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After having spent four of the previous five nights standing outside in seriously cold temperatures until well past midnight, it wouldn’t have been surprising if I couldn’t muster up much excitement about yet another cold night. That couldn’t have been further from the truth. Yes, I was tired, but the adrenalin had kept me going…
I’m just a little bit clumsy. I’ve fallen into a parked car, giving myself a concussion in the process. I’ve dislocated my toe on the Tongariro Crossing, having to hobble the final 2km so I could catch my bus. Last year, I planned to try cross-country skiing, only to break my leg before I got…
Sometimes I feel like my entire trip to Lapland was simply an excuse to indulge my inner child for a month. After all, I spent the entire time playing in heaping piles of snow, trying to make up for the fact that the first time I saw any snow stick to the ground was just…
In the 1960s, a massive change swept across Finland. The Americans had finally perfected their design of a vehicle for recreational use on the snow — the snowmobile. While it has always been seen as a fun toy — sort of like a jet ski — in North America, the Ski-Doo imported by a schoolteacher…
MarioKart is one of my favourite games ever. Since it originally came out on the SNES, I’ve loved zooming around the tracks (always as Yoshi), tossing turtle shells at people and avoiding the inevitable strings of bananas piled all over the track. Don’t tell Finland, but I’d rather play MarioKart than Angry Birds if given…
Watching the northern lights is an experience that is truly beyond words. There’s not really a way to describe the feeling of staring up at the sky as it explodes into colour, at first cloudlike and faintly white before it slowly morphs into green (and sometimes pink, purple, and gold) streaks across the sky. There…
What comes to mind when you think of animals in Lapland? Reindeer? Huskies? Polar bears (and no, they don’t actually live there)? One animal I certainly wouldn’t have thought of before I went to Finnish Lapland was the horse. Like the cows that didn’t last very long in Honningsvåg, I thought horses wouldn’t survive in…
By no stretch of the imagination am I a cook. I have gotten a bit better about branching out from the basics and trying to add a bit of creativity into my cooking, but I always have that nagging feeling of “what if I try to feed something awful to the person I’m cooking for?”…
When I arrived at the Tradition Hotel Kultahovi in Inari, I had just crossed the border from Norway, where I had spent ten days traveling up the northern coast. The differences between the countries were noticeable as soon as I arrived in Inari. Of course, there was the obvious — the language, the landscape, the…
The Sami and their reindeer are inseparable. For thousands of years, the northernmost indigenous group of Europe have relied on these animals not just for their livelihoods, but for transport, food, and clothing as well. The fact that the Sami and their reindeer are so intertwined is obvious from their language; they have over 20…
Enjoying the Moment at the Arctic Snow Hotel
After having spent four of the previous five nights standing outside in seriously cold temperatures until well past midnight, it wouldn’t have been surprising if I couldn’t muster up much excitement about yet another cold night. That couldn’t have been further from the truth. Yes, I was tired, but the adrenalin had kept me going…
Cross-Country Skiing…Without Falling Over!
I’m just a little bit clumsy. I’ve fallen into a parked car, giving myself a concussion in the process. I’ve dislocated my toe on the Tongariro Crossing, having to hobble the final 2km so I could catch my bus. Last year, I planned to try cross-country skiing, only to break my leg before I got…
Being a Big Kid at Santa Claus Village
Sometimes I feel like my entire trip to Lapland was simply an excuse to indulge my inner child for a month. After all, I spent the entire time playing in heaping piles of snow, trying to make up for the fact that the first time I saw any snow stick to the ground was just…
Officially Licensed to Drive a Reindeer Sled
In the 1960s, a massive change swept across Finland. The Americans had finally perfected their design of a vehicle for recreational use on the snow — the snowmobile. While it has always been seen as a fun toy — sort of like a jet ski — in North America, the Ski-Doo imported by a schoolteacher…
Ice Karting: Channeling My Inner Yoshi
MarioKart is one of my favourite games ever. Since it originally came out on the SNES, I’ve loved zooming around the tracks (always as Yoshi), tossing turtle shells at people and avoiding the inevitable strings of bananas piled all over the track. Don’t tell Finland, but I’d rather play MarioKart than Angry Birds if given…
Dozing Off Under the Northern Lights…What Could Be Better?
Watching the northern lights is an experience that is truly beyond words. There’s not really a way to describe the feeling of staring up at the sky as it explodes into colour, at first cloudlike and faintly white before it slowly morphs into green (and sometimes pink, purple, and gold) streaks across the sky. There…
Dashing Through the Snow…On a Saddled Finnish Horse
What comes to mind when you think of animals in Lapland? Reindeer? Huskies? Polar bears (and no, they don’t actually live there)? One animal I certainly wouldn’t have thought of before I went to Finnish Lapland was the horse. Like the cows that didn’t last very long in Honningsvåg, I thought horses wouldn’t survive in…
Learning How to Cook Lappish Delicacies
By no stretch of the imagination am I a cook. I have gotten a bit better about branching out from the basics and trying to add a bit of creativity into my cooking, but I always have that nagging feeling of “what if I try to feed something awful to the person I’m cooking for?”…
Riverfront Saunas and Northern Lights at Hotel Kultahovi
When I arrived at the Tradition Hotel Kultahovi in Inari, I had just crossed the border from Norway, where I had spent ten days traveling up the northern coast. The differences between the countries were noticeable as soon as I arrived in Inari. Of course, there was the obvious — the language, the landscape, the…
The Inari Sami and Their Reindeer
The Sami and their reindeer are inseparable. For thousands of years, the northernmost indigenous group of Europe have relied on these animals not just for their livelihoods, but for transport, food, and clothing as well. The fact that the Sami and their reindeer are so intertwined is obvious from their language; they have over 20…
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I'm Kristin, a Texan born to an American father and English mother. I've been living in Australia since 2008. My first plane flight was when I was three weeks old and I've been hooked ever since. I never feel quite right unless I have a plane ticket (to anywhere, whether it's Sydney or Sweden) booked in my name!
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