Northern Lights and Nordic Nights: A Journey through Finland

Under a sky streaked with vibrant greens and purples, Heather and Bob Westendarp and Rochelle and Alan Jacobson stood in awe, soaking in the surreal beauty of the Northern Lights – a moment that made their Finnish adventure this fall feel like stepping into another world. Drawn by tales of glass igloos, Sami traditions, and unspoiled landscapes, they’d come seeking a glimpse of Nordic magic. What they found was far more: a journey filled with snow-dusted forests, fiery saunas, and the warmth of Finland’s people, whose resilience shines even in the darkest winters.

“We figured we’d see fall foliage, but we got snow!” Rochelle laughed. “It was just so pretty.”

Entrance to the spectacular Tivoli Gardens, an amusement park in Copenhagen that was built 100 years ago;

The group joined a trip organized by Backroads, a travel company specializing in active, immersive experiences. Known for connecting travelers with local cultures through activities like hiking, biking, and kayaking, Backroads provided the ideal setting for Heather and Rochelle’s journey into Finland’s remote wilderness, with plenty of hiking into the dramatic Finnish countryside.

Rochelle, as is often the case, was the one who came up with the idea for the trip. “Alan and I had been to Helsinki, but we hadn't explored Finland,” she said.

“We started in Helsinki,” Heather recalls, “which was unbelievable – the architecture, the food, the culture were so different from ours, so beautiful.” While wandering through the city, they stumbled upon a breathtaking Lutheran church.

COLD WEATHER, WARM FRIENDSHIP Friends making a sitting train in Rovaniemi, Finland.

“There was this sphere, maybe 45 feet in circumference, hanging from the ceiling,” Heather explains. “It was how people see Earth from the moon, slowly rotating. And it was spellbinding. I thought, ‘This place has something that I need to discover.’”

Their exploration continued with a visit to Helsinki’s fish market, where Heather tried pickled and fried fish in an open-air setting. “It was an outdoor market and there were picnic tables, and everybody in the town was enjoying it,” she says, noting how the community feel of the market reminded her of similar gatherings back in Houston.

Leaving Helsinki, the group headed north to Rovaniemi, a town known for its winter wonderland landscapes. “The first day that we hiked, there was definite snow on the ground and a very heavy layer of ice underneath, so many of us fell,” Heather recalled. Her husband had to go to the hospital with whiplash after falling on his backpack. “None of us expected snow so early.”

At the Northern Lights Ranch, their accommodations were as unique as their surroundings: glass igloos scattered in the woods. Each igloo offered a view of the northern sky, where the auroras made a fortuitous appearance.

FINN-TASTIC Clockwise, from top left: Rochelle at Santa Claus Village with Santa Claus, who had the longest beard ever (“He must be real,” said Rochelle).

“It was like somebody took a beautiful green watercolor brush and slashed it across the sky,” Heather recalls of the first night they saw the lights. “It would come and go in intensity, kind of like a ghost.”

Their guides introduced them to some quintessential Finnish experiences, beginning with a sauna ritual. The wood-fired sauna stood near a lake, and after sweating in the intense heat, they plunged into the icy waters.

“For Finns, the sauna is almost like a religion,” Heather notes, recalling the sweat lodge ceremony of Indigenous people in North America. “It’s a spiritual experience.”

A highlight of the trip was meeting an Indigenous Sami singer who introduced the group to Sami culture and the importance of reindeer to their way of life. The Sami are the Indigenous people of the region, and they live entirely off the reindeer, caring for them and nurturing them, Heather explains. Reindeer meat provides all the vitamins and nutrients they need, since the animals graze on a variety of local plants. “And he did amazing storytelling and drums and, oh, it was just magnificent,” she said.

From left: Heather Westendarp, Gloria Bluestone, and Rochelle Jacobson on a Rovaniemi hike.

The group’s adventure also took them to Santa Claus Village, where they met “Santa” himself and mailed postcards from his official post office, much to the delight of their friends and family back home.

“I'm Jewish, but I have a lot of friends that aren't Jewish, so I sent them all traditional postcards. And it turns out that Santa runs an amazing post office.” It took less than a week for Heather’s postcards to arrive. “I could not even believe it when people were calling and saying, oh my God, I got your Santa postcard.”

She got to sit right next to Santa and ask him about how it feels to give gifts to people all over the world.

“He was the most precious, precious human and with the largest feet I've ever seen, ever,” she said with a laugh. “And the longest beard, curly and beautiful, and a beautiful voice. He was so kind, it was like we were really talking to Santa.”

On their last night in Finland and on their final Backroads trip before leaving for Copenhagen, they were given a parting gift.

The majestic Northern Lights were “like the kind you dream of. Like the kind you see in the magazines,” said Heather.

“We had northern lights that totally unfolded, magnificently – like the kind you dream of. Like the kind you see in the magazines,” she said. “And it came, and it crescendoed. It started off really soft and we were thinking, oh, not such a show. But if you were patient and you stayed out there, you watched them crescendo, ebb and flow. And we saw pinks, we saw greens and purples.

“And I felt like that is really like this country. It just kind of unfolded in these ebbs and flows. Beautiful.”

Reflecting on the trip, Heather says she felt profoundly affected by the Finnish way of life and the warmth of its people.

“These people are exceptionally warm, as in, kind and open and friendly,” she observed. “They want to know about you. They're interested. They're very wonderful people. And really funny! They have a lot of humor – even when they are going through dark times.”

The travelers learned that Finland has been repeatedly ranked as the world's happiest country, right up there with Bhutan. Asked to reflect on why that might be, Heather didn’t hesitate.

Heather warns to be careful of inadvertently stepping in these bike lanes in Copenhagen – the bikes go 30 mph!

“I think community, I really do. I think they see that as a major resource because of the darkness,” she said. “They are very happy people. The guides that I met, they felt like they had a light on inside of them. And they have a lot of wisdom.”

There's an old saying that one of the guides shared with her that reflects the Finnish values of modesty and shyness.

“There's no need to boast about your success and achievements,” the saying goes. “Instead, stay humble and let your happiness be quietly cherished.”

Heather left Finland with a newfound appreciation for a culture that thrives in the face of nature’s extremes. “The Finns have a word, sisu, that embodies the Finnish concept of strength, determination, willpower, and courage. It reflects the mindset of persevering through challenges just as one must keep moving even when trudging through heavy snow,” Heather reflects. “I would go back in a heartbeat.”

Heather and Bob Westendarp with Santa – Rovaniemi is known for being the "official" hometown of Santa Claus.

Tips from Our Travelers

From Heather Westendarp

Worth the splurge: Alchemist in Copenhagen if you can get a reservation – we couldn't!

Don’t miss: Tivoli Park, an amusement park built in 1800 in Copenhagen, is a must. The Louisiana Museum in Copenhagen; Design Museum Denmark; Louisiana Museum in Copenhagen; Rock Church in Helsinki 

Favorite restaurants: Aamanns 1921; Pluto; Fiskebar (all in Copenhagen)

Currency exchange: Finland – Euro; Denmark – Krone

Packing: If you’re not going in summer, pack layers.

Don’t forget: Rain gear.

Local favorite: Finland – sauna; Denmark – open-face sandwiches (Aamanns 1921 is the best place for these – even the herring ones are incredible).

Safety tip: Copenhagen has bike lanes everywhere with bikers going 30 mph – do not inadvertently step in one, which is easy to do.

Unexpected hit: Fish market in Helsinki; watching the changing of the guards in Copenhagen.