In January 2016, I made my fourth attempt to see the northern lights in Rovaniemi, in Arctic Finland. I would have fun meeting up with Finnish Mensan friends and could easily amuse myself in the shops, museums and cafés. However I really, really wanted to see the “foxfires”! (This is the translation of the Finnish word for the northern lights - they are caused by a fox swishing its tail across the sky.)
Suitably fortified by the usual substantial buffet breakfast (porridge for the Finns, it is a condition of citizenship), I set out for the Santa Claus Village, less than half an hour by hourly bus service. The great man himself lives there – his elves will charge you handsomely for a photo – and there are surprisingly tasteful gift and craft shops, restaurants, huskies and reindeer. An avid Postcrosser, I sent cards from Santa’s Main Post Office, complete with unique postmark. I returned to town and, after lunch, visited the Arktikum, one of a trio of iconic city museums. The building is spectacular, especially after nightfall (mid-afternoon), extending towards the river like a great illuminated icicle. I saw an excellent presentation about northern lights. Would this be my only opportunity to see them?
My friend’s parents kindly invited me to a family dinner at their house. I had entertained them in my home near London the previous summer. It was a wonderful evening. The lady of the house must have spent days creating the hearty feast, including the fabulously named (and tasty) “herring in a fur coat”, with all the best glass and china.
Next day saw the long-awaited rendezvous in the Coffee House to catch up on a year’s worth of gossip. With Facebook, email and the rest of it, we can communicate easily with people all over the world, but it is still a rare pleasure to meet in person. Then, it was off to the Korundi Modern Art Museum for a little light culture. I watched some winter sports on television, including an hour-long documentary on the recent success of the national ice hockey youth team. Many of our dramas and lifestyle programmes are shown with Finnish subtitles. In some cases, the format is adapted. I am a fan of The Voice of Finland where the judges are a veteran rock star, a female heavy metal vocalist, a young male rapper and a sterner older guy. Sound familiar? Dinner was a salad, pizza and glass of wine at the very reasonable Restaurant Martina - salmon pizza, laid on with a lavish hand.
Sunday was a lazy day of morning coffee at my friend’s house, while a pot of barley porridge (made from grains, none of this instant rubbish) bubbled away on the stove. A walk by the mighty Ounas river, more television – ski jumping is now ski flying – then it was time to be collected by another friend to go to dinner at her home. Delicious food, a glass of red wine, wood burning in the stove – had it really been a whole year since I’d been there? It felt like a few weeks.
The Finns are famously taciturn. A Finn will dig you out of a snowdrift, but do not expect conversation from him. I conducted a small experiment. One evening, I walked along the river bank. I saw a nice-looking lady out walking her dogs (each had a light on its collar). I smiled and nodded as I went past. She gave a half smile. My friend told me later that my flamboyant behaviour would have been excused as I was obviously a foreigner who knew no better.
My last day involved last-minute shopping. Rye bread rolls (tosi tumma = “so dark”), lingonberry preserve, xylitol chewing gum (the nation is obsessed with xylitol for tooth protection) and Fazer chocolate. I plucked up my courage and took the local bus to the airport – a request stop and all of €3.90. Unsurprisingly, the weather was cold. Friday and Saturday got no lower than about -15°C but Sunday’s temperature plummeted and the lowest value I saw was -27°C. This year, I added a white fur hat to my fashion ensemble. In my bright red coat, I looked like Mrs Claus. On Sunday, I went out with every part of my body and face covered except my eyes. Ice crystals formed in my eyelashes. The flight from Rovaniemi to Helsinki was delayed nearly an hour, so an easy connection became a nightmare dash. I just got on the last bus to the plane from the gate. We stood while they de-iced the wings and fuselage, then blew hot air through the engine to defrost that, too. (The plane was late because the baggage containers had frozen in the hold and had to be prised out). As we took off into the falling snow, I watched a line of twelve snowploughs clearing the other runway. In the end, we arrived at Heathrow only about half an hour late.
Did I see the northern lights? No, I did not. Needless to say, they appeared two nights after I got home. You can download various aurora apps which will alert you via text message if there is heightened aurora activity. The Rovaniemi tourist office sells one specifically for the city. If I go back, I will have to seriously consider getting one of these apps, although the best app cannot notify you of something that is not there.
First published in VISA 126 (April 2016)
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