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On Location: Bright Midsummer Nights in Finland
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Our writer chats with a reindeer herder and discovers yoiking, Lapland’s traditional form of singing, all in the line of duty
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BY ANDY SYMINGTON
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| A summer cottage and sauna on Lake Ounasjärvi (Pallas–Yllästunturi National Park is across the water); wild trout in a Lapland restaurant. |
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We asked Symington, who lives in Spain and contributes regularly to Lonely Planet guides, to write a story on Finnish Lapland—in Finland’s far north—for the summer issue of Endless Vacation® magazine. Here’s his report.
ROUND-THE-CLOCK SUN
The sun is shining, but it could be any time of day up here at 70 degrees North. Sunset isn’t for a while . . . actually, not for another 23 days. My hotel room has an extra set of curtains to block the nighttime sun, but I keep them open; there’s something I love about turning over at 3 a.m., seeing all that light and then drowsing off again.
At 8 a.m. it’s time to get moving. The hotel sauna is fired up, so I go inside for a quick session. The fog of 200° steam clears body and mind. I follow that with a cold shower—not quite as good as jumping into a chilly lake, as I did a few days ago, but refreshing all the same. With the regular saunas and the impossibly clean air up here, my lungs have never had it so good.
REINDEER GAMES
Today I’ve arranged a chat with a reindeer herder to learn more about those endearingly goofy-looking domesticated animals. He’s one of the Sami people, who are indigenous to this land. Reindeer spend most of the year grazing in the wilderness, he tells me, but the herders periodically round them up, using modern transport—snowmobiles and ATVs. It sounds tough to be a reindeer: in winter, rooting around for food under the snow in the freezing dark; in summer, mercilessly attacked by clouds of biting insects. I’m told that reindeer are a menace to drivers, though, so as I pull away in my rental car, I keep an eye out for roadside antlers.
ANCIENT MUSIC FOR TODAY
The traditional Sami form of singing, the yoik, is somewhere between poem, chant and song. Yoiking has been blended with modern music with worldwide success in recent years. My favorite singer of this genre is Ulla Pirttijärvi, and it’s her deep-silver voice that I’m listening to in my rental car as I drive north. Lapland’s forests, fells and fens are echoed in the modern but hauntingly ancient sound.
EATING LOCAL
Finnish food gets a bad rap in other parts of Europe. But really, the Finns do well for a country with a cold climate and a short growing season. That night I sit down to a meal of smoked lake fish, served hot on a plank of wood with tender new potatoes and fresh dill. Yesterday it was reindeer with a sauce made of berries foraged from nearby fields. It all tastes sensational and feels guilt-free, because of those low food miles (well, at least until I order a glass of Chilean cabernet). The sun is still shining away and my body clock has no idea if it’s time for breakfast, lunch or dinner. But up here in Lapland, people have to enjoy the sun while it lasts—so I’ll do the same.
NOTE: Information may have changed since publication. Please confirm key details before planning your trip.
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Published: March 1, 2011
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Photos: Kari Palsila/Leuku.fi/Visit Finland; Restaurant Nili
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