Trifter

We had to get up in the middle of the night to drive to the airport. It was a freezing cold morning so we didn’t look too out of place dressed in our warmest clothes. By the time we would usually have been waking up, we were on the plane heading for Finland. Due to the time difference it was around noon when we arrived at Rovaniemi in Finnish Lapland and boarded the coach that would take us to Santa’s Village.

Our first activity was a visit to the place where huskies are kept, they were so noisy, barking and yelping with excitement. I loved the husky sleigh ride, getting in and out of the sleigh was not very dignified, and the speed was alarming at first, but the huskies were amazing. They are so full of energy and they really seem to enjoy working.

After another brief coach ride we walked into a snowy forest to visit Santa in his house. It was magical walking through the deep snow, we don’t get much snow at home so it was very exciting. Santa’s house looked as if it came straight out of a story book, it was lovely, we all went in and sat down while each of the 15 children in our group had a personal chat with Santa. My son thought he was a bit too sophisticated for that sort of thing, but he wanted the present that Santa had for him so he grudgingly agreed to chat. My older daughter told Santa that she wanted a sheep for Christmas! That was one Christmas dream that did not come true!

By early afternoon it was already dark. We had a traditional meal, I’m not sure what sort of meat it was but it tasted OK and after our busy morning I was hungry enough to eat almost anything. After lunch we went on a snowmobile ride through a forest, it lasted about half an hour. It was a bit stressful at first, but I soon got used to driving the snowmobile and I really enjoyed it, My older daughter was a pillion passenger and the two younger children sat in the trailer behind.

Next came our reindeer sleigh ride. My son and I went in one sleigh and my daughters in another. The route was lit by lanterns like huge candle stubs set in the snow.  Part way through the trip My son announced that he thought horses were better designed for pulling than reindeer. I was about to explain that reindeer are better adapted for snow when he said “if you have to sit behind the animal like this it is better if they have a proper tail because the view from behind a reindeer is not too good”. I am constantly amazed at how that boy’s mind works!

The last part of our day was spent at Santa’s Village where we had the freedom to do as we pleased. We visited the shops, dodged snowballs, tried out an ice slide and generally enjoyed ourselves. We were very tired when we boarded the coach and began the journey home, but our visit to Lapland was magical and we will never forget it.