Northern Lights ~ Part one

Y. went to Lapland and caught the northern lights! I always thought there would be some day when I would catch the light but I still see them from magazines and TV!

I sent a couple of quick messages to Y. and asked if I could find out more about the trip, and she readily agreed! Y. sent an epic email, and I was totally grateful for the details. Information is put into FAQ format and two blog posts for easy reading. 

Here we go!

Why now: Considering we are now in the period of the peak of solar activity (it is an 11 year cycle), I thought it was probably the best time finally to catch this natural phenomena; the next peak wold be winter of 2014 / 15. Since there is no guarantee that one can definitely catch the aurora, I went with the mindset that catching it would be bonus. 

Was it expensive:  I looked around for a travel agent - local and overseas to arrange the trip, and came across this one based in UK. However, as the tours are priced in pounds, the packages are really expensive! Totally discouraged, but I thought I would check out this other place - Nellim Wilderness Hotel. They have their own packages, identical to the one listed by the travel agent, but at HALF THE PRICE! Still really expensive, but I did not want to overthink, so I sent an email to check on vacancy, and booked when they said yes!

The cabin looks like it it is on its own on the slope of a remote forest, but it looks really cool! Did you stay in the bubble cabin throughout? I paid an additional 155 euro for a night in the Aurora Bubble; it was really awesome! I was tempted to extend my stay there in spite of the cost, but I was already booked for day and night activities and would be away most of the time so it was really not worth it though I kind of regret it now. The cabin came with complementary mini champagne and chocolates - this is my favourite part aside from the aurora :) The accommodation for the rest of the nights was pretty basic - bed, chair, coffee table, wardrobe, hair dryer. Bathroom has towels, soap, shower, toilet, plastic cups. Both rooms were heated. If you book the apartment, you get a private sauna! There was a shared sauna that you can reserve as well. 

Is it remote? Tarzan or Lion King came visiting? I didn't see wild animals aside from birds and occasional reindeer. But there are bears around, I think :) 

How cold was it? Climate in Finland during winter is sub-zero (especially where I was, in the Arctic Circle) but it is DRY, so it did not feel that cold. Except when there was wind, it got really cold. But the outfit that was provided to us was really good. On my last night, I was hanging around on top of a frozen lake for around two hours with fairly strong wind, I did not shiver once. 

From your FB photo, food looks kind of primitive (not in a bad way, more like amazing!) - building up the fire with logs, reindeer soup ... What and how is the food like? Was all meals included in the package? Any alternative for vegetarians? It was buffet throughout, and it was FANTASTIC - I have the weight gain to prove it! The pictures of us eating outdoors were taken when we did the outdoor activities (snowshoeing, ice fishing) but all the other meals were in the hotel. Menu changed every meal except for breakfast which was pretty much the same every day. There were at least two bowls of different salads for vegetarians, along with tomatoes, cucumbers, assorted salad leafs. Coffee and tea were available FOC throughout the day. 

Y.'s email was really candid and good; it was almost wholesale cut and paste, haha! Part two will follow soon!