Lapland Hotel Sirkantaehti Sirkka

... experienced only two snow falls. One occurred on Christmas eve 2007 but remained only for a few hours and the second one on Easter Sunday 2008. On Easter Sunday the temperatures dipped to -4°C. It was hard to say, whether we brought the snow and cold temperatures from Lapland, after we had had such a mild winter in Frankfurt for the whole first quarter of the year.

Lapland - Cross-country Skiing It had started snowing heavily during the night and by the morning, at least five cms of snow had fallen. The other guests of the lodge decided to go for another husky ride, but we wanted to go skiing instead. So we borrowed skis and ski shoes from the lodge, again at no additional cost for us. Near the lodge their was a trail for cross ...

... the dogs run freely. Curves and uneven ground were not such a problem anymore, as I had gained experience on how to best handle such situations. Standing on the runners, I had a much better balance than when standing on the brakes, and when we entered a curve, I had learnt to lean in the right way to avoid tilting the sled. On a few occasions, I was thrown off the runners, but managed to hold on to the handles ...

... see Arctis close up, but I could see him bleeding all over. Also, many of the other dogs which had joined the fight were bloody, but probably only from the blood of Arctis. Had only the trainer Beat been in the enclosure Arctis would likely have been torn to shreds. But with the god sent help of the other four dog experts, Arctis was saved. Later on, we were told that such types of fierce fights did happen from time to time. These dogs are more wild than tame ...

Lapland - Second snow shoeing excursion This was a second day at our free disposal. As we could have breakfast at our lodge, we took it easy. The day was overcast. It looked as if it was going to snow. Finally, we once again set out with our snow shoes, this time following the ski trails parallel to Äkäskero Mountain. After about one hour it ...

... prohibitted. Unlike the Husky Mushing, which permitted full enjoyment of the quietness of nature, the snowmobiles were extremely noisy. As the trails were very uneven with a lot of indentures, and also some curves, full concentration had to be allotted to driving the vehicle rather than enjoying the beautiful landscape. Nonetheless, it was a fun and one of a kind experience to be able to skid over the snow at 20 - 40 km/h.

... was, but both tasted good and were 3,5% fat fresh cow milk. Locals spoke English, and we noticed that they used both skis and sleds to do their shopping. But cars were an equally common site in front of this supermarket. As the currency was the same in Germany as it was in Finland, at least we had no problem with the money. Even our debit cards were accepted.

... the trail until they were caught by the sled in front. The guide had instructed us that whenever we wanted to halt, we should raise our hand making a stop sign, so that the person behind knew to stop his dogs as well. And whenever the guide wanted to start again, he would raise his thumb and ensure that all people behind him also raised their thumbs. With respect to the dogs, a stern "Halt" was ...

... metres in front of us. On the 3rd skiing day, the weather was pretty bad. We were skiing to Hotel Saaga on the other village. We were skiing blind as we could not see through our goggles. Icicles formed on the goggles. We tried scrapping with our gloved hands but they were stuck firmly on the goggles. It was continue skiing or freeze on the slopes. I tripped a few times. On the last day of skiing visibility improved and we could ...

... was just something totally amazing. The organic creamy white swirls initially looked like they were just clouds but on a closer inspection it became clear that these 'clouds' were changing so rapidly that there was only one thing it could be. There is nothing that the lights can be compared to, to even give a comparison of what they might be similar to. Under the clear night sky with more stars than I think I have ever seen before, biting cold wind and no lights ...