What is Santa Claus doing in summer time?

Posted on May 29, 2013 by admin

In summer Santa and his elves are of course busy preparing for the upcoming Christmas and making Christmas gifts to all children all over the world, but they do have time to rest, too. They spend a lot of time outdoors in the beautiful nature of Lapland, they enjoy the midnight-sun and go fishing. Santa also goes fishing, but he never catch anything. The reason for that is that Santa never uses a hook when he is fishing. He never hunts, either. Santa loves all animals and the animals love him. He cannot see any reason to do hunting and fishing.

Santa’s reindeer are all out in the forest during summer, so he does not have to take care of them and he has a lot of spare time when he can do other nice things.

Santa goes fishing just to sit in a boat out on a lake, on a lake’s shore or on a river’s shore and enjoy the quietness of the surrounding Lapland forest. He thinks it is a perfect time to do some thinking and remembering about pleasant times and happy people he met during Christmas, on these fishing trips. He also walks in the forest and listens to the voices of the wilderness. He also spends time preparing the next Christmas delivery by reading children’s letters. He gets letters from children all year around, not only before Christmas. He also likes to read books on his free time. He is very amused by books that claim to reveal “the secrets” about him. He thinks it could be of importance for him to know what people are talking about out there before they come to visit him in his office.

Santa also enjoys swimming in the clear water of Lapland lakes in the summer. He also sometimes goes swimming in the winter through a hole in the ice, but the hole has to be chopped quite big then. One of Santa’s favourite things to do is to take short naps now and then. The summer nights in Lapland are so light with the midnight sun, so it is hard for both people and elves to sleep during the nights. That is one reason to take short naps during the daytime.

In summer Santa also opens up his favourite cavern, SantaPark, just outside Rovaniemi city. The park is open during Christmas season, but Santa has decided to open it in the summer, too, so children who do not have time to visit him on Christmas could get a chance to meet him and his crazy elves in summer. This year SantaPark opens it door on June 17th at 10 am and the cavern is open every day except for Sundays and June 22nd during the summer until August 10th. Check the home page for more detailed program and other information.

This summer Santa has renewed the One Hundred Years Curriculum Elf School in SantaPark. It is a top secret until you attend the Elf school yourself and find out what it is. I can’t wait to learn the new things in Elf school! It would be nice to meet the tallest and the shortest Professor Elf of SantaPark once again!

On the opening day, June 17th, you can watch the Niko – the reindeer-movie “Little Brother, big trouble” on the main stage at 2 pm. The Ice Gallery of Santa Park has also been renewed this summer. You might spot some familiar figures from the movie there.

Here is a link to a short movie telling what Santa Claus does in the summer time, on times he does not sit in his cavern meeting interesting guests from all over the world. http://www.santatelevision.com/santa-claus/santa-claus-summer/

The Santa Claus village is open every day also during summer, and you can cross the Arctic Circle just outside Santa Claus’ office. In summer you can see the white line marking the Arctic Circle, which is covered by snow in winter time.

The Arctic Circle Hiking Area for all year around use

Posted on May 27, 2013 by admin

As you drive about 20 km to the northeast along highway 4 from Rovaniemi towards Sodankylä you find the Arctic circle hiking area with Vaattunkiköngäs, Vikaköngäs and Vikajärvi. It is an area managed by Metsähallitus of Finland. It is about 36 km2 big and it is just a perfect area to visit when you long for pure nature experiences but you do not want to go away for a long time, and you want to return home in the evening. There are several marked trails suitable for day trips in the area.

”
I visit the Vaattunkiköngäs many times a year. I want to visit it all year around in different times and enjoy at least autumn, winter and spring there. You reach the parking area for Vaattunkiköngäs as you turn right on your way towards Sodankylä approx. 20 km from Rovaniemi. There are informative signs that tell you when to turn. Drive about 2 km from highway 4 and you will end up in a perfect parking area with information like maps and descriptions of the hiking paths starting from there. There are also toilets and waste recycling points.

Hiking and camping are allowed in Finland due to Everyman’s Rights, but at the Arctic circle hiking area you are recommended to camp in the vicinity of campfire sites and other rest spots. The area is mostly visited during the summer and when there is only little snow. But as the area is visited by so many people all the time I have managed to visit it also in the middle of winter because there are paths in the snow made by other visitors and they are easy to walk. In the summer and spring you can pick berries and mushrooms here.

My favorite time of the year for a visit at Vaattunkiköngäs is spring. During spring floods in late April and early May part of the duckboards in the area may be under water due to the melting snow. But as the snow has melted you can safely walk the duckboards around the area.

After starting from the parking area you first of all cross the Raudanjoki river on a hanging bridge. The river has several rapids used for rafting and kayaking. You walk along the Könkäänsaari trail of duckboards and you can stop by and read on the information boards about the surrounding nature with its birds and animals. Soon you will end up at the Könkäänsaari lean-to-shelter, where you can set a fire and fry you own sausages or just rest before you continue. Along the trails there are several rest points. There are dry toilets at each rest spot. The trail from Vaattunkiköngäs to Könkäänsaari is suited for disabled visitors during the snowfree season. The Könkäänsaari lean-to shelter has also been designed for the disabled. The trail has been classified as a demanding wheelchair route.

The Arctic circle hiking area is made up of several parts which are in their natural state and very wilderness-like. On one hand there are the rapid areas of the river and on the other hand there are parts of the river with still water. In the different areas you can become acquainted with the region’s typical plant and animal species on special information boards along the trail. As the area is not situated near the road there are no disturbing noises from cars. In spring time you can enjoy the hundreds of bird species singing in the area.

In spring you can find an adorable yellow flower there. It is the Globe-flower (Kullero); a Lappish flower I did not know existed before I came to Lapland. It grows only occasionally in the south of Finland, but is very common here in Lapland in spring time.

The Globe-flower shines like a sun and only the sight of it makes you happy.

A visit in winter time has its own specials, like campfire where you can warm your toes or fingers and fry your own sausage. The Metsähallitus provides all the lean-on-shelters with wood all year around. You can just pick from the fire-wood store and set the fire. But be careful with the fire and extinguish the fire as you leave the shelter.

Lapland – the land of eight seasons

Posted on May 25, 2013 by admin

Lapland nature has four seasons. These are spring, summer, autumn, and winter. But Lapland is also called the land of eight seasons.

Winter lasts more than half a year in many places. Winter also means a long darkness and the blue light during day time and the lakes and rivers are covered with ice and snow for many months. But winter also brings light, because the white snow always makes even the tiniest lights brighter. At around 70 degrees north the sun is below the horizon for two months. During the winter period there are also possibilities to see the aurora borealis or northern lights. In summer you cannot see them because of the light. Summer is short. But then Lapland has up to two months of midnight sun – or nightless nights as they also are called.

From the oldest times eight seasons were used by people living in Lapland to describe the cycle of mother nature. Here are the eight periods:

Winter (December to April)

Spring-winter (April and May)

Spring (May and June)

Spring-summer (June)

Summer (July and August)

Summer-autumn (August)

Autumn (September and October)

Autumn-winter (November)

There were good reasons for dividing time into eight seasons. The seasons followed the cycle of nature, which is constantly changing. The Lappish people learned that different tasks had to be done during the ever-changing cycle of the eight seasons.

Did you know that Lapland and the Arctic region on an average have more light than for instance regions near the equator? Thus the Lapland light makes the area a realm of light. And because of hours of twilight even the shortest day is not totally dark. As we move through the year, the Lapland light is in constant change. As winter changes to spring, the spring light changes everything around you.

The long white nights even urge many kinds of birds to migrate to these northern areas where they have more working hours than anywhere else in the world to bring the next generation to the world.

There are many kinds of birds in Lapland. Lapland is an eldorado for bird watchers. In many places there are bird-watching towers. The Lapland spring is a hectic time for fumigators who often come a long way to nest. I was surprised to find out that the time of arrival for the birds in Lapland in the spring does not vary too much from their time of arrival in the south of Finland. When I lived in the south of Finland I always thought of the arrival of the Common Gull (lat. Larus canus, fin. Kalalokki) meant that the spring was about to begin. But I have seen Common Gulls sitting on the ice in March looking for some leftovers from the ice-fishing people. And I can tell you the spring is really not in the nearest future; the ice is about 70 cm thick still.

The same thing concerns the Swans (Cygnus cygnus). They migrate from Europe to Lapland in a time when there is only smaller parts of lakes or rivers open and free from ice. Then they spend time in the open water areas for weeks waiting for the ice to melt more and more around them.

In spring time the Lappish people collect Birch sap (fin. mahla) from the Birch trees. Birch sap is drinkable and must be collected during a specific time of the year, at the break of winter and spring when the sap moves intensively up inside the trees before any green leaves have appeared on the tree. The Birch sap collection is done by tying a bottle to the tree, drilling a hole into its trunk and leading the sap to the bottle by a plastic tube. A small birch (trunk diameter about 15 cm) can produce up to 5 liters of sap per day, a larger tree (diameter 30 cm) up to 15 liters per day. The collection period is only about a month per year, as the sap later becomes bitter.

The sap is often a slightly sweet, thin syrupy-watery liquid. The tree sap contains sugars (namely xylitol), proteins, amino acids, and enzymes. It is very healthy and keeps the flu away. It is also considered as antiseptic, anti-parasitic, anti-inflammatory and anti-itching treatment. Fresh birch sap is highly perishable; even if refrigerated, it is stable for only up to 2–5 days. You can of course also freeze it for later use.

The Birch sap collecting is a habit among people in the north of Europe and in Russia.

As the time of the nightless nights now are just about to start in Lapland, you can check the light in the city of Rovaniemi at any time of the day by opening this link with web cameras showing real time pictures in the city center. So even if you check the web camera in the middle of the night there will be light.

Expecting brown bear cubs in Ranua Wildlife Park?

Posted on May 16, 2013 by admin

I use to visit the Ranua zoo several times a year. I love to see the animals and their actions at different times of the year. In winter there are many active animals in the zoo, because this is an arctic animal zoo with animals from the region of Lapland, and so they are used to winter. During the winter the animals are more active while they during the summer season often are feeling a little dizzy because of the heat during the days and are mostly resting during the visitors’ time.

When I visit the zoo during the winter seasons one animal is not to be seen at all. That is the brown bear. The brown bears in the nature are sleeping winter hibernation during the winter, and so are the brown bears in Ranua zoo. They use to go to sleep in November and wake up in the beginning of March. This year the brown bears woke up already in February. The staff in the zoo thinks the early wake-up is caused by the big amount of visitors who came to look at the polar bear cub, Ranzo, and the noise spread in to the dens of the brown bears. Read more about Ranzo in my post about the polar bears. Here is a link from Jehu’s first meeting with the snow in 2011.

I visited the zoo in the beginning of May. At the moment there are three brown bears living in Ranua. They are the old Palle-Jooseppi and his son Jehu, 3 years old. Last spring Jehu got a girlfriend from another zoo in Finland, the Ähtäri zoo, and her name is Malla. Malla is four years old at the moment. The brown bears get sexually mature at the age of 4-5 years, so the expectations are high there would be one or two cubs in the den next spring when the bears wake up. The cubs are born in January-February. Here is the you tube-link from Malla’s first day in Ranua zoo last spring.

The possibilities for cubs in Ranua zoo next spring are quite high while Jehu and Malla spend a lot of time together and seem to get along quite well. Jehu is at the moment the last brown bear born in this zoo. His mother, Doris, got sick and had to be put to sleep a couple of years ago. After Doris was gone a new female bear, also named Malla, was brought to the zoo. The staff wanted Malla and Palle-Jooseppi to get acquainted to each other and the two bears were put together in the same cage. But it turned out something about Malla irritated Palle-Jooseppi and he hit her and then caused her death.

Last spring as the new Malla-bear was brought to the zoo she was put together with Jehu immediately. She, however, got a bit scared of Jehu’s interest, so the staff had to put Jehu away for a while to “cool down”. But at the moment there are no problem whatsoever and the two young bears seem to get very well together, while Palle-Jooseppi spends his time alone in his own cage.

The brown bear lives in the forests and mountains of northern North America, Europe, and Asia. The Finnish brown bear lives mainly in conifer forests. The brown bear, which is active during twilight, can also be seen searching for food during the day. Brown bears are usually solitary. The male and the female spend time together during mating season in the summer, and the mother usually lives with its growing cubs until the next cub is born. The female bear gives birth to new cubs approx. every three-year.

Adult brown bears are powerful, top-of-the-food chain predators, but much of their diet consists of nuts, berries, fruit, leaves, and roots. Bears also eat other animals, from rodents to moose. Last week there was a killed reindeer found just about a kilometer from the Santa Claus’ village outside Rovaniemi, most certainly killed by a bear. There is at the moment not so much other food to eat in the forest, unfortunately.

Despite their enormous size, brown bears are extremely fast, having been clocked at speeds of 30 miles per hour (48 kilometers per hour). They can be dangerous to humans, particularly if surprised or if a person gets between a mother bear and her cubs. Almost every year there are reports of bears seen too near habitations in the eastern parts of Finland. People have all reasons to be careful when they see a bear, even though the bears are very neat to look at and every child probably has a beloved teddy bear at home in their bed.

The bears could live to 25 years of age. The adult bears are 5 to 8 ft (1.5 to 2.5 m) tall and weight 700 lbs (318 kg). The male bear is bigger than the female bear.

Niko, the adorable reindeer

Posted on May 8, 2013 by admin

Besides Santa Claus there are also other celebrities to help making Rovaniemi and Lapland well known all over the world. One of my favorites, besides Santa of course, is Niko, the absolutely adorable little reindeer. He became famous in 2008 when the first movie about his adventures was made. I went to see that movie and loved it, so I bought myself the DVD to be able to look at the movie together with my grandchildren one day as they grow a little bit older. After the first film about Niko, the Niko 2 was ready in 2012 and nowadays you can even download your own app to play the Niko game on your mobile phone or read the book on iPad.

The first movie about Niko, “Niko & The Way to the Stars (“The Flight Before Christmas“ in North America, “Niko – Lentäjän poika” in Finland), is a Danish-Finnish-German-Irish computer animated Christmas film from 2008. It revolves around a young reindeer who must overcome his fear of flying by heading to Santa Claus’ fell to save him and his fleet of flying reindeer from a pack of wolves.

Niko was told by Oona, his mother, that his father is one of the “Flying Forces”, Santa’s flying sled reindeer. Niko dreams of joining his dad as a flying reindeer but he is unable to fly. While trying to fly with the encouragement of Julius, a flying squirrel who takes on the role of a mentor and father figure, the other young reindeer teased Niko. To avoid further teasing, Niko and his reindeer-friend Saga leave their protected valley so Niko can practice without any disruptions. Niko gets spotted by two of the wolves, and escapes to his herd in panic, not thinking about the repercussions. While the herd is fleeing the valley, Niko overhears others talking of how his actions have damaged the herd. He decides to leave the herd in an attempt to find his father and Santa’s Fell.

When Niko is discovered missing, the squirrel Julius chooses to look for Niko as he can search without leaving a trail as fresh snow is falling. Once he finds him, Julius cannot convince Niko to return to the herd and reluctantly joins him in the search for Santa’s secret location. Meanwhile, Essie, a lost pet poodle, stumbles upon the wolf pack and is about to be eaten, but suggests to Black Wolf the idea of killing Santa’s Flying Forces reindeer instead. Essie is considered Black Wolf’s good luck charm for this idea and is spared, but is also forced to join the pack on this grim plan. And so the story goes on and Niko finally ends up finding his father and Santa’s Flying Forces. There are some very scary parts of the movie and that is why this should not be seen by children under 7 years old. Otherwise a very nice movie about the cute reindeer Niko and his adventures.

The follower-up, the “Niko 2 – Little Brother, Big Trouble” 3D film, had its world premiere in Rovaniemi on October 1st, 2012. You can see the trailer here on YouTube.

In this film young reindeer boy Niko still lives with his mother Oona and his father is still serving Santa’s Flying Forces. Niko secretly wishes his mom and his hero dad would get back together and they could be a real family, which they never have been. One day mom tells Niko the news: she has met a guy, an ordinary reindeer called Lenni, and he and his little son Jonni will move in together with Niko and his mother. Niko´s world is shaken: he will not be the only child anymore, and he has to live together and look after this little cute step-brother – with not so good results…

The “Niko 2 – Little Brother, Big Trouble” 3D film has also been turned into a mobile game. In the game you get to fly with the reindeer Niko in spectacular winter scenery where wooden signs show the way to Rovaniemi.

In addition to Niko, the game features another character from the film, the delightful flying squirrel Julius. It can be downloaded for free from the App Store. In addition, you can learn more about the adventure of Niko and his friends in the Niko 2 book, audiobook and iPad book published by Gummerus.

The first film about Niko, “Niko & The Way to the Stars” has had more screenings abroad than any Finnish film ever. “Niko 2 – Little Brother, Big Trouble” is also expected to become an international success. The film and the game will improve the visibility of the Rovaniemi region in all screening countries.

Nature path at its best in spring time at Ounasvaara hill

Posted on May 4, 2013 by admin

The last remainders of snow are melting at the moment and I am looking forward to the time when the nature paths dry and I can make spring excursions in the nature around Rovaniemi.

One of my favorite nature paths is the one at Ounasvaara hill. There are actually several possible routes to choose; they are between 3,8 and 4,4 km long. Along the paths you will find places to rest and there are several parts of the route along so called duckboards to keep your shoes dry when you walk across the swamps. You will also find a nice little well where you can taste absolutely clear water that comes out from the ground.

Along the route you find lots of useful information boards explaining to you about the kind of forests and swamps there are to be found in this part of Finland. You can also learn about the trees, the plants, the bedrock and the type of ground you find along the paths.

During the ice-age 115,000 to 10,000 years ago Finland was covered with ice as the rest of northern and central Europe. The continental ice sheet began to withdraw from the edge of southern Finland about 13,000 years ago. Melting of the ice began to accelerate around 11,000 years ago; Finland was free of ice about 10,000 years ago. You can see a place on Ounasvaara considered as the first shore line when the ice began to melt.

You can also walk the path up to the tower of the downhill slopes (for downhill skiing in winter) on the northern hill side of Ounasvaara and from there you will get a marvellous view over the city of Rovaniemi.

I think the nature paths are at their best in spring time after the snow has melted and there is only a little greening starting to show.

From this link with maps of Rovaniemi region you can search for the nature path (called airing routes) on Ounasvaara.

The German soldiers’ cemetery at Norvajärvi

Posted on May 3, 2013 by admin

There is a German soldiers’ cemetery at Norvajärvi, 18 km north of Rovaniemi. It was founded on August 31, 1963. The mausoleum is the resting place for more than 2 500 Germans who fell in the World War II. As I had heard of this cemetery and never visited it, I the other day went to find out how it looked like. It was much bigger than I had imagined. The whole area and the mausoleum was a very peaceful and beautiful place heading to the lake of Norvajärvi.

It is easy to find the way to the cemetery. There are signs to show the way starting in Rovaniemi and from the parking area there is a 0,5 km walk along a sandy path. The mausoleum is visited by a lot of German tourists and relatives to the soldiers during the summer season, but also now in April there had been visitors putting flowers on the grave; supposedly they were also relatives.

In the World War II about 15 000 German soldiers fell at the Finnish border. Most part of them are buried on Russian ground. There are two main cemeteries for German soldiers founded in Finland; one in Helsinki and one here at Norvajärvi, Lapland. There were all together about 200 000 German soldiers in Lapland during the Continuation War 1941-1944.

The area of this cemetery is about 16 000 m² on the shore of the lake Norvajärvi. As you enter the mausoleum you first find the statue named: “Mother and son”. A very touching sight. In the mausoleum there are 8 big boards with all the 2 500 names of the fallen German soldiers. In a book at the entry you can search for special names and find out on which of the boards they are to be found. It is an impressive amount of names carved on the boards!

On the shore of the lake there is a big iron cross and a place to sit down and gather thoughts and enjoy the peace of the area. The mausoleum is open to the public on April-September.

A little history around the Lapland War (to be read only by those, who are interested in learning more about the Germans in Lapland):

The Lapland War was fought between Finland and Nazi Germany from September 1944 to April 1945 in Lapland. A peculiarity of the war was that the Finnish army was forced by the Soviet Union to demobilize their forces while at the same time they were fighting to force the German army to leave Finland. German forces retreated to Norway, and Finland managed to uphold its obligations to the Soviet Union, until the formal conclusion of the Continuation War was ratified by the 1947 Paris peace treaty.

Germany and Finland had been at war with the Soviet Union since June 1941, co-operating closely in the Continuation War. However, as early as the summer of 1943, the German High Command began making plans for the eventuality that Finland might make a separate peace agreement with the Soviet Union. The Germans planned to withdraw their forces northward to shield the nickel mines near Petsamo.

During the winter of 1943–1944, the Germans improved the roads from northern Norway to northern Finland by extensive use of prisoner of war -labour in certain areas. Casualties among these prisoners were high, in part because many of them had been captured in southern Europe and were still in summer uniform. In addition, the Germans surveyed defensive positions and made plans to evacuate as much material as possible from the region.

Change of Finnish leadership led the Germans already in early August 1944 to believe that Finland would attempt to make a separate agreement with the Soviet Union. The Finnish announcement of the cease-fire triggered frantic efforts in the German Army which immediately started material evacuations from Finland. Large amounts of material were evacuated from southern Finland and harsh punishments were set for any hindering of the withdrawal.

By 15 September 1944 a secret agreement had been reached by which the Germans would make their withdrawal timetable known to the Finns, who would then allow the Germans to destroy roads, railroads and bridges. In practice, friction soon arose both from the destruction caused by the Germans and from the pressure exerted on the Finns by the Soviets, and there were several incidents between the armies.

At Rovaniemi the Germans initially concentrated mainly on destroying governmental buildings but once fire got loose they were forced to destroy several more. German attempts to fight the fire however failed and a train loaded with ammunition caught fire at Rovaniemi railroad station on 14 October resulting in a massive explosion which caused further destruction as well as spreading the fire throughout the primarily wooden buildings of the town. German attempts to fight the fire had failed by the time, on 16 October, they abandoned the now ruined town to the advancing Finns.

In the museum of Arktikum in Rovaniemi you can learn more about the Lapland War.

Celebrating the spring’s arrival on First of May

Posted on May 2, 2013 by admin

On First of May we celebrate workers’ day in Finland as in many other countries. It is also celebrated by students as their special day, mostly in University cities. Actually the Finnish “Vappu” is celebrated among students for almost a week’s time. The students dress up in their overalls in different colors depending on at which faculty they are studying.

In Rovaniemi the main spring celebration among students takes place on the evening before First of May, on April 30th. There is a happening in the park near the lumberjack bridge, where there is a statue of a lumberjack working. The feast starts with some horn music and there are several speeches to the spring held by celebrities of Rovaniemi, such as the mayor’s (Esko Lotvonen) speech.

After that starts the students’ part of the feast. The audience is told to put their graduation caps on and a choir of students sings the “Gaudeamus Igitur”. “Gaudeamus Igitur” (“So Let Us Rejoice”) or just “Gaudeamus”, is a popular academic song in many European countries, mainly sung or performed at university graduation ceremonies. Despite its use as a formal graduation hymn, it is a jocular composition that pokes fun at university life. All students at a university own a graduation cap they got at the graduation from the senior high school and people in the audience use to bring their old graduation caps and put them on together with the students at this occasion. This evening and on First of May is the only days during the year you may wear your white graduation cap.

Then a couple of students climb up to the statue of the lumberjack and give him his yearly wash and finally they put a graduation cap on him, too. This is a special made graduation cap because of the big size of his head.

The feast ends with a traditional washing of this year’s new student; “fuksukylpy”. This bath is taken care of by the Fire Department and is merely compulsory for the new students to take part in. This is a very wet experience for them and it amuses the audience a lot to see these poor students getting all wet. I have to say, I do not understand why…. Some of them are very clever and take off all their clothes before entering into the beam of water from the fire department’s pipes.

Grandma in Lapland

My blog about life and experiences in Finnish Lapland

Monthly Archives: May 2013