The cottage: the Finnish survival camp

The Cottage, February 17th, 2018.

This weekend has been special for us because we had the opportunity to spend it in a Finnish-style cottage. A cottage is a small house in a rural or semi-rural area, usually near a lake or body of water. These types of houses are mainly used as vacation homes in summer or winter, and it’s quite common for families to own one. This particular cottage is located about 40 km from Savitaipale (approximately a 45-minute drive) and is roughly at the same latitude as Mikkeli.

Since it was a small cabin and we only had one car, all five WorkAway volunteers couldn’t go. Two of them were staying in Savitaipale for several months, but three of us would be there for a shorter time. So, we were the ones who went, along with the husband of our WorkAway host (the owner of the cottage) and their adorable dog, Camo.

The day before, we had been warned to bring extra layers of clothing, as there was no electricity, and the temperature would be much lower than in Savitaipale. At least one or two more layers than we usually wore here. So, we packed as much warm clothing as possible—better to have too much than too little!

On our way to the cottage

We left yesterday morning around 11:00. Before departing, we packed our backpacks, took a shower, and went to the supermarket to buy some supplies since we didn’t know if we would need them later. We bought oranges, snacks, bread, juice, chicken, and a can of beans in tomato sauce. In any case, we knew that the cottage owner was bringing food for everyone, so at least we wouldn’t starve.

Once everything was ready, we got in the car and set off for the cottage. The road was beautiful, surrounded by snow-covered trees, especially when we left the main road and entered the rural “road.” I was amazed at how calmly the owner drove on the snow because it could be quite dangerous if the car slipped… If any of the three of us volunteers had been driving, there’s no way we would have gone at that speed.

When we arrived, the first thing we did was clear the snow from the outdoor areas (entrances, terrace, paths…) and light two stoves and the fireplace. One stove was in the kitchen and the other was in the room where we were going to sleep.

This is how the cottage looks from the lake:

The cottage in detail

The main building had four rooms: the kitchen, the bedroom, the sauna, and the summer room. However, these rooms weren’t connected, so to move between them, you had to go outside.

The kitchen

A fully equipped kitchen, as you can see in the photo:

The main room

A bedroom, consisting of a bunk bed with two double mattresses, a couple of nightstands, and a rack filled with winter clothing, such as coats, mountain suits, and even a pair of boots. Here’s what it looked like inside, with Camo as our model:

The cottage sauna

It had two sections: the dressing room and the wood-fired sauna. The dressing room contained buckets of water, hangers, and a couple of cabinets. And the sauna was, well, a sauna 🙂

The porch

Between the three rooms, there was an outdoor porch with a small table and a staircase leading to the terrace, where the fireplace and some chairs were. The terrace faced the lake and offered spectacular views, as seen in this picture:

The summer room

Finally, on one side of the house was the summer room. It’s called that because, unlike the other rooms, its walls are made of glass, making it too cold to use in winter. However, I wanted to try spending a night there because, unlike the other three rooms, it wasn’t covered, and you could see the lake from the bed. Unfortunately, I forgot to take a picture of this room.

The bathroom

The other building, located about 30 meters from the main one, had two rooms: one with a toilet and another for storing firewood. This toilet was quite curious because, without running water or electricity, you had to sprinkle a special kind of sawdust over your waste to absorb it.

Here’s the toilet from the outside…

And from the inside:

Ice Fishing: Another Attempt

Once we had settled in, the first thing we did was give ice fishing another shot. We drilled two holes—one close to the shore and another about 50 meters further into the lake. However, we abandoned the first hole and put all our hopes into the one in the center. We left the hook there and walked away; we weren’t going to sit around for hours waiting for nothing… If a fish took the bait, we’d see it later.

Lunchtime

After wandering around for a bit, it was time for lunch. We had lentil soup, which was much appreciated since it was warm. Here, we had to keep two things in mind: first, we had no electricity, so everything was done the old-fashioned way. Second, we had no running water, so we had to get it in two ways. For drinking, we had bottles of water we brought from home. For everything else (cooking, washing hands, showering, etc.), we used buckets of water from the lake. Obviously, there was no internet either, which I actually appreciated.

Exploring the surroundings

After lunch, one of my fellow volunteers and I went for a walk while the others took a nap. As you know, whenever I visit a new place, I don’t like spending the afternoon sleeping or doing nothing. So, after checking if we had caught any fish (of course, we hadn’t), we headed to the other side of the lake, where the forest was.

Walking there was an adventure because everything was covered in snow, and you never knew how deep it was. I walked like a grandma—super slow and afraid of falling. And for good reason! You could take a step and suddenly sink up to your knee. More than once, I almost slipped, and at one point, I stepped into a hole that turned out to be a tree or a log—who knows—and I almost sank up to my waist. Crazy!

I know I’ve said this many times already, but I still find it incredible how silent and peaceful these places are. The only sounds were our footsteps and breathing, and when we stopped, I felt like I could hear my heartbeat. At one point, we lay down in the snow and could feel the snowflakes gently falling on our faces. A truly soothing sensation.

As the sun started to set, we left the forest and returned to the lake. We set ourselves two challenges: first, to walk in a large, perfect circle; and second, to write our names in the snow with our footsteps. Here’s the result:

The sauna experience

Preparing the sauna

Once the others woke up, it was time to prepare the sauna. Since we had no electricity or running water, we had to do it the traditional way. First, using the hole we had drilled in the lake for fishing, we drew about six buckets of water to fill the sauna heater. Then, we filled three more buckets for showering. As mentioned before, without running water, we had to shower using buckets.

We put on our swimsuits and entered the sauna. My fellow volunteers had warned me that the owner might go in naked, as is the Finnish tradition… and he did. At first, it was a bit awkward, but you get used to it. Although, honestly… without my glasses, I can’t see much anyway!

A unique experience

Before entering the sauna, you first had to rinse off using water from the buckets. However, not all buckets had the same temperature—two had hot water, and one had ice-cold water. This sauna was different from both the one in the Savitaipale house and the public sauna. It was smaller and much hotter. The owner wanted to raise the temperature even more, pouring ladles of water onto the stones like crazy.

Every time he poured a ladle of water, you could feel your whole body burning. Literally. One time, instead of pouring one ladle, he poured two, and we almost died. It was like having Tabasco poured all over your body! Besides, we had the feeling that when we poured the ladle ourselves, it was much milder than when the man did it. And yet, apparently, it was the same amount of water…

After about 15 minutes in the sauna, we stepped outside. The first time was just to drink water because I was starting to get dehydrated. A few minutes later, I went out to stay outside. It felt amazing because you didn’t feel cold at all, but rather a refreshing sensation. You could see how your skin released steam as if you were a radiator. During this hour and a bit in the sauna, we went in and out several times, trying different ways of stepping outside—with a towel, without a towel, dry, wet… and I have to say, going out dry and with a towel is the best way to avoid getting cold. Until then, I had always gone out wet and without a towel, but now I know what the best practice is.

The importance of drinking water

While in the sauna, it’s very important to drink water from time to time because otherwise, you can get dehydrated and dizzy. So that’s what we did. There was a thermometer inside the sauna, and it usually showed around 70°C, going up to 80°C when we poured more ladles of water. When we finally got tired of the sauna, we used water from the basin to rinse off as a sort of shower, then changed into dry clothes.

Dinner at the Cottage

For dinner, we had sausages with bread, margarine, cheese, cold cuts, and chicken—all cooked over the bonfire outside, making everything warm and delicious. I think I’ve never eaten so much bread with margarine and cheese in my life. We waited quite a while for the chicken to cook slowly, and it was definitely worth it because it turned out exquisite. After dinner, we sat around the bonfire for a while, gazing at the stars. The night sky was spectacular—completely clear, with all the stars looking so close and incredibly sharp.

The nighttime odyssey

Since there wasn’t enough space for each of us to have a separate bed, we had to get creative with the sleeping arrangements. The owner of the cottage slept on the bottom bunk with his dog, while the three of us volunteers slept on the top bunk. Luckily, I got the outer corner because I knew I’d have to get up in the middle of the night to go to the bathroom… and that’s exactly what happened.

It was a whole odyssey. First, because it was pitch dark, I had to climb down from the bunk bed with my headlamp. Second, because the bathroom was about 200 meters away, and walking that distance in the middle of the night, without light, in freezing temperatures—you can imagine. I didn’t put on all my layers, just the essential ones. I hurried as much as I could, and fortunately, nothing unexpected happened. But still, I’m so glad I didn’t feel the need to go back again…

When I returned, I saw that the owner had turned the heating back on, and we all started sweating. It was quite a peculiar night, but despite everything, we somehow managed to sleep for about 10 hours. We even woke up feeling tired from sleeping so much (or at least trying to)…

Cuando volví del lavabo vi que el señor había vuelto a encender la calefacción y empezamos a sudar todos. Fue una noche un tanto peculiar pero aún así entre una cosa y otra dormimos como 10 horas. Incluso nos levantamos cansados de tanto dormir (o intentar hacerlo)…

And you? Have you ever stayed in a Finnish cottage? Let me know in the comments section below!