Summer has come to Lapland
It’s the 9th of June as I’m writing this. The sun is shining, it is +20°C and the nature has just turned light green. There’s still a little pile of snow outside my window, but the long winter is finally over and summer has come to Lapland.
Only two weeks ago I was skiing in the forest for the last time, wearing shorts and a t-shirt, as it was a warm day like today. On the first days of June I was still making snowmen.
Summer may come to Lapland late, but once it comes, it comes fast.
End of winter days!
It feels like ages since the ground was last free of snow, but still I think the winter went by very fast. It was my first winter in Lapland, as I moved here from Southern Finland last August. I knew winters were long in the North, but still these eight months of snow took me by surprise (Although I should probably say that this winter was longer than usual).
Life in Lapland
How do you survive a winter that long, you may ask? My answer would be with woolly socks, skis and the northern attitude. People in Lapland are generally good at living in the moment and not worrying too much about the weather. They think shoveling snow is good exercise, and when there’s still lots of snow in May they just keep calm and keep on skiing with a smile on their face. And when the summer finally comes, they’ll enjoy it with all their hearts, soak up the sun and warmth, because one day it will be gone jut as soon as it came, and the snow will cover the ground again.
I’ve tried my best to learn that northern attitude myself, and it seems that I succeeded quite well. Not only did I survive my first winter in Lapland, but I also loved every moment of it. However, it is also really nice that it’s over now. Spring and early summer have never felt as good as they did this year.
Now it’s time to make the most of the summer in Lapland, enjoy the midnight sun and load the batteries with sunlight, so that I’ll survive also the next winter here in the North.
Story and Images by Anniina Olkkonen
