I only had limited time in Finland, and while I’m sure Helsinki is a beautiful city, sometimes you need to get out of the city! So we booked a day trip from Helsinki to the Nuuksio national park, where they have semi-domestic reindeer you can feed.

We had a guided walk through the national park, which was super helpful, because I wouldn’t have noticed the things our guide pointed out! For example, in some parts the ground was swampy, and he explained that the Finnish people often play football in swamps (they call it swamp football, and it gets messy!). He also pointed out wild blueberries growing, so we were able to pick wild blueberries and eat them there!

We found the reindeer, and fed them lichen, which they loved. They were really friendly and curious about us, but wandered off once they figured out all the food was gone. We then went into a big tipi to have fresh coffee from the fire and a cinnamon roll. I loved seeing the reindeer and the beautiful forests of Finland. It was a nice change from a city break.