Never stop chasing, hunting, achieving whatever it is your heart is longing from you. In my case, quite obvious by now, that has always been Scandi. During the most amazing trip of my life, the Norway-sweden-finland tour by car last summer, I was lucky enough to meet a person to help me continue this endless journey of mine in the Northern countries. She was the owner of, of all places, a huskyfarm in Kiitila, a region in the wonderful Lapland area, known for the winterwonderworld it turns into for a wonderful, precious 6 months. She invited me to come work with them for the winter time, as huskysledding becomes a more and more beloved activity, as more and more people started to dream about the magic of Finnish Lapland, making it happen in their winterbreak.
Unfortunately I could not stay any longer than 3 weeks as I still had my studies going on, but for me every return to Scandinavia is a good one, they will always remain to be my favourite countries to travel to. I was counting down the days like a little kid waiting for her birthday, I could hardly maintain my enthusiasm. And why would I, why not just let it all in and look forward to travelling back to a favourite country, to perform a favourite passion? I could hardly sit still on plane 1 but I couldn’t even stop smiling at plane 2. With a loud bonk the plane safely arrived to the airport, and the first things I saw were the only things Lapland would be seeing for the upcoming months: snow and darkness. And I don’t just mean snow, I mean snow-snow, I mean snow that hides certain things as traffic signs from the world, as it completely takes over with an entire army. The hours of daylight in December are at its lowest point, daylight will arrive between 10 and 11 and leave around 1. Whilst going more towards January this extends remarkably and on a bright day, it could even last until about 3. The sun you will not see, but wherever it shines, it does send some love towards Lapland by creating the brightest colours in the sky on lucky days. It is as if the sun is saying, hang in there Lapland, in the summer I’ll be back to stay.
Now I had to wait for my massive pink suitcase to arrive, for some reason this is always such a stupidly exciting moment, as if you’re waiting for a beloved family member to appear. But it sort of is at the moment, that suitcase holds treasure for you, it’s all you really need around for the next weeks. I got a warm welcome as I got a cold smack in the face when rolling me and my suitcase outside, it was about -15. But I’m not kidding, to me this is a warm welcome, I have always loved the cold, I thrive in the cold 10 times better than I do in heat. And to me, snow is just this miraculous blanket of sparkles that makes the world pretty and peaceful and besides, ensures a lot of fun activities and beautiful sights. Although it was a strange experience that the parking lot in front of this tiny airport was filled with big busses, arranging for the tourists to arrive at the right hotel. During the summertime I had also spend one night here, and I can assure you I barely saw any residents, let alone tourists. It was mainly reindeer I saw, about 78 times as much as people.
As the big bus raced over the endless curvy roads, I got to enjoy all snow does to a place, how it decorates each tree and makes all houses look like they’ve popped straight out of a fairy tale. It makes the world look so peaceful, so quiet. This blanket of white little crystals creates an endless view of white treetops whenever the road reaches its peak. And when we entered the centre of Levi, with a surprising Austrian vibe to it, the snow only made the place about 10 times as cosy as the soft orange lights from the apartments and restaurants now were the only sources of light. This is where I was picked up by Paivi, the sister of the woman I spoke with this summer, who was going to take me to the farm where she herself had been working for a while now. I would be working together with people that found their way here via workaway, so basically people from all over the world, something I’ve always enjoyed. The first night I stayed at paivi her place, so I could get a little rest before I would be brought to my cabin tomorrow, which was a few metres away from the doggos.
The day after we arrived at the farm around 8, but it simply felt so much earlier because of the pitch black sky. Yet the snow managed to bring some light into the world, it’s so unspoiled and the nature that it took control over is so pure, free of any human impact. It was about a 15 minute ride which is absolutely a joke in Finland, before we arrived to a long road that seemed to bring me into a different village, as little holiday homes being cosy wooden cabins or shiny glass pyramids appeared. A little further to the left it turned out, there was the big heart of this little town, a wooden restaurant that is about as cosy as it will ever get. To get there one needs to follow the road, which is the only ‘safe route’ if you don’t want to disappear until about your hips, in the snow. By this road you’ll find a few simple wooden storage barns, but even these are looking as lovely as ever tucked away in the snow, hanged with some little golden Christmas lights. When arriving to the restaurant, it’s filled with Finnish decoration such as Sami slippers and carved necklaces. It has a perfect open fireplace, it’s filled with carpets and candles, and best of all, some Finnish sweet-sweet delicacies. This restaurant, filled with people from all over the world that made a very wise decision on where to spend Christmas, was located in the middle of a square. Rather touristic it was, but at least enjoyable for those seeking to find Finnish authenticity. On this square you’d find a few beautiful, red or yellow wooden houses with that perfect orange life softly shining trough its windows. Also there was a yard filled with Lapland’s true icon: not Santa, not its elves, we’re almost getting there; the reindeer. They are the true residents of Lapland as, whether winter or summer, they over-populate the humans. The most majestic animals I have ever witnessed in real life, with their long legs carrying their slim bodies topped with a perfectly grey-white fur, with a surprisingly massive head on top. The tricky, impressive antlers, the hypnotising bead eyes.
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