“This fish is delicious,” I said to the host. “It’s pike,” she told me. “Straight from our lake. And all the vegetables and salads are from our garden.”
Just three days after I moved to Finland, and there I was, beside a lake surrounded by forest.
I was at my friend Risto’s family summer cottage in Kirkkonummi, 30 kilometres (18 miles) from Helsinki. I normally don’t care for pike, but this was delicious. Perhaps it was the way Risto’s mother prepared it, or the magic of being around nature.
After lunch, I could have just relaxed, but there were chores to be done. I wanted to be part of the team. “Where do you want me to rake?” I asked.
Nature the only distraction
Not all Finnish cabins are primitive. Some have hot tubs and all the modern amenities.Photo: Joonas Linkola/Visit Tampere
A week later another friend invited me to spend a weekend at his family’s island cottage in the Åland Archipelago, off the southwest coast of Finland. There wasn’t much to distract us, between eating, tidying up, sauna bathing and sleeping.
So, we did lots of talking. Maybe sitting on the smooth granite rocks enjoying the seascapes, breathing the fresh sea air and bathing in the sun brought out the philosopher in us. Of course, we didn’t remember all our wonderful ideas after we left the island, but the feeling stayed with me.
Lake serenity
The long hours of daylight in Finland’s summer give plenty of time for leisure activities, from birdwatching to flower arranging.Photo: Terhi Tuovinen/Lapland Material Bank
I would later spend time at Ari’s cottage near Varkaus in eastern Finland. At a serene area of the lake, we would relax on his pier for hours, birdwatching, cloudspotting and feeding the fish that came by for free lunch. “I must feed my pets,” he said. “They love me.”
His cottage was only suitable for summer, so we sometimes stayed at his friend’s cottage in winter. There I was introduced to the great sport of ice golf. We also did cross-country skiing and ice fishing Afterwards, Mauri would serve homemade mulled wine to warm us up, and elk stew sourced from local hunters.
Rustic activities a welcome change
There is plenty of work to do in a rustic cabin, but many Finns find such chores a welcome change from their normal lives.Photo: Harri Tarvainen/Lapland Material Bank
I’ve been fortunate to visit many summer cottages. Almost all of them were next to a lake – with about 188,000 lakes in Finland, there is plenty of shoreline to go around. Every cottage had a sauna, either the standard kind or a special smoke sauna. Most of the cottages were fairly simple, with no running water and no electricity (though solar panels are becoming more common).
They require a lot of upkeep: chopping wood, fetching water, repairing docks, doors and windows, cleaning the interior, beating rugs, clearing debris, heating the sauna, cooking and seasonal chores such as picking berries and mushrooms. But Finns seem to love this kind of work.
Why would people in such a highly developed country want to spend time under such basic conditions? Finns will tell you they need to escape the pressures of demanding jobs and fast-paced city life. They’re looking for a temporary getaway from deadlines, overtime, taxes and traffic jams. They cherish nature and love to spend time embracing the traditions of their ancestors.
Then again, they might simply tell you, “We love and need these cottages.”
Therapeutic relaxation
The sauna is at the centre of nearly every summer cottage experience.Photo: Terhi Tuovinen/Lapland Material Bank
Why do I enthusiastically embrace this Finnish tradition? For me, relaxing in the country is deeply therapeutic. I love swimming in clean lake water, floating on a raft, fishing and rowing (or letting someone else row). Moreover, I love walking on a forest path, listening to the forest sounds, breathing in the woodland scents and trying to identify some of the hundreds of species of birds.
Spending time with friends – sitting outdoors, sipping coffee, having an amicable discussion, playing cards and sharing meals – is a perfect way to get to know them better.
Not all cottages are rustic. Teemu’s cottage, for example, was once a bustling farmhouse. Now it serves as a holiday home. Yet it still evokes a long-gone way of life. Old tractors and farm tools are scattered around. The many rooms are filled with vintage furniture and old-fashioned décor. Even the resident ghost seemed friendly and didn’t scare me when I went to bed.
I have wonderful memories of the summer cottages I’ve stayed at, each with its charm. I’ve appreciated them all. But with over half a million summer cottages in Finland, I still have many more to visit.
By Russell Snyder, June 2025
