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Third full day in Rovaniemi and I think I’m over the jet lag so here is a recap (sorry for no photos or video but it has been rather dark which just doesn’t photograph well and I’ve been a lazy bum…but they’ll be coming).
We landed in Rovaniemi on Friday and since then it has been a whirlwind of relaxation (translation…slow, calmness that is really hard to describe- though familiar to the locals I’m sure). Friday is kind of a fog as I was so drop down jet lagged I cannot begin to describe. I attempted to sleep probably all day on Friday but my boyfriend just wouldn’t let me- and after a few days I always understand when my internal clock catches up…but at the time it REALLY sucks! 
But Saturday was full of all things Finnish! I mentioned the little bit of shopping but what I have left out is the endless coffee, reindeer and sauna!! The most Finnish day a person can have. Coffee in the morning, late afternoon, afternoon, early evening and late evening. I’m usually hooked up to a coffee IV but this is a real shock to the system every time. Had a visit from some of the other family of my boyfriends so all kinds of Finnish coming from everywhere- my studies over the past year have been so very helpful to allowing me an better understanding of what I’m hearing…just a little slow to respond (the internal hearing of Finnish, quick translation to English to understand and think in English what I want to say and then when I get back to Finnish boy is my head tired so I stick with step one and two- listen and interpret and stay on top of what’s going on around me.
Friday night with the whole family around we had sauteed reindeer which was AMAZING. It has been so long since I’ve had it but still as good as I remember. Then, a little more coffee and pastries and SAUNA with cider. AWE, heaven. A year since sauna and cider…well there is just no comparison as I’ve raved about on many occasions on the blog. Maybe it’s a good thing it can’t be bought in the U.S. because it feels like such a special treat every time we visit. Post sauna was relaxation followed by eventual sleep. I feel like a total bum being in my lounge clothes more than finding a presentable attire but I’m on vacation and I’m in Finland, perfect combo (and I was jet lagged and unwinding from the semester so give me a break!
Sunday was a day at my boyfriend’s grandmother’s in a nearby town (like a 15 minute drive but can never remember the name of the town) Set up her Christmas tree…they get them up rather late in comparison to what I grew up with- Halloween typically began the holiday season….quite the change Then more coffee and pastries, boy is my tummy staying full.
So, it is now Monday, December 22nd, Christmas is right around the corner and hopefully I’ll get myself out of bed and out of the house tomorrow get some good photos and video to share the celebrations of this amazing city during a holiday season that is is popular for around the world (and especially Europe from the thousands of people visiting on a daily basis to tour Santa Claus Village and the surrounding city.) It’s all really amazing.
Stay tuned…
Yesterday (Saturday) was our first full day in Rovaniemi, Finland and we did a little browsing and walking around. In downtown Rovaniemi last year they started building a new shopping center a year or two ago. Last Christmas they had one half of it done and this year, they have a large piece of it that connects over the highway. We only did a quick walk through and it was totally crowded with Christmas coming up but we saw a little of the new shops and the redesigned/open Lordi Rocktaurant. I’m sure I will be able to give a more detailed account later when we go sometime during less crowded times and I can take some internal photos and video but for now, the photo below will have to suffice.
Photo: Kauppakeskus Revontuli , Rovaniemi, Finland
So we are now here, final destination, Rovaniemi, Finland up on the arctic circle! Made it out of Helsinki with no trouble and landed in Rovaniemi around 11:30am this morning. We were told that the day before a big wind came in stripping all of the snow from the trees. It’s a little warmer than usual so it’s a quite wet landscape up here…but it sure is pretty. I’m terribly jet lagged but forcing myself to stay up until at least 9:30…the first 24 hours are the hardest after night one when you’re so tired you can sleep no problem…night two is typically a 1am wakeup because my internal clock is in shock. Boy does this trip knock the wind out of me. An 8 hour time difference is hard. But, lots of sweats and good stuff. We were greeted by our usual plate of treats and pastries (see photos). And below is a video coming from the Rovaniemi, Finland airport. Another day or two getting caught up to the time difference and I’ll be able to roll out some good posts. We’re here! Let the games begin!
Just came across this listing of Christmas and holiday events going on in Rovaniemi currently and over the next few weeks through Christmas.
http://www.visitrovaniemi.fi/VisitRovaniemi/In_English/Sights/Events
Couple of my favorites:
29.11.-14.1. Christmas Market at Lordi’s Square
Sat 29.11. at 12 Opening of the market.
Open: Mon-Sat 10 am – 1 pm and 3 pm – 7 pm, Sun 11 am – 1 pm, 3 pm – 7 pm.
Exceptions: 24.12 and 31.12. at 10 am – 1 pm.
6.12., 25.12.,26.12. and 1.1.2009 closed.
Tue 23.12. at 19 Santa is on his way… Santa Claus Village, Arctic Circle.
Santa starts his long journey to deliver gifts to all children of the world.
- IF you’re in Rovaniemi DO NOT MISS THIS- it’s a surreal experience- just awesome to watch Santa Claus fly out from Finland!
I attended last year, here are the videos:
View full post of all videos from Santa Claus leaving the Arctic Circle on December 23rd!
Each time I prepare to go to Finland, I spend a few days recapping previous trips, looking at photos and mentally contemplating things I want to see, places I want to go, how I’m going to blog my next visit and generally all the great times I’ve had. This typically involves looking at old photos and videos from my trips. I uploaded a few new photos into my flickr account that I included below- be sure to stay tuned into the FrozenReindeer Flickr feed as it will be very active when we get settled in Finland.
Also, take a look at my YouTube Channel and stay tuned for some updated footage this time around.
FrozenReindeerTV on YouTube- subscribe to this one for any future updates
Finnamerican on YouTube- old channel, no updates. FrozenReindeerTV is the new YouTube Channel. When I can move files from Finnamerican to FrozenReindeerTV I’ll be doing that but it is not allowed on YouTube…yet.
