Lapland Adventures
Our trip to Finland is unanimously voted by our family in our top 3 best places to travel at all times. Who knew that one day, a girl like me who was born in the tropics will say Finland is a great place to visit especially on the middle of the winter season. In our quest to check another bucket list – to see the Northern Lights, aka aurora borealis, we planned to travel to a colder ice-capped city in the Arctic Circle from already cold and snowy Kansas. Though upon arrival, we are already so excited with a number of unique outdoors activities the place offers offers. It is the ultimate Winter Wonderland of all times. With four big luggages full of cold gears from layering warmers, ski clothing, wool socks, globes, winter boots and beanies and box full of little hotties, we are ready!
We flew from KC to NYC with American Airlines, then to Rovaneimi via Helsinki with FinAir. We rented a car and met our host for an airbnb condo which served as our home for 5 days and 4 nights. Driving was a little intimidating as locals drive so fast even in the slick looking roads. Although I would say, the roads neatly cleaned from snow.
These are must haves to really enjoy this place at this time of the year! Here’s our top ten!
The main purpose of this adventure. While doing our pre-planning research, we learned that the chance for sightings is very low on this time of the year, but with high hopes and a lot of prayers, we were blessed to see a great sightings of the green dancing lights of the aurora borealis. Our research indicates an average of one sightings every 4 nights, thus we stayed this long. It was a disheartening first 2 days as it was cloudy and snowy most of the time. The sun finally came out on the third day and finally saw it. We scouted couple of areas recommended by our landlord in the afternoon to plan for logistics for the night. We found a wooded picinic area near a frozen river which provide the clearing we need to see the sky. There were teepees are called laavu in Finland and the city equipped them with firewood, an ax and fire pit for public use on a first come first serve basis. No reservations needed, just bring match sticks to light up or use your boyscout skill of fire building. We started our campfire as early as 6:30pm and grilled sausages for dinner and roasted marshmallows for dessert. It is the best simple time spent with family away from civilization and technology. At that time the place was so quiet, we were just by ourselves in the close vicinity. There were few lights in the middle of the lake and we assumed that some people were ice fishing. Outside the laavu, the sky was so beautiful with millions of stars. Tour groups start arriving in the area at 7:30pm. At around 8pm, someone shouted “It’s the Northern Lights”! That was a phenomenal moment seeing a greenish ray of lights that started from the north and slowly crawled upwards and to the east. It is like fox head and tails formation in the light. It was really amazing and we can’t believe such a blessing. The tour guide said it is one of the biggest he has seen in the area for years and it lasted about 30 minutes. Yes, in this location, coordinates N66.582668, E26.024644 (trust me, this is easier reference than the Finnish name, if you don’t speak the language), we have again checked another bucket list!
This was the last activity we did in Rovaneimi. It was down below in our list to do as it seems to be boring to be drawn by reindeers and expected them to be so slow. We opted a one kilometer ride drawn by reindeer just getting for this unique experience only on this part of the world. Reindeers only live in Lapland. We saw sign in the highway and went directly to the reindeer farm and by-passed travel agencies in the city which tourists normally use to avail and book thes activities. It was a great decision and saved a few dollars. The reception is in the main farmhouse which is warm and inviting and the hosts were very friendly. The formal dining table and fireplace mantle are decorated as if they are getting ready for a family Christmas dinner. It is so fun to feel Christmas all year round in the city. Beautifully carved wooden bowls and trays used for the spread of assortment of teas/coffee, several pitcher of juices and cinnamon breads are made of birch wood. Birch trees are popular in the area and it seemed to be made locally. Several accents are made of reindeer antlers, reindeer hides and stuffed reindeer heads. Overall, it’s a very elegantly decorated farm house. The hosts are very friendly and I intentionally mentioned that twice because they really made us feel so welcome and they shared unending facts and stories of reindeers and life in Lapland. Here are some that I still remember:
- There are more reindeers than humans in Lapland (about 3 is to 1 ratio).
- The population of Finnish Lapland is 120,000 and 50% are residing in Rovaniemi, the capital of Lapland.
- There are about 2,000 owners of reindeers in Lapland. Each owner have their own markings which they use to mark in each deer at young age.
- All reindeers in the world are located in the Arctic Circle. This is not to be confused with deers.
- Reindeers are vegetarian and like to eat a moss like plant growing in the Lapland forest.
- Reindeers are humongous and probably at least 3 times of a large deer in America. They are almost as big as elks but smaller.
Our reindeer sleigh ride experience made me believe that reindeers can actually fly. It wasn’t slow at all as I expected and as I’ve seen in videos posted in you-tube. I rode with my son and it was scary at first but nevertheless enjoyed the thrill afterwards. The tame and shy reindeer we first met was in fact an aggressive runner and offered us a one unique breathtaking reindeer ride experience. Yes, we finished the one kilometer ride in barely one minute!
We also visited and fed baby reindeers afterwards. It was a group of around 50 calves that are a little aloof at first. But as a natural reaction, lure them with food (basket of moss), they came closer and enjoyed our company. The owners train the reindeers before they can actually pull sleighs for the rides just like we do on our house dogs. Train them to know who the boss is. It was one great experience not only for the kids but for the kids-at-heart alike!
We capped the visit with a drink of warm tea or coffee and the local favorite Nordic linden berry drink and yummy cinnamon rolls. What a treat!
We booked this activity through Nordic Wild in the Santa Claus Village the day before. Prices are comparable to the published rate in the website. Our tour bus picked us up in the Santa Claus Village at 8:30am. We are the first group on board and we picked up others in the city proper where most of the hotels are located. We drove about 25 minutes north to the Bear Hill Huskies. It was a beautiful sunny day in Lapland. This is the only day that was sunny on our 5 day stay in Lapland. The sunrise was beautiful on our drive to the husky farm which is about 9am. The orientation was held in a Sami house, a teepee like structure larger that the laavu. We put in another layer of clothing – an overall parka on top of the 4 layer-warmers and ski clothes we already have. They made sure everyone is warm enough which is essential to really enjoy the adventure. The kids rode with the guide’s sleigh pulled by the best trained dogs of the whole pack. Erick and I took turn driving and riding in the 45 kilometer husky ride in the woods and frozen lake of Bear Hill. These huskies are very friendly and they can run. They know the lay of the land and know the directions even if we are left behind by the team in front of us. They can also multi-task as they can pee, they can poop and they eat ice to hydrate themselves while running. Good thing we are using their clothing and a blanket was provided for the rider for cover. It smells but it was so fun nonetheless. The woods is so serene and the ride in the lake is amazing as we can see our long shadows from the early sun on that beautiful warm day. Warm meaning 30 deg cel without the chill effect of the lake. Yes, locals call that warm and we call it just comfortable with all out layerings. My daughter not only enjoyed the ride but also petting the huskies as she learned to be a dog lover, especially huskies. That’s the mascot in her high school. Such another four hour adventure and a great story to share with our friends and family.
4. Ice castle and Snow Hotels
Ice hotels and castles are common attractions in Lapland at winter time. We explored two of the bigger ones. One is the Snow Hotel in the Santa Claus Village where we ate lunch. The are also offered snow activities such as ice tubing and ice skating. There is a slide near the entrance, an ice bar where you can order shots on ice glasses, ice restaurant and lounges and 13 igloo rooms that are actually for rent. We looked around, sneaked to lay in the bed, sit in the lounges, make couple of runs in the slides. and spent at least 2 fun hours in this facility.
We also visited an Ice Castle in Levi (around 120 kilometers north of Rovaniemi). It’s beautifully situated on top of a snow capped hill along the cross country skiing trail 4-5 kilometers from the Levi city proper. There are no roads onsite, only ice tracks around town. This is a much larger ice structure and a popular venue of wedding ceremonies and parties. It has its own chapel which are actually use for wedding ceremonies. There are also quite a few igloo rooms each with each own beautifully ice carving motif in the wall. There are carved husky, deer, Santa, snowman as wall emblem to name a few. The hallways were also carved with Ice Princess Disney character on one area. The other area are carved with Pokemon characters, a maze and a slide slides that you can actually try and have fun. The ice carvings are very intricate and impressive and were accented with colored light that elegantly projects in the wall.
Amazing how much talent and skills are put into these ice structures that only last from late November to early April each year. Fantastic!
In quest for the Northern Lights sightings, we also booked a 2-3 hour, 50 kilometer snowmobile safari on our second night in Rovaneimi. They have public snowmobile trails as some locals actually use them for commuting around town at this time of the year. It was so fun riding in the woods and the frozen lake at night. It could have been my top 3 activities but a previous snowmobile ride experience in the Continental Divide in Colorado with amazing mountain top view still on the top of my list. Rovaniemi is a lot flatter. We were told the track we traversed is about 30 feet thick sheet of ice on top of a frozen swamp in the woods. We also made runs in the frozen lake. The beginning of the ride was cloudy and the trail was so dark. They are few glimmering lights in the horizon towards the direction of the city proper. We started right next to the Santa Village which is about 25 kilometers from the city proper and rode our snowmobile up north. We had about an hour break at midway and had a little camp fire session one of the laavu. The guide grilled some sausages and warm up some berry juice for everyone. The kids also roasted marshmallow for extra treat. It was a bit awkward yet worldly get-together of people from across the globe.
Overall, the ride was a little bumpy especially for the kids who are riding in the sleigh pulled by the guide’s snowmobile. Regardless, they enjoyed this ones in a lifetime experience in the wilderness of the Arctic Circle at the middle of the night. I’m just so proud of our kids who enjoy even this harshly cold adventure and not just always comforted under the warmth bed at home. The sky was still dark and no chance of aurora even in the horizon. Then it started snowing on our way back, the surroundings brighten up and make it the experience majestic. It was a nice surprise to capped the night in this winter wonderland.
6. Just hike around – This is the absolute winter wonderland experience – hiking in a 1-2 feet wide ice paved trail and not knowing where it leads us but had a gut-feel that things will just get more exciting out there. The place was artistically decorated by mother nature with glistening snow covered forest and the ground iced with at least 3 feet of soft snow from the paved trail. It was around 3pm and the sun was still up but it will set in a little more than an hour. From the rest area in the highway where we parked, we just followed trails and goofily walked in the slippery but manageable ice paved trail. It’s surrounded by a combination of alpines and birch trees and berry shrubs. Berries are popular fruits in the area- blueberry, black berry and raspberry and I learned about lingonberry.
7. Day trip to Levi in Lapland – We drove deeper into the Arctic circle and enjoyed a nordic sights. It’s amazing to see that everything is covered on snow throughout the 2 hour drive from Rovaneimi. Went straight to the ski slopes but the place is not as impressive as Utah or Colorado ski resorts. We opted for few other activities such as ice cart race, cross country ski and visit to another ice castle. We grabbed lunch at the ice castle and enjoyed the detailed ice carvings. We played snowball fight and sled outside, while watching people passing by cross country skiing in a track that wrapped around the town. A day that is full of adventure from this big adventurous trip.
8. Santa Clause Village – The most touristy of the places around Lapland. As the name implies, Santa entertains his visitors here all year round. He claimed that he lives couple of miles away. Lots of kids activities around – snowmobiling, reindeer petting/feeding, ice sledding and tubing, ice castle among others. It’s truly Santa’s adventureland! One unique thing to do is to send a postcard to you family or friends and delay it for the next Christmas season. Isn’t cool to receive a postcard straight from the North Pole! Unexpectedly, my favorite restaurant we tried is the My Santa’s Salmon in the village. It’s fresh and simply grilled in front of you.
9. Sauna everyday – It was our first experience to use airbnb for accommodation and we are grateful for the furnished apartment. We took advantage of the kitchen to cook our power breakfast, the washing machine and our very own private sauna almost everyday. Sauna in Finland is a necessity and almost all houses or even apartment have one. Finnish set aside time at least ones a week to use sauna to meditate to refresh their body and mind. We might have overdone it by using everyday but it was so great to warm the body after being outside in the brutally cold temperature of the arctic.
10. Foodies – We went grocery shopping and cooked our own breakfast. We also bought sausages and marshmallows which we grilled for dinner in the teepee while enjoying the bright starry sky waiting for the northern lights. My favorite restaurant is the salmon place in the Santa Claus Village. Did I mention that again? So fresh and it was grilled in front of us. We also tried some of the venison (deer meat) burgers, an italian buffet and a chinese restaurant in downtown Rovaneimi. They were just okay.
