We have returned from Finland with all our fingers, toes and noses intact. The anticipated -30 degree temperatures alluded us while we were there as did the Aurora Borealis. So what did Finland hold for us? A log cabin in the woods, surrounded by thigh deep snow, a low of -14, incredibly peaceful surroundings and the joy of sharing this all with friends.
We flew into Kittila on Sunday evening to be picked up by a pre-arranged taxi. Our taxi driver (Anne) had taken the liberty of also collecting our cabin key from the local real estate agent as well. Great hospitality.
As I was determined NOT to do a typical British resort week away this meant things were a bit tougher to find out about when you are doing it off your own bat. Traditionally with the resort holidays everything is included, flights, transfers, accommodation and meals. This also means it can be triple, if not more, than what you can do by booking as an individual. More importantly it means you don’t have to be herded into the same town as every other traveler on the flight where the resorts are tailored to tourists.
I booked our log cabin in a town called Akaslompolo, resident population of 400, swelling to 20,000 during the summer time. Of the 12 cabins in our immediate vicinity, when we arrived we were the only ones there. Throughout the week 2 or 3 other groups arrived but they appeared to be Finnish families coming to ski for a few days before heading home again. Our cabin was bliss. Two downstairs twin rooms, a mezzainne floor with room for at least 5 people, fully equipped open plan kitchen/dining and living room with tv/dvd and fireplace. Plenty of storage, 2 toilets, shower, washing machine and an indoor electric sauna. As it was the low season we got a good price on it which, when sharing with mates, really makes for a cheaper time than through a travel company.
Town was about a 20 minute walk which was very pleasant as you are continually surrounded by a winter wonderland. We did hire a car for a day which was a brilliant idea in order to get out of town and see some more of the area. Without a car you are quite isolated and with few public transport options, taxis could become very expensive if you wanted to see more of the area.
Cross country ski tracks are in abundance and the illuminated track for night time skiing was only about 300 meters from us. This is lit until 10pm at night. We made some good use of this track on our ski days/nights.
Shopping was completed at Jounin Kauppa where there is also a pharmacy, dry cleaners, grog shop and cafe. Prices on many items are rather high especially alcohol so bringing duty free in would be the best idea if you are keen on having some tipple over the week. General food items like milk, pasta, sauces, bread, cheese were relatively priced but meat was very costly. Especially reindeer. This was upwards of 40 euro a kilo. You can pick up some fairly cheap sausages for the kota’s (fire huts) but in short expect that as with any country if the food is low cost it will most likely mean high fat or highly processed. I did notice the microwave meals were priced on par with the pound but if you can live for a week on that stuff I feel sorry for you. If we were to add up the cost of food bought while eating out over the week I might have a heart attack so I refuse to go there. To give you an example, one day on a ski trip we were out in the middle of nowhere and decided to cop the charge on 2 rolls, 2 chocolate bars and 2 hot drinks…17 euro! Seriously though, what do you expect when there is nothing else around for miles? This was our fault for not being prepared. The local cafe did do a great special on a pizza and large coke for 10 euro. Steve and I shared the pizza as it was far to big for one person.
Wifi was pretty much non existent in the area. There was an internet cafe (corner Tunturintie and Sivulantie) and wifi available at the cafe in the supermarket centre. 3 euro for an hour at the cafe.
I really want to capture some of the ski trips we did so I will do these individually but in all the trip was incredible with a large number of memories, ideas and impressions that will sit with me for a long time to come. Also, it was incredibly difficult to find out a lot about the place before we arrived so I really want to get some information down here to assist others in future. If you do have any questions please feel free to email me and I will try to help out.
In the meantime, a post would not be the same without a few pictures now would it.
