It snowed this week in DC, for the first time in quite awhile. This, combined with my current Nordic crime procedural binge-watching habit, has made me very nostalgic for my pre-COVID times visit to Finland. In December 2018, which now feels like approximately 15 years ago, my partner and I went to Helsinki and a few towns in Lapland to try to spot the Northern Lights. While we didn’t get the full Northern Lights experience—they were much fainter than the ones you usually see in pictures—but it was still beautiful. I’ll detail some of the highlights below for anyone looking to visit Finland in the future!

Day 1

• Arrival in Helsinki and attempt to power through the jet lag, despite it being completely dark at 4pm. This means coffee, which Finland is great at and of which there is no shortage. We went to several cafes, but one that stands out in my memory is Robert’s Coffee. This is actually a chain but the location we went to, Jugend, is located in a beautiful Art Nouveau building built in the 19^th It has a gorgeous curved mural above the airy seating area and lots of tables tucked into cozy corners.
• We stayed in a decent mid-range hotel in the Katajanokka neighborhood which juts out into the harbor and is a short walk east of the downtown area. We liked it as it was quite a quiet, residential area but we could still walk to restaurants, etc.
• Dinner at Restaurant Wellamo, which has since changed chefs/owners so I can’t speak to the current restaurant, but at the time it was very cozy and featured homestyle Finnish food that was very tasty. We had a lamb dumpling soup that was excellent and really loved the candlelit atmosphere by the harbor.

Day 2

• More coffee.
• Ferry trip over to Suomenlinna, a windswept little archipelago at the entrance to Helsinki harbor which also happens to be a UNESCO world heritage site. The islands are home to an 18^th century fortress built when Finland was under Swedish rule. It’s a popular site to visit and we enjoyed wandering around—looking at the fortifications and small residential areas amid a windy seascape. There’s even a brewery and several cafes on the islands. We had lunch at the charming Café Silo.
• Dinner at Grön—fantastic Michelin-starred restaurant in the Hietalahti neighborhood of Helsinki. This was honestly one of the best meals I’ve ever had. They have no more than 10 tables and the small room is shared with the open plan kitchen. The chefs bring each dish to the table and offer a description, making it one of the more intimate dining experiences I’ve had.
  • Their menu is seasonal and plant-focused, though when we went there were several reindeer dishes as they had purchased and butchered a full reindeer of which they used every part. This resulted in probably my favorite dish, ragu-style reindeer in a bone broth topped with a potato puree, crowberries, lichen, and shaved reindeer heart. I imagine there are two types of people reading this:  those for whom this sounds utterly pretentious and/or disgusting and those who want to try this immediately. I could go on and on about this meal, but suffice it to say it was memorable and Helsinki has an incredible food scene.

Day 3

• Helsinki Christmas Market!! Even if you hate the cold, this is a big reason to visit Finland in December. The market is held in Senate Square overlooked by Helsinki Cathedral. All of the wooden merchant stalls, the huge Christmas tree, stringed lights overhanging, and a spinning carousel made this such a delightful experience. And of course, there’s plenty of steamy tents selling glögi (mulled wine) which gives a nice boost of holiday spirit. We also started the day there with some delicious warm cinnamon donuts and smoked reindeer toast. It probably goes without saying, but this was a perfect place to pick up gifts, especially handmade ornaments and local treats like Helsinki-made honey and reindeer sausage.
• Lunch at the Hietalahden kauppahalli indoor food market. This very cool food market is more than 100 years old and they have awesome international food options. We had some tasty pork bao.
• A visit to Temppeliaukion While this church is quite new by Finnish standards (built in the 1960s) it is worth a visit for the unique architecture. It was built directly into the surrounding rock face, which is now incorporated into the interior walls, and it also has a copper dome ceiling surrounded by a skylight.
• Chill with some Finnish beer in our hotel room’s private sauna.

Day 4

• Flight from Helsinki to Ivalo and drive from Ivalo to Wilderness Hotel Nellim. This drive was a bit nerve-wracking with the largely unpaved, snow-covered road, but it was likely just me being overly cautious as cars continuously passed me as I crawled along at 25 MPH. But a visit to Finland isn’t complete without a Lapland excursion.
• Dinner at Wilderness Hotel Nellim and first night in our glass igloo! I’ve always wanted to stay in one of these and, while it was a splurge compared to how much we usually spend, it was such an amazing experience. We did see some lovely, albeit faint, Northern Lights on our second night and while it wasn’t the bright, mind-blowing experience I’d hoped for, watching waves of light move across the sky while lying in bed was still magical. Even without the Northern Lights, the sky was brilliant and we saw several shooting stars.
  • Because the igloos are quite small—essentially just a bed, an entryway, and a half bath—we spent most of our downtime in the main lodge of the hotel which was cozy, inviting, and delightful. They served buffet meals which were quite tasty and included many Finnish specialties, like crepes with cream and lingonberries. My partner and I really enjoyed sitting by the fire after dinner to enjoy a game of chess or cards and a digestif. The cloudberry vodka was a particular highlight.

Day 5

• Breakfast at the hotel followed by their husky excursion. We unfortunately had terrible luck and there wasn’t enough snow during our trip to go dogsledding (in Lapland…in December), but we still went to the husky farm and to a nearby church for a little mini tour. I was disappointed to miss out on sledding but I was still excited to play with some puppies.
• Drive around the surrounding area to experience the Arctic Circle quiet.
• More lodge games by the fire and a night in our igloo.

Day 6

• Breakfast and then check-out from the hotel, followed by a drive to the nearby town of Inari.
• Visit to Siida, the Sámi museum and nature center. This museum has fascinating exhibits on the history of the area and the local Sámi people. (Additional shout-out to the museum gift shop which had a lot of local handicrafts, including locally made, beautiful silver jewelry from Paarma Design, of which I am a huge fan.)
• Unbelievable dinner at Hotel Kultahovi, where we stayed for one night. This place was a wonderful surprise. I chose it because we needed a slightly cheaper place that was close to the airport for our last night in Lapland. The room was very comfortable and the food was fantastic. We had raw Lake Inari whitefish with dill and cucumber granita, roe, and pickled onions as an appetizer and my entrée was pine smoked reindeer with reindeer blood dumplings, mushrooms, and potato puree. Dessert was a chocolate lava cake with sweetgrass ice cream and salted caramel “soil.” (Sorry if you’re not into detailed meal descriptions—I can’t help myself.)

Day 7

• Yummy buffet breakfast (pickled salmon, reindeer pasties, lingonberry pastries, etc.) at the hotel and a snowy drive to the Ivalo Airport to fly home.

I hope that this list gives some inspiration for anyone looking to visit Finland.