In mid January we headed off on a "babymoon" to squeeze in some final travel before I wasn't allowed to get on a plane. We had actually had this trip planned for close to a year as its a super remote place with limited availability. Where'd we go?....the Arctic circle! When Tom and I moved over to Europe one of the places on our "must see" list of getting to experience seeing the Aurora Borealis (Northern Lights). In order to do this you've gotta go North and really really far North! We started our journey traveling to Helsinki, Finland and spent a quick night there exploring the city. The next morning we were up early for our flight to Ivalo, Finland...pretty much as far North in Finland as you can go and in the middle of nowhere! We knew we needed to prepare for the crazy Arctic weather and packed layers and layers of warm clothes, but the wind and bitter cold were still a major shock to our systems as we got off of the plane in -30 degree Fahrenheit. Despite, the cold, even the scenery around the airport was incredible...it looked literally like a winter wonderland, something you'd see in a children's book. A landscape of beautifully frozen and snow covered trees everywhere! The airport was probably the smallest one we've ever been in with one baggage claim area and only two desks for checking into flights...so we quickly got our bags and car and set off for our resort. We made a quick stop at a local grocery store to pick up some snacks for our cabin. It was so cool just to take in the natural beauty as we drove around and we were shocked to see that the sun was beginning to set for the day by noon!
We stayed in a cool resort called Kakslautten Village. It featured two different types of rooms...log cabins and igloos made of glass in order to have a picture perfect view of the Northern lights. We decided to try out both and spent a few nights in each. They also had a couple of "ice rooms"...yes you read that correctly...rooms made completely of ice where you sleep in these oversize sleeping bags, but that seemed a bit too cold for our liking. After checking in at the main lodge we got a map and a sled to bring our luggage to our cabin. Since all of the rooms are set back into the woods there are no cars allowed...so they provide sleds for you to take your luggage to your room. Our cabin was cozy and cute and we loved that it had a great fireplace inside! We relaxed and explored the property before heading to dinner at the main lodge.
Out first full day we had an excursion at a reindeer farm that included a sled ride pulled by reindeer through the gorgeous scenery. It was super fun and the reindeer were just plain adorable! Our local guide was great too. He is part of the Sami people...a cultural group that lives in this area. We visited his reindeer farm and he told us all about what life is like living in such cold and isolated conditions. It was super cool to learn all about his lifestyle. While the tour was awesome we were totally ready to warm up in the afternoon and had a nice fire in our cabin and relaxed!
After dinner Tom headed out for an evening of dog sledding. As much as I would have loved to join him, it wasn't recommended for a 30 week pregnant lady...especially considering the closest hospital in the area was over 100 miles away. So, I took it easy and relaxed and Tom had the time of his life out with his team of huskies for the evening!
The next day we moved into our glass igloo. It was super cool to have an almost 360 degree view of the sky and our surroundings. The whole room was shaped like an igloo and made of tempered glass so that it can withstand the cold and not fog up. Tom headed out for a late morning of snowmobiling. Again, another activity that doesn't suit a pregnant lady very well...but I still had a great time enjoying the scenery and honestly, am not sure I would have made it out in the cold for that long. : ) Tom had an amazing time and loved getting to be out in an open terrain!
Later that afternoon we went out an explored the "town" if you can even call it that. It was quite small and included two restaurants, a gift shop and "Santa's Village", a cute little place set up for children to see Santa at the North Pole! After our outing we had a relaxing and cozy evening in our igloo admiring the Northern Lights. We got to see some green and yellow ones in the sky...they were super amazing to see. Unfortunately, we were not able to get any good pictures of the lights...but they were definitely an awesome sight to see!
We woke up the next morning ready to head to the airport for our flight home and were shocked to discover that the door to our igloo wouldn't open. After several attempts we realized that the special cold-resistant lock had somehow froze on the door. Thankfully, we had cell phone service and called the main lodge for assistance. They were eager to come help and it took about 45 minutes to get the door lock warmed up and opened. The owner of the resort was incredibly apologetic and said that this is sort of situation is quite rare, especially considering that the doors and locks have are specially formulated for the cold weather! We raced off to the airport and once we were on our plane we were able to laugh about getting locked inside our igloo!
All in all the Arctic Circle was an amazingly cool experience and unlike anything we'd ever seen! We were so glad we made the trek North to experience this unusual part of the world.
 |
| Downtown Helsinki |
.JPG) |
| We made it to the Arctic Circle - Ivalo. Finland |
.JPG) |
| So so cold! |
.JPG) |
| One tiny airport.... |
 |
| Picking up snacks in the local grocery store...we liked this local's shoes |
.JPG) |
| Taking a closer look....they are handmade from reindeer fur |
 |
| We made it to our super cool hotel |
 |
| A map of the hotel property |
 |
| Very important in room fireplace and sauna instructions |
 |
| Taking our luggage by sleigh to our log cabin... |
 |
| Our adorable log cabin |
 |
| The inside of the cabin |
 |
| Tom was an amazing fire builder! |
 |
| Our little kitchen.. |
 |
| Our beautiful view outside |
 |
| We didn't have a freezer in the kitchen....but it wasn't a problem! ; ) And, who knew Finland sells Ben & Jerry's? Poland definitely doesn't. |
 |
| Relaxing..... |
 |
| Our first adventure...reindeer sleigh rides! |
 |
| On a real reindeer farm |
 |
| Getting all bundled up.... |
 |
| With our local Sami guide |
 |
| The small house where our Sami guide grew up in a family of five |
 |
| Gorgeous scenery... |
.JPG) |
| Our Sami guide sharing a traditional song with us |
 |
| The trees all looked magical |
 |
| The sun rose fully at 10:00 am and set at a little after noon |
 |
| "Santa's Office" for kids to visit! |
 |
| Tom went dog sledding that evening...sadly this was not a good activity for a 7.5 months pregnant lady! |
 |
| Adorable dogs |
 |
| So so cold..... |
 |
| We left our log cabin to spend a few nights in a glass igloo to get amazing views of the night sky and Northern Lights |
 |
| Tiny little doorway... |
 |
| Such a unique experience... |
 |
| From inside the igloo |
 |
| Tom got to go on an awesome snowmobiling adventure - another activity that wasn't made for pregnant ladies...especially with the nearest hospital 150 miles away! |
 |
| Stopping for fuel and to warm up! |
 |
| The sun already starting to set.... |
 |
| Gorgeous scenery |
.JPG)
.JPG)
.JPG)
.JPG)
.JPG)
.JPG)
.JPG)
.JPG)