Today started with another 2 flights to reach our first real destination - Rovaniemi, bang on the arctic circle. Our FinnAir flights from Copenhagen to Helsinki and onto Rovaniemi were cosy yet comfortable, with leg room to accommodate the tall Finns making it luxurious to us Asians used to below-average leg space on the majority of airlines.
The flights were about an hour each, but we had a 2.5 hour stopover in Helsinki. It was a nice time to roam around the airport and visit the supermarket, cafes and even the train station there. While it costs a bomb.like any other airport, the food was very tasty and filling. I had a huge Foccacia sandwich loaded with tomato and cheese. We also loaded up on a few snacks from the grocery in case nothing much is available in Rovaniemi at night. But the biggest surprise was the depth of the Helsinki train station, so deep that they had an opera playing on a giant tv screen to entertain people on the way down the escalator! Its probably the deepest escalator I have gone in. Helsinki airport is away from the city with a train ride taking about 32 mins. However we didnt have much time to explore the city. We had a wonderful relaxed breakfast of local open faced sandwiches and coffee.
Approach to Rovaniemi is a snowy delight to the eyes, with the wintery landscape being imprinted in the mind. Snow covered trees and frozen lakes make up a lovely white backdrop. It was snowing lightly when we landed and the small airport was extremely crowded. We noticed that the winter clothing here were actually cheaper than ordering online in Singapore!
Getting a rental car was straightforward, although I got a rude surprise when my bank card got declined. Thankfully I had a plan B using an alternate bank card, learning from my experience in NZ. However, getting the car around for picking up my family was anything but. I told them to wait at the entrance so I can get the car, but fell down a couple of times en route in the fresh snow, even though I had snow boots on! Once I reached the car, it was having a thick cover of snow and ice, so had to spend a lot of time to get those scraped off, especially the icicles which were difficult to get rid of. I had to learn the controls of the new car, with right hand side drive meaning most of the controls were reversed (including the order of drive and reverse gear!). However turn indicators for some reason were the same, so it definitely takes a bit of learning. I finally started the car and went around but couldn't find the airport entrance. I went round a few times and within that small distance and time, I went the wrong way and was politely reminded by other taxi drivers to do a U turn, I almost collided into a snow plough, and I had to reverse back out to ensure I dont get hammered by a turning bus. In the meantime I got about 5 missed calls from my worried family which didn't connect properly, so I had to rely on texting them whenever I could pull over. It was a nerve wracking initiation to winter driving for me. Finally I gave up and parked somewhere else and went to fetch my family. It was almost 1.5 hours since I had left them and my son was crying because he was worried something has happened to me!
The positive from the whole fiasco was that I learnt what I should watch out for before we hit the road with my family. It was a 45 min drive to the Arctic Igloo, our stay for the night. But it was a very focused drive for me, so much that my shoulder muscles started cramping. I had to catch a few minor slides along the way as we went through an accident zone with a van and car in a ditch, which reminded me how easy it is to make mistakes around here.
The highways.were relatively easy to navigate but it's the side roads and the junctions that we need to be more careful about. I came in a bit too fast into one of the junctions and couldn't stop in time for the red light due to the longer stopping distance in snow, so I just crossed amber turning red. One of the side roads was very skiddy even at 40kmph. Again a reminder to be very watchful and all the YouTube videos made practical sense to me now.
We finally reached the Igloos at around 4pm, which felt like midnight. We parked but didn't know which way to go! Thankfully an employee was passing by, and he offered to guide us to the reception, and even helped us with our luggage! We got our bearings once the reception provided us with a map of the place. We had booked dinner there (which was a wise choice as its in the middle of nowhere) and checked in to our glass igloo. It was a cosy space with 4 beds and a bath, with glass ceiling giving us a 360 degree view. It was also equipped with an aurora alarm, to alert us to the northern lights. Unfortunately the weather didnt play ball and we didnt get to see any.
The buffet dinner was pricey but nice, with salads, fried rice and some veg options, along with desserts. We didnt have much appetite so that helped. After dinner, there was a guided tour of snow building and guess what - the guide was the same guy who had helped us out earlier. He explained all about construction using snow and ice, two materials I would have least expected to be very conducive to constructing things with. There was a nice video from the founders and how their college dream came true. They have just started construction of the famous Arctic Snow Hotel, which will open its doors in 5 days - yeah they build the entire thing from scratch in 5 days, every year! They will be even building a snow sauna, which is crazy whichever way you think about it. But they proudly showcase that as having all the states of water in play. It highlights the creativity of the Finns all while loving nature and championing sustainability. The guide even showed us the "freezer" where they stock ice blocks harvested from the frozen lakes nearby and left overs from previous years. Yes - they recycle ice from a year ago, although about 50% melts away in the interim.
Finally we were back in our igloos and had a pretty deep sleep, so even if the alarm had gone off it would have been difficult for us to wake up and see it!
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