Kaushik’s Family Trip Through Time, Silence, and Snow in Finland

Some journeys are planned for adventure. Others for relaxation. But the rarest kind - the ones that stay with you forever - are the ones you do not even know you need.

This trip to Finland was supposed to be a break, a chance for my family and me to step away from the humdrum of daily life. But what we did not realise was that these lands, with their endless landscapes, quiet villages, and the sheer presence of nature, would not just be a change of scenery - they would change us.

The moment we landed in Helsinki, I sensed it. There was something about this place - the air was fresh, the people moved without hurry, and the city felt like it had learned the art of balance. It was not chaotic, yet it was not dull. It simply was.

And maybe that is what Finland does best - it teaches you to exist fully in the moment.

In Search of Stillness in Helsinki & Rovaniemi

Helsinki greeted us with its old-world charm and modern soul, where cobblestone streets met sleek trams, and the sea stretched beyond the city’s edges. We spent hours wandering through Market Square, sipping on hot coffee and biting into Finnish cinnamon rolls while the sweet warmth melted the last traces of travel fatigue.

But it was by the docks, watching the ferries glide across the water, that I felt it first - the unspoken stillness. A kind of peace that did not need silence, but rather, the right rhythm.

That night, we boarded the Santa Claus Express that took us through Lapland, deep into the untouched wilderness of Finland. There was something magical about sleeping as the train gently rocked, knowing that by morning, we would wake up in a place far removed from the ordinary.

And then, there it was - Rovaniemi. Even without snow, it looked like a fairy tale, wrapped in emerald forests and rivers that reflected the sky like a dream.

At Santa Claus Village, my daughter ran toward the Arctic Circle line, giggling as she stepped across, “officially” entering the Arctic. And as I watched her, I could not help but wonder - when had I stopped believing in magic?

Perhaps it was never about believing in Santa Claus, but rather, in the beauty of unexpected joy.

The Beauty of Norway’s Fjords

From Finland, we flew to Oslo and went on a journey into the heart of Norway’s fjords. It is hard to describe what it feels like to sail through Sognefjord, surrounded by mountains so high they seem to touch the clouds.

The water was impossibly blue and stretched endlessly between cliffs that had stood for centuries, carved by glaciers that had long since disappeared. There was a quiet hum in the air - not silence, but something deeper. A kind of presence. At one point, I leaned against the boat’s railing to watch a waterfall spill from the cliffs like a silver ribbon. My wife stood beside me, without saying a word.

Sometimes, nature does not need to impress you with its grandeur. It simply asks you to listen.

And so, we did.

The Sun Refuses to Sleep in Lofoten

Lofoten is not a place. It is a feeling. A painting comes to life, where pointed peaks rise straight from the sea while their sharp edges are softened by the golden glow of the midnight sun.

We stayed in Svolvær, a small fishing town where the air smelled of salt and woodsmoke. Our days were spent exploring villages like Å, one of the shortest-named places in the world, where red cabins sat on stilts over the water.

That evening, we sat on the pier in Svolvær, watching the sky refuse to darken. The sun hovered above the horizon to cast an eternal twilight. I had never seen a sunset so long, so reluctant to leave.

And in that soft and golden glow, I understood that I had spent so much of my life chasing time when all I ever needed was to sit still and watch it unfold.

The Whale’s Goodbye in Andenes

On our last day, we travelled to Andenes, where we set out into the Arctic waters for a whale safari. The sea stretched endlessly and the wind played with my daughter’s hair as we waited.

Then, a humpback whale surfaced.
For a moment, everything stopped. No one spoke. We simply watched as this enormous creature broke through the waves, its breath a mist against the sky, before it arched gracefully and disappeared beneath the surface again.

It was a moment of awe, of insignificance, of connection.
I turned to my family, and I could see it in their eyes - we had all felt the same thing. A realisation that the world is vast, beautiful, and so much greater than our small worries and routines.

A Farewell to the North

As our plane took off from Tromsø, I thought about what this journey had given us.

Along with breathtaking views, it was the gift of presence - the ability to be fully in the moment, without rushing to the next.

In these lands where nature still rules, where silence speaks louder than words, we have found something we did not even know we were looking for. 

A moment to simply exist, without expectation, without urgency.
And maybe that is what the North teaches you.
Not how to chase life, but how to savour it.

Read More: Thrillophilia Finland Reviews