Best Laid Plans. That Fail.

“Saunatonttu” is a kind little elf living in the Finnish saunas. Here’s ours!

All that mystery around our next European travel destination and here we are, in my native Finland. The land of sauna, Santa Claus and some seriously good ice-hockey players.

This is the place where I come to unwind. Two enthusiastic babysitters come with the accommodation and spectacular food (made by my mom), and my lazy days are filled with dates with old friends, bit of exercise, gobbling down that seriously good food and trying to find some new experiences in my home town.

The Real Santa comes in many forms and shapes. This one looks quite like my…husband!?

In the last eleven months our baby has helped in creating these new experiences, home and abroad. Last week’s adventure was a repeat from the past spring and I really hope for no more reruns. It doesn’t matter how good the Finnish healthcare system is, I wish for no more stays at the hospital for the little one (and me).

She’s on the mend now and when it comes to being ill while traveling, she couldn’t have picked a better place. Here we have a strong support network, familiar healthcare system and I even master the language. So hey, there’s something positive about this experience too, I suppose. If I really dig deep to find something.

So the best laid plans for this part of the holiday have gone down the drain as we rest, sleep and rest some more. We still have a few days left though to make the most of the sauna downstairs and then it’s onwards to the next “non-exciting” familiar European spot, of which I am extremely excited nevertheless. So the journey continues…