Yllas, Finland

Yesterday we had an early family gathering to celebrate Christmas together. It is Sunday morning and time to set off for Birmingham airport. Drop off at Birmingham Airport is still rather chaotic following the additional security arrangements implemented following the terrorist attack at Glasgow Airport in 2007 so we bade farewell to our driver in the long term car park and took the bus to the Terminal.

The queues for check-in (unfortunately no Internet check-in) and Security are not too bad and after a drink and snack in the departure lounge we are away. The flight is operated by Monarch and is uneventful, the best one can hope for, though the onboard drink and meal arrangements are different to anything I have encountered before. Perhaps all charter flights are like this.

We arrive at Kittilä Airport pretty much on time at 18:40EEST ( a two hour time difference from home). There is an Inghams representative at the airport who directs us to a bus to take us to our accommodation, so far so good. Unfortunately we are then delayed as one of the passengers is having to sort out damage to their baggage. The delay is not too long and we set off for an hour ride to Äkäslompolo, along the way our guide gives us some documentation and shares some information about the area.

Our accommodation is a log cabin which is part of the nearby Lapland Hotel Äkäshotelli.

We start the day messing around with a kicksled that was left outside our cabin. We figured that we should just leave where we found it, outside our cabin, in case its owner came looking for it. We have nothing planned for today except for a briefing from Inghams at 16:00 so decide to start our holiday by exploring Äkäslompolo.

As we are self catering we head for the supermarket for some basic supplies. The modern, well equipped supermarket is about a 1km walk along the main road through the village. Walking is easy, allowance for non-vehicular travel is very well catered for. There are footpaths, cross country ski tracks, snowmobile tracks, you could even drive on the road though we saw very few cars. We picked up our supplies which included some Saku Originaal (Estonian beer) which I particularly enjoy. If you want something stronger than beer you have to visit special store (reminds me of when we lived in North Carolina and the ABC stores), we decided to grab a hot drink and light snack at the cafe before picking up some wine. We forgot to buy the wine!

Jess and Sophie have bought me a snowmobile safari for my Christmas present and Sophie wants to visit Snow Fun Safaris to confirm booking and arrangements for tomorrow. Everything is ok, we leave tomorrow at 10:00am. We continue heading south along Sivulantie road until we get to Lapp Village which is roughly another 1km from the supermarket and at the southern edge of the village. Lapp Village is basically a gift shop and a restaurant. However, we have been told that the restaurant Poro serves typical Finnish food and decided to check it out. We warmed up with hot drinks and perused the menu. We decided to book a table here to celebrate our Wedding Anniversary.

On our way back to the Äkäshotelli for our briefing we called at Destination Lapland to collect the cold weather gear we had pre-arranged. Lynn and Sophie had all in one suits and we all had boots. We get back to the hotel for the briefing that really wasn't very useful but the hot berry juice was very nice. However, Lynn did take the opportunity to book a trip for herself and Sophie to visit some reindeer and take a sleigh ride.

We cook some of our purchases and have a quiet evening in the cabin eating, drinking and playing scrabble.

We have a light breakfast then head off for our snowmobile trip. It will be cold and Snow Fun Safaris have suitable clothing for those not well prepared. We are given instruction on how to drive them and after agreeing where we will meet Lynn set off with me driving and Sophie as my passenger. There are four others on the trip plus a guide.

It is -16°C and the temperature isn't a problem at first. The handle bars are heated so no problem with hands, at least to start with. The accelerator is operated by your right thumb and, surprisingly, it starts to get distinctly cold. The other problem is with the helmet that has a visor which is completely closed when driving. Hot breath freezes on the inside of the visor and it takes a while to figure out how to keep it clear. After 15-20minutes we stop to check on some of the others and we take the opportunity to switch places and Sophie then drives. I think that she rather enjoyed it as we left the trail through the trees and emerged out into a large open space where we stop again.

Our guide tells us that we are on a marsh which is why there are no trees. We switch drivers again and we set off across some undisturbed snow. Driving through/over this snow is quite different to driving on the trails, we didn't go as fast but is was more demanding driving. From here we headed towards a kota where we would stop for a hot drink. A kota was a wooden hut rather than the traditional Sami one that is a temporary dwelling, more like a tent. Inside a fire is already burning and the guide heats up some berry juice and some sweet rolls. He also makes some coffee in way that I haven't seen before. He simply adds ground coffee to a kettle of boiling water and pours into a cup. I suppose it is little different to doing the same with tea leaves, just take care when drinking if you do not want a mouthful of coffee grounds.

Outside the hut we can see sunlight in the southern sky, the sun doesn't make it above the horizon at this time of year so it could be considered sunrise or sunset, or perhaps both combined. We now make our way back though the forest to Äkäslompolo and get back about 2.5 hours after we left. It is hard to estimate how far we travelled as our speed varied from about 20kph to 60kph. Doesn't really matter, it was an most enjoyable trip. Thanks girls, an excellent Christmas present!

We meet Lynn, as arranged, at the supermarket cafe. From here we head back to Destination Lapland to pick up some more gear. We collect cross country skis and snowshoes for each of us. We load up a small sled and take our gear back to the cabin. Why I bothered to get myself skis is a mystery, I have never learned to ski and have no interest in learning. When we got back Lynn and Sophie wanted to try their skis and persuaded me to give it a try. I only fell over once, but after 20 minutes I'd had enough. I never understood the fascination and still don't. With cross-country skis you have to keep them parallel, I presume the same is true for downhill. This is an unnatural posture and I am not surprised that people suffer problems with their knees. Lynn and Sophie carried on but I went back to the cabin and enjoyed myself on the kicksled.

We had a nice walk to Poro but it was overcast. The menu was interesting and we shared a Lappish Plate as a starter that proved different and enjoyable. Lynn chose sautéed reindeer for her main course, Sophie and I both opted for an elk dish as neither of us had eaten elk before. For dessert it must be Autumn Temptation. In my experience alcohol is always expensive in Finland, add the fact of Pound-Euro parity, a remote location and the result was that the price of our wine was significant. All of our anniversary dinners have been unique and this was a very pleasant addition to the set.

White fish roe, sour cream, onion, smoked vendace, cold smoked salmon, warm smoked reindeer liver, air dried reindeer steak, smoked lamb steak, elk roast, fried boletus mushrooms, lingonberries and Lappish bread.

Lappish Plate

Apple tart served with spruce shoot syrup, vanilla sauce and old-fashioned vanilla ice-cream.

Autumn Temptation

Unfortunately, it was still overcast as we walked back to our cabin, so no Northern Lights to round off a great day.

We have a lie in since Lynn and Sophie's reindeer safari doesn't depart until 12:50. They leave on time from Äkäshotelli and give me instructions to pick up a couple of items at the supermarket and then to enjoy myself. First problem, the supermarket closes at 13:00 -- about two minutes before I arrive. Second problem, everywhere except the hotel closes at 13:00. Oh well never mind, it is a nice day and I go for a walk before taking a book to the hotel bar and settle down to a quiet drink and a read while I wait for them to get back from their outing at 17:30.

Luckily we have food in for an evening meal, every restaurant is either closed or fully booked. The evening meal on Christmas Eve is the celebration meal in Finland and the local population are out celebrating. We build a fire in the cabin and have cosy meal in. Sophie and I walk down to the lake in the hope of seeing the Northern Lights but no luck, it is too overcast again.

While we were snowmobiling Lynn had been exploring and had found out that the local church had a midnight service. We all walked down to the Saint Laurentius Chapel (Pyhän Laurin Kappeli) and left Lynn to attend the service. I then walked Sophie back to the cabin and returned once again to the chapel arriving shortly before midnight to meet Lynn. The sky had cleared somewhat and I could see stars but still no sign of Northern Lights.

street lighting on Xmas eve . . .

It is Christmas Day, we have to be up early because we are off on a trip to see huskies. We take a short bus ride from Äkäshotelli and arrive at our destination at about 09:15. We can hear the dogs as we get off the bus! Our host tells us a little about the dogs, a mixture of Alaskan and Russian breeds, and explains how to drive the sled and control the dogs as well as what to do if various things go wrong. As he works through the dangers Lynn starts to look pale and decides that she does not want to take a sled ride. Sophie and I certainly do want to go.

Our host sorts out who will go on the first trip. The dogs are literally straining to go and he carefully chooses people who will be able to deal with them on this, their first outing of the day. We are to go first, I drive and Sophie settles into the sled as a passenger. The host unties the rope that has been restraining the sled and we are off like a bat out of hell! There is a gentle downward slope at the start and the dogs seem to fly across the snow for the first kilometre before settling in to a steady, and slower, pace. After a couple of kilometres I use the brake to stop the sled and carefully switch places with Sophie who takes over driving. There are a couple of people on snowmobiles following a similar route keeping an eye on us in case anyone gets in to difficulties and after 6 or 7 kilometres they suggest that we stop and change drivers. We continue to travel though a trail though the woods that the dogs know so we do not have to deal with steering the sled. Much to Sophie's chagrin we sight the compound just as we had decided to switch drivers again. We have travelled about 12km in total but I have no idea how long we were out, it was not long enough, I would have loved have turned around and gone out again.

We reluctantly hand over the sled and go to the kota where we warm up with more hot berry juice. One of the dog handlers is in the kota tells us more about the dogs. They have about 200 dogs in total most of which are used for the kind of ride we have just taken. The owner also races dogs and participates in long races, such as the 1,000km Finnmarksløpet race in Norway, in which he uses 14 dogs and which takes 5 days. The handler talking to us also races but only 500km with 8 dogs over 2.5days. There are also dogs bred specifically for short sprint races but they do not keep those here. The dogs only exercise is pulling sleds, in the summer they do nothing and in early autumn the first snows allow them to get fit again before working. Puppies are normally born in the summer but they have some 10 week old ones that Lynn can not resist picking up and stroking.

What a way to spend Christmas morning!

After we return we decide on another walk and witness a spectacular sunset, it looked like the forest was on fire! I'd forgotten the camera GRRRR. We have dinner booked in the Äkäshotelli at 18:30. The restaurant is fully booked and it takes an age before we are taken to our table. We order some drinks, wine for the 3 of us was only 12.70EUR. The meal was a buffet of what I assume are some traditional Finnish dishes. There are cold meats, some excellent smoked salmon, several other kinds of fish plus salads and the nicest bread I have eaten since we arrived. The cake for dessert was the only poor item. Being Christmas Day there was a visitor for all the youngsters. Santa arrived in a sleigh drawn by a reindeer. The kids in the room, plus most adults, were pretty impressed. He was accompanied by a couple of elves that were also clad in red.

After dinner Lynn goes back to the cabin but there are stars in the sky so Sophie and I go for a walk in the hope of seeing the Northern Lights. We stop for a while for drink at a really nice little cafe - NETTI-KAHVILA - and Sophie decides to spend 15minutes to check her mail and Facebook. She receives some bad news about her birthday arrangements and I have to try and cheer her up. We make our way back to the cabin and still do not see the Northern Lights. When we get back we receive a call from Jess who has just arrived home after her 12 hour shift at work and play some more games.

After three hectic days we have no outing arranged and take the opportunity to lie in and have a leisurely breakfast. Today looks like a good day to get off the beaten track and try out our snowshoes. They are easy enough to put on and we set of towards the South-east for some untrodden snow. It is an interesting experience walking over deep snow and sometimes the snowshoe goes much deeper that normal so walking in them required constant vigilance. That said it was not very difficult and not as tiring as I expected. However, I did make a mistake only wearing jeans, these are not waterproof and the action of walking threw up a lot of snow which started to wet the material. We saw lots of animal tracks in the snow, the reindeer ones being the only recognisable ones.

After returning to the cabin Lynn decided to go off skiing while Sophie and I relaxed a while and did some reading. Sophie's knees were still painful following her previous outing on skis.

Establishments are supposedly closed from 13:00 on Christmas Eve and reopen at 13:00 today. We walk to the Äkäslompolo Restaurant, which only opened in December, that is at the other end of the village not far from the Church and have lunch. While the food was quite nice it was expensive even by local standards. Supplies are getting low so we go back to the supermarket to restock and this time remember to call in and buy a bottle of wine. We visit NETTI-KAHVILA again while Sophie starts tacking the problems that have arisen with her birthday arrangements.

Sophie builds us a fire in the cabin and we eat in. Late in the evening we go for a walk again hoping to catch sight of the Northern Lights but without any luck.

Lynn tries to build a snowman but the snow is to cold and powdery and the result is very small. Lynn and Sophie go out for an hour on the cross country skis before we take then and the snowshoes back to Destination Lapland. We have a light lunch at NETTI-KAHVILA and go for a walk on the lake and watch yet another sunset.

In the early evening we go back to LappVillage where there is a Northern Lights exhibition. The exhibition set up along a woodland walk and illustrates several different kinds of Northern Lights. We walk back hoping to see the real thing but no joy as we get to Julli's where we stop for dinner. Sophie has forgotten her ID so no drink for her. This is our last night and our last opportunity to see the Northern Lights so we take a long circuitous route back to the cabin. No luck.

We have to pack up and vacate our cabin by 11:00 but we do not leave for the airport until 17:00. After we have moved out we take our sled laden with winter clobber and return it to Destination Lapland. NETTI-KAHVILA is closed on Sunday. After another walk we end up at Äkäshotelli and settle down and read until it is time to get the bus to the airport. On the journey to the airport we almost convince ourselves that we can see the northern lights but the red light we could see was probably a reflection of something manmade. The flight is uneventful and Jess is waiting at the airport to give us a lift home.