Winter in Lapland is not just Santa!

“Just think of it! How curious, and sometimes funny, he could hear and see if he could fly with the wild geese across the country, to the north, up to the Lapland!”
The Wonderful Adventures of Nils

Lapland? Cool! And what is there to do? Such a dialogue inevitably happened to everyone I informed about my intention to visit this region. But in fact, what is there? Everyone knows that in Santa Lapland, snow and … and this usually exhausts knowledge. So, I’ll try to fill this gap. So, let’s go in order.

Nature around fascinates: fir trees covered with snow, many lakes with countless picturesque islands create a feeling of winter Narnia. It is better to get to Narnia, as it should be, through the closet, dressing in it warmly and multilayered. By the way, fur coats here are not in the honor, everyone prefers practical and warm sports winter clothes. In the event of a solemn evening, an evening dress is worn under her, and shoes are brought with them as a “change”. This allows you to remain irresistible during the evening and healthy and warm throughout the vacation.
Now that everyone is properly dressed and staying in a winter fairy tale, it’s time to entertain yourself with something. And at the same time to answer the secret question …

And what is there to do?

The main thing is why tourists from all over the world come here, and especially, the inhabitants of Japan are Aurora Borealis, an incredibly beautiful and fascinating natural phenomenon known as the Northern Lights. About how and why this happens, you can learn from any source. But this is not the main thing. The main thing – the sensations that you experience, watching slowly pouring colors in the dark night sky. They form uncomplicated figures, stretch out into a smooth wide line, slowly disappear and just as slowly appear again. The dominant green colors of the flares can be replaced by a rarer “luxury” version with shades of red and blue.

According to the beliefs of the Saami (the indigenous population of Lapland), the flashes of Shining are traces of the tail of the great heavenly Fox. Observation of radiance is akin to meditation. You can abstract from all external, even from the temperature of -21 degrees. Although she sooner or later still can win. Since this phenomenon is natural, it is impossible to predict where, how and when it can be seen, and whether it can be seen at all. The main condition is a pure starry sky, better away from the city’s light noise. There are special sites that analyze solar activity and make a prediction whether it is possible to see the radiance in one or another day and with what probability.

But Radiance – although the main thing, but still not the only entertainment of Lapland.
Before you continue, here’s a short digression to geography. Rovaniemi is a nice town in the southern part of Lapland, and it is the northernmost of the major cities of Finland. Further north, up to the border with Norway and Russia, you can find only small towns and villages. During the trip we were based in Saariselkä (about 250km from Rovaniemi to the North). Therefore, a further description of activities is given on the example of this small, but very nice town.
So, we say Lapland, we mean snow, and we say snow – we mean all possible types of winter activities.
Of course, in the first place, – it’s skiing (running). For sportsmen in Saariselka there is a wide selection of very high-quality trails, for every taste and level of preparation. Trails are handled by a retrace every day, along the sides a skier is made for the classics, and the middle is left for the ridge run. By the way, it is in Saariselkä that the Russian team in cross-country skiing from Murmansk trains. Trains and then successfully performs at international competitions. For experienced skiers there is a whole infrastructure: in hotels there are rooms for storage of inventory, dryers, in shops it is possible to get all necessary consumables, such as: ointments, paraffin waxes and a whole bunch of different and interesting jars and accessories. Any necessary inventory can be rented from local tour operators. Therefore, even an ill-prepared athlete is unlikely to avoid a ski trip, at least 1 time for rest.

In Rovaniemi itself, it is worth visiting the Arcticum Museum. To miss is difficult: a large remarkable building in the form of a high glass tunnel goes to the bank of the river. Inside there are a lot of halls – a sort of logically arranged labyrinth. The museum is devoted to everything that can be found beyond the polar circle: flora, fauna, natural phenomena, people and events that took place in Lapland from antiquity to the present day. The Arctic is not a collection of dusty artifacts, but a living adventure for visitors of any age. For example, you can study the voices of local animals and birds, hear the disappearing languages ​​of the Sami people, go into the ice room, and those who are not yet fortunate enough to see the real Northern Lights, see its imitation.

So, what is there, in Lapland?

Winter in Lapland is a resort, only a snowy one. This is a way to excel from work and weekdays and plunge into another culture and lifestyle. Yes, there is no sea and cold at this resort. But this is what creates a new view of the rest, which will not leave indifferent even those who do not like winter very much. Here everyone will find something for themselves: sports, cultural, gastronomic, with children and without children, or just a quite quiet and secluded holiday in their snowy tale.

“And everywhere he stood in front of him a beautiful and majestic land. Niels was very glad that he had seen Lapland, but he would not have liked to live there. Akka was certainly right when she said that new settlers could leave this land alone, leaving it to original inhabitants – bears and wolves, deer and wild geese, white owls and pestles, and even Laplanders, who were simply created to live here. ”

The Wonderful Adventures of Nils