three hours north, three hours east

Road trip formula: three hours north, then three hours east.

Raahe with sleepy streets, part of a hardrock concert (we're not hardrock people) and the longest wall in Finland.

Kalajoki with endless sand dunes and wine on a picnic blanket while watching beachvolley. A night in an 18th-century house, breakfast in a cosy kitchen with rain outside, discussing life choices, wind power and whether everything that connects people is good, with a German stranger. ("Even radicalism? How about sharing a bottle of wine tonight?")

Kajaani with grey streets, a good cup of coffee, Eino Leino and a charming little castle with a bridge running straight across it.

Iisalmi with an exotic Russian hotel (breakfast in the company of saints), a stormy lake, an art exhibition in Europe's longest birch alley and a typical Finnish pub night with beer.

And the rest: winding roads through forests and fields and flowers, Kekkonen's little cottage, singing hymns in the car, a hot sun, many sweets. The only thing we argued about was carbohydrates.

I came home with a white lace skirt and sand in my car.