Carol Enquist
Vargholmen, Finland

Vargholmen is a tiny dot on the map of Finland. It’s not much more than a community of summer houses on the southwest coast, but to me there isn’t a better place to be during the glorious summer months of June and July, when everything around you seems energized by the long days of the midnight sun. At first it’s disconcerting when the sun’s reflection on the water is so bright at midnight that you have to wear sunglasses; when you’re sure it’s four in the afternoon, only to discover it’s really 9:30; when you swear the strawberries grew overnight.

But very quickly I realized that this place really was special—it made me feel happy to be alive. The sky is a brilliant blue, the air is fresh, the water is cool and clean, the sun is warm, and it’s peacefully quiet and safe. The woods of birch and pine invite you to walk and pick berries—blueberries, lingonberries, and cloudberries. Late in the day, you might see a moose and her calf feeding in the fields: At night, you might wake to a cuckoo calling in the distance. The coast is peppered with summer cottages where families swim, sunbathe, entertain, fish, and enjoy the sauna. And once you’ve experienced a real Finnish sauna, the health-club variety will never be the same.

Carol Enquist is a photo editor at TRAVELER.