Blogs from Rovaniemi, Lapland, Finland, Europe - page 2

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 ... read more

Flying across a frozen lake in a creaky wooden sled pulled by five energetic Arctic huskies that never want to be stopped has to be on everyone's bucket list. This is how I spent my morning in Rovaniemi and I can't recommend it highly enough. We woke at 6 after not the best nights sleep. The glass igloos seem very warm at first, but after a while tucked up in bed, Glyn asked me if I thought the heating was on.... Maybe not as I was curled up in a tight ball trying to stay warm. We were supplied with two single beds that are just a little small for sharing although sharing was needed. So I'd woken up a couple of times in the night but sadly not because the northern lights alarm had gone ... read more

Lying in a warm bed, staring at the winter sky through a glass ceiling is an amazing experience and was how the day ended as this is what we came for. Glyn and I got up at 7am so as to see a little more of Helsinki before its time to fly up to Rovanemi. The temperature was a dry chill of -9 as we stepped out and immediately headed off in the wrong direction as I'd gotten confused with the various numbers in my tiny map that is only readable in extremely bright light. Eventually we ended up at some bended wooden chapel thing that is unusual looking but not that exciting. Then we trudged up past Bar Bakkari to the a rock Church which unfortunately is not some form of extreme metal palace of ... read more

Rovaniemi just south of Arctic Circle in Finland/Lapland 27 July 2014 We arrived in Rovaniemi at 7.30pm after driving almost 700kms which was the biggest drive in one day for us since being in Europe this year. It was actually 8.30pm because Finland is in a different time zone to Sweden. We hadn't had dinner, so after booking into the camp site which was just over the other side of the city, we found a restaurant just up the road, which had some entertainment. We enjoyed our dinner - Tom had salmon and I had sauté reindeer. The reindeer was like a strong flavoured beef. When we were driving towards Rovaniemi, we saw a sizeable electrical storm in the distance. When we got into the city, the ground was wet. We had missed it completely, fortunately, ... read more

We arrived in Lapland around 5pm, of course it was so dark, it was like midnight. We finally arrived at our hotel after a mixup and being taken to the wrong hotel, where of course they new nothing of us arriving! It was a quite pleasant -5c. There was quite a bit of snow, but more icy - rather like the Australian snow fields. We walked around the town of Rovaniemi -Since Rovaniemi is the capital of the Province of Lapland, many government institutions have their offices there. About 10,000 of the inhabitants are students. Rovaniemi is home to the university of lapland and the Rovaniemi University of Applied Sciences. Over 70% of Finnish people are tertiary educated, which is the highest percentage in the world. Rovaniemi's most prominent landmarks include the Jätkänkynttilä bridge with its ... read more