Blogs from Levi, Lapland, Finland, Europe

As time goes bye so much happened that I'm not able to even write everything at once :-) The official autuum training started and we train the dogs, of course not with sledges but with Quads. There are 14-20 dogs in front of a Quad and on top of the Quad we have a weight and we are two of us sitting on top of it. I'm working with Petra at the moment. She's working here since 3 years and she's from Germany. We work in teams of 3 at the moment so Celia from Switzerland is working with us as well. It's a lot of work but fun work as well. It's great to see how the dogs work for us and how they want to run. After being here a few weeks I can ... read more

No visit to Finland is complete without visiting the part above the Arctic Circle; Lapland. Lapland embodies everything that is about Finland; unabound stretches of untouched white velvet, pine forests gracefully carpeted in snow, rolling hills and dotted lakes. And don't forget that it is above the Arctic Circle. It is a fine example of an Arctic wonderland, and for a sun-bred Australian Lapland is a very different place. It is a truly magical sight to step outside to step outside a bus at 11am to witness a red sunrise glowing across the sky... at 11am! The entire surroundings are covered in white; cars, buildings, houses, signs, trees, roads, paths... I urge you to look outside the window nearest to you, take that image and coat everything you see in white and that is just a ... read more

An annual ski trip became a regular feature of my life, pretty much as of January 2004 onwards, and leafing through ski brochures drew my attention to Levi, a compact and mysterious-looking ski resort in the Arctic Circle in Finnish Lapland. I figured that on this particular occasion, I would have to brave the cold more than I have ever had to at any one point in the past, so with my thermals at the ready, I checked in at the Crazy Reindeer hotel in Levi, and the Lappish adventure began to unfold. The hotel was nicely located in an area not too far from the slopes, and one or two nearby shopping options, and since the hours of daylight in the region in January were short, I was relying on illuminated pistes, as well as ... read more