The ephemeral beauty of the Northern Lights.
We were supremely lucky.
And we know it.
The lights came out to play every single night during our stay… with ’shows’ lasting from 15 minutes to 2.5 hours.
I’m now keeping an eye on the activity each night. Fun.
Desserts in Fazer, Helsinki (day one)
Desserts, Nellim (day two to day four)
Desserts, Inari (day five)
Desserts, Nellim (day five to day seven)
Desserts, Helsinki airport (day eight)
So much yummyness…
Magical, serene and mysterious.
For a few minutes, the sun tried to make an appearance, gifting us beautiful reflections.
The Russian border and watchtowers nearby added to the experience.
(Watch with the sound off if you can)
We had the place all to ourselves.
It was snowing heavily.
The church is set back from the village.
So pretty.
A few kilometers from Nellim (Lapland, Finland), the road ends.
The border is closed. Which adds to the mystery.
This is the closest I have ever been to Russia.
Four kilometers I was told.
How. Exciting. Is. That.
The Year of the Hare by Arto Paasilinna and The Burnt-out Town of Miracles by Roy Jacobsen were perfect for Lapland.
Both featured Lapland. Both mentioned the snow and the very landscape surrounding us. Russians popped up in both books… not surprising, considering Russia’s proximity.
What was interesting was that both books showed Finland in a very different light.
Great reads.
My wish list for my recent trip to Finland was something like this:
We had all that and much more.
Watch this space.
Finland. I’m smitten.
Cornwall, March 2012.
Everything is inspiring me at the moment.
I was watching Wendy and Lucy recently when something caught my eye. I grabbed the remote, paused the film, pressed ‘rewind’, paused again and took this still:
(Still from Wendy and Lucy)
Portland, Oregon.
Doesn’t that image conjure up a sense of adventure? Is it just me?
So now, Portland’s on my list of places to check out.
This brought back fond memories of a journey on board of the toy train in Darjeeling (India).
And then that reminded me of a photo I had seen once, ages ago, in a travel brochure. It took me a while to track it down. Aguas Caliente (Peru). Ah the wonders of the internet.
(Source: IgoUgo)
Wendy and Lucy is never going to get that big ‘road trip’ movie fame… (such as Thelma and Louise) but it is a road trip. I have thought about that film a lot since I watched it. What happened to them. The decisions one makes, hoping they’re the right ones. The consequences. The fact that to get to your destination, you have to make sacrifices. The fact that you don’t have to travel abroad to get out of your comfort zone.
Armchair travelling.
I can’t believe this.
We were in Greenland a year ago.
That trip is still so fresh in our minds.
We had such a great time. The scenery. The solitude. The snow. The icebergs.
We talk about that trip all the time.
We’re addicted to a local webcam.
We check the weather forecast most days.
We either need to let go or we need to go back there.
I know which I’d prefer.
