An Expedition To Finland – Visiting Rovaniemi

Rovaniemi. The capital of Lapland, the ‘official’ home of Santa Claus.

The last bit of our expedition was very different to what we had imagined. Looking online, Rovaniemi looked lovely and interesting. In reality, it was just like any other city in England and it might have been the time of year or the fact that we’d just had some amazing experiences but it just didn’t feel all that special.

Due to the time that we went, the tourist trips were mostly shut. Too late for winter, too early for summer. After walking around on the first morning, we headed into tourist information and managed to book ourselves onto a snow shoeing tour. It was fun but not as difficult or ‘extreme’ as expected.

The guide that we had was brilliant though, and told us so much information about the area, about Finland and his experiences growing up. He was entertaining and it was great to hear about his life. He also told us how he loved his job taking tourists out because it helped him with his languages. Yep – languages.

Rovaniemi was actually very warm, and had no snow in the centre of the city – very different to the more Southern places we’d been! For the snowshoeing trip we drove out of the city about half an hour away and had knee deep snow in some places when doing the activity.

During this little trip we were given hot tea and chocolate to keep us warm, and this little bread thing which was kind of like a biscuit, but bread. I’m not really sure but it was crispy and tasted alright dipped in the chocolate!

I am glad we did this, but I also kind of wish we’d tried skiing which was another possibility on the list.

Rovaniemi itself had some really pretty parts, but also some not so nice parts. Just like any city, right? There was a huge river, and parts were still frozen from the winter so there were also chunks of ice just floating around! We saw one traditional Finnish restaurant in Rovaniemi, but it was so expensive that we just didn’t have the money left for it.

Visiting Santa in Lapland

On our second day, we visited the Santa Village, as advised by the guide! It’s what most tourists come to Rovaniemi for after all. Due to the season, it was a little disappointing however. Should have been expected, but you know. The gift shops and buildings were lovely, but I guess the place just looks so much better in the winter and in the evening. I am glad that we went though, because otherwise I’d just be regretting it!

I am like 80% sure that I’ve been here before, despite not remembering it at all. I won a trip to Lapland when I was around 10 years old, and my mum tells me it was a trip to Finland. So it only makes sense to be here, right? In that case, it was an absolutely amazing day in mid-Winter with Santa actually there…

Last but not least, Rovaniemi was covered in all kinds of cool graffiti. The images really helped to brighten up the area, and I loved seeing them so I of course snapped a few that I saw.

The Journey Home

And that was the end of our expedition. To get back to Kajaani for our flight, we had to get two trains and it was around a 5 hour journey. Not too fun, but with a good book and nice scenery it’s all fine.

Overall, the expedition was an amazing experience and I’m so happy to have had the chance! I would definitely visit Martinselkosen and the Boreal Wildlife Centre again. Lovely people, place and predators!

It made me want to visit more of Scandinavia, and definitely to see the Northern Lights properly.