Blogs from Lapland, Finland, Europe - page 4

Saariselka We were staying two nights in a log cabin then glass igloo for 1 night at: Kakslauttanen Arctic Resort Kiilopaantie, Saariselkä, Finland Eventually we arrived at our resort, just outside of the village of Saariselka. The bus stopped outside the restaurant and reception building. We were given our log cabin numbers, found a sleigh and loaded our suitcases on them to take them to our cabin. That was so good…and different. We had no trouble finding our cabin because they had put the front lights on for us. Sheryl’s cabin was just behind ours. As we walked up the steps to our door we walked into our beautifully warm and spacious cabin. There was a side room off the main room which had 2 bunk beds. Walking through the bathroom, we found a sauna. There ... read more

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

Am gestrigen Tag habe ich wieder ohne Kellogg's und weichen Eiern ordentlich in Kemi gefruehstueckt und bin danach problemlos mit der finnischen Eisenbahn von Tampere ueber Oulu nach Kemi in Lappland gefahren. Das sollte dann auch mein bis dahin noerdlichstes Reiseziel sein. Wahrend der Fahrt hatte ich die Gelegenheit bei Regen die weiten finnischen Waelder zu begutachten. In Kemi habe ich problemlos mein Hotel gefunden und habe dort eingecheckt. Nach einigem Surfen im Internet bin ich in die Sauna und danach ins Restaurant. Diesmal gab es Whitefish. Nach dem Essen habe ich im Hotel die ZDF-Nachrichten gesehen und noch bei Sonnenschein einen Abendspaziergang gemacht. Bis jetzt konnte ich ja die meissten Nächte ganz gut schlafen und weiss daher gar nicht, ob es nachts permanent hell bleibt. Ich habe mich ja dem Polarkreis mittlerweile ziehmlich angenaehert.... read more