Blogs from Lapland, Finland, Europe - page 9

Right, let me get all the negative things out of the way first. Our trip to the Arctic Circle, Hetta in northern Finland was a package holiday with Transun. It was the first for all of us (Adam, Myles, Scott and I) and the last. The flight was on ‘Strategic Air’, the service was hap-hazard and the inside a little old. Just before arriving and during some terrible weather the kids were allowed to sing/scream Christmas carols over the speaker system. Because we were a small party of adults we did manage to secure the exit seats, however they split us over two rows so Scott ended up sitting behind us. Then the most stupid thing happened. There were other people waiting in the hotel we were due to check in to so they had us ... read more

An abandoned reindeer steak and a scintillating night sky, only in Lapland. I was enjoying a splendid dinner in the restaurant at the Luosto Tunturi Hotel a few winters back when the other diners started leaving in droves. It was as if there was a fire alarm to which I wasn’t privy. My dinner companion, the hotel manager, looked at me and said in typically understated Lappish style: “Do you want to finish your reindeer steak or do you want to see the Northern Lights?” This created something of a dilemma. I’d seen an absolutely fantastic Aurora Borealis the night before and a pan fried reindeer steak is possibly my favourite meal in the world, so what to choose? Very quickly, spirituality won the day over gastronomy and I joined my fellow diners outside the hotel. ... read more

Am plecat de la Oulu (traiasca varul Ciprian care ne-a dat de ale' gurii) hotarati sa ajungem la Tromso pe lumina, ceea ce nu e prea greu avand in vedere ca soarele apune pe la ora 23:30. Abia acum am vazut pe drum primul Ren ratacit. In schimb niciun Elan pana acum. In drum ne-am oprit la satul lui Mos Craciun unde am auzit Leru-i ler si O brad frumos.... in varianta internationala . Dupa cautarea piticilor angajati sa faca jucarii pe care nu i-am gasit, cred ca erau in pauza de insolatie (22 de grade), fiecare dintre noi s-a hotarat sa cumpere cate un suvenir.... Dani si a luat moose sound box.... e super tare.... Am facut poze. Dani + Tania au facut poze cu costumatie de eschimosi si apoi, a aparut un turc de ... read more

Help us with the husky naming please. There'll be a small prize for the people who come up with the best male and female name. These are the two huskies we will be adopting with their trainer and musher Catherine Marguet. There are quite a few rules and it's not as straight forward as it might seem......so here goes: 1 The black puppy is male and the white is female 2 The names need to start with the letter F 3 The names should have 1 or 2 syllables (easy and quick to say) 4 No religious, political or human names 5 The names should be easy to pronounce Told you it wasn't easy! Closing date for suggestions is 01 August 2011. Catherine will pick the names as she will be working with these dogs for ... read more

Von Pello nach Kiruna, 01.07.2011. Pello ist ein kleiner Ort der direkt an der finnisch/schwedischen Grenze liegt. Ein breiter, fischreicher Fluss trennt die beiden Staaten. Auf dem Campingplatz waren deshalb auch viele Fischer zu Gast. Mika, ein Finne mit dem wir ins Gespräch kamen schwärmte von dem guten Fanggebiet. Die meisten die hier fischen, fahren mit Booten auf den reissenden Fluss vom Campingplatz weg. Wir blieben zwei Tage auf dem Platz. Es waren zwei extrem heisse Tage, die wir mit faulenzen verbrachten. Das Thermometer kletterte gegen 30°C. Doch unser „rollendes Zuhause“ ist zum Glück gut isoliert. So waren die Temperaturen in der Nacht erträglich. Am „frühen Morgen“ des dritten Tages (so gegen 9 Uhr) verliessen wir Finnland. In Schweden das wir nach wenigen Kilometern erreichten war es um die gleiche Zeit erst 8 Uhr. In Finnland ... read more