I'm dreaming of a white Christmas... Everyone's dreams of a white Christmas. One of those fairytale dreams when you wake up to a city that lies beneath a blanket of soft, fluffy snow that crunches under your welly's. Well everyone would love one of those picture perfect Christmas' but they don't always plan out. It doesn't always snow, the roast turkey gets burnt, there's bright coloured wrapping paper all over the floor and the kids want scissors to open their brand spanking new prezzies. It's a pretty hectic day which always turns out to be one of the best. But to make it extra special why not go to the magical place, that will definitely get you into the Christmas spirit, and that place is Lapland! A perfect Christmas treat to get you in the joyful spirit. With blankets of deep, thick snow, it's a beautiful winters wonderland. And the joyful spirit starts as soon as you step foot onto the plane...
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| I say goodbye to Birmingham for the day and head off to snowy Lapland! |
A early morning start as I sat in the departure lounge with my nan and grandad, aunty and uncle, my two little excited cousins and my younger sister, waiting for gate 47 to open for my flight to Enontekio. It was only a small wait and seats 32 to 40 were called up first to board the plane which luckily was our seats. When we boarded the empty plane we were greeted by friendly air hostesses and the sound of Christmas music playing softly in the background. What a way to start a early, drizzly Saturday morning. The plane started to fill and sound of excited little children grew louder and louder. The plane took off and I said a goodbye to the drizzle and sat back and enjoyed the flight. On the right of me I had my little sister, my nan and basically the rest of the people on the plane and on my left I had, what looked like rolling fields of pure white. The fluffy, candy floss clouds rolled out like a ocean until it met the crystal clear sky. This was the only daylight I saw because by the time I got to Lapland the darkness was slowly but surely creeping over the clear sky!
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| The view from the plane! |
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| The airport! |
I finally landed at Enontekio airport, it was a chilly minus eight degrees Celsius but I had my thermals on and all my other layers on top. I briskly walked into the airport where they checked my passport and gave me my all in one snow suit and snow boots to wear for the day. I vaguely remember the building and the snow suits from last time and that was eleven years age. By the time I had put on my over alls
I wanted to get outside because it was getting hot with everyone to sort out their suits and boots.
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| The airport! |
Now when you first step outside all you can see is snow and what I call "twilight" trees in the distance. The sky was that bright grey you get at home when it snows. The first activity was a sleigh ride through the snow as the snowmobile pulled all eight of us through the thick snow of Lapland and across the frozen lake. Snow was falling gently around us as the sleigh entwined in and out of the trees. I could feel the crisp sharp wind even though I had a helmet on. The journey across the lake was magical! The sky went from a dull grey to a deep indigo and in the distance there was a few glimpses of warm orange.
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| The snowmobiles that pulled the sleighs! |
After the ride on the sleigh it was time for a hot drink and on a bench a man was giving out steaming hot juice which was just what I needed to kick start the afternoon a head. When I went to get a drink Amy, Alex and Jess couldn't wait any longer and they went off to play in the snow. The next stop was a visit to the big man. As the others played in the snow I de-iced my hands over a fire. The heat went straight through my gloves and through my snow suit and warmed me up nicely. We got back in a sleigh and went over to the other side of the lake where Santa's grotto awaited us. We didn't have a helmet this time round because it was a quick ride. The snow pinched my cheeks as we sped off across the lake and the wind whistled in my ears. I've got to admit it was rather refreshing. Me and my family got off near Santa's grotto and waited to be called to go and see him. When it was our turn to go and see Father Christmas I stood it the grotto, soaking up as much heat as possible before heading off outside again whilst watching my cousins talk shyly to Mr C. It was all good fun returning to see Santa but I don't think he would remember me now.
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| The restaurant is hidden amongst the "twilight" trees! |
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| A reindeer! |
When we returned back to the other grotto's/cabins, it was like walking through a winter's wonderland. The cabins glowed orange and red and the roofs were blanketed with white soft snow like icing on a cake. It was truly beautiful! I did a few activities whilst I was there like a reindeer ride, a husky ride (oh what fun it is to ride on a one husky open sleigh hey... such fun that was) and I went to visit a stunning ice/snow castle, as they call it there, where everything was made from ice and snow and we got a yummy hot chocolate when we were inside. It was great! I was a bit too big for the sledging and tobogganing so I left the younger ones to have fun on them however one activity which I could of done over and over again was riding my own snowmobile. That was a highlight of the day. Me and my Aunty left the others on the sledges and went to have a go on the snowmobiles. The man put on another helmet for me and I went to sit on the snowmobile with my Aunty on one behind me. In front of me was the guy who lead us around but once we started I could see that he kept on speeding up because I was right behind him. It was so much fun it was like I was in a James Bond film trying to keep up with the bad guy. I was glad I was behind him because if I crashed he would of been there however there was a bit of pressure not to go too slow because I had six others behind me on snowmobiles. Anyway it was great fun to feel the wind against the helmet and to feel the adrenalin rush through you.
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| In the ice/snow castle! |
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| A husky! |
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Me in my helmet and snow gear
ready to rock and roll the day a head! |
After that exhilarating activity it was time for some hot food and on the menu was yummy bolognese and pasta and for pudding was sweet pancakes and jam with a nice hot cup of tea to wash it down with. Time was running away. I had only an hour and a half left to absorb this magical place. So what did I do? Well I persuaded my little sister to come on the snowmobile with me again. Now, I thought I've done it once so I can go faster but then I was thinking I don't want Amy to fly off the back and break something because mum and dad won't be happy with a phone call home from the hospital. So what did I do? Obviously I went faster! Anyway on the first lap I nearly went off track into a pole and the second lap I decided to risk it for a biscuit and went even faster. Luckily Amy didn't fall off. We both jumped off the snowmobile and trekked back up to the restaurant to wait for the coach back to the airport.
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| Me and Amy ready to go on the snowmobile! |
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A wigwam where you can sit
and warm up by the fire! |
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It looks like the lamp post
from Narnia! |
The coach arrived and I said a farewell to the beautiful Lapland. So many memories I will have from that day. I watched the snow settled as the coach drove us to the airport. I got given a "reindeer drivers licence" a "husking mushing licence" and a "snowmobile drivers licence" and I also retrieved a certificate to prove that I had crossed the Arctic circle. That's twice now I've crossed it. I had such a good time especially the ride across the frozen lake and the adrenalin from riding the snowmobiles. It was a fantastic experience and I'm glad that I relived some of those moments from the last time I went and now I can treasure them until maybe next time. I drifted into sleep before taking off. The flight was a bit delayed because the men were de-icing the plane for take off. That was the only sleep I had on the plane. I watched the darkness outside the window with my music playing quietly in the background. My sister rested on my arm before suddenly becoming hyper. So my peaceful silence turned into me and my sister doing impressions from films which entertained us and got us in fits of laughter. Suddenly we were flying over patches of orange lights from below and it looked stunning from above. We then flew over our home and I saw the masts near where we lived so I knew we were near the airport. We landed safety and we headed back home. It was a silent drive back home and I drifted in and out of sleep. My nan and grandad dropped us off and I managed to drag my feet up to bed. The day went quick but what a day it was! Lapland was a beautiful place, full of fun and magic. It's definitely a day to remember and to certainly treasure forever!
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| A experience I will never forget... Lapland! |
