December 9, 2011

LAPLAND!


Terve!


I am back from the Arctic Circle with many things to tell all of you! Although the bus ride was long and totaling 16 hours one way, it was definitely worth it. 


We left Turku Saturday night at 19:30 (7:30 p.m.) and arrived at our hotel (Harriniva) at 11:30 the next day. When we left there wasn't even a snowflake in the sky and once10 hours north the snow started falling in huge, clustering crystals. Although there wasn't that much snow in Lapland, there was enough to ski on and enough to cover the tree's; making it truly a winter wonderland. 


After watching the South Americans marvel at the frozen rain, we unloaded our stuff and unpacked our things in our rooms. It was a very nice hotel with a cottage-like feel to it. I was in a room with an Australian, South African, and a German. We got along very well but it's a shame because I wont be seeing the Australian and South African again. They arrived in January of 2011 so their year is ending in less than a month. Anyways, after we unpacked we immediately headed to the Olos Ski Resort and started skiing.

Ski hill from the bottom. It wasn't very large. Apparently it is neither a mountain nor a hill, it is called a fell. This word is specifically used to describe the mountain/hills of Scandinavia. 

The small ski/snowboard shack at the bottom of the hill, or sorry, the fell.

Robert (Canada), me, and Eva (Germany/roommate) before skiing.

Kelly (Taiwan) and I ready to ski!

Half way up the fell looking down.

Me in my skiing attire! 

From the top of the fell looking out across Lapland.

Top of fell again. 

That's me looking like a professional.

View from the road.

After skiing for about four hours we made our way to a Lapland exhibit where we watched a presentation on Lapland. We saw how the fells were formed, what sort of specific animals live in Lapland, what berries and mushrooms are edible in the spring, summer, and fall, and also about the lifestyle of the old Finnish culture.

This is my favorite bird from Lapland. It only eats once a day and then spends the remainder of the day burrowed in snow.

White owl.

This little rodent is called a Lemmus. Normally found in tundra and have the same lifestyle as that of a mouse or gerbil. 

Couldn't find the name of this bird, along with the other one, but it sure is pretty.

Bobcat vs. wolverine. 

Inside Lapland exhibit.

After this exhibit we went back to our hotel and had dinner. We were all very ravished from skiing which meant a fast and large dinner and then quick to bed. The next day brought on some sore muscles but that was ignored since we were back on the slopes in no time. After skiing, however, we went to an old reindeer farm and got to practice our reindeer lassoing.

This was the nice lady who owns the old reindeer farm. She told us all there is to know about reindeer, and then she taught us how to lasso them!

Tools used on the farm.

Traditional Finnish winter attire.

Reindeer/husky sleighs.

Coat made of reindeer hide/fur. They were a must when the weather was  below the -20's (Fahrenheit) sometimes even getting in the -40's. 

Traditional winter boots. Before wool they used hay to line their boots and keep their feet warm. The pointy toe was used to latch on to snowshoes. 

Side view of boots.

Traditional designs on clothing. The reindeer lady (pardon I forgot her name), made all of these.

Teaching us how to lasso a reindeer!

Picture with the reindeer lady!

Once everyone had their chance to lasso a wooden reindeer, we made our way back to the hotel, had another nice dinner, and proceeded to sleep off the soreness of that day' s skiing adventure. When we woke up the next morning, we were all told to bundle up because we were going to snowshoeing! Little did we know we were snowshoeing to a reindeer sleigh ride and then to a husky place!

Snowshoeing! It's much harder than it looks.

Reindeer herder and her two reindeer.

Getting the sleighs ready to pull.

Reindeer! I don't remember his name but he wasn't very friendly.

Reindeer sleigh ride!

Reindeer named snowball.

Close up!

Group shot with the reindeer herders.

Snowball, reindeer lady, and I!

The reindeer lady's husband and his reindeer. He was the leader of the sleigh.

Casually chatting with a reindeer herder, no biggie.

Snowball!

I was expecting the reindeer to be much bigger than they were, at least the height of a cow, but instead they were much smaller! However, they did have the same behavior as a cow and didn't want to be touched at all. Surprisingly they acted like the huskies where all they wanted to do was pull the sleigh! At one point the lead reindeer was on his hind legs being stopped only by his owner. Nothing like I expected. After the sleigh ride we walked over to the husky place, got another sleigh ride, and played with the dogs for a while.

Arriving at the husky place. It was completely fenced off so none of the dogs could escape.

Dogs, dogs, and more dogs. 

There were sometimes six dogs to a kennel and sometimes only one or two. Must be because of which dogs get along with which.

Did I mention there were lots of dogs?

Me and a husky! My new best friend.

Getting ready for a sleigh ride! They were so excited to run.

In the sleigh ready to take off.

Off we go!

My best friend and I again.

Younger huskies.

Husky puppy!

Look at those eyes! If looks could kill....

As with the reindeer, I was completely blown away by the huskies' behavior. From being around dogs back home I expected them to be ecstatic when they saw people come in. On the other hand, they just stared pulling harder on the sleighs, ignoring us completely. Like the reindeer they just wanted to run and pull the sleigh. In fact, the other dogs not pulling sleighs ran around in their kennels howling and barking at the dogs who were. When you went up to them they weren't nearly as excited to see you as they were when they were pulling the sleigh. However, once given one good ear scratching they became your friend. There were so many dogs there! I would have to say at least 100, maybe even 150. It was a HUGE place. It started to get dark, however, so we made our way back to the hotel and got some sleep. I was in fact, still sore from skiing. Did I say that I only feel once? And that was because I went through the half-pipe!

The next morning we all got up, ate a delicious break fast, and headed out again. This time never to return to Lapland. That is of course only this year, I would love to go back! However there is one more stop we were going to make and that was a four hour drive south in a town called Rovaniemi. Here, we went to "Santa's" Village (I say that in quotations because we all know that Santa lives in the North Pole, not Finland. But never try to argue this with a Finn, it will never end. Believe me I know!) 

Santa's Village!

I found a map showing the Arctic Circle ring!

I was in the Arctic Circle!

Winder wonderland in Rovaniemi.

Me in front of a Christmas tree!

And now Brian Raetz and I in front of a tree!

Santa was NOT there!Apparently he was taking lunch break when I went to go see him. Must have been packing one some extra pounds before Christmas.

It was a very pretty place. Like something out of a movie.

Group shot! Me, Anastasiya (Illinois), and Marissa (California).

Santa and his elves!

Just me in the ARCTIC CIRCLE! The pole is proof.

Well thus ends my terrific adventure in Lapland. I could continue by telling you about the 16 hour bus ride home, but that mostly consisted of drifting in and out of sleep and watching "Friends" on the TV. If there was ever some place in Finland I would recommend going it would be Lapland. There is so much old Finnish culture there and so much to both do and see. Oh, I almost forgot! During the trip, Finland was celebrating its Independence! Lucky for us, on the day of, (December 6th) they made us a delicious traditional independence day meal! This consisted of mashed potatoes, lingonberry jam, and reindeer! There was no gravy or anything mixed with the reindeer so one was able to really taste the flavor. And as a result, I would say that is has a slight buttery flavor and is quite similar to beef. Although, like venison, it has a peculiar flavor of its own. If you'd like to try it I'm sure there is a website out there where you can buy it from. I know I will some day it was quite good!

Overall, the trip to Lapland was truly amazing. I would have to say the Rotary in Finland does very well with showing us their culture and ways of life. I, again, would recommend going to Lapland for a nice vacation. Hope you enjoyed! 

Oh and heads up, I am currently in my second host family right now. I moved in just today and everything is great. They are lovely host parents already and my sisters and I have much in common. 

I hope you all have a very Merry Christmas! It is only two weeks away can you believe it! I don't know if I will be posting before then but if not, Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! Six more months and I will be home again!

Love and hugs and kisses!

Karlee