Eating Rudolph?

After our 30-minute ride, the girls were happy to finally have a chance to pet one of the tamer reindeer. Then we went into a teepee for hot berry juice and pancakes cooked over an open fire. The girls were thrilled to do the cooking and I was thrilled to warm up my frozen feet. That afternoon we took a bus into town, went to an indoor pool and went out for lunch. Although I stopped eating beef for environmental reasons in 1999, I ate sauteed reindeer with mashed potatoes, and then on our last day had pizza with smoked reindeer, which I preferred. While Veronica was appalled, Ashlynn was very pragmatic about it, although wouldn’t try any.

Happy Leap Year!

These Reindeer Don’t Fly...

Since we were sitting low in the sled, the view straight ahead wasn’t too pretty; most of my photos were filled with the bum of our reindeer. You can see above that ours often tried to pass the sled ahead of us; apparently he forgot that was impossible since he was tied to the sled ahead. If you look closely, you’ll see our Sami guide riding along the skids of the front sled. While the sky wasn’t as spectacular as the day before, the sunrise was still colorful and the woods we rode through were beautiful. Our guide told us that the reindeer aren’t domesticated like cows, but are basically wild. There are over 200,000 reindeer in Finnish Lapland and they’re the major source of meat in the region.

Was That Rudolph?

We didn’t see any shiny red noses amongst the reindeer at the farm we visited 30 minutes from our hotel. The farmer is a Sami, the indigenous people of Lapland. His village has just 17 human inhabitants as well as several hundred reindeer who roam freely the majority of the year. After bundling up in thermal jumpsuits, he took us on a reindeer sled ride. Unlike the husky ride, this was a passive activity since all the sleds were tied together. Unfortunately, the sleds only held two people, so Veronica went with another woman.

Nature’s Light Show...

Much to our delight and utter amazement, Mother Nature provided us with the perfect ending to this magical day. After dinner, the girls went outside at about 9pm to sled while I stayed behind to email Jimmy. I hadn’t even finished the first sentence when Ashlynn ran into the room saying that the Northern Lights had appeared. I was so excited, that I dashed out without my coat despite freezing temps because I didn’t want to risk missing the show. There were streaks of green lights all over the sky that were constantly moving. At one point it looked like the light was dancing. It lasted for about 20 minutes, but showed up again a few hours later; this time I watched (wearing my coat) from various spots while the girls slept. These photos (sorry they stink, but the camera was handheld during an extremely long exposure by a total amateur--me) were taken from outside our cabin the following night. While we were a tad disappointed that the lights weren’t more colorful, we were spoiled that they appeared for two nights of our visit since they’re most commonly seen in the late fall and spring. What a thrill!

Our Log Cabin...

When we returned from our husky adventure, it was time to move into the log cabin that we’d be staying in for the next 3 nights. It was quite funny using sleds to move our luggage from the main lodge to the cabin, which seemed gigantic compared to the igloo and was also toasty warm.
Veronica loved the top bunk, while Ashlynn slept with me in the big bed. It was great having a large table so we could play games, although we also played on the bed to be near the fireplace. In fine Finnish style, we had our own sauna, but sadly only used it as a drying rack for wet clothes.

Valuable Lessons Learned with the Huskies...

* There’s a reason why the cardinal rule is: Whatever happens, don’t let go. Apparently, I didn’t brake quite enough coming into a turn and it looked like we were going to flip. I attempted to adjust my weight to straighten us out and the next thing I knew, I was laying in the snow and the sled with my sweet daughters was flying away from me.
* Trying to run in the snow when dressed like an Oompa-Loompa is futile.
* When there’s an emergency, I can scream for help (unlike in dreams when I open my mouth and nothing comes out).
* My daughters are very brave. Actually, they didn’t realize I was gone at first, but stayed calm and screamed for help when they saw I wasn’t there. They never cried and, most importantly, weren’t afraid to continue on.
* Falling off a dog sled is a good way to get a free snowmobile ride. When we zoomed ahead, the sled was already stopped as the dogs had gotten tangled and were fighting. They might work together as a team, but that doesn’t mean they get along.

What a Sky!

When this far north, the sun doesn’t rise above the horizon until mid-January. So instead of seeing the sun, we saw an extended sunrise followed immediately by sunset. It was possibly the prettiest sky I’ve ever seen. As often happens, the photos just don’t do it justice. Before lunch, the sky was deep blue up high and pink below. After lunch, it was mostly cloudy and just the tips of the trees were pink. Truly beautiful! On our return trip to the husky farm, we were able to fly along because we didn’t have a slow team in front of us. Although we weren’t able to stop to get photos, it was very awesome riding off into the sunset at 1:30pm.

Lunch in the Wilderness...

At the halfway point on our husky adventure, we stopped at a log cabin in the middle of the woods to warm up and have lunch. Our leaders lit three fires in the long house and cooked salmon soup and berry juice, which was just perfect for our 1.5 hour break to warm up and recover from all that hard work. As we only had 10 dog teams out that day, we didn’t get to use the teepee. During the height of tourist season (before Christmas when families come to visit Santa--in case you weren’t aware, he lives in Lapland), they can have up to 18 teams of 6 dogs out everyday. Can’t imagine how fast we would have been if we’d had a 6th dog.

Mush! Mush!

I must confess that I was excited, but scared about driving a husky sled. It was 0° F, but we were well bundled up.
Luckily I didn’t have to steer the sled. These Alaskan Huskies are truly running machines. Our team was very fast, but not bright enough to slow down as they come upon a slower team, so my entire job was to stomp on the brake in the middle of the skids at the back of the sled. The funny thing is that the dogs would turn back and bark at me as I stopped them from ramming another sled. It was truly exhilarating yet exhausting as we flew over the packed snow for 2 hours on a 12-mile track. No idea how those Iditarod racers do it. To read more, check out a recent Washington Post article about dog sledding.

A Magical Start to a Magical Day...

After all the clouds of last night, I was thrilled to wake up in the igloo and see the stars shining above. When the girls woke up, we laid in bed in the dark for another 30 minutes to try picking out the constellations. Mars was shining especially bright. It was a great way to start the day.

Our Glass Igloo...

I told the girls that there had been a mix-up and we wouldn’t be able to spend our first night in a cabin. In actuality, I surprised them with a night in a glass igloo. It was quite fun to be nice and warm in this cozy little glass house with a view outside. We got settled in, then changed into our snow clothes and went sledding on the hill beside our igloo. After dinner, we returned to our igloo and played a bunch of games. Unfortunately, it was cloudy all night, so we couldn’t see any stars.

150 Miles Above the Artic Circle...

After flying 945 miles to Helsinki, we flew another 615 miles north to Europe’s most northern airport. It was the first flight I’d ever been on that showed take-off and landing on the TV’s, which was very cool to watch. From the Ivalo Airport, we travelled 30 minutes south to the Kakslauttanen Igloo Village for 4 nights of an Artic adventure. We started with a tour of the snow igloos. While we enjoyed seeing them, it never dawned on me to sleep on a slab of ice. Only a portion of the snow village had actually been completed by the time we arrived since it rained for much of December (global warming perhaps?), but it was cool watching them working on the snow restaurant and chapel.

Helsinki, Finland...

I once again had the desire to travel somewhere over a school break while Jimmy was away and had to decide where to go. I was very torn, but soon it came down to hanging out on a beach sipping Pina Coladas or going in search of the Northern Lights. Somehow it didn’t seem right to go snorkeling without Jimmy, but freezing in the Artic seemed fitting. So, we left on January 2nd for Finland, spending our first two nights in the capital city of Helsinki. We did the usual city things--visited the art museum, the zoo (the bears were hibernating!), the national museum and the cathedrals. The girls especially enjoyed ice skating at the outdoor rink in the center of town, although Ashlynn wasn’t used to the slick Zambonied ice and needed Veronica’s support.

An Afternoon in Brugge...

After we’d had enough ice, we ventured into the center of this quaint historic town. I love the architecture, but not the crowds; this UNESCO World Heritage Site is perhaps too popular and overflowing with horse-drawn carriages and souvenir shops. There was a cute, but small Christmas Market set up in the main square and in a few of the smaller squares. We had a late lunch at an Egyptian restaurant, then wandered back around the city streets to see the festive holiday lights and enjoy a hot Belgian waffle with some hot chocolate before the 2.5 hour drive home.

Ice Fantasy...

While the name Ice Fantasy might conjure all kinds of unique images, the one I’m referring to was the theme of the Snow & Ice Sculpture Festival we went to in Brugge, Belgium with a friend just after Christmas. Forty artists from around the world used 330 tons of ice and 440 tons of snow to build the sculptures, which ranged from a wizard to a hedgehog to a cemetery complete with the Grim Reaper. After 30 minutes in the 21° F, we were too cold to hang out and have a drink at the ice bar.