Our adventures in Finland beyond the Arctic Circle!

Beyond the Arctic Circle, on the first day I fell off a horse and... Our Finnish adventures! On Sunday afternoon, we set off for Tallinn, and five hours later, we were already in the Estonian capital! Our team for this trip is Evita Eidina, Larijs Roze, his daughter Sindija Roze, and me, Ivars Cīrulis. Thanks to Jolly Jim for the opportunity to stay in spacious and excellent apartments near the harbor and for a wonderful evening in the center of Tallinn. Our ferry to Finland is at 7:05 on Monday morning, and we are already at the port by 6:40. The port staff suspect that our new Nissan X-trail, which has a roof box, might not fit on the ferry, but we persuade them to try, and with at least 10cm of clearance before it touches the roof, they let us on the ferry. After 2.5 hours, we are in Helsinki and continue our journey to Northern Finland. From the ferry to the town of Levi, it's exactly 1000km, but according to the navigation, it will take 13 hours. Leaving Helsinki, the road is like a highway, but the speed limit is 100km/h. After driving for 4 hours, we wanted something to eat, so we stopped at a Shell gas station where we could have a buffet-style lunch. For 12.80 EUR, you could eat as much as you wanted, with a salad bar, very tasty salmon soup, several main course options, and coffee and tea. We had a hearty, delicious, and relatively inexpensive meal, knowing the prices of Finnish cafes and restaurants, this was a successful find. We refuel and continue driving, and driving, but the scenery outside the window doesn't change. It starts to rain, and the colors are gray. In some places, there's a thin layer of snow, in others, none at all. We start to worry if there will be snow when we reach our destination. We keep our fingers crossed and continue along roads where the speed limit changes from 60 km/h to 80 km/h, and there's a speed camera every 10 km. We realize that reaching our destination won't be quick or easy, so after passing the city of Oulu, we start looking for apartments in the town of Rovaniemi. For 89 EUR, we found a two-room apartment and booked it, arriving around 9:00 PM. We settled in, ate instant noodles, warmed up in the sauna, and went to bed. Yes, every Finnish apartment or flat has a sauna, and even though it's not very big, it's great for warming up and relaxing after a long journey! The morning starts before 7:00, we make breakfast, get ready, and 10 minutes from the apartments is Santa's Village, where you can cross the Arctic Circle, take pictures with reindeer, and enjoy other attractions. But since we have a meeting in 2 hours with Sanni, a woman from Levi who is the media and marketing coordinator in this region, we have to get in the car and hit the road. Thanks to her, we are on this trip, and she has prepared a week-long adventure for us in Northern Finland. We arrive in Levi at 12:00, meet Sanni, have lunch, and head to the center of Levi, where our hotel, @Break Sokos Hotel Levi, is located. We will be staying at this hotel for the next 4 days. Sanni allows us to rest for a few hours, but by 3:30 PM, we have to go to the nearby horse riding stable, @Polar Lights tour. We drive with Sanni in her van, and upon arriving at the horse riding stable, we meet the owner and staff, put on special riding helmets, and each of us is assigned a horse. Larijs takes on the filming duties and rides a snowmobile, while the rest of us, six horses in total, head into the forest for a short half-hour walk. In the forest, we see pine trees with an interesting mixture of moss and lichen growing on them. Sanni later tells us that these only grow in places with very clean air. As we rode our horses through the forest, it started to get boring. We wanted some adrenaline and speed, but the girl in front, who was the instructor, said that we couldn't all do that together. However, she said that when we returned, we could try it without Evita and Sindija. That was an adventure! We rode through the forest trails, 5 horses in total, with the owner riding in front. At some point, she returned home, but the girls and I agreed to do one more small loop. At one point, when we stopped, I gave a GoPro camera to one of the girls riding in the back to film our ride. We started riding, and the girl in front asked if we could go faster. I was embarrassed to say no, so I said we could go faster, and this was my mistake. At one point, the speed was like in cowboy movies, we were riding on a forest path, and the front horse started to brake. My horse, to avoid him, turned left, and I lost my balance and tumbled over the horse's head, right into a snowdrift. It all happened so fast that I didn't even really understand how I fell. The first thing I asked was if it was filmed, and the girls said that everything was captured, so all these shots will be in the latest "Ceļot bez robežām" (Travel Without Borders) series, which will be available in autumn. The girls were laughing a lot, discussing my clumsy fall, but I climbed back onto the horse and at least successfully finished my ride, which was, of course, much slower and more careful than a few minutes before. After the horse ride, we had dinner in a very authentic building with a campfire in the middle. We ate mushroom soup, mashed potatoes with reindeer meat, and for dessert, we tasted blueberry pie. After dinner, we head back to the hotel, go to the sauna in our room, and go to bed, but this morning we woke up at 6:00 to write down our first impressions. Lapland ski resort, reindeer and expensive king crab! The second morning of Lapland hospitality was very interesting, one of the most productive days for Evita, but it started with a rich and delicious breakfast at our hotel. For Finns, as for us, popular breakfast items include eggs, sausages, bacon, vegetables, muesli, fruits, croissants, but a new recipe was a scrambled egg mixed with butter to spread on bread – very tasty, healthy, and filling. After breakfast, we dressed in our ski suits and, together with our guide, Sanni, headed to the Levi Ski resort, where we picked up our ski equipment and had a ski instructor arranged. Since this was one of Evita's and Larijs's first skiing experiences, Evita didn't fall once in two hours – there were no falls at all! Accompanied by professional instructor Kim Wikberg, Evita learned to control herself on the slope and quite confidently skied down the mountain with all braking techniques. The skiing lessons here are professional, and the instructor slowly and patiently explains the technique and practically demonstrates all the main technical nuances so that a beginner feels safe and confident and also creates safe conditions around them. Kim himself has been skiing for 38 years since the age of 4. Kim emphasizes that the person controls the skis, not the skis controlling the person, which often serves as a fear factor for starting to enjoy winter pleasures on the mountain; knowledge of proper technique is the foundation of a love for skiing. After spending three hours on the mountain, we head for lunch at Cafe Horizont, located at the top of the mountain, offering great views all around. Here, each of us chooses our own meal. Chicken and Caesar salads are around 14 euros, while a steak portion costs 25 euros. The portions here are huge, so we manage without desserts. After a delicious meal, we head further to the reindeer farm and museum. It is a huge area managed by generations; currently, the owners are a brother and sister who inherited it from their parents and continue reindeer breeding. Upon entering the territory, we are invited to sit outside at wooden tables and are treated to hot drinks, coffee, and tea, which are prepared right next door, in an old farmhouse, similar to those found in Latvia. Everything old has been preserved in the historical building – you can go inside, sit at a table, or simply admire the antique design. You can buy a hot drink at a specially designed window, similar to the window where we return dirty dishes in canteens; here you can order a hot drink and buy a donut. The feelings are very authentic and cozy. After enjoying coffee and a donut, we head to the reindeer museum, where the hostess tells us about the museum's creation and many interesting facts about reindeer, for example, that in Finland there are no wild reindeer; they always belong to someone, and each reindeer is marked with its own sign, thus recognizing which owner's reindeer it is. But we will tell you more about the life of reindeer and farm activities in our "Travel Without Borders" series. After visiting the farm, we drive back to the hotel, as we have an exclusive dinner planned in 45 minutes at the King Crab restaurant. The dinner was truly exclusive and a unique experience for those who love seafood and refined wines. We were lucky that for the first time, this restaurant wanted to advertise a live crab, which we saw right before it was prepared. The price of one crab is 250 euros per kilogram, and we were served an approximately 3-kilogram cooked crab. We learned to cut and serve the crab ourselves. This price also includes sides and salads, but the crabs themselves are brought from the Norwegian Sea, where they are allowed to be fished, as they are not naturally occurring there but, as they multiply, kill local marine life because they are huge and aggressive. When enjoying such a unique dining experience, everyone can decide for themselves whether it is worth it or not, but it certainly leaves no one indifferent. Tonight we have to pack our bags, because tomorrow morning we check out of the hotel and in the afternoon we will have new apartments, near the town of Levi, deep in the forest! Cross-country skiing, a cabin in the woods with a glass roof, and skiing in strong winds! The plan for the third day in Finland is to try and learn the basics of cross-country skiing. When I was at school, we all had to learn cross-country skiing, but today's children and young people don't know how, perhaps skiing has been removed from school programs because we have snow issues. After breakfast, checking out of the hotel, and packing our belongings in the car, we head to the center of Levi to pick up equipment and then to South Point, where yesterday Evita and Larijs learned downhill skiing skills, but today all four of us will learn to master cross-country skis. Arriving at South Point, we meet our instructor for today, Salla Hiltunen, who represents her company XC-lesson, Hile Outdoor. We put on our ski boots, attach the skis, listen to the initial instructions, and head out onto a small track, along prepared trails. Today we will only learn the classic style, as we definitely wouldn't be able to learn both in one day. I realize that I can control the skis, and what I still remember from childhood, so I can even try to ski faster. After skiing a small loop a couple of times, we are ready to ski in the forest, and I also launch my drone. The fresh Finnish air, the sun peeking through the clouds, and the beautiful nature delight both the eyes and the heart, and I don't feel tired at all; I want to ski more and see what's around the next bend and over the next hill. In the forest, we meet many skiers, from very young children who can barely walk to elderly women and men who are certainly approaching 80 and even more years old. As instructor Salli says, here in Lapland, at least 99% of people ski, and they do so from kindergarten age children to grandmothers and grandfathers. It is the most popular sport and entertainment here. While Latvians spend their weekends in shopping malls, Finns ski in the fresh air. Here, families go on picnics this way, each with a backpack and skiing into the forest. After 10-15 km, they set up a picnic spot, drink tea and eat pies, and then return. After skiing over 4 km, a little tired but happy and satisfied with this sports activity, we say goodbye to the instructor, get into Sanni's van, and drive to lunch. After a 15-minute drive along a beautiful road leading through a snowy forest, we arrive at the restaurant, Luvattumaa, where many cross-country skiers and snowmobile riders have lunch. Here, every day in the afternoon, live music or a DJ plays, and there is dancing. Today, too, upon entering the restaurant, we took a seat at a table, a little deeper in the dark room, with a campfire in the middle, and very soon musicians began to entertain us with songs in both Finnish and English. Without waiting for our ordered food, Evita Eidina and I both jumped up to dance and danced with Finnish cross-country skiers, and here too, many were grandfather-aged. Between dances, you can sit by the campfire, dry your sweaty clothes, and have a glass of beer.The more we get to know Finland and its people, the more we believe that they are the happiest nation in the world. They still have the energy to dance after covering 10-20 km, and after having a soup or a piece of cake, they put on their skis again and continue skiing. And as Sanni says, these events happen every day, no matter what. Finns genuinely know how to enjoy themselves and live life to the fullest. They are so lively and happy; sports activities are as popular for them as writing comments on social media is for Latvians. At the end of lunch, we are visited by Johanna Kuosmanen, Head of Digital & Marketing at Visit Levi, and we ask her a few questions about why Finns are the happiest people in the world. All adventures and interviews will be available in our "Travel Without Borders" broadcasts about Finland. After lunch, we head to our next accommodation, @Olo Resort, which consists of small cabins in the middle of the forest, with large glass panels in both walls and ceilings. If we're lucky, we'll be able to watch the Northern Lights through these windows and maybe even reindeer grazing in the local forests. We'll tell you more about these apartments tomorrow, once we've explored everything here, but the last activity of the day is to once again enjoy the mountain slopes, and all four of us head to South Point, where we take a conventional T-bar lift (which skiers place under their bottoms and snowboarders between their legs) all the way to the top of the mountain. Why are we using this conventional lift? Quite simply, because there's a strong wind outside and all chairlifts are closed. Evita is confident that she has properly memorized yesterday's instructor's lessons and is ready to descend the big mountain. 10 minutes later, we're on the mountain, a gusty wind is blowing, it's +7 degrees Celsius, the snow is soft, and in some places, small snowdrifts have accumulated, making skiing not the easiest. Evita sits down a few times, but once she's past the steepest part of the mountain, she continues smoothly. This is a great place to learn to ski, where families with children can go and enjoy winter fun, until someone in the family is ready for bigger and steeper mountains. The trails here are wide, and it's also possible to ski off-piste. For those who are a little afraid of speed, this is the right place. After skiing down from the mountain top three times, we realize that we've had enough sports activity for today and it's time to head back to our forest cabins for our first dinner at 8 PM, at the restaurant offered by these apartments. Tomorrow promises to be just as active, and finally, it looks like the wind will calm down, and we'll be able to try other mountains too. Lapland Adventures, Day 4: Adopting a Reindeer, Ice Fishing, and Skiing Down the Mountain! At the end of the article, a small contest with a wonderful souvenir from Lapland. The day begins with breakfast. Olo Resort has really put in an effort, and the food is abundant, healthy, and very delicious. After breakfast, Sanni arrives with her van. We get in the car and drive for 45 minutes towards Norway. It has snowed overnight, and finally, it's below zero. The roadsides are beautifully white, and the trees are lightly covered in snow. The sun starts to shine, and the road is incredibly beautiful. We look out the window, enjoy the Nordic nature, and wonder how there can be so much snow here, while just 200 km earlier, driving through Finland, there was no snow at all. We've reached our destination and pull into a private farm, where Heli from Soma Adventures and a young woman, who will help feed the animals, greet us. We've arrived at the largest reindeer farm in this region, with a total of 750 of these animals. After a brief introduction and explanation about reindeer, we go into the enclosure to feed them lichen, the same kind we fed the previous animals. It turns out this lichen is a delicacy for reindeer, like chocolate for humans. After feeding the big and small reindeer, we enter another enclosure where young female reindeer are expecting calves. The owner says we can choose one of these reindeer to adopt and, of course, give it a name. We choose a one-antlered reindeer, a female, who is expecting a calf. After consulting among ourselves, we decide to name this reindeer Dobele. As we are great patriots of our city, the name is just right, and now Dobele is also in Northern Finland, Lapland. The owner promised to send pictures from time to time, and also pictures of the calf when little Dobelnieks is born. After feeding and adopting one of the reindeer, we get back in the car and drive to a nearby cabin, located right on the riverbank and belonging to Heli. Here, we learned to walk with snowshoes and went ice fishing, but unfortunately, we didn't catch any fish. However, we realized that sitting on reindeer fur, in the middle of the river, on the ice, your bottom doesn't get cold, and it even feels like there's some electric heater warming you from the inside. After fishing, we have lunch both in the house and in a small cabin with a stove in the middle and large windows in the ceiling, so we can watch the Northern Lights. This style or design, with a stove in the middle of the house, is not new; perhaps every house, or at least every second house, has or has had such a type of stove. The owner also shows us the sauna and tells us that saunas are very popular there, and for 5.5 million inhabitants, Finland has 3.2 million saunas. After lunch, we interview Heli. You'll see all the interviews from Lapland in the latest episodes of "Travel Without Borders"! We return to Levi and stop at a souvenir shop, where we buy some beautiful chocolate and a teacup, both featuring reindeer, and decide to create a small contest for our readers and followers. But more on the contest rules at the end of the article! Sanni brings us back to the Olo Resort cabins and lets us "live green" tonight. Lari goes to rest, but the three of us load all our skiing and snowboarding equipment into our cool Nissan X-trail and head to the slope, where the chairlifts are open. We arrive at the mountain. Evita Eidina is a little intimidated by what she sees and waits for us at the bottom, but Sindija Roze and I go up the mountain, ready to conquer even higher and steeper slopes. I pull on my boots, put my feet in the board, tighten the bindings properly, and I'm ready for the descent. I take out my phone one more time, take a picture of the beautiful panorama, shoot a small video, put on my gloves, and I'm ready. I was ready to ride, but not to fall after the first 3 seconds. The whole mountain here is icy, and as soon as I hit the first patch of ice, my legs were in the air, I was on my back, and I didn't even really understand what was happening; I just felt my thumb hurting terribly because I put my hand down while falling and broke my thumb. Sindija also spent more time on her bottom and knees on the ice than on her board at first, but finally, slowly but surely, we got off the ice rink and happily drove back to the apartments because we had a sauna and hot tub at 6:30 PM. Sindija is tired, Evita doesn't want to get her hair wet, but Lari and I enjoy the hot tub at sunset and warm up in one of the 3.2 million saunas. After our water fun, we go to dinner, and after a delicious steak and salmon sandwiches, we say a few words about the day's experiences, which you can see on our YouTube channel, "Travel Without Borders." All photos were taken with the Honor Magic 7pro phone from M79 Internet Store. And it's good that we have the EcoFlow charging station with us; camera batteries are always charged, and we don't have to worry about having to look for a café somewhere to charge a device. You can choose such charging stations according to your needs and size in the M79 online store. But now, it's time for a small contest!!! Thank you for reading our long blog posts, and in gratitude for this, I want to give one of you a chocolate and a mug with reindeer. Lapland, Northern Lights, sauna, and a snow villa! Finally, we see the Northern Lights, and this is the first time in my life I've seen this natural phenomenon so bright and expressive. Here in Finland, they even have a special app where you can see the probability of the Northern Lights and how strong they will be. The app showed today that it would definitely be there, and we kept watching the sky, waiting for it to finally appear. At one point, it seemed suspicious that there was some interesting mist in the sky; I took out my phone to take a picture and realized it was the Northern Lights. I turned in all directions, and everywhere, with the help of my phone, I saw vividly green Northern Lights. Of course, the emotions were indescribable, and until 1 AM, we filmed, took pictures, drove around looking for the best spots, and went to bed with a great sense of satisfaction. We lay in bed, and since the ceiling is glass, the entire sky was completely green, something I had never experienced before! The morning begins with breakfast: fresh salmon sandwiches, fried eggs, bacon, oatmeal, smoothies, and fruits. Olo Resort knows how to take care of its guests so that they feel not only comfortable but also enjoy a delicious breakfast and an excellent dinner. Today, we arranged to meet Sanni at South Point because we need to return the equipment. After that, we transfer to her van and drive to the center of Levi, where the Ylläs-Levi Ski cross-country skiing competition will take place. We arrived on time and made it to the fan zone, where two saunas and tents with stoves inside were set up. These saunas are for athletes when they have finished and want to relax and warm up after the long distance. We are scheduled to try these saunas even before the athletes, and I, along with the sauna owner, go to warm up. It's interesting that the saunas are next to the finish line, and through the small windows, you can watch athletes coming into the finish straight, but if you step out of the sauna, all the spectators gathered to watch the competition see you dousing yourself with cold water. The sauna has wooden benches, and if people aren't too big, at least 6 can sit together. After warming up thoroughly three times and dousing ourselves with cold water, I go to change, but the sauna owner enjoys the sauna ritual for at least another hour. As soon as I've changed, the first two athletes come into the finish line, or rather, fly in, and the next ones arrive only after 10 minutes. These first ones have really pulled away from the rest, and soon Kaisa Makarainen, one of the most popular athletes in Finland who has won many victories in world biathlon competitions, also skis into the finish line. Later, we get to talk and interview her, and you'll see all of this in the episodes about Finland on the "Travel Without Borders" YouTube channel! At one point, the race organizers also interviewed Evita Eidina and me, and one of the questions was how we rated the fact that many athletes are participating in their second consecutive race today, yesterday was a 75 km classic cross-country ski race, and today a 75 km freestyle. I was so surprised by this that I could only say "Wooow." Well, people certainly have determination, skiing 150 km on their holidays, commendable and all respect! During the race, we also met our instructor from yesterday, Salli, and at the finish line, we started shouting her name. She was so surprised to see us there, and her astonishment was evident on her face in the photos we managed to take right at the finish line. After the competition, we head to the after-party at Restaurant Vinkkari, After Ski, where all the skiers and their friends gather, and some alpine skiers also wander in. Music is playing outside, everyone is dancing on tables and on the dance floor, there's a long queue outside, and no one else can get in; everything is already full. The girls dance and mingle with the athletes, but we don't get to enjoy this party for long because we have to go to the Snow Villa, which is a 40-minute drive from Levi. This time the drive is towards Sweden, surrounded by beautiful snowy Finnish forests and hills. Upon arriving at the Snow Villa, Lapland Hotels Snowvillage, we first visit the ice restaurant, and then we go to see the artworks created by 10 artists, along with an additional 30 people, who built this large snow labyrinth. Today is the penultimate day when people are still allowed in; after that, it will all be allowed to melt, and in November, they will start building everything anew, with new artworks and a different theme. This year's theme is the marine world. This year, more than 85,000 people have visited this Snow Villa. All the artworks are fantastically beautiful, and the bedroom design is simply WOW. This is the largest ice and snow villa of its kind I've ever been to, and the artworks will impress any visitor, from a small child to people in their golden years. After the Snow Villa, we return to our forest cabin, go to dinner, and will wait for the evening when we will see the Northern Lights again! All photos were taken with the Honor Magic 7 pro phone from M79 Internet Store. Tomorrow, the Nissan X-trail is scheduled to go up the mountain, where we will test its 4x4 off-road capability. Good night, and see you again tomorrow! The final day of Lapland adventures. Snowmobiles, sauna and dipping in an ice hole, Santa's house, and pyramid-style accommodation. In my 40+ years, I've driven various vehicles, from tractors to ATVs, but I hadn't yet had the chance to ride a snowmobile. So, finally, that day has arrived, and today is scheduled for a snowmobile safari through forests, bogs, rivers, and lakes. Sanni Salpamäki picks us up in her van, and we drive to Snowmobiling Kinos Safari. We meet our safari guide, and also get to meet the company owner, who tells us that it's possible to do multi-day snowmobile trips and even reach the Barents Sea in Northern Norway. We sign a document confirming we've been briefed on safety rules, blow into a breathalyzer to confirm we haven't been drinking, and then head down to the basement, where we are fully outfitted with warm boots, winter suits, masks, gloves, and protective helmets. We go outside to the snowmobiles, listen to instructions about the snowmobile itself and driving safety, mount our "horses," and set off. Lari, Sindija, and Sanni each ride their own snowmobile, but Evita Eidina and I ride one to film along the way. The first few kilometers we drive slowly and carefully, as we have to cross several paved roads before reaching the forest. The speed slowly starts to increase, and the moment the guide understands that we can handle and control the snowmobile, the speed is close to 80 km/h, and adrenaline fills our blood, while emotions fill our entire bodies. The beauty of nature and our first time on a snowmobile have lifted us to the heavens; it feels like we are Santa's elves flying across the vastness of Lapland with sleighs pulled by reindeer. At one point, Evita and I switch places, and sitting in the back, I film our ride with a drone. Although Evita is scared at first, and we lag a bit behind the rest of the team in terms of speed, Evita quickly gets used to the snowmobile, and we soon catch up with the team. This section of the route goes along the river, across the lake, and over a frozen bog, so the speed is high, but I'm sitting in the back, holding the drone remote control without gloves, and trying to control the drone to get the best possible shots, which you'll be able to see on our YouTube channel, "Travel Without Borders." After 25 kilometers, we stop at the edge of a lake, near a large yurt, where we have a coffee break and are treated to coffee and cookies. The coffee here is made over a fire, so it has a specific and interesting smoky aroma. Finns are supposedly number one in the world for drinking the most coffee. They consume it throughout the day and at all celebrations. After a short rest, we continue our journey, and after just 20 minutes, we are back at the base. This was an unforgettable adventure that I definitely want to experience again in my life, perhaps even a multi-day trip! After the snowmobiles, we have lunch at Levi's restaurant, Bistro West, the place where Sindija and I were snowboarding on the icy mountain two days ago. We don't get to relax here for long, as a sauna and a swim in the river await us, so we eat a delicious steak and move on. We head to Elves Village, where we are scheduled to spend the night in pyramid-style cabins. We also plan to see Santa's house and warm up in the sauna. The sauna is located in a very old and authentic cottage on the riverbank. One room is a changing room for men, the other room is the sauna itself. The women change in a separate cottage, which is also as old as the sauna house and furnished in an old-fashioned style, both the design and the furniture are from the 19th century. Since we only have one hour, Evita and Sindija don't go into the sauna, but Lari and I both warm up in the sauna and swim in the river's ice hole. After the sauna, we visit Santa's house, which was built recently and is designed for families with children. Here, there's a place to write letters to Santa, and you can see the Elf workshop where children's gifts are made. If you go one floor down, there's a lift that takes you directly to Santa Claus himself, where you can receive a gift. If one gift isn't enough for you, then in the large hall, there's a souvenir and gift shop where you can buy additional gifts for yourself and your loved ones. During Christmas, there are so many people here that you have to queue, and generally, December is the busiest season, and there are so many visitors here in Lapland that hotels and apartments are scarce. After Santa's house, we drive to the pyramid cabins, unload our belongings, and head to Levi. We drive up to one of the highest peaks, where the oldest and most historic restaurant is located, very popular with both skiers and any visitor to Lapland. After visiting the restaurant, we return to Elves Village, where they show us the Elf village and explain what activities are available if you come here with your children. At the end of the evening, we go to dinner at @Reindeer Manor, where we meet Olivia, a girl from Latvia who has been living and working in Finland for 4 years. We also had the opportunity to chat with her a bit about life in Finland, on camera, so follow our YouTube channel, "Travel Without Borders," to see all interviews from Finland and other parts of the world. But dinner at this restaurant was excellent; the chef certainly deserves praise, and I had never tasted such a combination of flavors! It's already late, so we head to the apartments to sleep. In the morning, we still have to meet Sanni, say goodbye, and now we have to spend almost two days on the road, back to Latvia. All photos were taken with the Honor Magic 7 Pro phone, but our photo, video, phone, and computer batteries are taken care of by the EcoFlow charging station, which gives us a great sense of security during the trip, and we can charge batteries anywhere, boil water for tea or soup, and I can work on my computer all the way to Latvia. You can purchase these two useful travel items at the M79 Internet Store. Series on Finland supported by Estravel Latvia. Thanks to Nissan for entrusting us with the new X-trail, which performed excellently in snowy Lapland with its 4x4 off-road capability. See you on new journeys!