Finland - 9 to 14 July 2008

Hei to our final Scandinavian country squeezed between Sweden and Russia , a serene land of lakes with birch and pine forests. Famous for Nokia, reindeer and the sauna, this area was first inhabited 10000 years ago shortly after the end of the last ice-age until Finns arrived about 2000BC from Russia , displacing the Nomadic Sami people northwards. The Swedes moved in by the 12 th century and the Russians occupied much of Finland by the 16 th century, until the communist revolution of 1917 enabled the Finnish state to declare independence.

From the northernmost point of Europe we ‘descended' the globe, crossing the border at Karigasniemi to Lake Inari , an overnight spot along the lake. With GR3 needing facilities of a campsite for the never ending duties, GR1 bush camped at the waters edge in the company of a German traveller with his Husky companion and the kids were in heaven even though the area was mosquito invested! We were in North Lapland , an area known as ‘Sapmi' where the European Union's only indigenous peoples, the Sami reside. T heir status was written into the constitution in 1995, thus giving them the right to develop their own language, culture, traditional livelihoods (reindeer herding) and even their own parliamentary system. This great wilderness area has reindeer cruising the fells and roads – quite a sight being from the south of the globe! Most of the next day was for learning about Sami culture and Lapland 's changing seasons with the varied life it supports at the SIIDA exhibition. This Sami museum and nature centre expertly guides you through the seasons with photographs, soundscapes, artefacts and hands-on experiences that incorporates the Sami's heritage and way of life. From their religion, hunting and fishing techniques, attire and transport to their nomadic kota dwellings when herding - all presented indoors and complemented in an outdoor 7 hectare open air museum. GR1 could not leave the area without sampling sautéed reindeer on mash with lingonberries and pickled cucumbers – filling!

From Inari we continued south to our bush camping spot next to a river in this forested wilderness with free roaming reindeer around our vehicles. With the children's excitement bubbling over, despite the bad weather, we descended on Santa's official pad at the Arctic Circle just north of Rovaniemi. Although a tad ‘kitch', the Santa Claus village has his Post Office, an abundance of souvenir shops and a dramatic tour through his ‘home' culminating in an encounter with the bearded one – with an obligatory R300 family photo! Remember, this is the ‘real' Santa Claus!! Christmas gifts were duly handed to him and hopefully this can be fulfilled! The rest of the time was spent wondering through the vast numbers of gift shops and enjoying a great buffet.

Leaving the land of 24hr sunshine in summer, or rather daylight, we headed for the Gulf of Bothnia and past Oulu , spending the night in one of the many parking spots along the national road. An uneventful 600km through familiar terrain then through increasing rural homesteads to 13 th century Porvoo with its medieval old town and rust coloured timber houses lining the river. This picturesque sight demanded a walk through even at 9pm, and then a similar bush camp 30km outside Helsinki .

The beautiful harbour city looking across the Baltic Sea towards Europe is small and intimate, a low rise capital of buzzing summer beer terraces amidst 19 th century neoclassical architecture. Needing campsite facilities, we first checked into Rastila Camping situated conveniently 250m from the metro, to catch up on some washing and a scrub before exploring the city.

The highlights included the Uspenski Orthodox Cathedral, Senate Square with its domed white cathedral, the facades of the 1800 City Hall and Presidential Palace surrounding the market square with its seafood treats which we just had to indulge in! Zack found a ten Euro note while playing at the camp and was determined to spend it all on ice cream as soon as GR3 reached the city and reminded them the whole way – eventually at McDonald's, he treated the whole family!!

Back at the camp that evening, GR3 experienced their first family sauna! As this was the boys' first experience, it was great fun watching them running in and out trying to cope with the heat. Troy was eventually lying on the tiled floor, as this was the temperature he could handle. Zack tried to be brave, but soon realised he needed to be where Troy was. They had great laughs and hoped to do it again some day.

Our last day was to visit a UNESCO site, the Suomenlinna Island Fortress, begun by Sweden in 1748. It is now used as a key place for creative activity and houses a museum depicting the life of the garrison town and the military thinking of the time that shaped Helsinki 's history.

After GR3 did the usual courtesy visits to the SA Embassy and Football Association and GR1 organised the ferry tickets to Estonia and spent the afternoon stuffing themselves at one of the lunch buffets. Great people watching venues to see just how much they can eat! With GR3's second visit to the market square, they splurged on the exquisite seafood and reindeer cuisine.

We were up at 6am on the 15/07/2008 to catch the 8am ferry to Tallinn , Estonia . R2200 later and we were jam packed on a huge ferry with onboard entertainment, heading for Eastern Europe !!

Nakemiin Scandinavia!