Finding Petronella
A young woman, a 90-year-old Lappish legend, and the journey of a lifetime.
Drawn by something I could not define, I walked the road to Monikkala manor. It seemed vaguely familiar, like a road I had walked in a dream last December. The crunch...
I knew this would come, but I kind of hoped it wouldn’t. Today’s journey found me in a town called Kotka. It was the last destination I had to check off the list of...
When I first set out to retrace Petronella’s steps across Finland, I was under the impression that she walked straight from Helsinki to Lapland. While that would be pretty impressive, in reality...
“Are you going to work again? I’d rather you take a sauna.” Eija Heikura is about half my height, but I know better than to argue. Inside that tiny woman’s...
A Difficult Beginning… said the monitor at Oslo International, and I cursed in every language I knew and wished I had read that before I missed my flight to Helsinki....
Now put my bag on the conveyor belt And drink the last cup in one go Soon from above the clouds I will remember this land I don’t have a certain course...
My sister Caitlin sleeps on the couch across from me, unwilling to leave my side in favor of a more comfortable bed. I am curled into my favorite chair which has been reupholstered from...
Exactly one month from today, I land in Helsinki to begin my adventure! I cannot believe that the one month mark has arrived so soon. It feels like I have been...
Tickets to Finland are booked! Scandinavian Airlines: 16-Jun-14 (Mon) 06:55p depart Newark (EWR) flight change in Oslo 17-Jun-14 (Tue) 06:15pm arrive Helsinki, Finland (HEL) 13-Oct-14 (Mon) 01:55pm depart Helsinki, Finland (HEL)...
Camp is set, our climbing gear is ready, and we hear the roar of a bus engine. Forty-six 6th grade girls pour down the stairs, giggling, screaming, laughing. Apples roll from lunch...
Finding Petronella 