The search for the Northern Lights: Finnish Lapland
Like many people, seeing the Northern Lights was on my bucket list. But I wanted more than that. Being a winter-lover, I had visions of going someplace with forests covered in snow for as far as the eye could see. It didn’t take me much searching before I found exactly what I was imagining: Northern Finland. Also known as Lapland. I decided to look for a group to do this trip. At first I couldn’t find any that had exactly what I wanted. The ones I found had some things I liked and other things I didn’t like. So, I kept searching and eventually came upon the Aurora Zone, a travel company based in England specializing in trips to see the Northern Lights in Finland, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden.
After running this by Susan, my travel companion who is usually up for anything, we decided on their 5- day trip to the Muotka Wilderness Hotel. Aurora Zone and their affiliate Artisan Travel worked with us as we sorted out the logistics. They were very helpful. We decided to go a few days early to see Helsinki and try and get over jet lag. After finding out that it is easy to go by ferry to Tallinn in Estonia, we decided to add on a few days after Lapland.
Helsinki
We had 2 full days to spend in Helsinki. We stayed at the Radisson Blu Plaza which was perfect for seeing the sites in the city center. It was very nice and easily walkable to everything we wanted to see.
We were just a short walk from the Helsinki Central Station – this is a train station but it’s worth a quick look for its architecture. Nearby is the Oodi Helsinki Central Library. I know it must seem weird when I go on and on about the library, but I seriously loved this place. I overheard someone say that winters in Finland are cold and dark so they design their buildings to be warm and inviting. That summed up the library perfectly. It is a place that is meant to be visited and enjoyed. And there is so much more than books- rooms to play music, to sew, play games, — ok, here I am doing it again. Last thing, there was a café!
Next stop was the nearby Kiasma Contemporary Art Museum. From there it was on to do some shopping at the Kamp Galleria Mall. The top floor specializes in Finnish made products. We also just wandered around stopping in at the Helsinki Cathedral.
Finland is known for their innovative architecture and design so the Design Museum was a must on our list of things to do. There are exhibits featuring drawings, photographs, and objects including Finnish glass, pottery, furniture, and textiles. Afterwards, we searched for the Botanic Gardens and one of the market halls but for some reason never found them.
Lapland
To go to Lapland we flew to Ivalo, Finland. Since we had a really early flight we switched to the Hilton Helsinki Airport which was very nice and had an excellent restaurant. It’s a 10 minute walk from the terminal to the hotel under a covered walkway so it’s very convenient.
Muotka Wilderness Hotel was just lovely. A winter paradise. Our room even had a sauna in the bathroom. We expected to be part of a group but it turned out that while Aurora Zone arranged our trip and activities there was no group. There were other people also from Aurora Zone and we overlapped with a few many times. But there were also many people on the activities who were there on their own (or maybe with other groups). While we were initially surprised, we ended up being very happy with the arrangement.
Searching for the Northern Lights and other activities
There were activities most days including:
- a snowmobile trip to visit a Reindeer Farm (with a stop at a rustic restaurant for lunch);
- a husky dog sled trip. We each got to drive the sled though really the huskies did all the work and knew the route—so much fun!); and,
- a backcountry ski trip (similar to cross country skiing but the skis are better able to handle deep snow off the trail).
There were also evening activities to hunt for the Northern Lights including:
- An evening snowshoe trek through the woods;
- A drive to a cabin that they call an Aurora Camp; and,
- A drive in a minibus with the driver taking us to wherever he thought we had a good chance of seeing the Northern Lights.
Ironically, the only night we saw the Northern Lights (or not, it’s still up for debate) was the one night we didn’t go out. With nothing scheduled we went into the woods behind the restaurant. I showed this picture to many people including our guides and the consensus is that these are the lights.
All of these evening trips were fun. They were also cold, but the hotel provides cold weather gear including a snow suit, balaclava (face mask), heavy duty socks and gloves, etc. All of this plus our own base layers, fleece, etc. It took about 30 minutes to get dressed for our evening activities!
This was an amazing 5 days and I loved every minute of it.
Back to Helsinki and the ferry to Estonia
We returned to Helsinki only for the night and stayed again at the Hilton. We were able to leave most of our luggage there and just take back packs with us to Estonia. I tend to get sea sick but I didn’t have to worry about the ferry crossing. The trip was smooth and the ferry was very comfortable, with lots of places to sit, eat, and shop. The trip only took 2 hours.
Old Town Tallinn
The old town of Tallinn was so special. A friend described it as the Disney version of medieval Europe. It is a UNESCO World Heritage site and definitely worth a visit. Cobblestone streets, old buildings that are still in use, and well-preserved city walls- charming doesn’t begin to describe it. Just walking around is a joy- from the Old Town Square down one street after another, every street is picturesque.
There is so much to see but fortunately it is not that big – you can see a lot in 2 days. The Town Hall dates back to the 13th century, and the Town Hall Pharmacy is the oldest continuously operating pharmacy in Europe opened in 1422. Today it is is part operational pharmacy and part museum of medicines/ treatments from long ago. A visit to the Tallinn City Museum is a must to better understand the city and its history. Toompea Hill, the upper part of old town, has beautiful views and the Russian Orthodox Cathedral (or Alexander Nevky Cathedral) which was built in 1900.
Parts of the city walls, first built in the 13th century, are remarkably well preserved. For an entrance fee you can go up and walk along the top part of the walls, stopping at viewing platforms and watchtowers. Or just see them as you walk around.
Hotel Telegraaf: A historic hotel
One highlight was our hotel, the Hotel Telegraaf. Built in 1878 as a bank it later became the city’s main post office. The building is a marvel, it feels like you are taking a step back in time. They have done a masterful job of retaining the charm and atmosphere of that time. While our room was on the small side the décor was gorgeous (I can’t believe I didn’t take a picture). The award-winning Restaurant Tchaikovsky is mentioned in the Michelin Guide (it’s not clear to me if they have a Michelin Star). Our meal there was excellent though I was embarrassed that my dressiest outfit was a pair of cords and my winter hiking boots. If it sounds like it was really expensive it was actually quite reasonable.
Want to know more?
The Her Finland blog was an excellent resource for travelling in Finland and learning Finnish (which is really hard)
Taking the ferry to Estonia was a little complicated but Her Finland gives a thorough breakdown. Basically, there are 3 ferry lines, Tallink Silja Line, Eckero Line, and Viking Line. They all have their own schedules and to complicate matters there are different terminals in both Helsinki and Tallinn. Each line has their own set that they use. We took Tallink Silja Line which was a little more expensive than the other two but had the best schedule for us. It is recommended to book early especially if traveling over the weekend.
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