21; a milestone, a coming of age and mostly a time for AMAZING presents! These annoying little assumptions tormented me for months when considering what to buy my boyfriend, Seb, for his 21st birthday. During the summer we had visited Norway on a hiking trip. However due to our university loans not funding such extravagance, we had to camp for the duration of the trip. Usually I’m a lover of the great outdoors and a bit of rough, but my spirits couldn’t help being dampened somewhat as we pitched tent next to a site of traditional (and extremely comfy looking) Scandinavian log cabins. Squished in a two man tent with sizable backpacks to match wasn’t exactly romantic, or a set up suited for a good nights sleep! So to make amends for our missed opportunity, and provide probably the best birthday present I’m ever going to come up with, I booked us a log cabin on the Finnish lakes for a few days during Easter.
Usually my luck in life is higher than the average human being. However, the first day of our trip proved I had had more than my fair share of good fortune and fate was doing a 180 on me. We arrived late at night into a very shanty airport only to find that we couldn’t hire a car being neither 25 nor the owner of a credit card! As the log cabin was a four hour drive from Tampere, we were in somewhat of a pickle. An organisational freak, I was horrified at my lack of preparation and promptly went into a sheepish silence. Little did I know that things were only going to get worse! Jumping off the bus from the airport we arrived in Tampere at midnight only to find our youth hostel closed. Trundling round the town got us nowhere as we were beaten off with Scandinavian hotel prices! After haunting the train station until it closed, Seb and I set up camp for a night on a park bench. Northern Finland, in the middle of March with only a few blankets and fleeces for warmth, was not the smartest idea I’ve had. As we snuggled up for the night I was heartbroken that my brilliant plans had gone so wrong!
But like a Hollywood block buster there was a light at the end of the tunnel. Acting as his own knight in shining armour, Seb was up early with a beaming grin and a will full of confidence. After finding a coach to take us to a local town near the cabin we were well on our way; when we arrived what we got was nothing short of spectacular. With a view to die for, our own sauna, jetty and wood burning fire I was ready to throw away my passport and set up life amongst the lakes. With the nearest cabin a good half a mile away, seclusion was no longer a far off dream. The next three days were a blur of forest walks, blistering hot saunas, winter bbq’s and hot chocolates on the jetty. The holiday was perfection and I will certainly be returning, hopefully with car and hotel to boot next time!
Lauren
