Scandinavian Trip - Day 7 - Rovaniemi Ice Hotel and Santa Claus Village

Today is a sad day as we will finally be leaving Rovaniemi, a city of fairy tales and lovely cold weather, right on the arctic circle. Its been a special experience being here and enjoying the activities. We had a busy morning packing our stuff and checking out of the apartment. We had to plan ahead to ensure we have the next couple of days packed separately to make our dash to Stockholm easier. Also, we had to hurry up as we had a 10am appointment at the Arctic Ice Hotel. 

We went outside to be surprised by the amount of snowfall overnight. I had to shovel so much snow out of the nooks and corners of the car before we could get going. It was snowing lightly in the morning as well and it felt heavenly. The fresh snow was slippery as well and the car skidded along the driveway. The 30 mins drive had the usual slides and skids, minor mistakes around junctions that got a lot of flak from my daughter, and the uniform arctic landscape. 

We were one of the first people to enjoy the unique Ice Hotel attraction this year, as the hotel is opening its doors only today. We were also intrigued with what they had built in the last 5 days since we saw them first shovel in snow to create the first wall of the structure during our stay there. And boy were we amazed! 

The intricate snow and ice carvings along with the perfect background lighting created a wonderful blend that was a treat for the eyes. We had a tour of all the rooms (where guests stay only after 9pm, giving the public access during the day), 4 restaurants of different themes as well as an ice bar and ice chapel. The ice chapel was born out of the founder's promise to his wife to get married in the chapel of his own creation. 

Once we were done with the tour, we had to immediately rush back to Santa Claus Village to rendezvous with my daughter's classmate who was there with her tour group. After a brief catch up together, we went off for our lunch with another bite of burgers and pizzas. 

After lunch,.we were left with a conundrum. We had 6 hours before the flight, but we couldn't go to the Korundi museum since it was closed on Mondays. We couldn't go back to the apartment since we had already checked out. So we ended up debating our next destination and finally decided to go back to Arktikum and enjoy the museum and the cafe there and while away some time. We also saw a movie about the arctic seasons and the beautiful change of colours in each. There was also a guide explaining about Rovaniemi and some of the key exhibits that was very insightful, so we tagged along with the group for a while. Before we knew it, it was time for the museum to close. 

I wanted to have a quick bite before heading off to the airport and the choice was Mexican this time. However just as we reached the restaurant my son was feeling a bit nauseous and the restaurant said it will take 35 mins to prepare the order so we had to ditch that plan and go off to fill the tank with petrol and head to the airport instead. 

Contrary to the drama of the first day, we had no issues parking, completing the car rental return formalities and checkin to the airplane, with plenty of time to fill our tummy before our flight out of Rovaniemi. 

We reached Helsinki just before midnight, but the so called Hilton Airport hotel was a fair bit of walk from the airport Arrivals, with some of it outside exposed to the elements, unlike the Comfort Hotel in Copenhagen (or even here). 

Tonight will be the last night in Finland and we will definitely look back with fond memories of the trip here, despite some of the drama that we can laugh about in hindsight. Arctic Circle or beyond should definitely be a bucket list item for anyone who loves to travel, what an experience!