Lapland Hotel Riekonlinna Saariselka

... and drilling a hole with the hope of hooking something. I want to catch a complete monster fish just to have my photo taken with it, but the tour leaflet says that if you catch something you can cook it and eat it, which is the decider. The weather in the morning is glorious, and we set out to book our fishing trip for later in the day. Just after 9am the sun creeps above the trees on the side of the fell, giving the frozen scene ...

... resort in Europe, and the training grounds of the national cross-country skiing team. Although nowhere near as high altitude as resorts in the Alps or the Rockies, the latitude (approximately 68º North) guarantees snow for several months of the year. To the east of the village lie the fells of Kaunispää (437m) and Iisakkipää, where the alpine ski centre is based. The fells have the rounded profile, with a flattened top ...

... of the cabin is the living area, with a wood-burning stove in the centre of the room. The left of the room is a sitting area with a coffee table, and the right is a small kitchen, complete with hotplate, microwave and dishwasher, along with a table and benches. At each corner of the room doors lead through to the bedrooms, fitted out as mirror images with bunk-beds and a hanging rail. Next to the fire, a thick ...

... nothing in both cases. It wasn't until we were practically on the runway did any sign of the airport and the town come into view. The runway was covered in ice and snow was drifting across the surface. We disembarked from the aircraft into a snowstorm, which continued for at least the next 15 hours, and is still falling as I write. Unlike the snow at home, the flakes are so fine that you barely notice it. Instead of ...

... with the Arctic Circle: it exists in the map but there is nothing there really. You can get "the original certificate of crossing the Arctic Circle" though. :) Anyway, now we are officially in the North. It was so easy to come here. We are actually living very close to North in South of Finland, too, we just realised... Now we are staying in the hotel called Lapinleuku. It's in Ivalo. (Avvil in Sami language) We are the only customers because ...

I have entered the land of the midnight sun! which, I've discovered, means I've been having a lot of trouble sleeping. Luckily, I have been able to relax in sauna. I just got back from the sauna at our hotel, which is right beside the Inari river - so we had a couple of dips in between sauna ...

... from a quick petrol stop, just short of 400 miles on the one tank of petrol, we filled up and got on our way. A further 60 miles back to Levi, stopping only at the supermarket to buy in some goods for the evening dinner. Later in the evening, not long after 2200 we decided to see if we were able to see the Northern Lights again. This time we headed away from the ski slope and into a more foresty part of the village, but we could see a fair amount ...

Ok, from Ivalo it was a little bit harder, even though it is much larger than Inari. Still, I managed to get a ride from the 152nd car in the 65th minute, from a very quiet Finnish guy who was only going as far as Sariselkä, some 40 kilometers south of Ivalo.

... I had never done it before and didn't know the tricks, so I just went to the roadside and stuck my thumb out, while doing some statistics to have an idea if it was feasible to go all the way to Helsinki or if I should give up. It was really easy to get out of Inari, even though it is such a small place (around 600 inhabitants), as on the 9th minute, the 9th car stopped to me and two nice women gave me a ride to Ivalo.

What an experience. A lovely quiet wedding; beautiful picture postcard scenery; deep snow so cold that it forms perfect stars. Apparently, this only happens after about -12 degree's? And of course, madmen in the middle of the night looking at the aurora borealis! http://www.saariselka.fi/eng/