Day 4: Holy Koli!

Part I - Break Sokos Hotel Koli Kylä

After having a (much needed) chance to sleep in a little bit, we've met up at the Wärtsilä campus of Karelia University with the group of the international and local Karelia students, and all loaded on to the bus that would take us to Koli National Park about 1-hour drive away.

Our first stop was Break Sokos Hotel Koli Kylä. The hotel will be celebrating its 1-year anniversary in upcoming June and took about 1.5 years to build. It features traditional Scandinavian design with widespread use of Finnish wood (that was also left unfinished in many areas of the hotel), live greenery, and the design pieces from Finnish artists.

Natural plants decorative wall

Wooden bench decorated with live plants

Green Key Certificate

Shelves with firewood for sale available to guests also serve as a decoration piece

The hotel has received a Green Key certification even prior to the building construction stage back in 2022. Through its use of renewable energy (LED lights, solar panels and geothermal heating), support of local businesses and food suppliers using collaborative and integrative approach, the use of intelligent automation in heating and cooling the hotel helps to preserve the area and community it does business in. In addition, eco-labeled cleaning products and work methods are used at the hotel. One of the interesting facts was that for general surface cleaning no chemicals are needed because the water with reduced surface tension is used for this purpose.

Part II - Kahvila Lentävä Luuta

For lunch (which is super early here in Finland, by the way), we stopped at Kahvila Lentävä Laura, the local family-owned café, that has been in business for about 2.5 years. The name of the café translates as "Flying Broom", hence, the decor choices made.

Almost everything is cooked in-house, the exception being the goods from local bakery.

One of the coolest design features of the space for me was the kulmakivi ("corner stone"). Kulmakivi is a traditional Finnish masonry stove, known for its efficient heat retention and multifunctional design. It is used both as a source of warmth for the home and a cooking appliance, typically built into a corner of older Finnish houses (consequently, the name is "kulma" - corner, "kivi" - stone). The particular oven at Lentävä Luuta was made from the locally sourced soapstone and manufactured and installed by Tulikivi Oyi, Kivimestarit JK Oy and Juha Ryynänen, with help from other companies.

Section of the café was recently dedicated to featuring the goods made by local artists.

The café is operating on the seasonal basis, and the owners were kind enough to accommodate and host us prior to their official season start.

Sigh at the entrance of the café

Exterior of the café

Kulmakivi

Recognition plaque

Part III - Kolin kansallispuisto

The biggest part of the day was surely the hike in Koli National Park. Some (more fit for this) students in the group went all the way to Mäkrä point through one of the longest trails. I enjoyed the observation points that were less crowded at the time - Akka-Koli and Ukko-Koli.

The views from the top of the rocky hills reminded me a lot of my home, Saint-Petersburg. The areas outside of the city there look very similar to those we got to see in Koli. I got a chance to have quite a bit of solo time, listening to music and admiring the views.

The one thing that I particularly enjoyed, especially at the park, was feeling the textures of the surroundings. Moss's texture, for example, was very surprising to me - it looked to be soft to touch, but in reality was very unexpectedly dry and felt almost like a low pile carpet. The rocks, while hard to touch, also were very smooth and slippery in some areas.

The time in nature always had a very therapeutic effect on me and this visit reminded me that I should spend more of my free time back home connecting with it.

The map of Koli National Park

In all honesty, it is best to see and feel Koli yourself rather than try and describe its beauty to anyone.

Happy "kids" after lots of hiking

Canadian students with our Finnish hosts

Hayam with our Finnish coordinator Riikka

Semi-meditation on Ukko-Koli

Evan and Burhan's take on the iconic scene from Titanic, Ukko-Koli

Part IV - Villa Ora's

The last stop of our excursion was Villa Ora's, the B&B type accommodation located just outside of the national park. Formerly a village school of 1940's, it was renovated by 3 female entrepreneurs back in 2020 and converted into a guesthouse. A lot of elements were kept the way they were originally planned and designed: the glass panels in the windows, the lumber base of the walls, the firewood heating system, etc.

Most of the areas are shared accommodation spaces and some can fit up to over 10 people at once.

The thing that stuck with me absolutely the most was the absolutely incredibly cold wooden floors! The business has a no-shoes-indoors policy and wool socks were provided to us to keep us comfortable during our tour. It was definitely incredibly interesting for me to FEEL that the area rugs serve not only decorative function, but also truly help during colder times to keep your feet just that much warmer.