[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"archive-2013-4-1":3},{"posts":4,"total":409},[5,78,99,145,182,216,231,250,265,321,335,351,365,379,396],{"author":6,"categories":13,"coords":20,"coverImage":21,"excerpt":24,"location":25,"publishedAt":26,"readingTime":27,"slug":28,"title":29,"updatedAt":30,"updates":31},{"image":7,"name":12},{"_type":8,"asset":9},"image",{"_ref":10,"_type":11},"image-9bb286ab76652033b5a8988805b5f86ccc2a1932-100x100-jpg","reference","Kristin",[14,17],{"slug":15,"title":16},"finland","Finland",{"slug":18,"title":19},"lapland-and-the-arctic","Lapland & the Arctic","68.41°N 27.41°E",{"_type":8,"asset":22},{"_ref":23,"_type":11},"image-17747724c33703dd8b12f9014f80250c4fd17fb9-1257x868-jpg","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 th","Saariselkä, Finland","2013-04-30T02:00:38Z",5,"ice-karting-channeling-my-inner-yoshi","Ice Karting: Channeling My Inner Yoshi","2026-05-02T19:04:00.000Z",[32],{"_key":33,"_type":34,"children":35,"markDefs":68,"style":77},"4f78f81afef1","block",[36,41,46,50,55,59,64],{"_key":37,"_type":38,"marks":39,"text":40},"b824d77866eb","span",[],"As of mid-2026, Action Park appears to have permanently closed. There are numerous other operators across Lapland offering a similar ice karting experience, in locations such as ",{"_key":42,"_type":38,"marks":43,"text":45},"8cbc5b7a0e7b",[44],"bfc629d9ea50","Rovaniemi",{"_key":47,"_type":38,"marks":48,"text":49},"f21894a0dede",[],", ",{"_key":51,"_type":38,"marks":52,"text":54},"2478fb2c6ace",[53],"a3f8c3327170","Levi",{"_key":56,"_type":38,"marks":57,"text":58},"fb208282bfb8",[],", and ",{"_key":60,"_type":38,"marks":61,"text":63},"7ac3e39eb008",[62],"11bc3261f80b","Ruka",{"_key":65,"_type":38,"marks":66,"text":67},"0a241cddb0a8",[],".",[69,73,75],{"_key":44,"_type":70,"blank":71,"href":72},"link",true,"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.laplandwinterpark.com\u002Fproducts\u002Fice-karting-rovaniemi",{"_key":62,"_type":70,"blank":71,"href":74},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.visitfinland.com\u002Fen\u002Fproduct\u002Fd1dcfcd7-b738-4273-a6a4-c4ee1ffad2e6\u002Fice-karting\u002F",{"_key":53,"_type":70,"blank":71,"href":76},"https:\u002F\u002Ficekarting.fi\u002F","normal",{"author":79,"categories":82,"coords":88,"coverImage":89,"excerpt":92,"location":93,"publishedAt":94,"readingTime":95,"slug":96,"title":97,"updatedAt":98,"updates":98},{"image":80,"name":12},{"_type":8,"asset":81},{"_ref":10,"_type":11},[83,84,85],{"slug":15,"title":16},{"slug":18,"title":19},{"slug":86,"title":87},"northern-lights","Northern Lights","68.33°N 27.33°E",{"_type":8,"asset":90},{"_ref":91,"_type":11},"image-2a5f1dbb5daa87879da0db16cd0ac53698239caa-1440x989-jpg","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 acros","Kakslauttanen, Finland","2013-04-27T02:00:20Z",8,"dozing-off-under-the-northern-lights","Dozing Off Under the Northern Lights…What Could Be Better?",null,{"author":100,"categories":103,"coords":106,"coverImage":107,"excerpt":110,"location":111,"publishedAt":112,"readingTime":113,"slug":114,"title":115,"updatedAt":116,"updates":117},{"image":101,"name":12},{"_type":8,"asset":102},{"_ref":10,"_type":11},[104,105],{"slug":15,"title":16},{"slug":18,"title":19},"68.66°N 27.54°E",{"_type":8,"asset":108},{"_ref":109,"_type":11},"image-69b4507961be66161378620467a8ec230018c7f6-1153x855-jpg","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 ","Ivalo, Finland","2013-04-26T02:00:15Z",6,"dashing-through-the-snow-on-a-saddled-finnish-horse","Dashing Through the Snow…On a Saddled Finnish Horse","2026-05-02T18:05:00.000Z",[118,137],{"_key":119,"_type":34,"children":120,"markDefs":134,"style":77},"8dd2dfd888d9",[121,125,130],{"_key":122,"_type":38,"marks":123,"text":124},"89d81b875cec",[],"Kamisak Farm has since closed, and ",{"_key":126,"_type":38,"marks":127,"text":129},"1803e9be4341",[128],"1f3fc0210f2f","Ilonka Lapland",{"_key":131,"_type":38,"marks":132,"text":133},"9ab54e2315f8",[]," has opened on their old site. ",[135],{"_key":128,"_type":70,"blank":71,"href":136},"https:\u002F\u002Filonka.fi\u002Fen\u002Fabout\u002F",{"_key":138,"_type":34,"children":139,"markDefs":144,"style":77},"4dc29352ed74",[140],{"_key":141,"_type":38,"marks":142,"text":143},"bae4dc982704",[],"Ilonka Lapland offers husky farm tours and dogsledding, but does not have any tours that include Finnhorses.",[],{"author":146,"categories":149,"coords":152,"coverImage":153,"excerpt":156,"location":157,"publishedAt":158,"readingTime":113,"slug":159,"title":160,"updatedAt":161,"updates":162},{"image":147,"name":12},{"_type":8,"asset":148},{"_ref":10,"_type":11},[150,151],{"slug":15,"title":16},{"slug":18,"title":19},"68.91°N 27.03°E",{"_type":8,"asset":154},{"_ref":155,"_type":11},"image-cc3cf5c49742c461b68db49ed65d3f403c3aee40-1440x1005-jpg","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?” […]","Inari, Finland","2013-04-24T02:00:13Z","learning-how-to-cook-lappish-delicacies","Learning How to Cook Lappish Delicacies","2026-05-02T17:43:00.000Z",[163],{"_key":164,"_type":34,"children":165,"markDefs":179,"style":77},"ebcf1a3e8a78",[166,170,175],{"_key":167,"_type":38,"marks":168,"text":169},"b1048d83b0a1",[],"This course no longer appears to be offered by ",{"_key":171,"_type":38,"marks":172,"text":174},"3471f3588945",[173],"824282c5252e","InariEvent\u002FVisit Inari",{"_key":176,"_type":38,"marks":177,"text":178},"21ccc422a269",[],". However, they continue to offer a number of other experiences where you can learn more about Sámi culture. Restaurant Sarrit is still open at the Siida museum.",[180],{"_key":173,"_type":70,"blank":71,"href":181},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.visitinari.fi",{"author":183,"categories":186,"coords":152,"coverImage":190,"excerpt":193,"location":157,"publishedAt":194,"readingTime":27,"slug":195,"title":196,"updatedAt":161,"updates":197},{"image":184,"name":12},{"_type":8,"asset":185},{"_ref":10,"_type":11},[187,188,189],{"slug":15,"title":16},{"slug":18,"title":19},{"slug":86,"title":87},{"_type":8,"asset":191},{"_ref":192,"_type":11},"image-d5f2bd6180f61df2a8ad5c764a2629ca1dea3ab6-1440x986-jpg","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 l","2013-04-23T02:00:26Z","riverfront-saunas-and-northern-lights-at-hotel-kultahovi","Riverfront Saunas and Northern Lights at Hotel Kultahovi",[198],{"_key":199,"_type":34,"children":200,"markDefs":213,"style":77},"7e8971b3528a",[201,205,210],{"_key":202,"_type":38,"marks":203,"text":204},"10694e65b2a4",[],"The Tradition Hotel Kultahovi has become part of the Wilderness Hotels group and is now known as ",{"_key":206,"_type":38,"marks":207,"text":209},"efb752528a58",[208],"241011b392b0","Wilderness Hotel Juutua",{"_key":211,"_type":38,"marks":212,"text":67},"bc58376b9a27",[],[214],{"_key":208,"_type":70,"blank":71,"href":215},"https:\u002F\u002Fwildernesshotels.fi\u002Fwilderness-hotel-juutua",{"author":217,"categories":220,"coords":152,"coverImage":223,"excerpt":226,"location":157,"publishedAt":227,"readingTime":228,"slug":229,"title":230,"updatedAt":98,"updates":98},{"image":218,"name":12},{"_type":8,"asset":219},{"_ref":10,"_type":11},[221,222],{"slug":15,"title":16},{"slug":18,"title":19},{"_type":8,"asset":224},{"_ref":225,"_type":11},"image-432061b58353a0e3b1593f60e3b5d25f81f84a3b-1440x1062-jpg","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 th","2013-04-20T02:00:28Z",9,"the-inari-sami-and-their-reindeer","The Inari Sami and Their Reindeer",{"author":232,"categories":235,"coords":240,"coverImage":241,"excerpt":244,"location":245,"publishedAt":246,"readingTime":247,"slug":248,"title":249,"updatedAt":98,"updates":98},{"image":233,"name":12},{"_type":8,"asset":234},{"_ref":10,"_type":11},[236,239],{"slug":237,"title":238},"norway","Norway",{"slug":18,"title":19},"71.17°N 25.78°E",{"_type":8,"asset":242},{"_ref":243,"_type":11},"image-1015823dcd3b07509a7f052746e8e9e6cb5d7da0-1440x789-jpg","As I mentioned in my post about Nordkapp yesterday, I was lucky enough to have one of the happiest and most entertaining tour guides of my entire trip on the bus trip there and back. Renald, who introduced himself to me as “Renald, like Ronald Reagan…how in the world did my parents come up with [&he","Magerøya, Norway","2013-04-18T02:00:48Z",7,"tales-of-growing-up-on-mageroya","Tales of Growing Up on Magerøya",{"author":251,"categories":254,"coords":240,"coverImage":257,"excerpt":260,"location":261,"publishedAt":262,"readingTime":247,"slug":263,"title":264,"updatedAt":98,"updates":98},{"image":252,"name":12},{"_type":8,"asset":253},{"_ref":10,"_type":11},[255,256],{"slug":237,"title":238},{"slug":18,"title":19},{"_type":8,"asset":258},{"_ref":259,"_type":11},"image-3c845de36618457eaedd9bb05bd79aa57ee56257-1440x993-jpg","Much is made of the legendary capes that so many explorers had to navigate in the southern hemisphere in their search for new, unexplored lands. Many people would be able to tell you where Cape Horn is, but I’m guessing that less would be able to tell you where Nordkapp (North Cape) — the northernmo","Nordkapp, Norway","2013-04-17T02:00:42Z","north-cape-on-top-of-europe-sort-of","North Cape: On Top of Europe…Sort Of",{"author":266,"categories":269,"coords":272,"coverImage":273,"excerpt":276,"location":277,"publishedAt":278,"readingTime":228,"slug":279,"title":280,"updatedAt":281,"updates":282},{"image":267,"name":12},{"_type":8,"asset":268},{"_ref":10,"_type":11},[270,271],{"slug":237,"title":238},{"slug":18,"title":19},"69.65°N 18.96°E",{"_type":8,"asset":274},{"_ref":275,"_type":11},"image-123a41f5d23fede0a3c04935286261fcc01fabe0-1440x1080-jpg","It may not come as a surprise to many of you that I’d never been on a cruise ship before my trip to Norway. As someone who gets seasick easily, the thought of being on a boat for days on end has never appealed to me; plus, I like active vacations where I see more […]","Tromsø, Norway","2013-04-15T02:00:05Z","cruising-the-norwegian-coast-with-hurtigruten","Cruising the Norwegian Coast with Hurtigruten","2026-05-02T16:40:00.000Z",[283,302],{"_key":284,"_type":34,"children":285,"markDefs":299,"style":77},"4e5ef7375d9f",[286,290,295],{"_key":287,"_type":38,"marks":288,"text":289},"0540c17d0b67",[],"As of May 2026, the MS Midnatsol has now become a \"",{"_key":291,"_type":38,"marks":292,"text":294},"90edba4c10a2",[293],"4edb6bd15969","signature ship",{"_key":296,"_type":38,"marks":297,"text":298},"bd8ca6608f74",[],"\" for Hurtigruten and will only run on special, slower-paced trips, rather than the original coastal route.",[300],{"_key":293,"_type":70,"blank":71,"href":301},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.hurtigruten.com\u002Fen\u002Fon-board\u002Fships\u002Fms-midnatsol",{"_key":303,"_type":34,"children":304,"markDefs":318,"style":77},"201410854e45",[305,309,314],{"_key":306,"_type":38,"marks":307,"text":308},"202845eed196",[],"The MS Nordnorge still runs on the original coastal route, but was r",{"_key":310,"_type":38,"marks":311,"text":313},"f67a95b641a6",[312],"ef74a6e11864","enovated in 2016",{"_key":315,"_type":38,"marks":316,"text":317},"569a5ae33b6b",[]," to have more modern amenities than those described in this post.",[319],{"_key":312,"_type":70,"blank":71,"href":320},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.hurtigruten.com\u002Fen\u002Fon-board\u002Fships\u002Fms-nordnorge",{"author":322,"categories":325,"coords":272,"coverImage":328,"excerpt":331,"location":277,"publishedAt":332,"readingTime":113,"slug":333,"title":334,"updatedAt":98,"updates":98},{"image":323,"name":12},{"_type":8,"asset":324},{"_ref":10,"_type":11},[326,327],{"slug":237,"title":238},{"slug":18,"title":19},{"_type":8,"asset":329},{"_ref":330,"_type":11},"image-86c95fecd92e4119d4c99be1b50af9ebf3296a98-1439x738-jpg","The night didn’t look promising. In fact, it looked about as unpromising as two nights before, when I’d called to reschedule my evening snowshoeing trip after arriving in Tromsø in blizzard conditions. Tromsø Villmarkssenter had been very understanding, agreeing that snowshoeing in gale force winds ","2013-04-12T02:00:13Z","snowshoeing-in-search-of-the-northern-lights","Snowshoeing in Search of the Northern Lights",{"author":336,"categories":339,"coords":342,"coverImage":343,"excerpt":346,"location":347,"publishedAt":348,"readingTime":95,"slug":349,"title":350,"updatedAt":98,"updates":98},{"image":337,"name":12},{"_type":8,"asset":338},{"_ref":10,"_type":11},[340,341],{"slug":237,"title":238},{"slug":18,"title":19},"69.15°N 19.65°E",{"_type":8,"asset":344},{"_ref":345,"_type":11},"image-43e3c53270b698ec79c928e96bb3bc0a63593185-1440x958-jpg","A perfect morning dawned over Camp Tamok as I slowly wrestled out of my sleeping bag in the Sami lavvu I’d spent the night in. As we ate breakfast in a warm cabin, huskies from the nearby kennel barked at each other and got themselves excited for another day of sprinting through the Lyngen Alps. [&h","Lyngen Alps, Norway","2013-04-11T02:00:22Z","snowmobiling-into-a-whiteout-in-the-lyngen-alps","Snowmobiling into a Whiteout in the Lyngen Alps",{"author":352,"categories":355,"coords":342,"coverImage":358,"excerpt":361,"location":347,"publishedAt":362,"readingTime":113,"slug":363,"title":364,"updatedAt":98,"updates":98},{"image":353,"name":12},{"_type":8,"asset":354},{"_ref":10,"_type":11},[356,357],{"slug":237,"title":238},{"slug":18,"title":19},{"_type":8,"asset":359},{"_ref":360,"_type":11},"image-2d588040b0e4327de6107b11dd965911bb879fc8-1440x958-jpg","“Are you sure you want to sleep in the Sami tent tonight? You’re the only one in there and there’s plenty of space in the cabins if you want one,” said Reetta, the Lyngsfjord guide that was taking care of us overnight. Having already been told by some of the people staying in cabins that […]","2013-04-09T02:00:46Z","whats-it-like-sleeping-in-a-tent-when-its-negative-20c","What’s It Like Sleeping in a Tent When It’s -20C?",{"author":366,"categories":369,"coords":342,"coverImage":372,"excerpt":375,"location":347,"publishedAt":376,"readingTime":247,"slug":377,"title":378,"updatedAt":98,"updates":98},{"image":367,"name":12},{"_type":8,"asset":368},{"_ref":10,"_type":11},[370,371],{"slug":237,"title":238},{"slug":18,"title":19},{"_type":8,"asset":373},{"_ref":374,"_type":11},"image-9d8e7663df7df17448e4ab11c75bfa10c6dcdfca-1440x1552-jpg","“I wanna go fast! I wanna go fast!” I could almost hear the huskies chanting Ricky Bobby’s favourite line as they bounded across the pristine snow of the Lyngen Alps outside of Tromsø. They had rocketed off as soon as I’d let go of the brake, accelerating as fast as they could as snow appeared [&hel","2013-04-08T02:00:15Z","the-magic-of-dogsledding-in-the-dark","The Magic of Dogsledding in the Dark",{"author":380,"categories":383,"coords":386,"coverImage":387,"excerpt":390,"location":391,"publishedAt":392,"readingTime":393,"slug":394,"title":395,"updatedAt":98,"updates":98},{"image":381,"name":12},{"_type":8,"asset":382},{"_ref":10,"_type":11},[384,385],{"slug":237,"title":238},{"slug":18,"title":19},"67.93°N 13.09°E",{"_type":8,"asset":388},{"_ref":389,"_type":11},"image-87668a83dd41e16ed0fdf93ddd4fd94764fd62ca-1440x958-jpg","Reine is one of those places that, like New Zealand’s South Island, appears in popular culture more often than you would realise if you hadn’t been there. I, for one, had seen this stunning place over and over again on sites like Pinterest, so when I realised it was only a few hours’ drive from [&he","Reine, Lofoten Islands, Norway","2013-04-05T02:00:31Z",4,"photo-essay-picture-perfect-reine","Photo Essay: Picture Perfect Reine",{"author":98,"categories":397,"coords":98,"coverImage":402,"excerpt":405,"location":98,"publishedAt":406,"readingTime":247,"slug":407,"title":408,"updatedAt":98,"updates":98},[398,399],{"slug":15,"title":16},{"slug":400,"title":401},"misadventures","Misadventures",{"_type":8,"asset":403},{"_ref":404,"_type":11},"image-80871e75fd8445cc585921becefad3447819579e-768x1024-jpg","My entire trip to Lapland was fantastic. All of my plans seemed to go exactly as I expected; there were no late buses, very few hotel issues, and all of my activities were just as good (and often better) than they had sounded on paper. Then I tempted fate and mentioned this to a friend…","2013-04-03T03:00:11Z","how-forenom-koto-left-me-out-in-the-cold-literally","How Forenom Koto Left Me Out in the Cold…Literally",15]