We are now back in Sweden, after two fantastic months in Finland and Åland. The first few days in our home country we thought we would take it easy at a campsite, but it was anything but peaceful there ... what a circus!
Table of contents
An amazing journey through Finland!
What a fantastic trip we had through Finland! We thought that we would be able to cover the coastline much faster, but it turned out that there were so many pearls and so a lot to see. In total (if we count Åland), there were two months in Finland ...
We've made a concerted effort to write moderate reports on each place, which can serve as guides for others travelling along the Finnish coast. It's impossible to keep up with the pace of our travelling, so more stories will be added over time. So far you can read about the following great places:
Back in Sweden
Now we are back in Sweden again. After visiting Oulu, we travelled across the border between Finland and Sweden. Tornio and Haparanda.
This border is quite fascinating, as the cities are largely intertwined and the border runs through the centre of built-up areas. It is hard to imagine that the border was actually closed, and that there were riot fences between the two countries, during the pandemic.
In and around Haparanda we have also seen several really nice places, which we will of course tell you more about eventually! For example, the header picture is from Haparanda harbour, where there is a very nice and affordable parking space.
Camping in Haparanda - what a circus!
Our first encounter with a Swedish campsite (Haparanda camping) was not as peaceful as expected, although this is a nice place, but a bit of a circus. During two days we had to change places no less than four times ...!
There are apparently new owners who have recently taken over Haparanda camping, and we hope that in time they will be able to organise what we experienced as a mess. The best thing about this campsite is:
- Great locations close to the Torne River, in some cases right on the waterfront, with views of Finland.
- Good location with walking or cycling distance to the city centre, IKEA and more.
- Happy and friendly staff at reception
However, we have to admit that the price shocked us a little. If you have to put up with broken lights, deep holes in the ground, messy rubbish areas and horror film dark corridors to the toilets, it helps if the price is slightly lower than 420 SEK/day. Well, we paid nicely and thought we would have two quiet days. It didn't really turn out that way ...
The seat we were given, number 4, turned out to be occupied. But don't worry about the roof! Can we maybe stand by the quay instead, where you have such a nice view? Yes, we got seat 48 and the girl explained that we would not get anyone next to us on the right side. "We can't sell seat 49, because it will be too crowded in the corner", she explained. Ok, perfect. We moved to 48.
"Could you move a little to the right?", asked the Norwegian who got seat 47. The seats are narrow and the Norwegian said that we would be too close to each other. We were actually in the centre of seat 48, but since we had been told that the 49 would not be sold, we offered to move a bit. We packed up, rolled a few metres, and stood a little diagonally across 48/49.
"Can you move? This customer has booked seat 49"another girl from the reception suddenly asked. It was now day two. "But we thought you don't sell that spot?", we asked. "Not really, but this customer has booked seat 49 online, and they definitely want to stand here." (At the time, there were lots of other vacancies with a sea view). "Would you, pleasecould you move a bit...?" Ok, again we packed up our stuff. Now the Norwegian had left, so we stood in the middle of the 48 again.
Do you really mean to stand like this ...? We just yelled when the new motorhome backed into place 49. We stood on 48, facing the river, just as all the other motorhomes had stood before. (One usually tries to stand in the same direction, so that each motorhome gets its "own" space for outdoor furniture at the door side, without having to collide with the neighbour.) However, this motorhome chose to back in, so that their open door ended up opposite our open door, with very little air between. Without saying hello, they started taking out their outdoor furniture. So, really ...?
Here's how we didn't want to spend the evening. Although most of the other pitches on the campsite were suddenly vacant, we and the new neighbours shared the same few square metres of outdoor space ... Peter went up to the reception and asked if we could switch places. Yes, we could move to pitch 46 ...
"We have place 50", we suddenly heard a caravan family say to the motorhome in site 49. When someone is standing on site 49, it is impossible to get a place in number 50, and we followed the circus from a distance. The caravan first moved to 48, and a little later they moved on to 44 ... Phew, what a circus!
Best this week
The best thing about this week is that we can look forward to a fantastic trip in Finland, while we are now looking forward to discovering northern Sweden. Of course, it is also fun that we had Record number of visitors to FREEDOMtravel in July.
Your turn ... what is the most positive aspect of the week?
The week ahead
In the coming week, we will continue to look around northern Sweden at a relatively leisurely pace. Here at FREEDOMtravel you can count on continued reports from Finland - we still have a lot to tell you about!
Did you miss the last Happy Friday? Read the Motorhome fix - finally fixed stuff in the motorhome!
Ewa Axelsson says:
Don't miss the pitch in Jävre; sea view and much cheaper than Happis.
04 August 2023 - 8:59
Helena says:
Thanks for the tips! 😍👍
04 August 2023 - 13:39
Helena from Finland says:
Interesting with camping life. You never know who and what you will encounter🤣🤣. Seems like the mess is inherited at Haparanda camping. The location is great but as you write, price and standard probably do not really go hand in hand. Some years ago we stood there but I experienced the corridor to the shower and toilet as eerie. Did not want to go alone. The last few times we have chosen to stand in Ikea's car park. Close to going home to Finland if you get homesick 🤣🤣🤣🤣
04 August 2023 - 11:27
Helena says:
I can understand that it's a bit confusing in the beginning when you take over a campsite, but if you know that you don't have full control of the situation, it might be good to start with a slightly lower price, then it's easier to be lenient ... And haha, yes, from the Ikea car park it's really not far to Finland 😜.
08 August 2023 - 6:40
Maria says:
Wow, wow, wow... it was a circus! Yes, sometimes you think a little about public behaviour. Makes me think of a time when we stood very nicely and one came and backed in slammed the door open and put on football on TV inside the door... It was our quiet calm evening with a sea view....
The best part of the week is meeting the kids!!!
04 August 2023 - 14:58
Helena says:
Oh yes, yes, anything can happen on camping ...!!! Funny in retrospect, but certainly not so funny at the time ... Nice to meet the kids!
08 August 2023 - 6:41
BP says:
Don't really know if this post fits in the "Happy Friday" category, but in retrospect, you'll remember both the outrageous price and all the moves. Unbelievable really. You should have demanded your money back or at least asked for a price reduction.
04 August 2023 - 17:46
Helena says:
Haha, you have a point there!!!
08 August 2023 - 6:42
Lena - good for the soul says:
Haha, yes you can call it a circus! It was at least entertaining to read about! 🙂 But can believe that it was not so fun for you there and then.
Hug Lena
07 August 2023 - 12:57
Helena says:
Most fun afterwards perhaps ... 😜
08 August 2023 - 6:43
Monica says:
Seems very hard work and annoying to say the least. Strange that it is not better organised but probably staff who are unfamiliar and lack training.
Welcome home now!
07 August 2023 - 23:19
Helena says:
They had recently taken over so probably hadn't got things organised yet. But if they had started with a slightly lower price, you could have been a little more lenient ...
08 August 2023 - 6:44
Kjell Mäki says:
The new contractors who took over the campsite on 7 July are working intensively to sort out and correct what has been, including freeing themselves from fixed camping prices and agreements signed by the previous contractor. They are building and refurbishing the facility and will show a completely different face and a newly opened restaurant for next season. Despite all the ongoing work, including the ongoing completion of a 200 sqm new terrace, they took care of us 53 teams and 99 participants in the Caravan Club Norrbotten section this past weekend in a charming way and fixed us a fantastic dinner and table setting in the part that previously served as a restaurant. All 99 participants awarded gold stars to the absolutely fantastic entrepreneurs who are happy and grateful to receive development tips and ideas from us campers.
02 September 2023 - 12:33