Finland 

day 4

After a quiet afternoon and evening enjoying our cabins, we woke up and drove 3 hours further north to a more remote town, called Kilpisjarven, for a snowmobile tour. We could have booked a tour closer, but when I learned of the three-country cairn where Finland, Norway, and Sweden intersect, we decided it would be worth the drive. We booked this tour with Sinikka and Martti from Destination Kilpisjärvi and they were so accommodating and informative. They equipped us with all the gear we needed to stay warm on our adventure, included a sled our kids could take turns riding in, since my husband and I could only have one child each ride with us and none of them were old enough to drive a snowmobile on their own (18+), and trained us to drive/ride safely.

We toured beautiful scenery and stopped at several places along the way where they provided information and history about the area. When we made it out to the three-country cairn, they served us hot berry juice at the monument, and even sang me happy birthday in Finnish when they learned it was my birthday the following day.

At their recommendation following the tour, we decided to have dinner in town at the newer, modern restaurant at Santa’s Hotel Rakka, in hopes of spotting the Aurora Borealis. This would be the furthest north we would get, so we wanted to take full advantage of our time there. Hotel Rakka also appeared to be an upscale option for accommodations, and though the restaurant was an unplanned splurge, it made it to the top of our list of meal experiences. 

The white fish, fresh from the arctic Lake Kilpisjarvi we had just snowmobiled over, was superb. I dare to say it is the most flavorful, moist fish I have eaten to date. Though we did not see the Aurora Borealis from the beautiful glass windows of the restaurant, about an hour into our drive back to our cabins, one of our kids spotted them out the car window. We enjoyed stopping and viewing them from several areas along the drive.

Though this was a long day, it was one of our favorite days of this trip, and we highly recommend any and all of it! We could have spent more time in this area but think we will save it for a visit in the summer for hiking and biking adventures. The Malla Strict Nature Reserve and Kasivarsi Wilderness Area are both nearby, along with the Finland-Norway border.  