On the Road in Finland

Several years ago I spent one whole day in Helsinki, Finland as part of a Baltic cruise. All I remembered was Sibelius and a rock church. Now I can say I’ve quadrupled that stay, although it feels much longer. In a short few days we have been busy exploring and learning. In Helsinki we visited the Sibelius Monument and the Rock Church, but much more, including the impressive Lutheran Cathedral, the open market on the port, the esplanade, Stockman’s Department Store, and Capelli’s cafe. When we left Helsinki for Lapland I at least felt that I had gained a passing acquaintance with the capital.

Arriving in the far north of Finland we have seen a sparsely populated region with vast forests.  We came up here,  north  of the 71st parallel, to learn something about Sami life and culture.  They are an ancient people who inhabit two worlds, one traditional and one modern.  Lapland knows no boundaries, being the far north reaches of Finland, Sweden, Denmark and Norway, home of the Sami.  (Russia also has Sami, although Stalin killed great numbers of them.).   They are reindeer herders, not really nomadic any more, who earn their livelihood from selling reindeer meat, hides, hooves, in short, all of the animal.  They also produce exquisite crafts of wood and textiles.

This part of Finland is all about reindeer.  We saw so many along the roads that we lost count.  Because calves are born in May we spotted lots of bouncing baby reindeer, trying to stay close to Mom.  They roam free until fall when the Sami round them up and slaughter the ones who are slated to go to their heavenly reward.  Since the animals move about freely, earmarks tell the herders whose reindeer are whose.  Each member of a family has his or her own earmark and is responsible for those reindeer starting at age five!  No couch potatoes allowed!  Of course the smallest children need help, but they learn how to be a responsible member of the family very early on.

The highlight of our short stay up here was a visit to a family who, besides raising reindeer, welcomes tour groups for dinner and conversation.  We had a chance to feed a couple of non-wandering reindeer some tasty lichen, after which, rather ironically, we had a dinner featuring reindeer meat.  It was quite delicious and a meal I won’t forget.