One winter weekend, we embarked on a journey from San Francisco to Rovaniemi, Finland, "the world capital of Christmas”. Though this was the farthest and most expensive weekend trips we've taken so far, it was one of, if not the BEST short trips we've done! We did so much in the mere two and a half days we were there. We explored the Lumi Linna Snow Castle of Kemi on our first day, followed by an Arctic safari on our next, complete with snowmobiles, reindeers, and husky rides around the Arctic Circle. We paid a long overdue visit to Santa and witnessed the Northern Lights, while also being able to visit the ARCTIC CIRCLE MARK on our partial day. Our trip embodied a perfect winter wonderland complete with blue skies and fresh pristine snow glittering underneath the sun.
Rovaniemi is a modern town offering a variety of attractions and activities. We took the airport shuttle to our guesthouse, which was right outside the city center. The Guesthouse Borealis is a quaint B&B style hotel that's a mere 15 minute walk to the city center, and about a 7 minute walk from major train and bus stations. The hotel was reasonably priced to meet our budget adventures with an accommodating staff, clean rooms, and free WI-FI (whoo hoo!). The only downside was that there was no sauna, which is a staple facility in some arctic regions of the world. Apparently in Finland, it is customary to run outside naked in freezing temperatures, roll around in the snow, and then come back in for a sauna session to rejuvenate the skin.... So maybe it was a good thing our hotel didn't have a sauna...just saying! Time to rest, recover, and prepare for the next day!
The following morning, we went to Kemi City, a town packed with activities for any kind of visitor. Unfortunately, we only had enough time to explore the Lumi Linna Snow Castle, which is accessible by train from Rovaniemi (approximately an hour and 20 minutes away costing us about 36 Euros roundtrip). The castle is built every winter and is usually open from late January to early April, depending on the weather. After you pass the main gates, it will cost you 8 Euros to get into the castle's courtyard. The Snow Castle also includes a Snow Chapel, Snow Hotel, and Snow Restaurant. You can order snacks and beverages at the Ice Bar, but if you want a meal, you must make reservations in advance. The tables are made of ice, and the stools are covered with reindeer fur. Each year the Snow Castle has a different theme. This year’s was comics! Exploring the castle was an afternoon well spent, running around taking pictures next to life sized ice sculptures of Batman, Spiderman, the Hulk and so on. We crawled into ice igloos, explored the Snow Hotel's rooms, and sipped some hot berry juice at the ice bar. The castle had great light-effects that added to its charm. The castle was definitely a worthwhile visit!
On our 2nd day, we made our way to Santa's Village and geared up for a snowmobile ride through the Arctic, riding to a reindeer farm for an adventure. We were greeted by Locket, a 12yr old reindeer from Lapland. Not sure where he fits in sequence with Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, and so on, but we'll just call him Santa's unspoken reindeer after Rudolph. Locket took us for a spin in the sleigh, making a few pitstops mid-route sniffing around for snacks. We then visited the family home of our host for some lessons in reindeer school. Fun fact: Reindeers have the third thickest fur after the Tibetan yak and the polar bear and shed a few layers during the summer to adapt to the warmer temperatures. We enjoyed the reindeer lessons, shared a few stories over tea and cookies, and graduated from reindeer-school with our very own Reindeer Driver’s License (yes, really)...and they're good for 3 years! I know what I'm pulling out the next time I get pulled over. Now off to our next adventure!
Dog sledding has been on our bucket list for a while now, and we were able to cross this one off on our Arctic Adventure. Lapland has some of the cutest Siberian Huskies, making our hearts melt. Our team consisted of 7 dogs with the two strongest and oldest leaders in the front. Siberian Huskies surprisingly know the value of teamwork. At one point I saw one of the dogs attack its sibling as if it were telling the other to quit slacking and run faster.
After our dog-sledding adventure, we explored the town in Santa's Village. Here we visited Santa's official post office where you can have your letters stamped by Santa's postal service. You can also sit down and write postcards, draft your wish list for next Christmas, or send a letter home to your friends bragging about how you met Santa. Totally fun! The post office visit is followed by more children’s activities because of course, we're never too old for snow-sliding.
Finally, the moment we've been waiting for, we visit Santa! After a short tour around Santa's toy shop, we're able to sit down for a little chat and picture taking. We recited every catch phrase we could think of from the movie "Elf" starring Will Farrell, which Santa apparently hasn't seen. He seemed pretty confused when we asked him questions like, "If you're the real Santa, what song did I sing to you for your birthday last year?" We got a good laugh from it. Now we can say "SANTAAAAA, I know him!!!" and really mean it. (If you haven't seen that movie, the last couple sentences wouldn't have made sense, so we apologize in advance to those who think we're crazy). And FYI, yes his beard is real!
After our Safari adventure we took a cab to the Sky Hotel Ounasvaara to try to get a glimpse of the Aurora Borealis (The Northern Lights). We were told that their roof deck was one of the best places in the city to catch the lights (the other being by the Arktikum museum). We were warned that they don't come out every night, and we would have a better chance to see them on a clear night with no snow. Lucky us! We timed it perfectly. They first showed up one or 2 strands at a time and then disappeared within minutes. That night they came back every 10 minutes or so. Then suddenly at around 9:30pm, multiple streaks of green and yellow began to appear above us. Everyone on the deck went into a frenzy of "oooooo's and ahhhhhh's" while trying to capture the lights on their cameras. We were so awestruck we couldn't get the camera going! Witnessing the Northern Lights definitely completed our trip!
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