Hanneke and Giovanni Grassi fell in love with Northern Finland at first sight fourteen years ago. A Dutch travel agency organized group trips to the snowy winter wonderland, where their family of four could enjoy winter activities and the breathtaking landscapes.
The Arctic weather conditions fascinated the Grassi family, and year after year, and snow-covered trees became a staple in their holiday photos. In recent years, as their children grew into adults, Hanneke and Giovanni started dreaming of a longer journey to the north.
Just three years ago, Giovanni worked as a buyer for a large company. Hanneke worked for the municipality. Their workdays followed the same routine, with the only view from their small office windows being a concrete wall. The adventure-seeking couple unexpectedly found themselves thinking about taking a break from their demanding jobs at the same time, and they began seriously planning their future.
“It felt liberating to hand in my resignation letter to my boss and step out of the rat race,” Giovanni says.
Initially, Giovanni and Hanneke dreamed of taking a sabbatical year to travel, but they soon realized they would need to work to afford a winter in the north.
Giovanni suggested sending an open job application to the travel agency that organizes trips for Ruka Safaris, hoping to find seasonal work with a company they had previously been customers of themselves.
“In our letter, we explained that we know how to make travelers happy—because we have traveled so much ourselves,” Hanneke explains.
To their surprise, they received a positive response, and both were invited to work for the winter season.
The lifestyle change felt right, and now the couple is spending their third winter as seasonal workers in Ruka. Giovanni works as a wilderness guide, leading hiking trips, cycling tours, snowmobile safaris, and ice fishing, for which he has received training within the company.
Hanneke, on the other hand, works in customer service at the reception desk and welcomes visitors at the airport.
Despite some small challenges, Giovanni and Hanneke believe these are part of the experience and help maintain the spirit of adventure.
The couple started their jobs with a training week.
“Preparing for a new job was nerve-wracking, but once we started working, the nervousness disappeared,” Hanneke recalls.
They began their work in January, during the darkest time of the year.
“The darkness didn’t affect us much, but it was wonderful to see the increasing daylight as spring approached,” Giovanni says.
“In the end, the pipes were relocated indoors, and we haven’t had any freezing issues since,” Giovanni says with satisfaction.
Their lack of a car and the long distances to the store also pose some difficulties. They try to plan their shopping trips in advance to arrange rides with other employees.
Despite the challenges, Giovanni and Hanneke believe they are part of the adventure, and help is usually always close by and quick to come.
As a safari guide, Giovanni is always delighted when older guests join the tours. He fondly recalls an 87-year-old customer on a snowmobile safari who became enthusiastic about riding, as well as two 75-year-old women who went sledding.
“It makes me happy to see that they are not afraid to try new things,” Giovanni says.
Hanneke finds joy in recognizing familiar faces among the guests from previous years.
The busy season mostly consists of work, leaving little free time.
As a counterbalance to their hectic days, Giovanni and Hanneke enjoy unwinding at their cabin, where they prepare multi-course dinners.
Passionate about food, Hanneke has one special goal in mind:
“I want to learn how to make kampanisu (traditional Finnish pastries) as delicious as the ones from Palosaari Reindeer Farm,” she says.
Having traveled extensively, the couple has met like-minded people and made friends, sometimes even through their shared faith. American friends are planning to visit them in Ruka, and the couple has also visited a local family in Kuusamo.
“We immediately felt welcome when we were invited into a local family’s home,” Hanneke recalls.
They have a simple tip for making friends:
“Be friendly yourself, and you will make friends,” Giovanni suggests.
Their adult children recently visited them in Ruka. Together, they hiked in Oulanka National Park and enjoyed winter days in the familiar surroundings of their childhood.
The couple is happy with their transition to a more peaceful lifestyle. Even though seasonal work in Ruka is busy, they get to spend their winters in the north and enjoy their days with customers.
“We live frugally so that we can use our seasonal work earnings to do volunteer work and travel for the rest of the year,” Hanneke explains.
