Love Letter to Finnish Lapland

There is not that much to discover in the Finnish Lapland during the winter. It is very cold and snowy, there are reindeers wandering around, huskies, forests and lakes all covered in snow, freezing temperatures so things are frozen. There are some spots where you can ski (do not expect the Alps kind of experience, but you can still have fun), there are some yummy meal options, you can see aurora lights, do night safari or slide with huskies…and that’s pretty much it…

So why did we go back? Because of all the above things, obviously! 

Going to Lapland is not your regular experience and it literally feels like you are making your biggest dream come true. Each time! During our last visit we stayed in exactly the same hut. It is located in a forest, next to a big lake which is all frozen and covered in snow, so it is like if there wasn’t one (this sentence does not have a lot of sense, right?) and kind of close to a tiny Ivalo airport. 

We went back to the same place, because it is my happy place. There was a thought at some point, that maybe it is better to try something new like a glass igloo which gives an option to see aurora lights during the night, but 5 minutes later I’ve decided not to. I do go to sleep with the chickens and I wake up super early, so most probably I would not see much. I also like the space of the hut, interior sauna (perfect solution with parents with kids), which helps a lot during the very freezing days and the kitchen, where the fresh coffee is waiting to be made.

Fairly close to the hut there is a reindeer farm and reindeers walk around the whole area freely. It is one of the coolest thing to meet one. They literally behave like reindeers from cartoons and they run really funny. It made my day when I met them during my morning coffee time. 

The second, equally beautiful experience is an encounter with huskies. These dogs love running so much, that you need to use an anchor when stopping the slides. Sliding with huskies is a lot of fun, but also some work. Years ago I gave a lift to a girl, who trains huskies and she told me, that they love to run and run so fast and for so long, that if you accidentally fell down from the slights, they will leave you behind and won’t stop. As she did it professionally, she told me that she ties herself to the sleigh, so it happened a few times, that the dogs would drag her for kilometres. But don’t you worry, the huskies you will meet were not trained for professional races, so they are calmer and slower. It is so much fun to do the husky safari, but sometimes you need to run behind and push the sleigh, to help huskies a bit. Which obviously is additional fun. Tomasz recorded me a couple of times and I was laughing out loud while doing it and getting short of breath.

We were very lucky to enter one of the huts just at the right time. There are these wooden huts all covered in snow, with a fireplace inside, where you can warm a bit. We’ve just finished a long walk and wanted to see if it is open. The ladies inside told us to stay in for the next hour and use some leftover dough to make crepes. It was so kind of them. They had some time reserved for their school, but they left earlier and wanted someone to use it till the end. I’ve met many great Finnish folks, but this encounter made me like them even more.

For me personally, the biggest advantage of up north is the feeling that it is only you and the wild. There is not many locals living in this freezing area and not that many tourists. I did not have a situation when I went to a restaurant and it was full. I always felt like if we were somewhere, where people do not go. 

Mia likes it a lot as well. This makes me very optimistic to look at her being happy and gentle with animals, talking to them with love and understanding. My goal is to make her love whales as much as I do, so maybe this should be our next direction…

Believe me, if you want to experience something very special, go to Finnish Lapland.