French man stares at Rovaniemi webcam
French man writing for L.A. Times very fascinated with a Rovaniemi webcam, goes for a visit…
I initially assumed that everything on camera would somehow reflect Lapland’s identity. I imagined that a herd of reindeer might show up from around the corner, or that in winter, sleighs would replace cars.
No such luck: just normal-looking automobiles, blurry people and this never-ending gray light. After a while, I found this reassuring. Rovaniemi, in the end, has the same texture as any other European town.
Refreshing the site as many as three times a day became a kind of therapy, an escape from the urban pressure and chaos of Marseilles, with its narrow streets choked with cars and people, often under crushing summer heat. It was comforting to know that there is a place, somewhere, calmer than where I live all year long. We had two small children, and I couldn’t travel as before, so the webcam allowed me to transport myself a little each day.
I always find it kind of funny when people expect things from Lapland and Finland to be hugely exotic and are genuinely surprised when they aren’t.
Comment by Anzi — Mon, Jul 31st, 2006 @ 5:02 pm
Ok,I have to chime in here. As crazy as it sounds, sometimes I like to look at pictures of Finland (though not just Finland, Colorado, for example) and imagine being there.
It is just so nice to think about being in a place that is nice and cool and a little slower than average; maybe the air is fresher and a bit cleaner. If you are already in a place like that, you take it for granted, but believe me, if you were here for any sizeable amount of time, you’d start to miss it.
42C+ constantly for the last 5 weeks, everyday. No nature, no trees, no rain since the beginning of April. Ozone warnings in the orange and red everyday, so going outside is like walking into a blast furnace, filled with pollution. You’re stuck inside the house all day, unless you want heat stroke and lungs full of shit. Yeah, I know you think he’s crazy, but then again, maybe so am I.
Look around you and don’t take it for granted, I guarantee it could be much worse.
Comment by Don — Mon, Jul 31st, 2006 @ 5:10 pm
Got to get a life….Woh.. click on a web cam then?
Comment by winter — Mon, Jul 31st, 2006 @ 6:05 pm
Not exactly, but it holds you over until you can get away.
Comment by Don — Mon, Jul 31st, 2006 @ 6:09 pm
Don - It hasn’t rained in most of Finland since…what, May? Blueberries are small and scant, the lingonberries just aren’t even there and the trees look as though there will be a bumper crop of fire wood next year. Don’t light a match in the forest, either.
Comment by hfb — Mon, Jul 31st, 2006 @ 6:21 pm
Well, like in the apocalyptic film “28 Days Later”:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0289043/
The fighter jet pilot speaks Finnish. He asks “Lähetätkö helikopterin?” (”Can you please send a helicopter?”).
:) We are all gonna DIE! 
Comment by tim73 — Mon, Jul 31st, 2006 @ 8:02 pm
Wow, that’s too bad. Maybe we all really are going to die! Heh heh.
Comment by Don — Mon, Jul 31st, 2006 @ 8:48 pm
I have been looking at this dog - Aku - since January. Almost every day. I know, what a waste of time.
http://www.suomenajokoira.info/koppikamera/index.php
Comment by Mikko — Mon, Jul 31st, 2006 @ 9:14 pm
If this French webcam spying really gets out of hand, we maybe have to write them an angry letter complaining about using OUR precious bandwidth up here. We got one line outside and do not step on it, please!
Comment by tim73 — Mon, Jul 31st, 2006 @ 9:17 pm
I’m pretty sure it was the naps that refreshed him, not the actual camera view itself
Comment by Southern Gal — Tue, Aug 1st, 2006 @ 1:24 am
That’s gold!
The last sentence is obviously referring to the Lordi celebrations in June. I remember watching that webcam then.
Comment by Pave — Tue, Aug 1st, 2006 @ 2:16 am
I often check this webcam from Australia and have introduced it to colleagues who are now interested in watching it too.
In 2004 I decided to go to Rovaniemi to find and photograph this webcam. I was able to find it and take my picture.
While there I was able to wave back to my colleagues in Aus who took a photograph of the image and sent it to my phone hence allowing me to view both ends of the cam at once.
It really is a cam with some magnetism.
My second favorite cam is the view of the river in Rovaniemi.
I have no other cams I watch.
Comment by pi — Thu, Aug 3rd, 2006 @ 4:39 pm
Im from Rovaniemi and I cross that street like two times in a week, but it’s in fairly bad condition now because they’re repairing it. Dunno what the condition is right now but maybe they’re finishing it soon.
Every summer those road labourers tears apart some of the ‘many’ roads of ours, so the city image is changhing fast. And right now they’re building a huge mall here.. well, huge in our scale ^^. It’s called Revontuli(northern lights) when it’s done. And it’s done somewhere in December.
I don’t know if it’s good or bad that we’re developing so fast into something that can be found everywhere in the world (a ‘normal’ little village :P), but I really hope that the city councils knows what they’re doing.
Oh, and if you want to visit here and see something that CAN’T be found everywhere in the world, you should visit here in the wintertime. It’s really beautiful then, even though I’ve seen it every year it really doesn’t go dull.
I hope somebody reads this and gets excited or something.. o.O
bye bye ^^
Comment by Ville — Fri, Jun 22nd, 2007 @ 3:01 am
I thought that I was the only one fascinated by the Roavaneimi webcam! As a result of checking the webcam frequently over several years I am determined that some day I will go the Rovaneimi in person. I see that the apparently endless construction activity has finally resulted in a dramatic change in the street scene. I particularly enjoy the contrast between huge heaps of snow in winter and the almost endless daylight in summer.
Comment by William Reeve — Fri, Jan 25th, 2008 @ 9:01 am
FROM INVERNESS SCOTLAND,HAVE ENJOYED ROVANIEMI SEVERAL TIMES.AND FINLAND GENERALLY
Comment by RAY SMITH — Thu, Feb 14th, 2008 @ 11:44 pm
I am going there next week from Australia and I can’t wait. Just looking at the visions of all the snow makes me look forward to my holiday
Comment by Pauline — Fri, Feb 29th, 2008 @ 11:09 pm
I AM GOING TO KILPISJARVI AND OTHER NORTHERN PLACES FOR ONE WEEK STARTING 22-MARCH-08 HOPING IT WILL STILL BE WINTRY JUST AS WE USED TO ENJOY IN SCOTLAND.
Comment by RAY SMITH — Wed, Mar 12th, 2008 @ 10:44 pm
I have been checking the Rovaniemi webcam now for a few months. I went to Rovaniemi in March 1973 and loved the snow, the quiet,the sauna, the Finnish people. The webcam lets me go back to that land of memories and fantasies. Now I live in Portland, Oregon, it is a busy American city and it rains a lot.
Comment by Johannes Venghaus — Wed, Jun 4th, 2008 @ 9:13 am
We went to Rovaneimi for the Christmas experience. Since then we have looked at all the web cams each day and wonder at the delight of the place. Our grandchildren find it difficult to believe that the pictures saved by their mother when we stood on the Artic Circle are real or when we stood in Lordi Square and waved at the webcam really happened. just wonderful
Comment by mary — Sat, Jul 12th, 2008 @ 4:06 pm
I also use to see several webcameras located in rovaniemi webpage ’cause I like a lot the quiet the city is, the changing weather, the light at night during summer, etc. I think I have become an adict to these webcams (I check them more than 3 times a day!!). If only I could go there some day… and cross the arctic line… Greetings from Spain!
Comment by Víctor — Mon, Jul 14th, 2008 @ 6:18 pm
I am also addicted to web cams - it’s my way of travelling the world without leaving home and cheaper as well!! I visited Finland (Helsinki) in December 1998 and loved the coldness of it all. I dislike hot countries. Finland and especially Lapland, is my favourite webcams. Why no other comments since July 2008?
Comment by joan kerswell — Tue, May 5th, 2009 @ 2:11 pm