2 Travel adventures Finland

To the Far North of Europe

1 juli 2017 -26 juli 2017 (26 days)

The Santa Claus Village park lies exactly on the Arctic Circle. The Arctic Circle is just above the 66th parallel north and marks the line where, on the longest day in June, the sun shines 24 hours a day. This is also where Santa Claus lives. In winter, there’s probably a long line to visit him, but we can walk right in. At the door, one of his elves welcomes us. Come on in! Santa Claus greets us in Dutch with “goedemiddag” and “hoe gaat het?” One of the elves takes photos and records a video. Santa asks about our journey to the North Cape and whether we’ve visited Finland before. Outside, we can buy the photos. Although the price is absurd (€40), we do it anyway. It’s a fun memory.

Photos Travelogue Route

Finland

Facade

The Baroque facade in central Helsinki

Market Hall

The old market hall on the quay by the market square

Study ceremony

Students conclude their school year with a traditional ceremony

Barrack

A barrack at the fort

City Trip Helsinki

2 jun - 5 jun 2011 (4 days)

Helsinki is the capital of Finland and the metropolitan area has about 1.3 million inhabitants. Helsinki was founded in 1550 by King Gustav Vasa of Sweden as a trading post to better compete with Tallinn to the south, which was Danish at the time. The city grew slowly until the construction of the maritime fortress Sveaborg in front of Helsinki in the mid-18th century. In 1809, Finland was annexed by Russia. Helsinki is an international metropolis but retains a small-town feel. The best time to visit Helsinki is in summer, when Finns shed their overcoats and flock outside to enjoy bars, cafés, and the sunshine.

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