Helena-Reet: With children on a road trip around Finland (VOL5 – Oulu sightseeings, Kemi, Tornio and the journey through Kolari to Levi) + MANY PHOTOS & INFOLINKS!
NordenBladet – On the fourth morning of our road trip around Finland the sun was greeting us again. We already felt like experienced travellers as we had covered quite so many kilometres (Tallinn – > Helsingi -> Tampere -> Vaasa -> Oulu). Today the longest ride was waiting for us (Oulu -> Kemi -> Tornio -> Kolari -> Kittilä -> Levi).
Oulu town was founded in 1605 by the Swedish king Karl IX near the Oulu stronghold that had been erected somewhat earlier. Previously Oulu used to be the center for tar production and was the second largest town in all of Finland after Turku. Nowadays Oulu is a rapidly growing center for technology and for lots of people also a beloved resort. And it really is beautiful here, it is not without reason that Nallikari in Oulu is called the Nordic Riviera – the kilometre long sandy beach, opportunities for hiking, the Vauhtipuisto game park (Hietasaarentie 9), Ponitila for those keen on riding, and additionally also minigolf and other fields of sport (for example 600km of cycling roads/light traffic roads). Not far from Oulu city centre in Liminga municipality there is Escurial Zoo and Flower park (see Kukka- ja eläinpuisto Escurial – Paavolantie 83 C, 91900 Liminka). Among the sightseeings a great destination is also Turkansaari Open Air Museum where one can learn about traditional lifestyle like tillage, forestry, cattle breeding, fishing and tar production. The museum area comprises two islands covered with full flora – Turkansaari and Siikasaari. However, the best known tourism object in Oulu is the Northern Ostrobothnia Museum (Pohjois-Pohjanmaan museo) next to Ainola park. Everyone interested in the cultural history are recommended to visit this! The address is Ainolanpolku 1, 90130 Oulu. Also a fascinating institution in Oulu is near Myllytulli (Nahkatehtaankatu 6) is Tietomaa Science Centre (Tiedekeskus Tietomaa) – the function of the centre is to popularize the achievements of science and technology to common people in a fun and fascinating manner.
We had breakfast in the hotel (see photos HERE), packed and took the luggage in the car and set off from the hotel to Oulu city center where we had a walk, took some photos from the old town and where I also had two brief meetings/consultations. Afterwards we headed towards Kemi and Tornio.
It is a bit more than 100km from Oulu to Kemi – driving there at a normal speed would take ca 1.30h. The population of Kemi is 21019 (population census August 31 2018), the town is situated near the Swedish border and it was founded in the year 1869 by the Russian czar Alexander II. The northern part of Finland indicates that the country reaching to the polar circle is much more than the capital city Helsinki. Starting from Kemi completely new horizons open and it is possible to experience a completely different kind of Finland. The more to the North – the more exotic it gets. The town of Kemi on the banks of the Gulf of Bothnia is a seaside town and during winter it attracts tourists with the ice breaker Sampo (this allows to go into the sea straight from the ship and take a swim in the midst of ice blocks during a 4-hour arctic voyage). The address is Sampotie 137, Kemi 94900 and the cruise “Arctic Icebreaker Cruise” can be booked via their homepage.
An exciting tourist magnet in Kemi is also the Snow Castle Resort (Lumilinnankatu 15, Kemi 94100) – arguably the world’s largest snowtown/centre where you can find SnowRestaurant365, an ice bar, sculptures made from snow and ice (snow town), the restaurant Lumihiutale, Sea Lapland Day Spa etc. PS! There are various smaller snow towns in Northern Finland, Lapland. An interesting place to see is also the Kemi gemstone museum Kemin Jalokivigalleria (Kauppakatu 29, Kemi 94100) founded by the jeweler Teuvo Ypyä, that actually accommodates the crown (see Wikipedia image HERE) prepared for the King of Finland, however, since Finland eventually became a republic then the crown was never used. Among the many interesting jewels there is also the necklace with 647 jewels, that used to belong to Marie Antoinette.
The best known sightseeings in Tornio /most visited tourist attractions are the Provincial Museum Of Tornio Valley (Torikatu 4, Tornio 95400); Duudsonit Activity Park – TornioHaparanda (Vesaisenkatu 1, Tornio 95400); Tornio Church (Seminaarinkatu, Tornio 95400). Tornio church was built in 1647 but in the year 1682 burnt down completely and was rebuilt in 1684 near the original location. The church was dedicated to the Swedish Queen Hedvig Eleonora of Holstein-Gottorp (lived 1636-1715 and was the wife of the Swedish King Charles X) and until today it is the oldest wooden church with an actual congregation in Lapland. Hedwig Eleanora was relatively detached from political life yet a dominant figure who ruled as a regent repeatedly and was by the way for 61 years the de facto first lady in the royal court but later was known rather as a passionate card game player and a friend of gambling, the widow that conducted great parties.
In Tornio I really also wished to visit the Tornio Panimo Brewery founded by Karl Johan Boström in 1873. The current manager of the factory Kaj K. personally allowed us a private industrial tour and in the morning also sent an email about inviting us, however, my previous meetings lasted quite so long that the time was already pressing and since the route Tornio-Levi that we had to cover that evening to stay for the night was ca 300km then unfortunately we had to cancel it. Since there was no time then we also skipped the dinner and held a proper rally of ice cream and frappe in Tornio trade centre (Rajalla På Gränsen) in Robert’s Coffee. Ivanka had 3 strawberry ice creams and us me and Estella Elisheva both had 2 frappes. Yum, a severe calorie strike. The prices, however, were higher than in the capital city Helsinki – waffle ice cream with one ice cream ball was 3.50 eur and one large frappe with whipped cream was 7.10 eur. After that we started off towards Levi – first along the Finnish-Swedish border to Kolari.
Ahh, what a pleasant journey from Tornio to Kolari and from there on to Levi — peaceful, calm — no speeding cameras, no ugly buildings. Quiet country life and picturesque view! Children with rucksacks were coming from country school, across the street there were cows on the meadow. Such beautiful views. I remember thinking to myself that now finally I am here in the North and can see the local life here… And it is so great! The road and the railroad run along the state border and from time to time one can have a glimpse of Sweden over the waters. Both on the Swedish as well as the Finnish banks there are nice little villages.
Our journey went mostly along the E8 road: Tornio -> Rutosaari -> Kukkola -> Aapajoki -> Karungi -> Kankaanranta -> Risudden -> Armassaari -> Ylitornio -> Haapakoski -> Rahtu -> Kuivakangas -> Maaherra -> Juoksengi -> Turtola -> Korpikoti -> Pello -> Lempeä -> Oranki -> Sieppijärvi -> Kolari -> Ylläsjärvi -> Kittilä -> Sirkka -> Levi
On the way there was also Aavasaksa – a 242m high mountain in Lapi county Ylitornio municipality, that has been selected by the ministry of environment among the 27 national landscapes in Finland. As a fun fact it is known about this mountain that the French Academy of Science, led by Pierre Louis Moreau de Maupertuis, completed geophysical measurements there in 1736-1737, that confirmed the theory of Isaac Newton, according to which the Earth was flat. At some point I discovered that we were almost out of gas and I was struck by panic – here you go with your nice views and landscapes – I already imagined myself knocking on a local farmer’s stable door and asking whether he had gas in his tractor from which to bargain half to me. Iccccc… Yet in Ylitornio there was ABC self service gas station and gas 95 cost 1,614 per litre.
The next stop was the Arctic Circle (Napapiiri)! How cool is that?? 😀 We parked the car and obviously again took some photos for the social media like we do on every step. Estella Elisheva posted a video to her Insta story (@Estella.Elisheva) and I posted to my Insta feed (@helenareetennet) where one could follow our entire journey in live. For those of you who snoozed that instant – no worries. The full overview of the trip, in four languages, will be published in NordenBladet portals (NordenBladet.ee; NordenBladet.com, Ohmygossip.fi and Ohmygossip.se). The present blog is fifth in line and it pictures the fourth day of our 12-day adventure. 🙂
Once we arrived in Kolari it was already dark outside. Also, I was exhausted from driving. For one day more than 500km of driving would be more than enough, especially when you are coming from another four days of driving. I was comforting myself that in Levi we would remain for many days so that I can be calm and have a rest. Well, in Kolari we experienced a most beautiful moment in our lives – the road sides were full of reindeer, lots of them were right on the road so I dared drive no more than 20km/h… Soooooo totally cute! First we were slightly scared that, uh oh, reindeer on the road, but then Estella Elisheva who is such a lover of wildlife already started taking pictures with them in five minutes. FROM THIS MOMENT BEGAN our miraculous real life fairy tale of Lapland! ?✨❄ How we finally got to Levi and what enormous surprise awaited us there that same night – I will write about that already in my next blog! Hugs!
Keywords: with children on a road trip around finland, with children on a road trip, around finland, car trip in finland, with car in finland, with family in finland, with kids in finland, finland road trip, finland tourist attractions, finnish road trip, finland travel, rovaniemi northern lights, visit lapland, places to visit in finland, lapland finland christmas, europe road trip, finland tour, roadtrip suomi, lapland finland, finland trip, finland tourism, finland vacation, finland itinerary, things to do in finland, scandinavia trip, finland tour itinerary, finland train, day trips from helsinki to lapland, helsinki to rovaniemi train, driving in finland in winter, finland destinations, things to see in finland, lapland map, finland map, finland travel blog, finnish travel blogger, finnish travel bloggers, travelblog, what to do in finland, auto finland, things to do in lapland, ice hotel rovaniemi, best places to visit in finland, finland winter, helsinki finland points of interest, norwegian finland, finland, norway sweden finland vacation, things to do in rovaniemi, lapland norway, trip to sweden, road trip north finland, helsinki winter, finland google map, things to do in helsinki in winter, lapland travel blog, finland travel blog. finland winter itinerary, driving in helsinki, cars tour, finland travel itinerary, day trips from helsinki in winter, scandinavian road trip, around finland road trip, lapland tours from helsinki, visit lapland finland, finland travel guide, lapland road trip, cities in finland, visit finland in winter, finland self drive, helsinki to lapland, finlands road trip itinerary, best time to visit finland for northern lights, time in finland, visit finland, finland lapland itinerary, blogger road trip, northern lights helsinki, what to do in rovaniemi, finland fly drive holidays, best time to visit finland, scandinavian road trip itinerary, planning a trip to finland, what to see in finland, finland itinerary winter, finland travel blog, finland lakes, suggested itinerary for finland, bycar, norway sweden finland itinerary, things to do in finland in winter, where to go in finland, trains in finland, arctic circle finland, finland lapland tour, finland by car, finland self drive tours, travel from helsinki to lapland, day trip to lapland finland, travel finland northern lights, norway sweden finland trip, touring finland, travel to finland northern lights, where to go in finland in winter, finland itinerary summer, scandinavia road trip, finland in december, places in finland, driving in finland winter, rovaniemi itinerary, finland guide book, finland cars, reindeer finland, reindeer lapland. driving to finland, maps finland, road trip to lapland, finland sweden norway trip, finland visiting places, sweden norway finland trip, winter driving finland, finland driving, finnish trains, places to visit in finland in winter, motorhome finland, helsinki to rovaniemi by car, sweden road trip, how many lakes in finland, finland attractions, wheres lapland, best places to visit in finland in winter, afinn, trips to norway sweden and finland, travel norway sweden finland, campervan finland, how to go to finland, nordic blogger, nordic bloggers, scandinavian blogger, scandinavian blogger, top scandinavian bloggers, top scandinavian travel blogger, lakeland finland, finland train map, arctic circle rovaniemi, driving in finland, best road trips in scandinavia, finland tourist destinations, where is finland on the map, finland travel advice, finland scenic routes, finland sightseeing tours, scandinavian roadtrip, finnish map, trips to finland winter, touring scandinavia by car, finland day tours, where to travel in finland, finland scenery, #LovelyLapland, Arctic, Arctic Circle, digital nomad, Finland, Kemi, Norden Bladet, Keminmaa, Kolari, Lapland, Oulu, reindeer, Tornio, Tourism, travel, travelblog, travelblogger, travelbloggers, Ylitornio, Nallikari, luxury hotels in Oulu, luxury places in oulu, what to do in oulu, what to do in kemi, Oulu city center, snow castle, snow castle resort, Arctic Icebreaker Cruise, kemi info, oulu info, visit Tornio, Rutosaari, Kukkola, Aapajoki, Karungi, Kankaanranta, Risudden, Armassaari, scandnavian nomads, Haapakoski, Rahtu, Kuivakangas, best scandinavian travel bloggers, Maaherra, Juoksengi, Kemi wiki, Turtola, Korpikoti, Pello, Lempeä, life in finland, life in north finland, Oranki, interesting places in north finland, Sieppijärvi, Ylläsjärvi, Napapiiri, adventure blog, girls who travel. best cars finland, road trip finlande, how to travel to finland, driving in finland in december, finland where to go, car visit, finlandia, fly and drive finlandia, cars in finland, finland guide, finland 5 day itinerary, roadtrip scandinavia, finland road map, finland backpacking routes, go to finland, driving in rovaniemi, helsinki driving, helsinki winter itinerary, touring sweden by car, road trip through finland, auto in finland, scandinavia by car, road trip through scandinavia, finland road, travel finland on a budget, helena-reet, helena-reet ennet, estella elisheva, ivanka shoshana, models who travel, travel influencer, travel influencers, scandinavian influencers, travel article, travel writer, digital nomad, scandinavian writer, travel from finland to sweden, rent a camper finland, planning a trip to lapland, scandinavian road trip route, finland itinerary blog, lapland travel blog, helsinki to lapland train, rv finland, travel helsinki finland, travel to lapland finland, dr helsinki, finland sites to visit, a week in finland, roadtrip finland, finland trip blog, nordic road trip, day trip to finland, how to travel from helsinki to lapland, trip in finland, road trip around scandinavia, road trip en finlande, finland tour blog, finland tourist map, travel blog finland, travel from sweden to finland, finland free and easy, visiting finland in november, finland snow driving, getting from helsinki to lapland, where to go finland, what to do in finland in october, finland tourism brochure, finnish tour, how to go to lapland from helsinki, how much is a trip to finland, road trip norway sweden finland, finland motorcycle, capital of finland map, finland travel tips, road trip denmark sweden norway finland, rovaniemi travel blog, roadtrip finnland, visiting finland in november, helsinki finland travel guide, a trip to finland, day trips in finland, travelling around finland, 4 days in finland, 5 days in finland, finnland roadtrip, rovaniemi finland things to do, norway sweden finland road trip, suomi road trip, road trip suomi, finland offroad tour, things to do in finland in october, finlan travel, 10 days in finland, is it safe to travel to finland, travel finland blog, how to go lapland from helsinki, when to go to finland, one week in finland, finland travel map, finland in 7 days, e75 finland, how far is helsinki from lapland, drive from helsinki to rovaniemi, visiting finland in november, train helsinki to levi, byer i finnland, why travel to finland, winter driving in finland, suomi roadtrip, finnish roads, finland when to go, best road trips in scandinavia, getting to lapland from helsinki, finland road conditions, helsinki road, scandinavia driving tours, road trip finland, finland road trip itinerary, road trip in finland, finland round trip, finland santa trip, finland igloo trip, a road trip, finland road cameras, visiting finland with kids, in finland with children
High quality & nature friendly luxury cosmetics from Scandinavia - ElishevaShoshana.com
