So so so~!
Howdy faithful readers, I'm late as per usual, it seems I'm on a trend. Don't get me wrong, I love writing, but with so much going on I dunno, I guess I just don't think of writing updates here. Anyways, this week I made a special trip up to Rovaniemi in Lapland, and the Arctic Circle where I went to Santa's Village and saw the opening ceremony. That's right, it's officially Christmas time in Finland and Thanksgiving hasn't even passed yet haha.
Howdy faithful readers, I'm late as per usual, it seems I'm on a trend. Don't get me wrong, I love writing, but with so much going on I dunno, I guess I just don't think of writing updates here. Anyways, this week I made a special trip up to Rovaniemi in Lapland, and the Arctic Circle where I went to Santa's Village and saw the opening ceremony. That's right, it's officially Christmas time in Finland and Thanksgiving hasn't even passed yet haha.
I had a lot of fun while I was up there, and I don't even know where to begin on describing it. The way the frost sticks to the trees is magical, and though I wasn't able to get any pictures of it, the frozen lakes and rivers are incredible. Geez, also, the baying of the huskies was amazing! There were husky excursions going on and the dogs were so excited you could hear them all around Santa's Village.
I got a really cool hat actually up at the Village, and my mother would be so proud about all the work that went into getting it. Originally I found it in the main Santa's Village shop for 25€ and my heart sank. There was no way I was paying that much for a hat even if it was cute and said Finland on it. I just could not find a reason to buy the hat since I've already got my beanie and it's plenty warm enough. So I left the little shop and went to check out what the other shops had to get Christmas presents for my friends and family. Imagine my surprise when I see the hat again but this time for 18.20€! Well, seeing the change in price got me thinking, if a shop in the same village has the exact same hat for cheaper, maybe I can find it for EVEN CHEAPER! So of course I went on a hunt finding things I thought would make nice presents until I found it, the holy grail of savings~! Well, okay, let's be real, it's not the holy grail of savings and I could've totally lived without this hat, but I did eventually find it for 15€~! So now I am the proud owner of a Finland hat and it is super cute and I'm very pleased. I guess I finally have a Finnish souvenir that isn't my overalls haha.
So lets talk about the weather. It wasn't snowing sadly, but it was -9°C which is a comfortable 15.8°F! Good thing I brought my heavy coat and my Irish wool sweater because it was pretty chilly haha. I was warm the whole time I was up there, I even got a little hot in all those layers at one point, but more importantly I had no idea how tired being out in the cold could make you. I spent around six hours at Santa's Village, and sure part of my tiredness was from the train ride, but all I know is when I got back to the hotel at around 7pm I was absolutely down for the count! Not going to lie, I got online for a little bit but then called it an extremely early night.
Overall I had a really nice time, but unfortunately I didn't get to see the Northern Lights. It was simply too overcast and cloudy outside which meant there was no point even going out and trying to see them. I got back home to Lapinkaari safe and sound though, and now I just have to keep my fingers crossed that I can see the northern lights while I'm here.
We're celebrating Thanksgiving on Friday, so hopefully I'll have an interesting update for you on Saturday. Take care everyone~!
Moi Moi,
Brieana K.