Plunging into Winter in Estonia & Finland

Estonia and Finland go together like ice swimming and sauna. Both countries in northern Europe, separated by the Baltic Sea share deep cultural, linguistic, and historical ties. Their languages, Finnish and Estonian, come from the same Uralic language family, and both countries have strong ski and sauna cultures. For Lumi Experiences, perhaps the most striking similarity between the two countries is that they both have the same word for snow: Lumi.

Organizers for Estonia’s Tartu Ski Marathon and Finland’s Finlandia-Hiihto Ski Marathon intentionally schedule their Worldloppet races on back-to-back weekends, so skiers can participate in two Worldloppet events in just 8 days. In 2026, the Finlandia will be before the Tartu, and two weeks earlier – giving Birkie skiers time to fly back to the U.S. for the annual pilgrimage to Hayward, WI. 

Alice crossing the “Finiš” of the Tartu Marathon

This winter’s Tartu & Finlandia trip started in Tallinn, Estonia’s capital city on the Baltic last week. Everyone arrived early and enjoyed exploring the pedestrian streets of Tallinn’s Old Town, getting to know Tallinn’s rich history of control by various countries that dates back to medieval times. In Tartu, learning about Estonian culture continued with a private tour of the Estonian Olympic Museum, meeting with Tartu’s Deputy Mayor and visiting the international headquarters of the Worldloppet. Long-time Lumi guest Chris Zafren is on the trip and continuing her tradition of a daily watercolor painting on the trip. You can read more about Chris’ paintings in the Lumi blog post: Watercolors of Winter and on her website: chriszafrenart.com.

 Watercolor by Chris Zafren, Estonian Farmstead on the way to Tartu

Estonian trip leaders Ave and Margit were especially excited to show Lumi guests the original Song Festival grounds outside of the Worldloppet office. If you’ve heard about the “Singing Revolution” in Estonia – the peaceful protests that led to Estonia’s independence from the Soviet Union in 1991 with miraculously no bloodshed – you’ve likely seen photos of the song festival grounds in Tallinn, where over 30,000 singers gather to perform for over 60,000 spectators every 5 years. The Song Festival tradition actually started at the grounds in Tartu back in 1869. Next month, Tallinn’s Song Festival grounds will be home to FIS World Cup Sprint races!

Enjoying lunch in a Soviet-era farmhouse

Starting the trip to Lahti with a view from the top of the Ski Jump

Continuing 90 km north across the Baltic Sea to Helsinki, Finland, Lumi guests traveled two hours by ferry on a boat big enough to fit over a mile of cars and trucks. Three floors of restaurants ranging from Burger King to fine dining offer something for everyone. A duty free shop rivals any airport duty free store and features some fun souvenirs from both Estonia and Finland – like Finnish Fazer chocolates and Estonian honey.

 Learning about Estonia's Song Festival history with Tartu Ski Marathon race director Indrek

Now in Lahti, Finland, trip leaders Anita and Kyle are looking forward to sharing their favorite parts of Finnish winter culture with Lumi guests, including a visit to the Peltonen ski factory. By the end of this week, everyone will be skilled in the rhythm of ski–eat–sauna–plunge, before the Finlandia Worldloppet events this weekend.

A visit to the ski jump at the Tehvandi Sports Center’s World Cup venue in Otepää 

Would you like to experience Finnish and Estonian winter culture on the Lumi trip next winter? Next year’s Finlandia will be two weeks earlier, so you can join this trip and make it home in time for the Birkie. Reach out to see the itinerary and sign up by Monday, March 31 to receive the $300 / person early booking discount. The trip is already filling quickly for 2026!

 See you on the trail,

Garrott Kuzzy 

garrott@lumiexperiences.com

Founder & Olympian

Lumi Experiences

 Never one to follow rules, Ken picks up one of the barbells at the Estonian Olympic Museum to show off his strength