Merrans travels

Valeria

It is cool being able to meet so many people on my travels; other travelers and guides, and people you just bump into. My favourite guide here in Finland is Valeria. She is 23, and is from Murmansk in the northwest of Russia, but she’s been working and living in Finland for 7 years. Valeria talks non-stop, and you can only nod and make agreeing noises as she drives you around, and stare at her as she seamlessly moves from one story to another and another without seeming to pause for breath. Her English is excellent and she is pretty fluent in Finnish as well. She has worked in office jobs, and at Santa’s village (she’s tiny and they made her dress as an elf so she left that job 🙂 ); but she keeps returning to guiding because she loves meeting people, and being outdoors. And talking. I think guiding is the perfect job for her. “Well, you are lucky today is very warm” (it is -6 degrees and she is in a hoody). I ask her what temperature she thinks is cold, “well, -20 is starting to get chilly, but today it is nice”. I think the temperatures in Murmansk are regularly in the minus so she is quite at home here 🙂 The people she takes us to meet love her so much because she has learned to speak Finnish, she respects what they are doing, she is very smart, and also because she is one of the kindest and funniest people you will ever meet. At the reindeer farm she gets on her knees and the family dog comes sprinting to her for cuddles. And when I hug her goodbye after an awesome day of adventures, she hugs back with all her strength before saying, “oh my god, you have so many layers it is like hugging polar bear, but you are nicer, they smell disgusting”. She doesn’t like cooking barbecue for her customers because afterwards she smells of smoke (“it’s so disgusting”), but she is very good at it. As she sets the salmon soup on the grill and checks the lid of the kettle is on, she waves the smoke from her face and says, “It is a good thing you do not wear make up, some of my customers come for the barbecue with a lot of make up on and after all the smoke they look like pandas. I laugh at them so much.” The conversation on the drive home goes something like, “Oh my god look at that yellow house, yuck it’s disgusting. I love to eat reindeer but yuck when you cook it, it smells disgusting like poop. Much better to cook chicken. I hope we don’t meet a reindeer on the road today, that would be terrible. You know, I broke my ribs one time when I fell off my bike after a car hit me. Actually, I am glad I don’t have to bike to work anymore, sometimes I had to bike 60kms and when I get home I am called back to help a customer. I love meeting people all day but honestly sometimes they give me the shits”. 🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂

The white album

Across the road from my hotel there is a path that has been beckoning me, and following it today I found it leads down to the (now frozen) river, and a forest with more trails to explore, deep drifts of snow to jump in, dogs to pat, and families pulling smiling fat babies on sleds behind them. The only noise is the squeak of shoes in the snow, and the occasional bird. Is there anything prettier than walking through trees in the snow 🙂

The need for speed

For many people in Lapland, a dog sled, snow mobile or reindeer sleigh is the only real way to travel in the wilderness. I LOVE to go fast across the ground and I really want to get amongst it. There’s not quite enough snow yet for the snowmobile, but we are good to go for the huskies and reindeer. I love animals and I want to support tourist attractions where they are treated well – and my guides have assured me I will feel good about these activities. These dogs are Siberian huskies, so beautiful, clearly very healthy, very friendly, huge smiles on their faces, and jumping out of their skin excited to be given a chance to run which is what they are born to do. Once they’re harnessed, the dogs are quite calm because they know it will soon be time to go; but when the driver steps up onto the sled behind you, the barking all around you is EAR-splitting because ALL the dogs want to come. And then you’re off, and all you can hear is the swoosh of the sleigh on the snow, you feel the cold air whipping you in the face, and ahead you see the dogs running so so fast, listening for commands to go left or right, totally in their element. At first I’m silent, taking it all in, and then I am laughing out loud because this is the most fun thing you could do with a group of happy dogs. Next I visit a reindeer farm that has been in the same family for 500 years. There are around 54 farms in Lapland, and each deer has a special cut on its ear to indicate who it belongs to. During winter the deer are herded on foot, and brought back to the farm if possible for care over the harshest months; but the rest of the year they are out in the forests living a wild life, breeding and competing with their natural predators. And cars; if you hit a reindeer here you pay compensation to its owner, this is reindeer country and you are the visitor. There is a lot of emphasis on the wildness of the animals and the natural order of life here; and farmers helping each other to keep things working. These guys grew up on this farm and instead of attending kindergartens, they were herding deer with their parents and grandparents, learning everything they would one day need to run it themselves. We are given a chance to ride in a sleigh at the farm, if we drive it ourselves (this is how they teach them). It is so much fun; with one hand on the sleigh and the other hand holding a rope that is tied to the harness. As soon as the rope is in your hand the deer takes off like a rocket, while you hang on behind, bouncing around, snow in your eyes, and smiling like an idiot.

Scooter on skis with room for shopping 🙂
Mush mush
The family dog, so beautiful
I’m lying on the frozen lake
Finnish TV
🙂

Wow

The snow on the trees is so so beautiful. Went for a drive to see some arctic animals today, and came across a herd of maybe 20 reindeer just wandering through the forest next to the road. It was -11 degrees and my hair froze 🙂 and as my pictures became more blue I think my camera also froze 🙂 but I’m loving it, and finally nailed the layering of clothes so only my face (and hair) felt the chill today.

Frozen hair 🙂
I wanted to see the fox
But this is the only one I could see, hard to find a white animal in the snow
Wolverine (not Hugh Jackman)
Arctic wolf

Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow

Ten inches of snow fell unexpectedly overnight, so this morning everything was looking very very white, the snow ploughs were busy, and the temperature had warmed up to only -7 🙂

Perch and trout are in there somewhere far away from my fishing rod
BBQ lunch
Soup, grilled salmon, warm juice and toasted marshmallows
The man boots are warm and dry

Finland

Finland! Like Iceland, this is somewhere I have wanted to visit because it is so far from life in New Zealand that I am drawn to it like a moth to a giant freezer. I want to feel cold to my bones, stomp in snow and ice, and see what the other side of the world looks like. And it looks beautiful. It’s so cold I feel like I have been punched in the face (Helsinki was -5 when I arrived and Rovaniemi where I am now was -13 when I got here, and it will probably will be -17 tonight). There is frosty ground and snow, babies are swaddled like Michelin men in strollers, their arms out straight with all the layers they have on. Kids jump on the new ice (as do I). There is a lovely vibe here, much the same as in my favourite Scandinavian countries. The rivers and lakes are newly frozen. Dogs pick their feet up quickly on walks around town. Today I walked across the arctic circle, and met Santa. The next few days will be mostly spent outdoors and I am so looking forward to it all. The new man boots did good today, my feet are warm 🙂 Also am wearing two coats, three thermal layers and two hats in these pics, and still felt a chill :0

Amazing sushi
Dark by 5
Frost in Helsinki
Church built in the rock
Helsinki harbour (the Baltic Sea)
Excited by ice 🙂
Cathedral
Orthodox church
So cold
Tofu salad 🙂
Love the seals
Almost 5pm
On the night train headed north
Travel essentials 🙂
Yes that is a minus
Lapland
Letters to Santa
New Zealand = Husi Seelanti in Finnish
He skateboards
I want I want
These posts mark the arctic circle
Frozen lake
It really is frozen !
Forgot to ask which list I’m on ha

Man feet

Yesterday in Vienna I was walking in a t shirt and sneakers, trying to find some shade because it was so warm. Today I am back in my woollen layers, hat and long coat, and it snowed as I walked from the train station to my hotel in Helsinki. Such a contrast 🙂 I have only been in Finland for a few hours but I really love the vibe here, and I am excited to start exploring tomorrow. I’ve booked a 10 day adventure tour and have my fingers and toes crossed for snow.

This morning I found a hole in my boots, and as it is going to be cold and wet (and hopefully snowy) for the next few months, I invested in a new pair that will be suitable for the winter. I must have giant feet compared to the rest of the female population in Finland, because boots don’t come in my size and I had to buy a mens pair! but at least my feet will be warm and dry. I was eyeing up a second (more feminine) pair as well, but the salesman said to me ‘I could sell them to you, but I think the ones you have are perfect, they look good, and there are nicer things you could buy yourself’. He put it so nicely that I couldn’t disagree 🙂 So I took my man boots and my huge feet to the sushi place next door, where another nice person said ‘you look tired, can I suggest a wine and some food for you?’. Yes you can!

It really is the people you meet on your travels who make your experience awesome, and I have met some really lovely people with great stories. Yesterday I met Vladan, who is Italian but lives in Vienna with his wife and their young son. He is a fine arts professor, and offers interesting walking tours of his neighborhood in Vienna. He first met his wife when he was 14 and she was 12. She had come with her parents for a holiday to Italy, and they hung out and held hands and shared their first kiss. 29 years later, his marriage had ended, they connected on Facebook, agreed to meet on a train platform in Rome, spent a weekend together and got married soon after. “That’s amazing”, I said, “what are the odds of you both being available and getting together after all that time”. He said “I know” with a big stupid smile on his face. 🙂

Happy birthday to me :)

The benefit of having a birthday while traveling is that you get to celebrate the day in NZ time, and in Vienna local time 🙂 Two cakes for me 🙂 🙂 🙂 Life is good. In fact, after 61 days on the road and only 1 not so good morning, life is better than good. It’s great. I can’t help but recall that ratio being more often tipped the other way in the 9-5 world I have temporarily stepped out of. There really is more to life.

Today was a stunner with 24 degrees and brilliant skies. Tomorrow I fly to Helsinki where the temperature is about 21 degrees colder than this :0 🙂

Cake for NZ birthday
Pancakes and gin for Vienna birthday
Cheers and thanks for the birthday wishes xxxx

A day in Wachau

I had the best day biking and wine tasting in Wachau, only an hour by train from Vienna. Gruner Veltliner and Riesling are the main varieties grown here, 95% of the vines are planted with white, and the ones I sampled were yummm. Another winning tour booked through Air BnB, and highly recommend this one it was excellent; fantastic guide and awesome people to spend the day with. I only wish I had more of an eye for detail, and had noticed that the biking was 25km long…..I do like to bike, but haven’t ridden much lately and consequently I have a sore butt and may not be able to walk tomorrow. Ha 🙂 But I will seek out more Gruner Veltliner on my travels and at home, I like it a lot.

Apricot liquor
Finally tried goulash! Still full hours later
One of only 2 blue cathedrals in the world (the other is in Bratislava

The Kiss

Vienna is back in my good books today – courier drivers stopped for me on pedestrian crossings (!!), the sun was out in force and the temperature rocketed to 24 degrees, and I was on a hunt for art and beauty. I have seen the film ‘Woman in Gold’ and was curious about the art of Gustav Klimt. The Belvedere Palace is where the paintings in this film were kept originally before being returned to their owner (and now on display in New York); and they still have several Klimt paintings on display. The most famous of these is ‘The Kiss’, which is so so beautiful I come back to it four times just to make sure I’ve seen it enough. Gold leaf and other precious metals are used in the painting (which is huge), and it literally stops you in your steps. Klimt is most famous apparently for his gold period, but there are many other stunning examples of his work here. This painting though is a stunner. I can understand why (rightly or wrongly) the museum wanted to keep the painting of Adele Bloch-bauer, because together these two paintings would be quite the drawcard. There’s a lot to see at the Belvedere – highly recommend booking a ticket online for the upper gallery where ‘The Kiss’ is housed, you have to select a time slot to go in, and based on the crowds I encountered today you wouldn’t want to rock up only to find it is sold out. The Palace is also set out in similar style to Versailles in France, so apart from the art, it is a gorgeous setting. I definitely found the beauty I was after (and more cake), and had a happy day wandering in this pretty city. Check out the film if you haven’t seen it, pretty sure I watched it online back in NZ. Oh and the soundtrack for today is Dire Straits – Sultans of Swing 🙂