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Published: February 12th 2017
You know how it is when you're super tired and sleepy from a long day but you're avoiding going to bed because it's a block of ice? That's how it was last night and I'd paid a lot of money for the privilege.
Sitting in the lounge area behind reception with a roaring fire, we weren't the only ones procrastinating. A German couple had downed two bottles of wine by way of getting ready, but at €35 per bottle, this was not for me. When Glyn saw that the temperature had dropped down to -14, we decided this was our cue to go and stepped out into the cold.
In the locker room, we got ready for bed. Now the guide earlier in the day had recommended just one layer of clothing, but that seemed too much of a risk to me. So I settled for thermal tights, thermal leggings, thermal socks, thermal long sleeved top, t shirt and fleece. Plus thermal hat, snood and lining gloves. Obviously coat and boots were needed to get me to my room. We both picked up our pillows, Arctic sleeping bags and lining bags and headed out into the ice corridor where
we were immediately shouted at....
This was unexpected. It is fairly dim in the ice hotel at night, so we barely saw the woman down the corridor yelling at us to turn around. She explained that she was completely lost in the maze like hotel and had given up her search for the toilets. It was now we realised that she was squatting and in the process of making yellow snow. Oh. Was now a good time to tell her that she was only a few metres from the loo? It's next door to the locker room and very warm. She found this vaguely amusing and bemoaned the lack of signs, then gave us running commentary on her extraordinarily long pee. I understand the frustration of being lost when desperate for the loo, but had she gone outside she could have found reception or at least a private tree. It's no surprise that this was an English person and I suspect she'd had a few in the ice bar. Stay classy Britain!
All this time, we were stood in the cold not wearing full cold weather attire and this was annoying me as I'd been prepared for a
mad dash to our room before I got too cold. But we soon legged it up the cold ice corridors and to room 102, where we could put up the 'Do Not Disturb' sign and partially frozen curtain for privacy.
The room is tiny, just enough space to get in and walk around one side and the end of the foot of the bed. It was dimly lit a glowing red through the ice of the bed, making the walls and floor pink giving a fake impression of warmth. The bed is covered in reindeer hide which insulates from the cold and is soft to sleep on. I chucked my bedding on my side, removed my snow boots and clambered over a chunk of slippery ice to get into bed.
It took some doing, getting my coat off, then getting into the lining and zipping it over my head. Then squeezing into the outer Arctic sleeping bag, with coat wedged between that and the lining so it wouldn't be icy cold in the morning. There was a lot of shuffling and wriggling before I was wedged in tightly, grateful that I'm not claustrophobic. I soon began to realise
that maybe I didn't need all those layers and I removed my gloves, but I was extremely warm with only my nose and an eye poking out, focussing on the pink ice wall in front of me.
I did wake a couple of times in the night only to turn around and was actually a lot warmer than when I was in the glass igloo the previous night! So Glyn and I both slept better than expected. We did ask to be woken should the northern lights put in an appearance but they did not.
Our requested alarm call was for 6.30, but we were woken at 6.05 by a guy bringing us glow wine which is a sweet hot berry drink. Glyn had been dying for the loo for ages so he got up and there was no point getting back to bed. I was still tired and could have done with another hour sleep but it was not to be.
Upon entering the locker room, we saw that only two people had wussed out of sleeping in the ice rooms and were lounging in the bunk beds. There are shower facilities and washroom next door
too, the same place as the apparently illusive loos. We got dressed and headed to breakfast where we were one of the first to arrive.
Looking out of the window, I saw an amazing pink sunrise and so we both shot out to go and photograph it over the igloos and through the snowy trees. It did last for an hour or so as there was an amazing orange sun turning the snow and trees golden as we were taken to Rovaniemi airport at 8.45. Just typical, I would have loved to photograph that!
Finland has been brill but I am gutted that we missed the northern lights again, (we didn't see them in Iceland either last year) so maybe we can try Norway next year? So if you do want to see the Northern lights next year, I suggest you don't follow me, I'm cursed!
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Home and Away
Bob Carlsen
Thanks for the details...
I've wondered how one gets ready for bed and then sleeps when the room is below zero. And sorry about your missing the northern lights. Maybe next year in Norway.