Along the Finnish Baltic coast

What you can experience on such a large campsite!

We enjoyed our days in Kalajoki in many ways. During our 4-day stay, we were able to relax really well. There were days when we didn't do anything. Not even take pictures. The days flew by with eating, sleeping, playing, and the best thing about a campsite: people-watching!

It's really amazing how different people go camping. There are young families like us with medium-sized motorhomes or campers. And then there are the high-end campers. These are mostly retirees who have turned the money from their life insurance into a rolling house. A Morelo, for example, can cost up to 250,000€.

Then there are some who travel only by car or motorcycle and sleep in cabins or tents. And especially in Finland, there are large families. Sometimes there are up to 7 children or more in a caravan, plus parents. It's strange when they all come out one after the other in the morning. We have learned that there is a religious group in northern Finland where it is common to have many children. It is completely normal for them to have double-digit numbers of children.

We also had the opportunity to talk to some Finns, even though they speak the least and worst English of all Scandinavians. Everyone agreed that Finns are loners, rather reserved and Nordic cool. And they say about their own country that there is not much to offer for tourists. Unfortunately, that's true too! The rides through Finland are quite boring. Except for pine forests, you don't see much. Here and there a lake, but that's it. The few sights are up in the north or in the lake district in the south. Unfortunately, neither is on our route, but we make the best of it.

In Kalajoki, we went to a water park twice. Henry is becoming more and more fond of water and sometimes gets carried away in certain places. Luckily, his parents are watching and prevent anything bad from happening. He still slipped and fell twice, though.

Next stop, we had Vaasa in mind. But on the way there, we made a stop in Kylänpää to visit a small petting zoo. It had a really family-friendly atmosphere because it was so manageable. Admission was voluntary and there were no prohibition signs. But there were many animals to touch. Just the right thing for Henry. He had already seen horses, rabbits, donkeys, pigs, sheep, and some other animals. But the alpacas were new to him. What was also new to us was the sight of freshly sheared alpacas.

However, the toys, the sandbox, and the huge pile of gravel attracted Henry's attention the most.

Annika chose a really nice campsite on the outskirts of Vaasa for us. And because it was so nice there, we stayed for 2 nights.

We did laundry, visited the water park again, and enjoyed the good weather. We are soon becoming real swimming pool professionals.

We continue along the Baltic coast, heading south. Currently, we are near Pori. Here too, we are lucky with the campsite. We have a spot right by the Baltic Sea. The sun is shining and we can spend a proper summer day outdoors. Henry has discovered a small puddle for himself and the parents can relax and unwind. Everyone is in a great mood and simply enjoying the day.

Because the next few days are - unusually - a bit planned. Tomorrow we are going to Helsinki. We want to spend the weekend in Finland's capital. On Monday, we will take the ferry to Tallinn. But we will report more about that in the coming days...

Ole