Oh Deer!

Downtown Kuhmo, this is where I will call home for the next day and a bit. We have left the tranquil surrounds of Kati and Ari's farm.

I landed in Kajaani two nights ago, the three hour train ride shot us through beautiful frosted landscapes. As the sun set, on our approach to Kajaani, as I got my bag down from the overhead storage, the train came to an abrupt holt. Over the pa system a man announced what was happening, the locals all grew quiet and shook their heads. I thought that the train had broken down. After a few minutes of standing around and moving my bag out of the way of the ticket conductor who marched purposefully up and down the carriage, I decided we weren't going anywhere so I sat down again. The lady across the way from me was shaking her head, and then phoned someone to let them know that we were delayed.

A few rows in front of me, eight German teenagers who had been joyfully rowdy and boisterous must have been questioning the delay. A man in front of them raised himself out of his seat, turned around and explained that the train had hit a deer and the driver had to get out to inspect the damage and see if the deer was alive.

Another announcement boomed through the pa system and the Germans enquired from the nice man what had been said and he said that the train driver had gotten back on the train and we would be continuing shortly. No mention of the deer's well being was ever raised and the mood on the train became very glum.

Ten minutes later we arrived in Kajaani and Kati was standing waiting on the platform. The farm was two hours away and we set off in their trusty Nissan. The drive had been interesting with Kati negotiating loads of speeding Russian vehicles, mostly trucks on the icy roads. She complained that she was sticking to the speed limit and they were going dangerously fast. We got to the farm under total darkness, a candle greeted us on the pathway up to the main house. The familiar buildings all looked gorgeous covered in snow.

Dumping my bags, we sat down for a healthy salad. We chatted for a bit and then we all retired for an early night. I was grateful as the two previous nights I hadn't really got much sleep.

The next morning we woke relatively early. Breakfast was munched gazing out at the winter wonderland that was framed by the large kitchen windows. The wind dusted the most recent snowfall off the branches. After breakfast Kati and I took Reentu the dog for a short walk to the lake and then turned back. Reentu loved the snow, rubbing himself up against the icy wall, biting mouthfuls of it as he strolled along.

Back at the house Kati made lunch, reindeer broth with Carelian pies. While it sat stewing on the stove, she spoke to Anni and Jussi making arrangements to visit them. After lunch we headed on the familiar roads to the White Carelian Villages. I was amazed at how much I remembered, where we stopped at the park, the toilet break, the houses-it was fun being back and seeing the landscape donning its winter look.

50kms later we arrived at Jussi's house. He remembered me and asked how Africa was, to which I answered warm. We spent two hours with him where he shared stories of his youth, his time as a Finnish guard at a Russian concentration camp where he played musical instruments with the prisoners, his jack of all trades existence where he carved the details of the church in the village and built other buildings in the area. He sat smoking his pipe or as he called it his aroma therapy. We enjoyed a coffee with him and as we were nearing the end of our time with him, he played four songs for us on his accordion. One was called staring at the dying embers of the fire. They all had a haunting, sad melody and they felt very Russian.

On leaving he raised the question of when was he going to see me, the African again to which I found myself responding in a summer when it was warmer!

As we stepped out the house, a lady arrived, she was Kati's editor of Kati's next book. She was living with Jussi for a few days a week where she was looking after him but also writing his autobiography. Kati told her we were going snow walking and she offered me her cross country skis saying that they were a lot easier than the shoes. I took a few pics of Jussi's 'village' and off we disappeared down the road to Domnan Pirtti and Anni. She had coffee waiting for us, along with home made biscuits. She joked that she gave them to a couple that had visited a few days ago cause they loved the recipe and I have to admit they tasted damn fine! Anni looked gorgeous, spunky as ever with a glow and a mischievous twinkle in her eyes.

Kati told me about the accident Anni had had recently, she had been preparing the sauna and had, in her words, been lazy using a plastic bucket to take the boiling water out. The handle broke and the scorching hot water had cascaded down into her boot and soaked her woollen sock. This started the long painful recovery. She said that she rushed to the lake and submerged her injury, this was her saving grace. She spent 3weeks in hospital where they did a skin graft from her thigh and fixed the foot. This all went well however the section of her thigh got infected and she is still slowly recovering. She is hoping that by the time she goes on holiday to Poland her thigh will be better. The one thing she is most disappointed about is the fact that with the open wound she has not been able to enjoy the Scandinavian tradition of the sauna. Ari says that the care in the hospital wasn't the best, hence the infection after the operation and the extended recovery.

We chatted for a bit, Anni told us about her plans to take her niece who is 15 to somewhere interesting. She thought of backpacking in India but was hesitant because she wasn't sure her niece would enjoy that!

Our conversation danced around the topic of travelling, Anni is a kindred travel spirit, she dreams of discovering new cultures, places and food-bringing her knowledge back to Domnan house. I suggested she should come sailing and it was evident she fell in love with the idea! Now to speak to Rob and then negotiate dates and how long she wants to be on the boat!

After our coffee Kati and I went for a new adventure, Snow Walking. We grabbed the skis and snow shoes and made our way down to the lake in front of Domnan, I figured out how to put the skis on and then without any discussions or lessons, we were off. At the edge of the lake there was a sharp dip down to the flat surface, this was my first bit of adrenaline rush as I skidded down the bank at a pace managing to stay up right and this was the moment that I fell in love with the sport of skiing. I must have had a smile from ear to ear evident on my face and perhaps seen from outer space. We cruised around the lake then went into the forested area until we came full circle back to the car. My time sliding around had come to an end. we left the skis at Domnan house and then walked to the old church where Jussi had been a part of the building team.

All to soon we were in the car and leaving one of my slice's of heaven heading back to the farm. Kati was working today and tomorrow so it was decided that we would stay in Downtown Kuhmo for the remainder of the trip.

When we arrived back at the farm, I went and started the process of packing my bags, now really plotting about what to keep at the top as it would be the final leg of this adventure.

Dinner was fire baked potatoes with a local sausage. I ate well and then went to my haven for a bit, reading Wallander. After 7pm I surfaced again as their was talk of sauna in the evening.

Ari got the sauna ready and at 7:30 Kati and I went and sat in the traditional Finnish sauna, the temperature at first was 50 degrees but when I left, it was 60 degrees. A stark contrast to the -10 outside

When I came back in, I got changed into my pjs and then rehydrated with a Sandels beer. A good brew! Soon after Kati decided to play the accordion as well, playing three songs. We chatted a bit and then I decided to retire.

This morning we had an early start. We had to be out the house by 7:30 as it was an hour drive and Kati could not be late. We packed the car, the dogs got bundled in and we were off. The roads were familiar, I remembered were Eva and I had stopped for a break, taken a photo and where I had chuckled at the hunting signs for beers.

We arrived in Kuhmo punctually for Kati. Ari and I even had time to have a coffee at the dentist office. We left just as the first patient arrived. We went and unpacked the car and left the dogs at the flat. Then we went exploring Kuhmo, revisiting the Library, strolled to the rapids and then went to the cultural centre where a photographic exhibition was on by Juha Taskinen called Viena Aihkii. After having a fabulous young lady show us around and explain the photos we went to the wilderness centre Petola and learnt about bears, wolves, wolverines, golden eagles, lynxes and wild reindeer.

Now knowing the habits of these animals and discovering the damage that they have caused, 24 bee hives have been attacked by Brown Bears in the last financial year! We went down the road to the Hotelii Ravintola Kalevala for a coffee. The spot overlooked the lake as snow mobiles buzzed past as did cross country skiers. The coffee was delicious, best I have had since Derek's morning shots. I now am settled back in the flat. Next mission is to find out the bus timetable to Kajaani as I will be public transporting it from here as Kati and Ari have a mental health meeting at noon. Kajaani is 101km away. The process of this tumbling weed getting blown homewards has started.

The idea of a beer in Copehagen is within reach.

031 we are almost home!

Sleeping on a block of ice in a snowy cave is highly recommended!

It seems we are in agreement, myself and my new Chinese friends! I honestly don't think you can say you sleep extremely well in a Snow Hotel but wow, what an experience!

I left you at lunch yesterday, I went for a slow stroll through the streets. I walked through the old part of Kemi and around their yacht club. I watched snow mobiles whizz across the frozen sea. I even watched two ladies go for a dip in the frozen Baltic Sea. Around 6pm I took shelter in the Snow Village Cafe and decided to chill until the show and tell that evening.

I sat escaping to Sweden reading my Wallander detective novel, Sweden being just 25km away I thought it was....well - novel. As I read, I occasionally glanced up at the passing trade, day trekkers who had rumbled through the village. After 7pm a calmness came over the village, the visitors had left, it was just the hard core subzerians remaining.

After 8pm a group of Chinese ladies appeared and nestled in for a bit. The hotel worker, Carolina came and apologised to them and offered them free drinks. I listened as the story came out-dramas at the Snow Hotel. A bunch of kids had climbed up onto the roof of the hotel and were causing havoc so the staff had to call the police. When I was sitting reading, an officer strolled in got briefed and then went to find the perps.

Who said small town living wasn't exciting! When I went to go and post my postcards, strolling past one of the Chinese ladies asked if I was alone, where I was from and if I was just here for the one day? I answered all the questions and then asked where they were from, all of them live in Beijing. They were lovely, last year the same group had travelled to Kenya to visit the wild animals and the next trip they would start organising when they get back home was a trip to the South Pole. One of the Americans said she had lived in Indianapolis and had an American passport, she said the next pole trip was the last winter escape. She was going to do summer trips for a few holidays.

The point of this trip was to witness the Northern Lights but in a week all they had experienced were snow storms and cloudy weather.

Just after 9pm, Carolina called myself and the Chinese party of four together. On the table was a folded up sleeping bag and a pillow! The English show and tell was commencing.

She unfolded the sleeping bag, revealing a fleece inner, then unzipped it all, showed us how to get in and out and where to velcro together, tighten pull etc. Her description, the end result a Mummy! Which if you aged the sleeping bag, put some Egyptian inscriptions on and perhaps have a bandage sticking out, you most certainly would have a Mummy.

She concluded asking about our morning sauna details, if we would like to shower or sauna and if we needed transport? Transport to the shower? Were we going to be that frozen? They would bring in a trolley and shove us onto it and defrost us under warm running water? I opted for the 7am wake up call, breakfast and then asked if I could organise a shower. The Chinese ladies insisted I catch a ride with them, they had their own vehicle and were going to Sweden in the morning!

Our show and tell lasted 15minutes and then the Finnish version commenced. A father and his two daughters were the Finnish contingent, the Visitors were us five and an awol lady. Nine people in total! The Finnish show and tell lasted half an hour.

At ten, I decided that it was time to venture to my room. Walking from the comfortable cafe to the hotel, I looked up at a cloudy sky. Cloudy meaning that the famous Aurora Lights were not to be seen. Room #7. I found it easily and took a deep breath. The moment of truth!

Inside the light slowly changed from red to a warm white to a funky sky blue, I didn't pay attention after that as my focus lay on the right hand side of the 'double' bed. It had two ice cubes and two reindeer skins lying next to each other. In the centre on the one bed was exactly the same sleeping bag folded into three. I opened it up and then plotted the big wardrobe change. I started taking my layers off the top and then quickly threw on my pj top and then attacked the bottom. Once my shoes were off, I stepped onto the bed to keep my socks dry, expecting the surface to be solid, I was surprised and thrown off balance when I stood on a spring mattress. I cautiously then de-robed and clambered into the sleeping bag elf style. Instead of zipping and pulling I rolled down and then pulled up and the same with the outer arctic bag. It felt like the sack of potatoe race we used to compete in at school, this was just a bit more confined, on a wobbly surface and a bit of hop scotch to get the first cocoon into the second. If the frozen fly could talk, he would mention that maybe I should not join the circus or on second thoughts, perhaps I should...

As the layers were peeled off, I placed them on top of the reindeer skin. Shoes placed neatly in front of the bed with laces tucked inside to remain dry and cell phone remained in my shoes which I thought was a safer option for incase I kangaroo kicked it down onto the frozen floor.

The comedy act that was an in theory easy ritual of jumping into a sleeping bag was made challenging by the -5 degrees, icy floor and icy igloo cave that I found myself inhabiting.

I found myself amused by wondering if I would freeze to death before being able to snuggle into the thick sleeping bag. I wondered what they would put on the death certificate, frozen whilst going to bed. But of course this did not happen.

Sprawled out on top of my clothes, I lay mummified with my nose the only thing making contact with the icy conditions. During the night, I felt I spent the entire sleeping hours tossing and turning but thinking back, this was not the case. I went through periods of being a mole, burrowing deep into the sleeping bag, almost at the over heating point and then like a submarine breaking through the surface of the warmth barrier with thoughts of, I need air, I need air. Half way through the night I had a debate whether or not to bring the pillow into my circle of hearty warmth. I eventually did and it took a while for it to lose the cold shoulder until we were perfectly in harmony. Snuggled like long lost friends, we slept deeply.

I woke at 5:30 pondering if time was frozen and crawling along or if it was nearing the wake up call. I was amazed that it was nearly time to wake up!

In a blink of an eye, my cell phone sprang into life announcing that a new day had dawned. I struggled out of my burrow and killed the alarm and then lay with my arms outside thinking I had survived. And it was truly an out of this world experience.

I did the comedy act in reverse, peeling off the bag, and clambering into my gear. I had slept at an angle across the 'double' bed most of the night so parts of my clothes hadn't had the joy of me sharing my body warmth. I dressed quickly and made my way to the cafe where breakfast was waiting. It was a simple spread but looked delicious!

But first, coffee. The morning rejuvenating liquid was steaming hot and went down like, I guess a homesick mole. The food was tasty, including fruit and plain yoghurt, corn flakes, fresh croissants, meat balls and bite sized viennas. I sampled it all-except the boiled egg...

After breakfast the Chinese ladies and I went in search of our shower. It was at a neighbouring hotel. I was invited to sit in the front of the big SUV as I was so tall. I didn't refuse.

We followed the directions and landed up at a hotel I had walked past yesterday. On arrival, they said they only had 3 people scheduled and not 5 ladies. So they phoned the hotel and then gave us directions to another hotel. Take two of getting clean and fresh trah la la!

At the hotel, we followed the receptionist down a flight of stairs to the hotels bathrooms. On the wall they have times when it is ladies or men's allocated time. It had three showers in a row and a sauna. I waited for the ladies to shower first and once they had disappeared into the sauna I ran through the shower and then changed, ready to start the day.

A short time later, they all appeared looking refreshed and ready for the day. They were heading to Sweden shortly but needed to go to a bank first. Back at the Snow Village, in the cafe we got a glass of orange juice and started talking to a lady there. She asked how we had slept and told us a bit about the construction of the hotel. Each year they have a different architect, he does the design of the castle so it has a different structure every year. Then they give it a theme, this year of course was fantasy, last year was sport, the year before that cartoons etc.

She explained that they first build a metal structure and when it is cold enough pump 200 cubic meters of water from the Baltic Sea, this when cold enough gets made into snow. When it is the right temperature, they then pack the snow over the metal structure until it becomes solid and then they remove the metal structure. Now the fun begins. They get a variety of snow sculptures who then design the snow murals and give the village the fantastic vibe.

The season ends in April with the temperature sitting most days on -10 or -15 degrees. This morning it was -9 degrees. When the season is over, they get a demolition team out and they break up the hotel recycling the ice by placing it on the frozen sea so it will melt and return to where it came from.

The lady told us that Kemi is a sleepy town in winter, with not much to do besides the ice breaker trip, the snow mobile adventures, or trips to see husky or reindeer havens. But in summer, the place is transformed, the sailors come out and enjoy the ocean, the midnight sun spurs them to really enjoy the outside world.

She proudly shared that they have a cinema and theatre that has a lively schedule but as is most things in this town, from Tuesday to Saturday.

I now am at the train station, reunited with all my belongings. My final adventure is about to hatch. I sit patiently with Pooh as we wait for the P710 that takes us to Kajaani and Kati and Ari.

Sending warm thoughts from a sunny, glistening snowy Lapland. The memories of this adventure truly are embedded snugly into the bank. The only word I can think of is remarkable! I am eternally lucky to have had this once in a lifetime opportunity!

You either have to be incredibly brave or just plain stupid!

I have landed in Lapland, towards the North of Finland. On our doorstep is a huge frozen ocean with one of the main sports being yachting in these parts, go figure because the single boat in the harbour is snowed in and is a foot under snow!

The bare starkness of my surrounds is quiet, life in Kemi is slow with only a handful of people being spotted outside. Tour buses of people get spat out and they loudly but surprisingly quickly make their way through the Snow Village. But once they have moved on, peace is restored.

The team that received me were fabulous at the reception! The teller didn't speak English so the chef came out and started all the details, getting me to fill in forms and showing me where my locker was. When I asked the question of the Snow Restaurant, she flurried through the dinner reservations and didn't find my details, she quickly found the manager who made a call and then she asked what food I had ordered, I said none (here in lies the problem) but I just made the reservation a week ago. This is where the language barrier came into affect, I was supposed to order my food two days ago-because I hadn't the reservation fell away.

So tonight I am venturing to a Vietnamese spot and then have to report at 9pm for the briefing about how to survive sleeping in sub-zero temperatures. The temp in the rooms are -2 at the mo! This is going to be interesting! Sleeping in a freezer! But I have cruised around the hotel. The rooms are small but fun. The beds all have reindeer skins on them all ready, so the tourists can get a feel for the out of this world experience.

I arrived in Kemi this morning after an 11hour VR Train ride. Sleep was intermittent all depending on the noise of the fellow passengers. The train was full, no empty seat to spare! It was full of young mates escaping to the north with their skis. When I got to the railway station in Kemi, there was no taxis so I thought this was fabulous as the Snow Hotel only opened its doors after 10am, so I camped out at the railway station till 11am. I found a locker and for 2 Euro for 24hours, my bags are stashed at the railway station! I only have my pj's, an extra jersey and toothbrush etc as well as underwear for tomorrow! Packed light.

Now, arguably the highlight of the trip, the Snow Village. This year, the theme is Fantasy. It is the 18th year that the Snow Village has been built! The builders have a theme each year and wandering around you see snippets from Angry Birds, Alice in Wonderland, you have dragons flying over you. I entered through the Chapel and spent a bit of time checking it out. Everything was ice, the pulpit, the pews, everything!

An igloo sprouted off the Chapel wing and you weaved through tunnels stopping in at a pub like spot with counters and stools topped with reindeer hides, an indoor playground, a fully stocked cafe come bar with the final igloo being a sit down restaurant.

Once back in the outside world, I went up the lookout tower. You had 360 degrees panoramic views off the harbour, the woods and the buildings surrounding the village.

On Sunday's the Gemstone Gallery is free, so I cruised around here, surprised how much South Africa featured with a number of large replica diamonds on display.

I then strolled around the white scapes enjoying all the trees, buildings and even sign posts that had a heavy frosting of snow, discovering a huge Lutheran Church. I have now enjoyed a huge Finnish Kebab, making the kebab tasting one in every country barring the UK.

I am exploring the options of what to do this afternoon. Alas, besides the dead part of town and some other ice sculptures, Kemi on a Sunday seems to be a sleepy village.

So off to play in the snow goes us. Then a stroll through the cemetery, not sure I will see anything as the snow truly is deep here.

From a gorgeous crystal white Lapland, here's to sleeping on a block of ice, you really have to be mad... Or stupid!