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From Kemi in Finland to Haparanda in Sweden, by bus. The first thing I saw over the border was a giant Ikea. I checked into my accommodation which was much nicer than expected. Then went to hunt for food, just heading to the closest open restaurant, a Chinese one called Leilani. I was quickly and friendlily informed that all of the vegetarian options could be made vegan. I picked one and it was delicious.
Across the road from the restaurant was an interesting tower. The center of Haparanda was peaceful and seemed like somewhere I'd liked to have spent more time.
I forgot about the timezone switch, so got an hour more sleep than expected.
And on the move again. We took a bus to Rovaniemi and a train to Kemi. After surprise vegan cake and a friendly welcome in a cafe at Kemi train station, we wandered around the town. It was extremely quiet and sleepy.
We found the famous 'snow castle', which was more of a three foot high snow maze and some terrible sculptures. We found curling, and slides which entertained the kids. And they let us in for free and stored all of our luggage for us for no clear reason.
We walked through a park by the sea - which was frozen! - and to the church in the town center, then back to the bus station.
I said goodbye to S, B, E and J as they boarded a bus back to Jyvaskyla. I stayed, to wait for a local bus to Haparanda, just across the border into Sweden.
An adventure on a snow train, up a hill, to an amethyst mine. Where they let us scrabble in the dirt for 20 minutes to find a handful of our own small amethysts. The views from the top were lovely on another bright and clear and extremely freezing day.
In the evening - this time well fed (tonight's pizza had pickled milkcaps on) and better clothed - we went up the hill to the wooden house again. It was another incredibly clear night, and we met other aurora-spotters up there. We caught the end of another beautiful sunset, and stayed for hours in the cosy house. We saw a glimmer of green finally, but it didn't last long.
Our trek down in the dark was greatly helped by two other hikers with their own lights ahead of us, and a headtorch borrowed from a kind local.
We made it down from the hill and finally got some pizza in the tired/cold/hungry kids. The pizza had cloudberries on. Exciting.
We came out of the restaurant and headed back to the hotel. Over our heads... the sky was dancing.
We were there only for a weekend, and we were so incredibly fortunate to have clear skies, no moon, and the right conditions. It lasted for a couple of hours at least.
We all took a night bus from Jyvaskyla to Rovaniemi, then another bus to Torvinen and another to Luosto.
I have never seen so much snow before in my life. Feet of it, sitting around like it always had been and always will be. Thick on top of roofs, clumped around fir trees like bulbous growths. Scooped the sides of roads and footpaths like it's nothing, to make space for people to pass. Dotted with footprints from hares and reindeer.
We tried to go for a walk around this epic landscape, but two kiddos straight off a night bus made it difficult. Even with borrowed sleds, there were many tantrums. We took them to the hotel pool instead.
Later we went out again, though everyone was still tired. The hotel reception said there was a nice walk and a wooden hut with a fire, "a little bit up" with good views. We expected a 30 minute walk and a log cabin type thing. We walked for longer than E could stand, lost track of the sign posts sometimes, and climbed a massive hill. We were surrounded on all sides by snow coated fir trees. Some were completely covered, forming beautiful natural sculptures in the snow. It was like a dream world.
The "wooden house" was an amazing modern construction, with heated windows and a wood burning stove. We arrived in time for an incredible sunset over this bizarre alien landscape. Absolutely just... like nothing I've seen before.
The ferry arrived in Turku amidst thick fog and icy waters.
I took a train to Tampere, met friends, and we walked around the snowy city. We ate cake at Cafe Runo, and junk food at HOAX, before heading back to a very busy train station with full trains and broken ticket machines. We managed to get home - to Jyvaskyla - despite this, somehow.
While wandering I stashed my backpack in free lockers in a mall not too far from the station.
