For the trip to Lapland we took a night bus that left Tampere at 11:00pm. We tried to sleep on the bus, but it was really uncomfortable. When it became daylight again, we went out of the bus and experience the Lapland weather!
Then next stop was every child's dream, SANTA CLAUS VILLAGE! Santa Claus village is the home of Santa Claus in Rovaniemi, Finland. There is a special charm about Santa Claus village. Even though it was so cold, it made you feel so warm inside. The village is made of little shops and there are Christmas carols chiming in the background. All of my friends and I (who were also 20 years of age and up) were so excited! You would have thought we were five again. All of a sudden we possessed so much energy and we frantically ran around taking all the pictures we could! And yes, I we saw Santa! That night after Santa Claus Village we went to Inari, Finland where our cabins were.
The next day we were outside all day! I thought my toes were going to fall off! We made an igloo-like structure called a quinzee and went ice fishing and learned how to make a fire and went snow shoe GPS orienteering and went snow sledding later that night.....and went to the sauna because after a day like this we had no other choice. As you can see by the long exhausting sentence, it was a long day! And I enjoyed every moment of it. There is no way I would be able to do this near my home in Maryland. And Raleigh doesn't exactly get enough snow. I like trying new things, the whole trip was an adventure!
Pictures of the quinzees and our first full day in Inari
Next was ice fishing. This was my first time ice fishing and sadly I had no luck with the fish. But I still enjoyed it!!
We also did snow shoeing! We walked through places where the snow was not even touched let alone plowed. Thankfully, I bought a new pair of red snow pants!
Just like every night in Lapland, our night ended with sledding down a hill nearby (yes, we felt like we were 5 again) and the sauna!
The next day we took a long 5 hour bus trip over the Norwegian boarder to the Arctic Ocean. After being on the bus for long periods of time, we were happy to stretch out our legs at the rest stops. When we finally reached the Arctic Ocean some people took off their clothes and went swimming in the ocean. As you can see, I was bundled up because of the fear of getting sick:
Once again this day ended with sledding and sauna! That night we also received a very nice treat from the north sky....THE NORTHERN LIGHTS!!! The Northern Lights also greeted us again on our way back to Tampere from Lapland. Since my camera was not professional, it makes it hard to see them, but they are the green streaks in the night sky.
The next day we went to a reindeer farm. I was a bit disappointed because none of them had red noses!
We were able to feed and pet the reindeer but it was difficult because we had to be careful our eyes did not get poked out by the antlers. We were also able to go on a sleigh ride.
That day we also did cross country skiing. It was interesting because it was the first time I had ever wore skis. It was very difficult for me and I kept falling, but I easily laughed it off. Falling or not, I really like it. I hope to do it again so I could practice and become better.
Our last night in Lapland ended strong with sledding at a nearby hill and the sauna!!!
The last day in Lapland we went to a ski resort. At this resort we had the option of going downhill skiing or snow boarding (for about 3 hours), going on a Husky Safari with Alaskan Huskies or going on a snowmobile ride. For each one of these activities the cost was 60 euros. The price was on the expensive side, but thankfully I was able to participate in the snowmobile ride. It was very scaring and fun at the same time. We had two people to each snowmobile and my heart was racing the WHOLE time. Within the first 5 minutes of riding, my partner was driving and we went up this hill and since we did not have enough speed we tipped over. Thankfully one of the guys from my cabin was really strong and lifted the snowmobile off of my leg. I was completely fine, just a little shaken up. After that, the ride was difficult to maneuver, but exciting. Before the ride began, we had to wait a while so I was able to snap some photos of the huskies as well.
Lapland was by far the most beautiful place I had ever been. It was surely cold, but I loved every bit of it. It was the most fun I had ever had! I also had 10 other people living in the cabin with me and we got along great. There were people from Hugary, Spain, Czech Republic, Germany, Austria, Slovakia and of course the States. There was only one bathroom, but other than that, we had a ball!
