Day 4 of our trip involved waking up close to the artic circle on a train. Then we picked up a rental car in Rovaniemi, had some breakfast before heading out for a drive south mostly to search out family sights. It was a lot of driving, but I got to see where my Finish relatives came from so totally worth it.
This is what I woke up to. He took up half the bed and tossed and turned all night. Not a fan of sleeping on night trains I guess (even though for a train it was pretty comfortable)
What our train looked like. Also last shot with Lincoln's water bottle which we managed to leave on the train.
Our rental car. We got all of stuff in with only a tiny room to spare.
Coffee House in central Rovaniemi was our breakfast stop before heading out of town. They had really good coffee and yogurt parfaits
Of course Lincoln feel asleep in the car right away
The first stop was in Kemi which is this cute town on the sea. Not much going on but it was pretty
Also there was a giant boat playground that Lincoln loved.
We had a few pastries and coffee while Lincoln requested pink ice cream (at 10 in the morning)
Then we make it to Oulu. Oulu is a pretty big town with a nice historic waterfront. There are these old wood houses along the water that now have shops. Also there was an outdoor marketplace.
We had Salmon fries and salad for lunch at one of the vendors.
Then we walked around a little. This is a nice sandy beach not very far from the marketplace area
Lincoln and Zach enjoyed some boat watching while I got a few souvenirs
Another shot of the old red houses and souvenir shop
Lincoln with the policeman statue outside the old marketplace that they are fixing up.
Also by here we ran into a nice lady and her daughter getting coffee. They were from LA and suggested a national park to stop at (which we did). They had moved to Oulu for a tech job which is a huge industry in Oulu
The historic church at Kempele. My 4th and 3rd great grandfathers probably went here. Maybe more relatives are buried here, but we didn't find any with the right names
Lots of historic graves that Lincoln liked exploring
The church was very pretty! They are fixing it up so we couldn't go inside or get to close.
Next stop was a different suburb Tyrnava. Here is the church that my 3rd great grandmother probably went to.
Then the long drive back to Rovaniemi started. We noticed what almost seemed like a Target but turns out is more like the Finnish Target that doesn't respect branding
Then we stopped at Koiteli National Park (which the lady from LA recommended and we actually saw her there again). It was beautiful rapids and islands connected by a series of bridges. Lincoln and I did a little more walking so Zach could get enough rest to safely drive
Lincoln requested pink ice cream again and got his wish
Dinky enjoyed the views as well
On the long drive back we spotted 2 reindeer on the road!
Finally to Santa's Holiday Village just north of Rovaniemi. It really was Christmas in there even in June. The place was a little empty when we arrived but this is the low season for tourism.
We ate in the hotel restaurant. Zach had a reindeer burger. I enjoyed basically a warm vegetable salad since we have had lots of not so healthy things on our trip so far
The restaurant
Our cabin for the next 2 days
Also Christmas and Santa themed on the inside
After some quick unpacking and showers we were off to bed.
Tomorrow we explore Santa village and do some hiking north of the arctic circle!
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