Pictures from Finnish Lapland in December

Finnish Lapland (northern Finland) in December

Only darkness in northern finland (finnish Lapland) in winter? Lots of people think it is so, but it is not. Okay, the day is only 5 hours long 500 kilometres north of the polar circle in mid december. However, this day is a sea of color, spread out on a landscape of all white (even telephone wires are white), where trees sometimes are no longer plants but become sculptures.

It's a pure winter wonderland, where you would no be surprised to see Santa Claus stepping in front of his cabin in the woods. Don't be afraid of the temperatures. It really is cold there (normally between -17° and -40° C), but it is a dry cold which is easy to put up with, and there is a fire burning wherever you step in, even in the lounge at the airport.

It is an experience of its own to feel the spell that a remote light puts on you when you are on a hike through the woods on cross contry skis. Suddenly you know what Homer must have had in mind when he told us about the encounter Odysseus had with the sirens. It's some kind of magic.

Use the Thumbnail gallery below to get an impression. The pictures are sized 1024x768.

By the way: My personal favourites are the pictures number 04, 56 and 59. Pictures 51 and 53 are close followers. And just in case you ask: No, not a single one of these pictures was electronically or otherwise enhanced. They are 1:1 scans of 35mm diapositives, and the scans even lost contrast and colour if I compare them with the originals...

Immagine yourself strolling through the woods in the twilight of the short arctic day at -35° centigrade, and then you see the light shining through the window of a cabin... - FINL_04.jpg

The campus of the log cabin hotel Kakslauttanen. - FINL_01.jpg - FINL_02.jpg

Inside our cabin at Kakslauttanen. The bedroom with the fireplace. Maybe you have to adjust brightness and contrast of your screen to see the details in the dark parts. - FINL_08.jpg

During a tour with ski-doos. Note the almost sculpturesque form of the trees. This sculptures get more bizarre from week to week, and more on the heights than in the valleys.

However, although I am a passionate motorcycle rider, I don't like and therefore don't recommend ski-doos. Their 2-cycle engines stink terribly, and the noise is somewhat inadequate for the scenery - FINL_16.jpg - FINL_17.jpg
- FINL_18.jpg - FINL_19.jpg
- FINL_20.jpg

Don't miss the huskies. A tour with these friendly dogs is really a must. After a short briefing you can try to be a musher yourself (of course you don't have to care about the direction, since a guide goes in front). - FINL_21.jpg - FINL_24.jpg
- FINL_26.jpg - FINL_29.jpg

Of course we tried a ride with a reindeer sleigh. Just sit there an watch the landscape slowly moving by. Nothing to do for the nervous types. - FINL_30.jpg - FINL_33.jpg
- FINL_36.jpg - FINL_37.jpg
- FINL_39.jpg

However, when it comes to landscape, you really must experience it on your own feet, which in this case means cross contry skiing. Here are some impressions of what kind of views you can run into. - FINL_44.jpg - FINL_45.jpg
- FINL_47.jpg - FINL_48.jpg
- FINL_50.jpg - FINL_51.jpg
- FINL_52.jpg - FINL_53.jpg
- FINL_54.jpg - FINL_55.jpg
- FINL_56.jpg - FINL_57.jpg
- FINL_59.jpg - FINL_43.jpg

Esther with the reindeer dog at Kakslauttanen. He doesn't mind to sleep outside at -40° centrigrade because his fur is so thick (and at the same time so fluffy) that it is impossible to stick your finger through the hair. Sometimes he comes into the lounge, because he likes to be with people, but he won't stay long, because it is too hot in there for him. - FINL_60.jpg

Last edited by Andreas Hotz at 05/10/2013 08:32 AM

Immagine yourself strolling through the woods in the twilight of the short arctic day at -35° centigrade, and then you see the light shining through the window of a cabin...	- FINL_04.jpg
The campus of the log cabin hotel Kakslauttanen.	- FINL_01.jpg - FINL_02.jpg
Inside our cabin at Kakslauttanen. The bedroom with the fireplace. Maybe you have to adjust brightness and contrast of your screen to see the details in the dark parts.	- FINL_08.jpg
During a tour with ski-doos. Note the almost sculpturesque form of the trees. This sculptures get more bizarre from week to week, and more on the heights than in the valleys. However, although I am a passionate motorcycle rider, I don't like and therefore don't recommend ski-doos. Their 2-cycle engines stink terribly, and the noise is somewhat inadequate for the scenery	- FINL_16.jpg - FINL_17.jpg - FINL_18.jpg - FINL_19.jpg - FINL_20.jpg
Don't miss the huskies. A tour with these friendly dogs is really a must. After a short briefing you can try to be a musher yourself (of course you don't have to care about the direction, since a guide goes in front).	- FINL_21.jpg - FINL_24.jpg - FINL_26.jpg - FINL_29.jpg
Of course we tried a ride with a reindeer sleigh. Just sit there an watch the landscape slowly moving by. Nothing to do for the nervous types.	- FINL_30.jpg - FINL_33.jpg - FINL_36.jpg - FINL_37.jpg - FINL_39.jpg
However, when it comes to landscape, you really must experience it on your own feet, which in this case means cross contry skiing. Here are some impressions of what kind of views you can run into.	- FINL_44.jpg - FINL_45.jpg - FINL_47.jpg - FINL_48.jpg - FINL_50.jpg - FINL_51.jpg - FINL_52.jpg - FINL_53.jpg - FINL_54.jpg - FINL_55.jpg - FINL_56.jpg - FINL_57.jpg - FINL_59.jpg - FINL_43.jpg
Esther with the reindeer dog at Kakslauttanen. He doesn't mind to sleep outside at -40° centrigrade because his fur is so thick (and at the same time so fluffy) that it is impossible to stick your finger through the hair. Sometimes he comes into the lounge, because he likes to be with people, but he won't stay long, because it is too hot in there for him.	- FINL_60.jpg