An Anniversary to Remember

I love the breakfast here; smoked salmon, herring, veggies, and coffee. We will try more of these breakfasts at home

We had to get out for our reindeer safari at 10 am so we had to eat breakfast sooner than later. We found that we were sharing the safari with 4 other people. The others were parents with 2 kids, a 7 and a 2-year-old.

Our guide arrived, dressed in the garb of his people. We learned that he is part of the Sami, an indigenous group, located in the Lapland area. They are known for raising reindeer. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sami_people

The guide introduced us to a bit of his life. The reindeer belong to him and he is so kind to them, they are really like his children. He pets them, smiles and speaks so kindly to each reindeer. The ride itself was so beautiful, quiet except for the sled going over the snow.

We each had a reindeer skin to sit on which kept us really warm. Then nice wool blankets to cover with.

Each sled had a reindeer to pull it but all were attached to each other in a long line. The reindeer behind us kept coming over to Dale’s side and tried to lick Dale’s face on a couple of occasions. The reindeer in front is a leader in the group and the other reindeer let it eat meals first. It knew the way and would sometimes run, sometimes walk, sometimes slow way down to put his nose in the snow or grab a bit of snow.

After our ride, we were invited into the guide’s tepee. This is a place where he likes to sleep in during summer months. He built a fire, served coffee, tea, and cakes, and then played a couple of songs of his people.

We had a sleigh ride scheduled for 9:45 pm. We arrived at the reception desk and met our guide, then walked to the barn.

The guide handed us a basket that contained a small bottle of champagne, lots of chocolates and 2 traditional wood cups. He said that we could have the champagne when we wanted.

The snow was so beautiful in the dark. Again, it was so quiet except for our sled, and again we sat on the reindeer skins.

We saw some lights in the distance, which we assumed were a house. Instead, they were lights from candles, a sort of Finnish farolito, in the snow. The guide had dug a hole then built up a wall of snow around the edge, with a hole one side leaving the top open. There were several of these candle holders. There was also a table, covered with snow, and candles. In the back, there was the structure of a tepee, only the wood, no covering.

We set our basket on the snow covered table, poured our champagne, ate some chocolate and took photos with the big camera on the tripod.

Wow, what an end to our trip!!! This has been an amazing journey.

Finally, The Glass Igloo

We wanted to take the early bus up to Kakslauttanen, the resort that was the original purpose of this trip. There is no train north, hence the bus ride. We left our room by 7:15 and walked to the bus station, about a 20-minute walk. It was cold and dark but beautiful and invigorating.

The bus arrived and 2 women took a turn driving the 4-hour drive over snow-covered roads. Some roads were only snow but the women were pros. It appeared to us that the bus was partly city bus, for the outlying areas. And by outlying, there was nothing around for miles, then a little pullout with a sign with a bus symbol.

A couple of times, the route took a turn to the right, off of the main road, and the road was just snow covered. It went off thru the forest then by a few houses and then joined the main road.

We made it to Kakslauttanen by early afternoon but our room wasn’t ready. Also, I’d selected a couple of activities, but for whatever reason, the final info didn’t make it to the desk. We’d wanted to go on a Reindeer Safari in the morning and a sleigh ride in the evening. The lady at the desk said that we could go on the Reindeer Safari in the morning but the sleigh ride had to be requested 1 week prior. I had requested but since the request had not gotten thru we said we’d go on a sleigh ride, sharing it with other people.

Luggage is carried on a sled

The lady talked on the phone then came back. Because they knew this was our anniversary, they had arranged a sleigh ride for just the 2 of us. It would be for Friday night, our anniversary.

We got to our igloo, only to find 2 small bottles of champagne and 2 stems, a large bar of chocolate and a smaller bar of chocolate truffle, along with a note. What a nice touch.

The glass igloo is small, just 2 twin beds in the center, and a small cabinet around the edge on 2 sides. Glass makes up the sides and ceiling. There are no chairs but the beds have adjustable heads and feet.

Our Igloo

Champagne

Glass walls and ceiling

The igloos around us

A small bathroom with opaque glass is on one side of the entry door and a shelf on the other side of the entry. No TV, no internet, just the sky above and snow on the ground. It is a true get-away.

We had a drink in the igloo bar, Lapland Coffee, this is coffee with cloudberry liqueur. Cloudberries are only found in Lapland. They are very small and not easy to gather. We did buy some of the liqueur but drank it.

Along the walk to the restaurant, Igloo Bar and reception

We will buy more to take home. And maybe we will share with friends.

Rovaniemi, Another Day

We got our bearings and were able to walk all over. We started by walking down to a Coffee Shop by the Square for coffee and some pastry, then back to the room to leave off my laptop.

Sunrise from our room

Sunset from our room

We decided to go to the museum 1^st, the museum on prehistory and Arctic Circle. This was only a few blocks from our hostel.

The museum is amazing and so informative on the area. We spent our morning on just the history of the people.

Walk to the museum

We left the museum by 1pm because we wanted to go to a restaurant that was known for its food. Unfortunately, the restaurant was closed, we could see that they were setting up for a party.

Dale then found a restaurant known for being romantic. Sure enough, it was a lovely restaurant, beautiful wood paneling with beveled glass to separate sections. After servings of Salmon Soup, we shared dinners of Arctic Char and Reindeer steaks. All was well.

Monte Rosa

Reindeer and Arctic Char

Rovaniemi, Lapland, the land of Santa

We’ve been spoiled with having our own sauna, eating fish and veggies for breakfast and fast quiet trains.

One last train ride, to Rovaniemi. But first a walk down to the Baltic to see the sunrise and maybe shoot some photos. I didn’t carry my tripod but think that photos came out ok. It wasn’t easy to work with the polarizer while wearing heavy gloves, so it looks like some photos have dark corners.

The Beginning of the Baltic

A View to the Sea

Sunrise

The 3+hour train ride became lots closer to 4 when a locomotive broke down. We cooled our heels drinking coffee, while the train sat on the track.

View from the train

We got into Rovaniemi and took a cab to the Santa Claus Hotel where we had to check in. The lady at the desk said that we could walk to our hotel, which turned out to be a hostel. It was about ½ mile away.

We walked thru the square where the Christmas Market is then started up the hill. We walked and then walked some more. Finally, it seemed like we were walking into an area of apartments.

We stopped at a grocery store and the clerk was sure we’d passed the hostel. I googled the hostel and sure enough, we’d walked ½ mile too far. At least we got to walk downhill.

We were starving and after dumping our stuff started walking to a restaurant recommended by the hotel clerk. When we couldn’t find the restaurant, we went into one recommended by some people walking down the street. (They were looking for a grocery store) The restaurant was completely packed with no tables open for the evening.

Finally,

The Square. The wall around the Christmas tree is made of blocks of ice.

we went back to the Santa Claus Hotel and ate a nice meal at their restaurant. What a day!

On to Oulu

And so the train moves on, quickly to the north. On towards the Arctic Circle.

Faster and faster to the Arctic Circle

It was dark when we boarded our train at 7:50am. The train started and as it moved quickly thru the dark, past small towns, we felt like we were in the Polar Express movie. As the sun came up we were entranced by the trees, completely iced over and glistening in the sun. This is a winter wonderland like nothing we have ever seen.

Views from the train

A train station

Sunrise

We saw the sun

It was a 4-hour ride to Oulu and we did not know what to expect as every day we’ve had some experience entirely different than any other.

We were starving after checking into the hotel but the sun was still up and we thought we’d see the Baltic Ocean during the light. We walked down on the slippery sidewalks, I was hanging onto Dale. We had to laugh, if one went down, we both went down.

There were no good photo ops but we did duck into one of the old markets. The building has little shops lining the sides and down the middle. Shops sell knit goods, meat including bear, fish of all kinds, coffee,

Fun sculpture of a policeman

Old red buildings

View along our walk

and food to take away (food ready to eat).

We then walked back to the smaller square and found a restaurant recommended in the guide book but lunch was finished for the day. So back to the old market for some Salmon Soup and coffee.

We walked more and were hungry still so went to a restaurant recommended by a woman, “The Flying Reindeer”. Of course, we had to have a sirloin of Reindeer!

A Vodka drink

Enjoying the fire on a very cold evening.

We found a little bar, also in the guide book. One that was supposed to have a huge fireplace. We popped in and the bartender recommended a Finnish drink, not quite as strong as Vodka. They started a roaring fire and told us to enjoy it. As it was only 3F outside, we were feeling very smug.

Visiting Kuopio

Another train ride working our way north. This time the stop was Kuopio.

We had a longer walk, about 10 minutes, to our hotel. The walk was made longer after I slipped in the ice. But with my pants torn at the knee, I looked very cool! (cold?) Torn pants are the look of some of the young people.

We asked at the desk where to go and where the locals eat. The two people recommended that we walk to the lake and then marked on the map where two restaurants were. They said that the hotel also had 2 good restaurants.

The walk by the lake was beautiful but funny to see boats frozen in place for the winter. We walked until we were way too hungry. Winds were also picking up making it really cold.

On the way to the restaurant area, we were passing the cathedral. We decided to step inside and blow our dripping noses. We wanted to warm up a bit too. http://www.spottinghistory.com/view/215/kuopio-cathedral/

We stepped inside the cathedral and in the choir loft, above the door, we heard music, “Little Drummer Boy”. It became apparent that it was a rehearsal so we thought we’d sit down, warm up and hear the music. Within minutes people started streaming in and within 10 minutes the whole place was packed.

The Cathedral just minutes before people started streaming in

The choir loft just above the exit door

I went to the rear and picked up a brochure but, of course, we couldn’t read it as it was all in Finnish. There were numbers 1-24 listed on the front page so we thought that maybe it was about programs every night until Christmas. A lady sat down next to me and started to talk but I had to tell her that I did not speak Finnish. Alas.

The program started and people sang along, the lady next to me pointed to the song they were singing. We did not recognize most of the songs except for “Little Drummer Boy”, “Away In a Manger” and “Beautiful Savior”. Some of the songs were performed by a men’s chorus in the choir loft, this included the “Little Drummer Boy”. Otherwise, the audience joined in accompanied by the organ. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WWRYdZEdvDg

We walked to the center square but winds were blowing and the restaurants did not have

anything we wanted to eat. We decided to walk back to the hotel for dinner and sauna.

And Now Tampere

View from the train

Another train view

We thought it was cold, but it has gotten colder, more snow on the ground and less light in the day.

We hopped the train to Tampere, arriving in the late morning. This train was another 1-1/2 hour ride and, really nice was that the station was only a block from our hotel. Easy walk.

We were lucky that a room was ready for us when we arrived, and we were upgraded to an Executive Suite. Especially nice, since this was all paid for with our points.

The hotel clerk gave us a map and pointed out a restaurant that locals love, a good walk away but easy walking. And off we were onto another experience.

The walk to the restaurant goes thru the town square and the New Christmas Market. We walked up the main street, crossed the bridge and there was the town square. Some beautiful old buildings surround the square.

Buildings across from the square

Blue sky

Up a hill, from the square is an old building that was built 1877 for a cotton mill. The restaurant is in what was the weaving area. The restaurant is a brewery and I was guessing that I’d find some wine to drink. But no, they not only brew regular beer but also gluten free beer. What a treat. http://www.plevna.fi/?page_id=263

We found just what we wanted, Finnish foods, the Cream of Salmon Soup, that we’ve fallen in love with. We also had a meatball dish and a stir-fry, what we’d call a potato and meat scramble at home.

As we ate, we were talking about how this salmon soup was more like what Dale’s mom use to make. We then realized that we have never seen salmon soup on a menu before Finland, but then, we are very close to Russia. When our dinner arrived one of the salads was a pickled beet salad, like Dale’s mom use to make. That made us wonder if she grew up with those dishes as her family did not come from the Russia area. Or if she learned to make them from Dale’s dad’s side, who came from Russia. Wish she was here so we could discuss the food with her.

Cream of Salmon Soup

A little further up the hill was the “old” Christmas Market. The old buildings are, for the most part, smaller. One building, selling various items, appeared to be a barn with a horse stall located

An old barrn

 in the rear right side. Sheep were in the rear left side and the children were petting the sheep.

It was a nice walk back to the hotel in time for a Finnish Sauna.

On to Turku

View from the train

We wanted to hop on an early morning train, but alas, we took too long getting packed up so didn’t arrive in Turku until early afternoon. The cab driver to our hotel gave us some ideas for dinner and things to do.

We quickly put our stuff in our room, asked the front desk to call a cab, but before we were off the lady gave us a map and circled the places to go and where to walk. In the cab we were listening to rock music, like Penny Lane, in Finnish.

We had 2 things we wanted to do, go to Aboa Vetus recommended by the guide book and eat dinner at Foija, which was recommended by the cab driver.

We thought we’d eat a late lunch first then see the museum as the museum was open until 7pm and after 5pm the restaurant was likely going to be packed with reservations because of Christmas parties.

The restaurant has 2 levels, one on the street and one in the basement. The basement is very old, some of the brick walls are over 200 years old. The waiter suggested salmon and vodka, a wonderful choice for a starter.

We ate our meal then walked to the Aboa Vetus. http://www.aboavetusarsnova.fi/en/exhibitions/aboa-vetus-permanent-exhibition

It was dark by then but we found our way. The Aboa Vetus is a museum consisting of ruins, some as early as the 13^th century, existing under the present day city. Being interested in Archeology, this was of a huge interest to me and we both really enjoyed it.

14th Century Cellar

There is an art museum, built on top of the ruins which contains various types of art. We went thru those exhibits as well with the time we had before closing.

One striking exhibit is a sketch of the city of Turku. http://www.aboavetusarsnova.fi/en/exhibitions/okko-poylio-vartiovuori

The sketch is very moving but very dark.

Unfortunately, the Christmas Market was closed up by the time we walked back to the taxi queue. But it was cold (about 18F) and we were ready to go back to the hotel and have some wine.