The Lure of the Finnish Lake Cottage
- Cat
- Apr 7, 2017
- 5 min read
In a country with more than 188,000 lakes (yes, that number is correct!) water naturally plays a huge part in the life of a Finn. And the lakeside cottage is a sacred institution to relax and get away from the daily grind. Finland is known for continually ranking high in the annual World's Happiest Countries survey and I believe the lakeside retreat aids in that happiness. It's where they go to "do nothing" but do everything at the same time.
Home to 5,000,000 people (about the population of Miami), Finland is roughly twice the size of Florida land-wise. 500,000 lake cottages exist. That's approximately one lake cottage for every 10 Finns.
While most Finns spend a lot of time at their cottage in summer, winter is also a heavenly time to visit. I read somewhere that if you are lucky enough to be invited to a cottage, DO NOT turn the invitation down. I can't recall where I read this, but I am glad I did, and if I come across their blog again, I will thank them...And pass on the same advice - if you get a chance to visit a Finnish cottage, especially one on a lake, YOU MUST GO!
We were invited by a work colleague of Adam's to his family lake cottage about an hour outside of town. We arrived on a sunny day after stopping at the grocery store to stock up for a campfire-grilled lunch and dinner.
Upon arrival, we were presented with wool socks - a traditional Finnish welcome gift. Having only been given socks by parents at Christmastime, this was odd to us at first, but really makes sense when you think about it. You never wear shoes inside a Finnish home, and it's typically always on the cool side, so you are in socks constantly. It's a gift you will actually use over and over - and think about your visit with friends or family whenever you do wear them! Wish we were always so practical with gift giving!
We set out for a hike on the frozen lake and when we got back grilled out at the campfire pit. We cooked a great spread and everything was delicious: corn on the cob, meat pies, sausages, and bacon-wrapped mushrooms stuffed with reindeer meat cheese. Of course, we also had a few drinks - Minttu hot chocolate and A. Le Coq Long Drink (grapefruit flavor). It was G's first time around an open fire, and he did very well, roasting his own sausage.
After cleaning up the lunch spread, we headed back out to the lake to try our hand at ice fishing. We each drilled our own hole and set up a chair to bring them in! After a shot of salmiakki liquor for good luck, we were good to go. Ice fishing was not something we ever thought we'd do, but it was VERY fun! The fish are NOTHING like what Adam is used to catching in Florida or Louisiana, but the experience was great. I caught 7 fish, and everyone thought I kept re-catching the same one because my line would go into the water and come right back up with a fish! They were no larger than 5-7" long, and they were not fish we wanted to mess with cleaning and eating so they were all thrown back. G had a great time riding the four wheeler and running between each of us to check our lines. Our host outlined that larger fish were caught on the lake - but alas, not by any of us.
Click through the images below to see more of our day.
Back at the cottage we prepared dinner together - a marinated chicken with a nice salad, and another long drink followed by a warm, mulled liquor which we were assured we'd enjoy. We didn't - it tasted like a Christmas tree smells and it was STRONG. But it was definitely an experience!
We followed this up with a sauna (it was heating up while we were cooking and enjoying dinner). A sauna is VERY Finnish, and is the only Finnish word we know and use in the English language as a borrowed word. Most Finns take their sauna nude, but being prude Americans, and in mixed company, we just couldn't wrap our minds around this. Luckily, we had discussed it at dinner with our friends a few days prior and made it pretty clear we were going "Granny-style."
After sweating it out in the sauna for 15 or so minutes, we headed outside to roll in the snow and repeated that a couple times! The drastic temperature change was REALLY invigorating and felt great. We started to think maybe the winter swimming idea wasn't such a bad one after all - but we're not quite ready for that!
Adam is not usually one for hot tubs or heat, so it was big for him to enjoy it. G used the sauna but didn't stay in the full amount of time, preferring instead to stand in the warmed outer room and wait for us. Our friends told us Finnish children use the sauna from infancy, some mothers even giving birth in the saunas!
The sauna was the perfect end to a great day, and we can now see why the Finns love it so much. We've decided to put a lake cottage with a sauna on our bucket list! What's on your bucket list?
5 things we learned you can (should) bring with you to a lake cottage:
Food. Most lake cottages are a little out of the way and popping in to a grocery store is not easily accomplished. Finns come to the lake to get away from the hustle so if you forget something, it won't be readily accessible. Thank your host by contributing to the bounty.
Alcohol. This is a staple in Finnish life, from the campfire grilling drinks, to the ice fishing shots, to the after dinner mulled alcohol, to the sauna drinks. You will be drinking nearly all day so come prepared! Alcohol is expensive in Finland, so this gift will truly be appreciated.
Helping hands. Many cottages have composting toilets or outhouses, no running water, etc. Come prepared to haul water from a well or the lake for dish washing if there is no running water, and listen to the instructions on how to use the toilets! Be willing to help out with the dish washing and house cleaning when you leave!
Camera. The shots you'll be able to capture will be gorgeous.
Towel/Swimsuit. Or not. Finns take their sauna naked and don't think twice about it. But for most of us prude Americans, this is a bit uncomfortable. Bringing a swimsuit will ensure your experience is a little more relaxing, and the towel is necessary for showering and drying off afterwards. Our host took his sauna with a suit on, but likely only because we were in suits. Don't be surprised if your host is fully nude - it's pretty uncommon to wear a suit outside of public, mixed-sex saunas.
BONUS: Bait. If you plan to fish, bait can be a good item to bring - again, there isn't a store you can simply run out to and pick it up once you are out there. We used maggots on our ice fishing foray. I'm not sure if they use the same thing in summertime.
Comments