Lapland snow dream with a toddler
Last year during my road trip with Mia we spent a couple of weeks in Finland and somehow, in the middle of a forest (which is possible wherever in Finland ) I had a thought that I need to go back during the winter period. After a bit of a research I figured that February will be the best month. The only thing left was waiting (not the easiest part). I booked flights in an advance, which made it very reasonable price wise and it took me quite some time to find a perfect location. Totally by coincidence (life!) I found a beautiful wooden house in a forest, just in front of a lake. It’s built out of a wooden block, has a fireplace, comfortable big bed that will fit the three of us and (the best part) indoor sauna. The last thing is a very cool addition for the parent of a toddler. I love the sauna, but usually it’s located outside of a cottage and using it in the evening, when your toddler is finally asleep is not so easy. I also discovered, that Mia loves sauna and she will be definitely going to the spa with me in the far away future. Imagine this little girl sitting with me in the sauna and telling stories about snow and our travel. Priceless!
Coming to Lapland’s my childhood dream come true. And it was worth being a dream for such a long time, because almost each day I was dazed with it’s beauty. Lapland with 3 year old, or any age near by is definitely possible, and to be honest, awesome! I was a bit afraid it will be too cold for her, but I guess I was thinking in my personal categories. She loved the snow. She was not interested in walking with the paths, she created her own all the time, which ment ending up in a very deep snow. She was excited about all the trees covered in a snow and reindeers running around, which she was chasing with me with a carrot in hand. In the evening we did some sauna, sit in front of a fireplace, play. We’ve been there for a week and I think it was a perfect time. We did not only enjoy the snow, but did all the activities we wanted. There’s also a bigger chance to see Aurora Borelli lights when you’re there a bit longer than a weekend.
Tips:
- Invest in a very good warm clothes for your kid. Especially shoes and gloves. With -32*C during a day it is very helpful. Mia was way better prepared than I was and I started to think that I am a mother obsessing about her kid. During our stay in Finland, when the weather came to -32*C I thanked myself for doing so. There were times when Tomasz and I were freezing and Mia was totally fine.
- Cars are amazing because they have tricks, like starting it with a button. You can start the engine, let the car heat a bit and come back. From what I notice, most of the locals do it. You don’t need the key inside, so you don’t have to worry. And there’s a big difference to start driving in an extremely cold car and a warm and cozy one (it was so cold that carrots froze when I left them in a car during a day).
- Snow is deep and I mean it. There were times when we ended up in a snow, high to our hips. All because of Mia, who definitely wanted to check things out and they were never on a path.
- do some sauna, it is amazing how it warms up each centimetre in your body after a very cold day.
What we did:
Husky safari was incredible. The first time I saw the dogs already waiting for us to sit on the sledge I started to cry as all the feelings inside me were just too much. The dogs could not wait to start running! They were excited like crazy, but they did not copy me with crying thankfully. The whole idea of the dog team is, that one person sits in the sledge, the second one stands on the back and helps the dogs when it’s uphill or on more difficult parts. The first thought when I sat in the sledge was “damn, it does smell with a dog poo”. Yes, it does, but you stop smelling it straight after you start the run. It turns out that dogs are able to run and poo at the same time. The other thing is that whenever the dogs from the other sledge end up next to you, they feel obliged to pee on you. Thankfully, we got all cover clothes from the husky farm, so it wasn’t such a big deal (but it was the first time a dog peed on me twice during 1h). When it comes to the experience, I must say “OMG, the coolest, funniest, exciting experience ever!” The dogs were so friendly and cute, I just wanted to sit with them and talk to them. Yes, I do talk to animals and I usually tell them how awesome they are and how much I adore them. We switched places with Tomasz, so each one of us had a chance to steer the sledge and to hug Mia on the way. It is fun, but also a hard work, because sometimes you need to push the sledge or run next to it while paying attention when to jump back. You have many choices, you can go for an overnight safari, or 3 days long one, but we took the 2,5h one and we were totally satisfied, as our 3 year old has a limit in her tolerance.
Aureole Borelli - I was sure that I will not be able to see it, as I could not see Mia on a night safari. Tomasz did and we decided on a sledge pulled by a snowmobile. At the beginning, it was all good, I even kept thinking what all the fuss about being cold is all about. After about 30 minutes I got it. The temperature of your body drops and doesn’t matter how many layers of the socks or how many gloves you have, it starts to be very cold. There were times when I thought that I will not manage for longer than 10 minutes. But, with no surprise, Mia was super ok, super excited and not cold at all. She sang songs for everyone and when we stopped for a hot coffee and snacks, she was the one who wanted to go out and search for lights (none of the adults did). This trip was the first time for many things, first night safari, first aurora light hunt failure and the first time I used the arctic toilet. I do not recommend it - super cold experience. We did not see the aurora lights that particular night, but we did the next day. We drove to Nellim by a car, parked next to a river and waited with all the lights off for 3 hours. It was worth it! I did not take my tripod and my pictures are not so good, but I have one as a souvenir. Mia kept sleeping in a warm car, we were talking with Tomasz about life and our future plans.
Snowmobile safari was so much fun. Mia went with us as well. For this kind of fun you need to have a driving licence and as I am the only one in this family with one, I could drive the snowmobile and Tomasz ended up in a sledge with our baby girl. Ups. Snowmobile is much different than a scooter, it’s not so easy to drive, as the road (frozen river and forest) is not as simple to drive through. But it was fun!
This trip taught me many things, but the most important one is, that my kid loved each step of the adventure. I went many places with her, we ended up in many extreme situations and she always ends up being the awesome one. Not complaining, not crying, not being bored, excited about the next step. We made many activities including very low temperatures and she did not mind at all. Only one thing makes me sad - the school obligation will start in a few years and she won’t be able to be on the road with me.
Wild Spirit Park - great place with rescued animals. We had a chance to see a fluffy white arctic fox, always hungry wild pigs and many huskies.
Here are the addresses and companies we used. We made quite a research and were very satisfied with each one:
- Hut in the woods
- Husky safari - Husky Guesthouse
- Night Aurora lights safari and snowmobile safari"
- Restaurant Kultahippu" - delicious reindeer steak
- Bistro Cafe Ivalo - delicious sandwiches and hot coco
- Wild Spirit Park
You need to try:
- LEIPÄJUUSTO - this cheese rocks!
- reindeer steak
- karjalanpiirakka - pastries, which will make a good breakfast
What we learned:
- there are only 15 white foxes left in Finland. They are usually killed by red foxes in the wild. They are completely white during the winter and get black spots during a warm season.
- reindeers in Finland are semi-free. Each one belongs to someone. The owners are Sami people (original Lapland inhabitants). There may be only particular amount of reindeers in the forests so each year they count them and if there’s too many, some part goes for the meat.
- reindeers are awesome and they will let you come for about 20m close.
- reindeers run in a very funny way.
- sometimes you see aurora lights and you’re not aware that it’s there, but if you take a picture, you’ll see it straight away.