estate they renovate it slow. This is a great example how they have turn an old cow house to educational class room about farming for the school visits.

Even some of the buildings are closed because of the safety and the renovation process, you can always peek in through the windows. At a museum estate it is ok. 😅This pic is taken through a window especially for you. Even it includes a mixed room for several timing problems (because it is under the construction) there are some things I want to show you. 

At 1st, lets talk about the pink loom: It is painted. That's unusual. But perhaps it was made to fix it or cover some ugly marks on the wood. It has pink, yellow and blue paint. It seems the blue was the original paint. Blue was used widely as floor paint for hard use. This is a traditional style loom up in the north. I dream of one. Unfortunately many were burnt because of the wars.

Behind the loom you can spot a wheel spindle. It seems to miss few spokes of the wheel. It seems to be traditional Kiikka wheel spindle which were very common because of the Kiikka wheel spindle factory. But it is very hard to say for sure is it or not. Hilja is a traditional and typical wheel spindle from Kiikka factory in South Finland.

Then you can spot a sewing mannequin torso. It is very interesting that it actually is there. Around here I have never seen a vintage sewing mannequin. Not even despite my great grandma was a professional seamstress. But it might be because in Sámi culture you traditionally don't measure (or photograph) the body. Traditionally it was considered to bring bad luck.

You can also spot few interesting wood items which design obviously base on recycled wood item form or the natural arch of the wood available.

The main reason why this space is closed for the visitors is the traditional stove oven on the left. It has sink from its front part. That makes it to be dangerous. Obviously the frost has done its damage. But, pay your attention on the space behind the chimney over the oven. Take a look at it.

Then take a look at this oven. Notice the space over the oven and behind the chimney. It is made for the arctic climate, so why they have not piled the stones all the way up to the ceiling to make it storage more heat? Well, this is a bit newer oven than the previous, but this shows the idea too.

Can you spot the stairs behind the oven? Between the wall and the oven & chimney? They don't lead to attic or anywhere upstairs.

They lead behind and up the stone made wood burning oven. The stairs and the stair case is very narrow. Only small adults and children can get through. The stairs lead to a space that's built behind the oven, over it and by the chimney. There is -usually a dark- space for small adults and children to sleep over the cold winter nights when the stones of the oven still stay warm. Just image: few sheep or reindeer skins under you and a blanket over you and your tiny love ones. Silence. Darkness. Warmth. Safety. And when you close up your eyes you see in your mind the stars of the sky and the Northen Lights. 💕

At Tervola local museum you can spot many different kind of fire places. This one shows one option to get warm water. There is a fire place next to and under the round water tank. 

This picture is from a traditional big smoke sauna. There is no chimney so the smoke gets in. That's why it is a smoke sauna. And that's why the timbers are dark.

There's a fire place under and the round stones over. You can see there really is not a chimney. Usually it is made of natural flat stones.

The traditional saunas usually have two levels. The floor level and the upper one. And a window to bring some light. Traditionally you place a lantern outside the window, not inside -for the fire safety. Traditionally you were born, healed, died and cleaned for the burial ritual in sauna. 

Tervola local museum includes also an old school building. Can you see how also it has been built over the stones. The stones must be big enough to bear the weight of the huge timbers of the huge building.

You can experience the spirit of the old fashion school there. I would love to have this kind of class room for me at work!

If I can't have the bigger one I could do just fine with this smaller one. I love the light that arrives through the huge and high windows. And the spirit of course.

The smaller class room has one fire place at the end of the class room but actually another by the teacher's desk corner. Here you can see also the hand washing place. The water stays warm longer in the tank by the fire place.

The bigger class room has 2 fire places next to each other. One really is not enough during the coldest season.

Despite I have shown you several pictures and told many things about Tervola local museum and themes connected to it, it is best for you to pop in yourself. There are a lot to see. Like these fabric shoes, which were very common during the wars and after the wars when there was lack of everything. Fabric shoes were made of old clothes. Real old fashion recycling. And The Planet Earth says thank you. 💚