Matthias Kröner cycles 3,000 km from Cologne to Finnish Lapland to escape heat

Matthias Kröner pedalled nearly 3,000 km from Cologne to Sevettijärvi in Finnish Lapland to escape record heat in Central Europe, where temperatures have hovered around 30 °C this summer.

The 40-year-old German cyclist arrived in late May and has no fixed return date. “I’m between two jobs, so I have all summer,” he said. Kröner chose northern destinations over southern Europe because of the cooler climate and the freedom to camp almost anywhere under Finland’s everyman’s rights.

Sevettijärvi’s average July temperature has risen only slightly above 10 °C over the past 30 years, according to the Finnish Meteorological Institute. Kröner said he and his wife actively avoid southern and Central Europe in July and August. “We prefer northern countries,” he said.

The shift from caravans to cyclists is noticeable at Sevetti Bar, run by Annukka Kuusimäki-Räsänen and her husband Kari. “We see dozens of cyclists every day, sometimes in large groups,” Kuusimäki-Räsänen said. She attributes the decline in caravan tourism to high fuel prices and increased motorhome taxation in Finland.

Kuusimäki-Räsänen also noted year-round cycling activity, including winter visits by hardy cyclists who arrive on frozen lakes and request hot meals. “Some don’t believe it’s really cold here in winter,” she said.

Visit Rovaniemi’s chief executive Sanna Kärkkäinen expects Lapland’s cool summers to remain a draw as climate change lengthens heatwaves elsewhere. “If Paris hits 40 °C, people start looking further north,” she said. Kärkkäinen noted a 4–5 % rise in summer tourism to Rovaniemi in recent years, modest compared with the region’s winter surges.