Monday, March 27, 2017

Binge Blog #6: Rovaniemi, Day 3

Day 3 in Rovaniemi was, you guessed it, MAGICAL!  It really was!  We went on a reindeer and husky ride safari, and it was so fun!  I was fairly convinced we were taking a ride through Narnia. Click here if you don't believe me.  We loved all of it - even the dogs that smelled kind of stinky...just ask Ruthie.

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Warning:  Lots of tree pics coming up.

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Isn't he beautiful?

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This was SOOOOOO fun!!!!!

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This pup was so sweet.  I wish I remembered it's name. 
Ruthie is still talking about how much this puppy loved her.

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And a few other random pictures from the trip.


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 My sweet Ruthie Elf.

This picture was hanging on the wall of staff pictures at the Lapland Safari office.  
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Yes...his title really is, Lappish Man.


Peace out, Rovaniemi!  You were a blast!!!!
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Binge Blog #5: Rovaniemi, Day 2

We spent the morning of Rovaniemi, Day 2 exploring some of the local museums.  First we went to the Arktikum, which is the Arctic Science center and museum.  There we learned about arctic wildlife and Sami, the indigenous people of Arctic Finland.

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The view from our Airbnb.  We think it feels a bit like being in Duluth.


Some pictures of our chilly walk to the Arctikum.  
You can tell from these pictures that we still didn't have a ton of daylight that far north.
It was probably 11:00 am and the sun wasn't very high yet.







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Very helpful sign in the Arktikum bathroom.

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Sami "sunglasses" to prevent snow blindness.  
Which ones do you like best?

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I'm telling y'all...it's really just Minnesota here.


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Traditional Sami Costumes

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Arktikum atrium.  Lots of windows for Northern Lights viewing.

Next we headed to the forestry museum.  

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We momentarily lost Lydia in the forest museum. When I called her name I heard, "guys, I'm up here!"

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The birch bark wallpaper again...because I love it.

That night we went on a snowmobile safari to hunt the northern lights.  Spoiler alert:  we didn't see any.  And we still haven't, as I type this on March 27th.  We tried last week to see them again - no luck.  The aurora forecast for the next two days has the KP index at 6, which is the highest we've seen it.  So in true Finnish spirit (I don't really know if that's true), we are giving it one more go, and spending two nights at a farm about 40 miles north of here.  We're hoping we get to see them...I'll keep you posted.

Anyway, despite not seeing the northern lights, it was a really cool experience riding snowmobiles through the arctic wilderness.  We started on the frozen river and then headed up into the forest to a tent where we roasted sausages and drank warm berry juice.  I think my favorite part of the trip was showing Ruthie constellations.  She loved looking at them! 

It was, again, a very magical night.

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 Ruthie and Lydia got to ride behind our guide's snowmobile in a cool sleigh.
They were bundled up, sitting on top of reindeer hides and under lots of blankets. 
Can you stand the cuteness????

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Family pic #2.