We jumped in the car and hit the road, despite it only being 5pm out was beyond pitch black. I saw something weird in the sky, like a coloured haze. I turned to Doug and asked "do you think that's the Northern Lights?". Don't be silly he said, without looking as clearly the icy roads were more important than the skies, it's too easy for that. 20 minutes later we arrived at Apukka and to Doug's amazement... they were the northern lights (Kate crying in Finland tally is now at 1). We checked in to our Glass Igloo, enjoyed a yummy crab soup dinner and the lights just got progressively brighter over the next 5 hours. They danced amoung the stars while we lay in bed watching the sky and fighting sleep. Despite the rocky start - what a magical way to end my birthday.
But, the trip magic had only just begun. Upon waking up to an orange sunrise at 9am we had brekky (porridge is a seriously underrated breakfast buffet food) and wandered over to reception. In a stroke of luck we were actually offered an upgrade of rooms for our last 2 nights, so we grabbed our bag and checked into what could only be called a glass teepee suite. The downstairs consisted of kitchen, dining and living, while upstairs was a loft with a bed and a glass roof to watch the sky - how amazing! But that wasn't the only magic we were expecting- because it was SANTA DAY! At a balmy -5 degrees we got ready to jump in the car and head to Santa's Village just 20 minutes down the road. Only problem was, our car was COVERED in ice and snow! Okay, 10 minutes of cleaning up the car and then we were on our way.
We arrived and made a beeline for Santa's Post Office, the busiest Post Office in the world. We saw letters from all over the world, and even managed to send a few of our own. Afterwards a walk through the village was a must, we crossed over the "Arctic Circle" threshold, stopped into Santa's favourite restaurant (Golden Bowl Dimsum) and even saw some Reindeer for good measure (no they can't fly). The moment had arrived, and it was time to meet the big guy. Panic set in when I realised, I had nothing to ask him for... I was already on a trip of a lifetime - what more could I possibly want for Christmas? I decided on a Puppy (which funnily enough Santa delivered a day later) and Doug on a very sensible gift for a 32 year old, a PlayStation 5. The moment was almost here, but we then realised it was €50 just to get a take home photo with Santa - yikes, I guess he has to make his money somewhere. Don't worry, Doug said, I'll sort it.... with the iPhone camera hidden in his jacket on record he managed to capture the whole 2 minute interaction between Santa and I (Kate crying tally now at 2).
We then headed into Rovaniemi City centre for a bit of a walk around, a late lunch at Santa's favourite Kebab shop (pretty sure thats why they named the Reindeer Donner), and a stop at the local supermarket (our budget cannot keep up with eating every meal out!).
Our evening activities were a touch more daring, our guide picked us up and we ventured an hour into the pitch black forest in the middle of a snow storm. From there we were shown our own private sauna, jacuzzi (doesn't sound scary yet...) as well as the nearly frozen lake where we were going to jump in (yep, there is the scary part). Dreading every upcoming moment I sat in the sauna for so long I felt I was going to pass out, I convinced Doug that a trial run into the snow was a good idea (and hopefully was a shock enough that he'd give me a pass on the lake). I geared up to jump in and... oh, it was cold but definitely not the freezing shock I expected, maybe I could do this?
Back into the Sauna we went, again for an eyewatering amount of time, until I was sure I'd pass out. We then ran through the snow to the lake, only to find others swimming in it... in full ice suits....damn, it must be cold. Doug got in first and then.... eeek, again was cold- pretty cold - but not the achingly, unable to move cold I had expected. I'd done it, I was Finnish now.
To my shock, I ended up doing it another two times! We then spent the rest of the evening in the jacuzzi, while it was snowing, and with the northern lights putting on a show (Kate crying tally - 3).
The third day will now forever be know as snow mobile day. After breakfast we went and got all suited up, proper snow boots, suit and helmet were provided luckily as we would be racing through the Finnish countryside on some serious horsepower. Our first trip out involved a chilly stop, Ice Fishing! We were given a very long hand drill and asked to clear the snow (no small feat as it was about 1 Nala deep) and hand drill through 40cm of ice just to get to the water. Unfortunately after 20 minutes Doug and I weren't in any luck so retreated to the fire (yes, fire on the ice) to warm up before heading home. The second trip of the day was a night snowmobile safari. It was meant to be northern lights hunting, however as it was cloudy we knew thay wouldn't be the case (we had seen them the last 2 nights so we were happy). The forrest was so different at night, white trees glowing and an eerie silence. We ventured an hour on snow mobiles and stopped in a clearing for a fire, hot sasuages and some warm juice where we were treated to some stories from our native Lappish guide. Home to bed to enjoy the warmth and comfort of our bed as the next night we wouldn't be so lucky.
Once again all snugged up in our snow gear we got ready for another amazing activity. Husky sledding!! We walked to the husky kennel and saw the excitement on the dogs faces. I've heard of people being a touch wary about making these dogs run... let me tell you, it was hard to calm them down when they knew they were going to run, it was like telling Nala she's going to the beach and watching the Zoomies start. We got all set up and the dogs ran us through the snow, twisting and turning, knowing the exact route - so clever. Afterwards we had an opportunity to cuddle a 5 week old puppy! They don't get introduced to living in the snow until 10 weeks so this poor baby was a bit cold, but nothing a cuddle couldn't fix. (Kate crying tally - 4, how could you not he was just SO CUTE)
It was finally time to leave Apukka and check in...to our Ice Hotel! I was terrified to say the least, but they assured me it would be warm. The hotel was around 20 rooms, all themed differently and make up entirely of ice except for the mattress (even the bedframe was ice!). We then had a central locker room and bathroom (not made of ice, obviously). First had dinner in the Ice Restaurant, where Doug tried Reindeer for the first time (honestly not too bad) then decided on a plan of attack to stay warm. The overnight temperature was due to be -20 so we had a serious task infront of us. We first decided to sauna until we could no longer take it, hoping our body heat rose enough, then packed on the layers until we got into our thermal sleeping bags. They say the more layers you wear in the sleeping bags, the harder it is stay warm. Doug took this one literally and slept in his jocks while I did a light set of pajamas. We jumped in, zipped all the way up so only out faces were showing and settled into a movie before falling asleep.
It was 2.30am and a bright light in my face woke me up, hurry, the random person in my room said, the Aurora is on. Ooooh I remembered, we had asked to be woken up if the lights were active. Doug, still fast asleep (good to know I'll be protected if we ever have an intruder), needed a few gentle jabs in the side and finally awoke. We layered up and ran outside to see the green lights dance across the sky, given we were only in our PJs (Doug had sensibly transitioned to board shorts at this stage) and puffer jackets we only lasted 5 minutes before needing to get warm again and seeking refuge in the locker room. Back to bed we went, a little colder, but happy having seen magic, and went back to sleep.
We awoke the next morning and compared sleeping notes. Doug, a lover of all things cold, was more than comfortable and almost too warm in his sleeping bag! I was okay, a bit chilly from our 2am party, but managed to sleep in 2hr blocks so not too bad. I'm so glad we had the experience, but I'm not sure I'd be signing up for it for more than 1 night at a time!
A quick brekky and a last drive on the icy roads and we were off to Germany...
Distance travelled: 37,253km
Map:
K x
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