From Kuusamo to Kemi

Getting back to our journey in Finland, when I last left you Julie and I were exploring the west end of Tyräjärvi, a lake that my Raisanen ancestors lived on back to the 1600s. After stopping at the boat ramp along the lake, we came across a small museum that was closed. This would surely have shed some important background on the family’s presence in the area. Almost across the road from this place Julie would spot two mailboxes with the Raisanen name.

Continuing on toward Taivalkoski through this rural landscape we took note of the presence of numerous bus stops in what was often the middle of nowhere. Public transportation in Finland clearly has a much higher priority than what we see in the United States.

In Taivalkoski I had hoped the library might be open as there is a family tree there that includes my Raisanen ancestors. Unfortunately, being Sunday, the library was closed. I have run across a photo of the tree (which covers a wall in the library) online and it would have been amazing to see it in person.

From Taivalkoski we would drive to the Hotelli Pikku-Syöte for lunch. This was a place I had stayed two years ago when I did the Border to Border Ski. The drive on the backroads to get to this ski resort was beautiful. We would have a very nice lunch enjoying the spectacular view.

I put together a short video of our drive getting there that you can find on the Remote Workforce Keweenaw YouTube channel at this link:

From Pikku-Syöte we would drop down to Sotkajarvi where my ancestor Anna Manninen was born in 1770. We would come across one historic structure here dating back to the late 1600s. We then stopped in nearby Pudasjarvi to gas up. One really curious feature at the grocery store here is what appeared to be a place to kennel your dog while you shop.

We would then drive southwest of Pudasjarvi to Hetejarvi where my ancestor Carin Hiltunen was born in 1722. We would drive southward from there to Muhos and Laitasaari. This was the place that my gg-grandparents Jacob Holappa (he took that name when his father Paavo Raisanen moved his family from the Kuusamo area to the Holappa farm) and Kaisa Ketola (whose ancestry includes names including Hamala, Keranen, Kesti, Nurro, Salow, and Svahn) left from when they came to the Keweenaw in 1888 to settle in Atlantic Mine.

While in Muhos I caught a photo of this cool fish sculpture.

We would stop in Laitasaari where there was an interesting interpretive sign along the Oulu River. I was not familiar with this “Birch and Star” short story but will look to follow up on it now that I have returned.

We were starting to run short on daylight as we arrived in Oulu, but we spent some time driving the city and stopped at this square with this large Lutheran Church.

Our day would end on the Baltic Sea in Kemi where we would stay at the Hotel Merihovi. I had also stayed here during the Border to Border Ski. I like its proximity to the sea where this public sauna is located within easy walking distance on the waterfront.

We would come across this cool little pocket park along our way back to the hotel. Although the streets were practically empty, Julie engaged an older gentleman in a conversation who was out walking his dog that was from Spain. This led to a humorous discussion about what language the dog understood.

There was a grocery store located in the small shopping mall across from the hotel where we were able to pick up salads and light dinner items which we enjoyed back at the Merihovi.

Follow along next time as we work our way back up to Rovaniemi by way of Tornio!