Oulanka National Park

Today we properly sleep in for the first time and treat ourselves to cinnamon buns for breakfast! Then we head off to Oulanka National Park in Finland! It’s said to offer a particularly beautiful view of an old mill set in a gorgeous landscape shaped by rivers and waterfalls. The road there is covered in deep snow, and time and again there are stretches where we wonder whether the studs on our tyres are really enough. But they seem to hold. At least we find our way safely to remote Oulanka National Park. Once there, we first have to look for a parking space. We find a good one near a café and take the chance to ask the friendly woman working there where we should walk. She gives us great tips on which route to take. She also says it should be doable without snowshoes, but that we could rent some from her if needed. So we start the hike, which is perfectly manageable in our boots on the fresh snow all the way to the mill. The landscape is breathtakingly beautiful. Glorious powder snow everywhere, and on the river bank stands an old mill called Myllykoski. There’s a suspension bridge too, and the river winds through the landscape it has carved, now largely frozen over and covered in snow. We actually want to hike on to a frozen waterfall, but soon realise the path leads over a great many iced-over steps that are barely passable without snowshoes and crampons. Since we have neither with us, we decide to turn back.

On the way back we’re accompanied by the setting sun and the wonderful light it casts on the falling snow. Naturally we don’t let this scene pass us by and take a few photos before driving back towards our Airbnb. On the drive home we make several more stops to capture the beautiful landscape at sunset.

Back at the Airbnb we take some drone shots to catch the mood of the sunset. Once the sun is down, we drive to Ruka to shop for the next few days. Ruka is a ski resort, so the selection in the small grocery shop is correspondingly modest. But we find what we need, or settle for less. After the shopping run we drive home and cook spaghetti with cherry tomato sauce. It’s delicious and kicks off the long evening ahead. Our app is forecasting northern lights again, and only light cloud cover, which is essential for a successful aurora hunt. As usual, our cameras see the northern lights before we do, since they’re far more sensitive than the human eye. But after a while we see them too. Tonight they’re on the faint side, but still: We’ve seen them once again!