Finland/Sweden 3/14/2023 |
|
Tuesday 3/14/2023 - Palovaara Hunting Farm, Villa Vinkkeli, Snowland Igloo RestaurantWe woke up at 7 a.m., and it was snowing. We took showers first thing, and noticed that the way that the bathrobes were hung in the bathroom, with arms folded, seemed to be judging us. We posted them online with a hashtag of #judgybathrobes.We had the option to have breakfast delivered to our room at no additional charge, so we had arranged for it last night. We had asked for it to be delivered at 8:30, and at 8:30 on the dot a car drove up and delivered an insulated bag of food and a caraffe of orange juice. Everything was very hot and fresh: ham and cheese omelets, sausage, bacon, bread, and cheese. We hadn't ordered coffee because there was a coffee maker in the room, but it turned out to be too difficult to figure out and we ran out of time, so no coffee this morning. It was so cozy eating breakfast at the little table in our room, looking out at the snowfall. We heard jets pass overhead, which Gosia would later tell us were American F-16's patrolling the border between Finland and Russia. Although Sápmi is remote and bucolic, it is frighteningly close to the Russian border, and the presence of these fighter jets underscored that fact. At 10 o'clock, we met the group at the bus to head to Palovaara Hunting Farm, a 500-hectare private home owned by the Posio family. We were traveling in our large coach through snow-covered country roads.It took exactly an hour to get there. When we arrived, three generations of the family and two dogs greeted us outside. It was still lightly snowing. We gathered around their outdoor fire. They gave us each a wooden kuksa cup of hot berry juice. These are traditional Sámi cups, each carved from a birch tree burl. They have a handle and a reindeer hide cord which can be used to tie the cup from your belt. The cups are used for drinking and gathering berries. It is best for these cups to be received as a gift rather than purchased, as it is believed that they are less likely to break that way. The cups are seen as a symbol of hospitality, "to offer a kuksa is to offer happiness." The Posio family gave us these cups as a souvenir to take home, and they arrived home intact.  After taking a quick look at the property, they invited us into a barn where it would be a bit warmer and where they could teach us more about their family, and how they live off the land. The father of the family would speak to us in English, and occasionally his father would chime in in Finnish, and he would translate. The family hunts moose. The moose here are smaller than in the USA, but a good sized one can still yield 250 kg of meat. Moose antlers were hung on the wall. The family also catches fish. Seasonally, they gather cloudberries, blueberries, raspberries, lingonberries, and cranberries. In the barn, we saw many hand-made tools from past generations, including a farm implement which was made by the grandmother in 1947. There were also tools that they used to haul water from their own private spring. We saw the tar-bottomed wooden skis that the family made. Skis were very important for getting around; the grandfather of the family explained that he had to ski 18 km each way just to attend school. There was a home-made baby cradle, along with hand-carved items such as a chess set and kuksa cups. There were old metal milk jugs and fishing nets. Photos on the wall depicted the different types of fish that they catch. The great-grandfather of the family lost a leg in the war and was unable to hunt any longer, so he started making shoes. His sewing machine was on display. There was also a spinning wheel. After giving us a tour of their family museum in the barn, we entered the farmhouse. Photos of older generations welcomed us at the front door. The farm house was beautiful, with high ceilings and exposed wooden beams. There was a large fireplace in the middle of the first floor, and tables and chairs had been set up for us in the living room. It was a beautiful spread. We sat at the tables for a lovely lunch. The younger generation served and cleared the tables. They were absolutely lovely, so polite, attentive. and helpful. We wondered whether they had stayed home from school for our visit. We assume that getting foreign visitors and sharing your culture with them is considered to have educational value. The first course was salmon soup, a traditional dish we had heard so much about but had not yet had the opportunity to taste, served with flatbread and rye bread. It was delicious! For beverages, we were served berry juice, homemade nonalcoholic beer (similar to kvass in Russia), and water from their own spring. The main course was moose stew with mashed potatoes, lingonberries, and pickles. They had hunted the moose themselves, and everything was absolutely delicious. For dessert, we had blueberry cake with vanilla sauce and a cup of coffee (since we hadn't had coffee with breakfast). The family thanked us for visiting, and shared that the money from Abercrombie & Kent tourism has helped them to make necessary repairs to the house and homestead. We really appreciated the fact that they opened their home and lifestyle to us. Their hospitality was superb. These kinds of experiences really help you to feel closer to a place; getting to know actual people rather than just visiting places. As we left, they gave us each a jar of lingonberry jam made by the grandmother. Kiitos (Thank you in Finnish), Posio family! We left the farm at 2 p.m. and drove approximately 45 minutes to Villa Vinkkeli, studio of photojournalist and artistic photographer Kaisa Sirén. It was a beautiful house in a residential neighborhood which had been turned into a gallery. It was funny to watch Taru drive our big coach bus through these residential streets and try to find a place to park. Kaisa and her team greeted us at the door with sparkling wine, and asked us to remove our shoes, and gave us wooly socks to put on to keep our feet warm. Kaisa gave us a nice slide presentation of photos featuring the color palettes of different seasons in Sápmi (Lapland). It was accompanied by a nature soundscape. She had two little dogs that won our hearts. She also showed us art photos she had taken using the intentional camera movement technique. She photographed dancers in the wilderness and moved the camera to produce the effect of movement in a still image. She also had other artists’ work on display in the gallery. It was a lovely visit and we purchased a tiny framed photo of a snowy tree and a larger matted photo of a laughing reindeer. Check out her Facebook or Instagram accounts to see her artwork. It was a 15 minute drive back to the hotel, during which we passed a playground themed after Angry Birds (a Finnish-designed video game). We arrived back at the hotel at 4:30 p.m. We went back to our room for a rest. Craig had time to figure out the coffeemaker, and we each had some coffee to keep us going. We got suited up into our arctic outerwear for our dinner excursion to the Snowland Igloo Restaurant. We left the hotel at 6:45, and the restaurant was just a short drive away in Rovaniemi. As we drove through Rovaniemi, we noticed ski areas. One even had a massive ski jump! It was amazing and scary to see, even from a distance. Upon arrival at the restaurant, we entered through an ice gate. The ice had lights embedded within it, so it had an aesthetically pleasing glow. There was an outdoor ice bar where they served us shots of pink Finlandia vodka in glasses made of ice. When you were done with your drink, you could just throw the ice glass into the snow. Kezia didn't want her vodka, so Craig had a second shot. Can't let that go to waste! There was a photographer from the tour company present, and he was taking photos of the entire affair. It slowly became obvious to us that the entire restaurant was open solely for our group tonight. We literally had the whole place to ourselves. We wandered around outside, checking out two small igloos set up as a bedroom and living room. The bed was made of ice with reindeer hide bedding. We have never stayed in an ice hotel, but an ice restaurant seemed to be the best of both worlds; you can enjoy the experience and then go back to your heated hotel room to sleep! Santa Claus even made an appearance, and we got individual photos with him in front of the main igloo. Then the photographer called us all over to the firepit for a photo of the whole group with Santa. Then it was time to head inside the restaurant. The walls were all made of snow and the furniture was made of ice. Lighting which changed colors changed the entire appearance of the rooms as the light was reflected on the white snow walls and ceilings. Craig sat on an ice throne under a tree branch with lanterns hanging from it. There were fairy lights frozen into the snow ceiling, and there were ice sculptures on the indoor bar. There were several different dining rooms, and we wandered through taking a look before getting settled. Since we had the whole place to ourselves, we were able to spread out, two to a table, with our backs to the snow walls so that we could fully enjoy the view of the dining room and the central column which was shaped like a tree. I took a panoramic photo of the entire group at our respective tables, and it came out pretty decently, though it looks like all of the tables are in a straight line rather than along the curve of the igloo. We joked that it looked like the Last Supper. Our table was made of thick ice, with a sheet of glass over the top. It glowed from an interior light. Craig got Karhu beer and I had Fanta. Needless to say, our drinks stayed frosty cold! We sat on wooden stumps covered with reindeer hides. There were 2-inch thick wooden placemats onto which they placed a heated stone plate to keep the food warm. There were two options for entrees: fish or pork. We chose the pork. They served us bread with cream cheese along with cream of mushroom soup. Next came pork with gravy, au gratin potatoes, and carrots. We had cake for dessert. We sat next to Katie and Carey. We all felt like we were 5 years old playing in a snow fort. It was a really fun experience. And wearing the arctic outerwear, we were not cold at all. The restroom fixtures, fortunately, were not made of ice. But in the small restroom, it was challenging to manouver getting out of our jumpsuits enough to even use the toilet. We left the restaurant at 9:15 p.m. The photographer stayed with the group and they were going to go aurora hunting. It was a great opportunity to get some good aurora photography tips from someone who really knows what they are doing, but it was still snowing. We thought that there was no way that we would see the lights tonight given this weather, and we would get back to the hotel very late. The next day would be a busy day (we would be driving into Sweden), so we decided we were better off resting instead. Many in the group made the same choice. But a few of them did go, and they managed to see a green glow behind the clouds. But they didn't get back until well after midnight so I think we made the right choice. Palovaara Villa Vinkkeli Snowland Igloo Restaurant |
 Breakfast in our room  Posio father welcomes us to Palovaara  Posio grandfather and father teach us about fishing  Posio farmhouse  Kaisa Sirén and her dogs  Getting a vodka shot at the ice bar, Snowland Igloo Restaurant (photo courtesy of Finn Markus)  Max, Kevin, Humberto, Cindy, Brian, Kezia, Susan, Santa, Adrian, Rick, Valerie, Craig, Molly, Steph, Carey, Katie, John, Liang, Gosia (photo courtesy of Finn Markus)  Snowland Igloo Restaurant  Our ice table, Snowland Igloo Restaurant  Snowland Igloo Restaurant  Snowland Igloo Restaurant See all photos from March 14 |
 Snowland Igloo Restaurant |
|
|
 |
|
 |
