Finland. Starting in Helsinki we slowly made our way north using only the power of our thumbs!
The trickiest part of our trip was getting away from the airport, surrounded by motorways we struggled to find a spot to actually start trying to hitch a ride. Getting people to stop while they are doing 70kmph most of whom are going to Helsinki city centre (the wrong direction) is just as hard as it sounds. We studied our map and found the nearest road that headed north, unfortunately this was about a 2 hour walk away in the blazing heat and all our possessions on our backs. We finally arrived and found the next slip road and tried our luck, I’d never hitchhiked before and after an hour or so with the light fading, my optimism was wearing thin. Thankfully however, a very kind woman going to work pulled over to tell us what an awful spot we were in for hitchhiking, she tried directing us to somewhere better but in the end bundled us in the car and took us there and better yet, was right next to a picturesque lake where we could pitch up for the night.
And what a good spot it was, after packing up and standing on the road for less than 30 minutes, we had our next lift heading a bit further north. We didn’t actually have a plan about where we wanted to get to each day, Finland’s “Everyman’s Right” law means you can pretty much camp where ever you like as long as you’re respectful and clean up after, this meant that all we had in mind was our final destination and 5 days to get there, so anyone travelling in our direction, no matter how far, was a lift worth taking. Apart from the first one in Helsinki, I don’t think we ever waited longer than 45 minutes to get our next ride, we were actually travelling too fast by the end and even had to cut a few car rides short to avoid arriving too early! The generosity and friendliness of the people we met in Finland was amazing.
A beautiful camping spot was never hard to find, we even stumbled across an abandoned camp site one evening and had it all to ourselves. We found mattress’s to put under the tent for extra padding, had a fire pit with a never ending supply of fire wood, and best of all an abundance of blueberry bushes that were a excellent addition to our morning porridge. If you are looking for a hitchhiking experience, I can’t think of many places better than Finland in the summer to have your adventure. I will never forget this trip!
See all of Mara and my photo highlights below:
