In January, we decided to embrace the cold and experience a true winter.

Finland reminded us that we have a deep love for the great outdoors. From experiencing the northern lights, to mushing sled dogs through the arctic forest, to ice swimming in 10° Fahrenheit weather, being present with nature was nothing but wonderful for our souls. As we proceed forward with our 50 country goal, we want to plan for more outdoor adventures, especially if we’ve never experienced it before!

For 2022, we’ve decided to travel every other month, as COVID restrictions are ever-changing with each country. This allows us to edit filmed videos and plan our next trip from the comfort of our home base. Because our house is not yet ready for us until February, we started the year by traveling in Finland. Now that we are back home, we will be starting house renovations (hopefully soon), while also making artwork to sell, doing odd jobs for extra pocket cash, and collaborating with local companies for close-to-home experiences.

Our exact route for the month—

Chattanooga, TN, USA: January 1-4

Atlanta, GA, USA: December 4-5

Chicago, IL, USA: January 5 (layover)

Helsinki, Finland: January 6-12

Rovaniemi, Finland: January 13-20

Kemi, Finland: January 13-22

Helsinki, Finland: January 23

New York City, NY, USA: January 23 (layover)

Atlanta, GA, USA: January 23-29

Chattanooga, TN, USA: January 29-31

Some “foods-to-try” (Finland edition)—

Korvapuusti: A Finnish cinnamon roll made with lots of ground cinnamon.

Karjalanpiirakka: A Finnish pastry of rye crust traditionally filled with rice porridge and topped with egg butter.

Poronkaristys: A classic dish of thinly sliced sautéed reindeer, served with sugared lingonberries, mashed potatoes, and cucumber pickles.

Mustikkapiirakka: A moist yogurt pie made from bilberries.

Lihapullat: Meatballs made from a curd cream and traditionally served with mashed potatoes, brown gravy, lingonberry jam, and cucumber pickles.

Leipajuusto: A fresh cheese traditionally made from cow’s beestings and served with coffee or cloudberry jam.

Ruisleipa: A genuine 100% rye bread made from a unique Finnish yeast that gives it a dark and dense character.

Lohikeitto: A rich and creamy salmon and potato soup.

A masterpiece from our kitchen—

At the very end of January, I got back in the kitchen and worked with my mother to create a layered chiffon cake for the Lunar New Year. My mother baked the most delightful cake and handed it over to me to decorate. 2022 is the year of the tiger, and with both Chad and I being tigers, I knew I had to decorate the cake to celebrate that. This was my very first time decorating a cake with intention, and I learned two important things: one, time is of the essence when piping with heavy whipping cream, and two, piping a cake is incredibly therapeutic. I will definitely be back in the kitchen again for another go at cake decorating this next month– perhaps for Valentine’s! Wishing everyone who celebrates a very festive and abundant Lunar New Year!

A book I read—

The Finnish Way: Finding Courage, Wellness, and Happiness Through the Power of Sisu by Katja Pantzar: This book is an informative book about Finnish sisu. This feeling and way of living is a bit hard to translate into English, as there isn’t a perfect word for it. The main idea of sisu is the importance of experiencing tests and challenges that allow us to see what we are capable of. It’s kind of like the foundation of grit, perseverance, and resilience. Author Katja Pantzar explains how sisu is found in the Finnish diet, education system, outdoor activities, and more. It was such a joy reading this book as we traveled around Finland, as it gave me further insight into the culture of the country we were visiting.

WE TRIED ICE SWIMMING and a FINNISH SAUNA (and we rolled in the snow)

This experience was, by far, the craziest and most nerve-wracking thing we’ve ever done on our travels. Here is a link to the video.

TRYING FINNISH FOOD for the FIRST TIME (our first impressions)

We spent a full day getting our very first taste of Finnish cuisine and filmed all our thoughts and opinions. Here is a link to the video.

FIRST CLASS OVERNIGHT TRAIN in FINLAND (private room with shower)

Finland might have one of the nicest overnight trains in the entire world, and we give a full tour of one of their “first class” rooms. Here is a link to the video.

WE CROSSED the ARCTIC CIRCLE in FINLAND (and met Santa Claus)

You can’t visit Finland without visiting good old Santa Claus. Our encounter left us thinking hard about life when he gave us some expected words of wisdom. Here is a link to the video.

GLASS ROOF TEEPEE in FINLAND and MUSHING HUSKIES (and northern lights)

We were able to successfully check off numerous bucket list items, including mushing sled dogs and seeing the northern lights. We also give a tour of the coolest accommodation we’ve ever stayed at. Here is a link to the video.

If you’re interested—

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Claire (and Chad)