Our trip to Finland was definitely a bucket list adventure (although not my bucket list!). James spent countless hours planning every detail of this trip and he made it into a very unique, once in a lifetime experience. I can’t say I loved all of it — James and James Wilson really love the snow and doing things that I find dangerous so I spent a lot of time just trying to be a good sport and pointing out obvious perils. There were parts that were truly spectacular. It was unbelievably, breathtakingly beautiful up there. But it was just so extreme and for a worrier like me there were just too many ways to die. Within minutes of getting to the North Pole JW was outside wrestling a giant icicle off the roof of the lodge and an employee came running over waving his arms frantically yelling for him to get away from the building and he told me that if the snow fell off the building and landed on my kid there’d be no need to call an ambulance it would just be a funeral and that pretty much sums up the vibe of the entire trip. James and James Wilson loved every minute of it.
We took an overnight train from Helsinki to Rovaniemi — very Polar Express. Our first night was at an Ice Hotel. We did a Finnish sauna experience complete with an ice sauna, a traditional Finnish sauna and a jacuzzi. All good so far…. The trouble began with nightfall…When we entered the Ice Hotel to find our sleeping chamberAnd it became clear we were going to be spending the night in ice catacombsThat were beautiful but deadlyLike a sub-zero tombIn which we had to cocoon ourselves in multiple layers wrapped up like mummies. It was impossible to move and I felt extremely claustrophobic. My face was freezing and when I cinched the top closed so that only my nose was out it got so cold I couldn’t feel it any more and I couldn’t breathe. After approximately 45 minutes I freaked out and thrashed my way out of the sleeping bag and ran like a mad woman through the ice catacombs to the heated locker room where there were emergency bunk beds set up for those of us who couldn’t deal with the ice tombs. I spent the night in there not sleeping and pondering all the things that could go wrong — from freezing to death, to someone setting the place on fire with an illicit cigarette, to cave ins, to carbon monoxide poisoning, to Nordic vampires. Me the next morningWe took a snowmobile excursion through the forestOur guide, Alexi, is a true survivalist. He’s got all the skills to thrive in the Arctic wilderness.Contemplating survival
The next morning we drove into town to stay at a proper hotel in Romanievi for two glorious nights. It was fabulous. The food in Lapland was really surprising — every restaurant rivaled NYC in terms of hipness and sophistication. The choices were mostly salmon or reindeer everywhere we went in Finland, so we ate a lot of salmon. We spent a couple of days exploring Rovaniemi, including the Arktikum Museum and a day trip to Santa’s official residence and post office.
Traditional Christmas demonsChilling in Santa’s VillageOne of Santa’s fancy reindeerWe ate a lot of salmonSending postcards from Santa’s official post officeWe took an excursion out to meet a reindeer herder whose family has been in the reindeer herding business for more than 500 years. He took us for a ride through the forest on his reindeer sleigh. It was incredibly beautiful. Afterward, he introduced us to a lot of his reindeer and we learned about his life as a reindeer herder. The Reindeer are semi-wild animals. They live free in the forest and he sometimes has to travel as much as 300 kilometers to herd them back home twice a year. It struck me as a very lonely but purposeful life. He was a very zen guy. Post-sleigh ride lichen treats
Next, we drove 3 hours north of the Arctic Circle to the North Pole to begin the next leg of our adventure — hunting the Aurora Borealis.
Checking into our glass iglooIt was so cool!Immediately after getting settled into our glass igloo we went to the main lodge and JW went outside to wrestle a giant icicle off the side of the building. An employee saw him and came running over waving his arms frantically and yelling for him to get away from the building, then he told me that if the snow fell off the roof and landed on my kid we wouldn’t even need to call an ambulance, it would be a funeral. I feel the need to tell this story twice. A deadly ice hole you can jump in after taking a sauna.Sunrise at the North PoleConditions cleared and we lucked out and got to see the Aurora Borealis on our first night at the North Pole. It would turn out to be the only time we got to see it as the rest of the nights were too cloudy, and we were thrilled by the entire experience. It was one of the most amazing phenomenon I’ve ever seen.Alien invasionThey’re heeeeere.Our Aurora Borealis alarm went off at 12:30 am and we woke up to see the Northern Lights were all over us. It was like they creeped up on us in the middle of the night to check us out and say hello. This is the view from my bed in the Glass Igloo. James nearly froze to death taking this series of pictures. The next day we went to a husky farm and got to drive a sleigh led by huskies through the forest. To be clear, we didn’t just ride on the sleigh, WE DROVE THE SLEDS. It was really intense — definitely not a Disney ride, and I’m not sure I’d do it again, but I’ll never forget the experience. James Wilson tried driving but the dogs were too strong. He took this series of awesome photos.That’s me up there in the pink hat driving that sled!Ice on my eyelashes and possibly husky poop on my faceWe met the puppies after and they were ridiculously cute and smellyI’m very grateful to still be here on earth with you all after our flight from Ivalo to Helsinki had to make two attempts to land during terrible weather. It was the scariest flight of my life and afterward I told James to find alternative ways for us to get from Helsinki to Amsterdam that didn’t involve flying because I wasn’t sure I could board the second plane but I did.
Overall, the trip was amazing. Truly a once in a lifetime experience. I definitely had to push myself to live outside my even remotely comfort zone, and for the most part I did really well but I am so incredibly glad to be back home in Amsterdam. We had the most glorious day yesterday doing laundry, going to the grocery store, cooking a super healthy and delicious meal of roasted chicken and root vegetables and James Wilson baked cookies and made chocolate mousse for dessert. James tinkered with the Hi-Fi and got the record player to work. I wrote next week’s school newsletter and took Brian for walks and it feels so, so good to be home.
Huskies and ice on the beard. Sounds like my kind of place.
Jen,
what a great story and great trip! I’m loving following all of your adventures (daily and bucket list)
I’ll be traveling to Belgium sometime next year and would love to take a side trip to visit you all. 🙂
Huskies and ice on the beard. Sounds like my kind of place.
Jen,
what a great story and great trip! I’m loving following all of your adventures (daily and bucket list)
I’ll be traveling to Belgium sometime next year and would love to take a side trip to visit you all. 🙂