In the far north of Europe, on Russia's border with Finland, lies Karelia -
The remote region bears traditions centuries old ...
... And there are vast lakes.
Karelia is home to different ethnicities with their own languages.
And it is still an insider travel destination with hardly any tourists from abroad.
Lake Onega lies in the Russian part of Karelia and is the second-largest lake in Europe.
Michail Lupin works there as a tour guide, taking visitors to the island of Kizhi.
In 1990, UNESCO named Kizhi a World Cultural Heritage site.
The island boasts some eighty buildings in unique Karelian wood construction.
The crown jewel of the Kizhi ensemble is the 18th century Transfiguration Church.
Its 22 little wooden domes are covered with shingles made of alder or poplar wood.
Inside, icons grace the wooden iconostasis.
The whole island is like one big open-air museum.
Kizhi is surrounded by about five thousand smaller islands.
Long ago, it was the site of pagan rituals.
Today, mostly tourists come to visit the finely crafted wooden structures.
Kizhi is seven kilometers long and half a kilometer wide.
In the summer, ships set off to the island from the city of Petrozavodsk about
seventy kilometers away.
Just a couple of kilometers from Kizhi, on another island, Michail Lupin lives with his family.
No bus, taxi, or train comes here.
When the leaves turn bright colors in the fall, Karelia's landscapes unleash their magic.
The region of Karelia lies between the Baltic Sea and the White Sea.
The part belonging to Russia is called the Republic of Karelia.
Most inhabitants are ethnic Russians or Karelians a Finno-Ugric people.
Evidence of human habitation of the area six or seven thousand years ago are the petroglyphs
on Kap Besov or Cape Demon.
The prehistoric designs were etched into the bedrock.
In 2021, they were also declared a UNESCO World Cultural Heritage site.
Visible are over five hundred representations of humanoid figures, fish, animals and scenes
from hunting and daily life.
In Karelia, some traditions have endured over centuries.
Such as the banya pa chornomu or black sauna here in the village of Kinerma.
Karelian Ivan Kalmykov is heating it up.
It takes a long time to heat the sauna a - whole five hours.
After the banya is heated, it's then aired out for an hour until the smoke is gone.
Kinerma is one of the best-preserved Karelian villages.
And the ever-shrinking Karelian population is Orthodox Christian like the ethnic Russians.
But despite belonging to the Russian sphere of influence since medieval times, the Karelians
have maintained their own language and culture.
As well as their own cuisine
And Ivan's mother, Nadezhda Kalmykova, serves regional dishes to visitors like kalitki,
baked pies with a semolina filling.
As alternatives to semolina, kalitki can be filled with mashed potatoes or rice.
Then, they bake for ten to fifteen minutes in a pre-heated oven.
Nadezhda Kalmykova and her son Ivan speak a mix of Karelian and Russian with each other
just like most Karelians.
But many lost touch with their culture during Soviet times.
Michail Lupin finds it unfortunate how the Karelian language and culture are gradually
dying out.
Just like some towns.
Residents are migrating to the cities, because small towns infrastructures have been degrading
since the Soviet Union fell.
Michail Lupin is showing us the island of Lölikovo.
It was once teeming with life but is now almost deserted.
But the sun is rare to be seen this far north especially when the long Nordic winter sets in.
And fuel for the generators is expensive.
Not many people are prepared to lead such a trying life.
Nadezhda Kalmykova's kalitki are almost ready.
It smells of wood and freshly baked treats.
Once done, the pies are brushed with melted butter before being served.
As the days grow shorter and the air cooler, the local people head to the black sauna.
After six hours of preparation, the banya pa chornomu is finally ready.
The smoke is gone and just its aroma lingers in the air.
Birch switches are soaked in hot water to release their aroma and are used to
massage the body.
There are only a few warm days left before Lake Onega freezes over.
Then the Karelian landscape will turn all white.
Months of cold weather make life tough along Lake Onega.
The locals call it a sea due to its vast size and how rough it can get.
Immerse yourself in the vastness of Karelia this quiet, magical landscape
far in the North of Europe.
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