A Visit to Santa at the Arctic Circle

Hello from what promises to be the longest train ride of my life! It's 21:10, I just left Rovaniemie en route for Helsinki, and this train car is so full that I've actually got a girl sitting in front of me and our legs are nearly touching! My MP3 player is dead, I'm tired of playing cell phone games, and I can't go to sleep just yet. And I don't arrive in Helsinki until 8:30 tomorrow morning...

So, after dinner last night, I went back to the hotel, made an Earl Grey (which I stole from that Cafe in Oslo... got even more benefit out of that great brekkie!), watched a bit of telly, then went to bed and had a FANTASTIC sleep! I didn't even dream about being naked whilst giving a spiel or anything!

I woke up this morning at 9:00, got out of my very warm and comfy bed by 9:30, and out the door shortly afterwards. I dropped off my luggage at the Hotel Santa Claus :) then decided to check out the Lonely Planet-recommended cafe down the street. I had a capuccino and cinnamon bun, and checked out the cool, old-school paraphernelia in the cafe; old kettles, video games, radios - a random assortment of old, very cool junk.

Then I headed to the train station, where I caught the Santa Express bus ... YIPPPEEEE!! I told the bus driver that I was very excited, and he looked at me like I was a bit nuts (then kept his eye on me through the rearview mirror). So I cranked up all of the Christmas tunes on my MP3 and quietly rocked out all the way to the Santa Claus Village. And WOOHOOO was it ever awesome!!

Unfortunately, the real Christmas action doesn't kick off until December, so I didn't get to see any reindeer or huskies. But I had a ball nonetheless. I shopped a lot (there was lots of actually cute stuff, not the average plastic Christmas crap); bought a letter-to-Santa-writing kit for Brett, sent a letter from Santa home to Daddy, bought some postcards for Susan and Tupper, got a card for Mom, and an official "I crossed the Arctic Circle" certificate.

I was gutted not to see any reindeers, so when I came upon a restaurant selling reindeer meat, I figured that was the next best thing. I was going to buy the whole lunch meal, but then the waitress offered me a sample that was actually half a plateful, so that was enough. It was very tasty, really salty and delicious, but it left a funny aftertaste (both mentally and physically). I'm glad I tried it, even more glad that I didn't have a whole plate!

After lunch, I walked into the woods, hoping to spot a stray reindeer or at least someone walking a husky, but alas, all I got was a nice, snowy stroll. It actually snowed all day, which totally added to the festive atmosphere.

All in all: a BRILLIANT day ... made even greater when I got to meet Santa!

I was in my final gift shop of the afternoon when I saw the door leading to Santa, so I couldn't resist. I had to walk through basically a haunted house, full of dark corners and creepy, creaky sounds; it was really neat, like I was entering a hidden, Tim Burton-esque lair! And then an elf photographer emerged from a big, heavy door to lead me in to the big man himself. I felt a little ridiculous, but giddy at the same time. I chatted with Santa about Ottawa, the Sens, he taught me how to say "cheese" in Finnish as we smiled for the camera, and we took a few photos together. It was fantastic!

I caught the bus back from the Santa Village at 5pm, and along the way, I chatted with a local girl who was in love with all things Canadian. She was very sweet, with perfect skin (that's what you get in a country with very little sun!).

When I got back into Rovaniemi, I had dinner at McDonalds. I didn't even feel guilty about it this time, because it is the "World's Northernmost Golden Arches", so it had to be done (and I thoroughly enjoyed every bite of my Big Mac Meal).

I shopped a little bit, enjoying the snowy and sparkly street, then walked back to the train station and caught my train to Helsinki.

Okay, I've killed 20 minutes now. Only 11 hours, 40 minutes to go.

Shit...

Welcome to Rovaniemi!

Well, I finally made it way up North to Rovaniemi (in Lapland), and I must say, I'm stoked to be here and I can't WAIT for the Santa Claus village tomorrow! I'm SOOOO hoping to see a reindeer and/or a husky!

When I arrived in town, I asked a cab driver how to get to the Hotel Santa Claus (where I needed to check-in to the Hostel Rudolph... perfect!). It was a bit of a hike to get there (my right arm is killing me from lugging around my 20.7-kilo suitcase!), but I finally found it on the main street, Koskikatu. The hostel was 600 annoying metres down the road, so I had to then drag all of my bags there, but I made it. This hostel is more like a hotel, and I'm quite happy that is as I didn't feel like staying in a dorm room tonight!

I quickly dropped my bags, then headed out to find the sauna (when in Finland...). It was in the changing room of the local pool, nothing spectacular, and basically, I paid 6 euros to get into an average sauna for a half hour. But it felt nice and I'm in Finland, so that's what I should be doing!

I went back to the hostel afterwards, had a luxuriously-long shower, put on face and hair masks, blow-dried my hair, lotioned-up, had a beer, then headed out for a burrito dinner.

And... it's snowing!!

A Great End to Stockholm...

Hello from a Pizza Hut, where I just took Lonely Planet's advice and filled up on a big lunch buffet, for only 79 SEK (hehehe, that currency makes me giggle). Salads, pizza, Pepsi, and now a nice Earl Grey ... not bad.

So, last night I watched the band for about a half hour - they were quite good, the lead singer was a big, black guy with a harmonica and sax, and he walked around the room a lot, making me a little nervous that he might spot me, solo, and come sing to me. Thankfully, I got away without being noticed.

I left at around 10:30; it was a chilly walk home, not sure if I mentioned this already but I was wearing black socks and sandals like the World's Biggest Geek because my new Skechers are breaking my feet). I internetted for a little while back at the hostel, then went to bed in a pitch black and silent room (just like the Novi Dan!).

When I woke up this morning at 8:30, I had no idea what time it was, where I was, or how I was going to get out of bed without tripping over anything because it was so dark! I finally manoeuvred my way out of bed, tried to have a shower but it was scorching hot and I couldn't stand it. I had to leave my bags at reception before I left for the day because I'm switching rooms tonight. I'm very lucky to have arrived at that hostel when I did, because it's fully booked tonight, and apparently everywhere else in town is booked too!

I got out of the hostel at 10:00, and went directly to Sodermalm, found the shoe shop I'd seen yesterday, and bought a paid of brown boots. They're the greatest boots ever (second only to my pink Bosnian boots). I shopped for a couple of hours, then because it's quite rainy, and not an ideal day for movie-making, I decided to head inside to this Pizza Hut.

It's still raining, but I have a lot left to do so I'm going to venture outside again now. I'm a little pressed for time here, because I'm planning to leave tomorrow. It's totally unrealistic and expensive, but I really want to go to Norway. I should just focus on Sweden and Finland during this trip, but dammit I want to see the fjords in Bergen! So I'm planning to go to Oslo tomorrow, Bergen the next day, then back via Sweden to Helsinki. It's a little nuts, but, I think, do-able. Bye for now!

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Hello again, later in the evening, from a bar that really knows how to deal with Sweden's cold evenings! I'm sitting outside, on a bar patio, with a red blanket draped over my legs ... fantastic! And the little beer that I just paid 5 euros for is going down a treat!

Sometimes I think there must be something wrong with me, because I am completely not in the mood for any company other than my own. I couldn't be happier spending time with just my own thoughts, and my journal, and beers all by myself. In fact, when someone speaks to me, it really irritates me. Hahaha! Pedro and I will never end up together: we're both such loners, we'd probably never spend any time together at all! (which makes us all the more perfect for each other: at least we both get it).

Anyway, I had a very full, and frickin' awesome day! After lunch, I shopped a little more in Sodermalm, bought some nice legwarmers and a beautiful scarf for Mom, then walked over to Gamla Stan and bought some Christmas souvenirs for Mom and Daddy.

I then decided to visit the Nobel Museum. It feels great to go to museums again; I was missing a bit of culture this summer! I inadvertently snuck into the place without paying, and only realized later, when I was leaving, that there is a 70 SEK admission fee. Whoops! Anyway, it would've been totally worth the price: it was very interesting to find out all about Alfred Nobel, the fact that he was the inventor of dynamite and the reason he decried in his will that his fortune go to prizewinners was because he was a bit of a loner with no family. He was from Sweden, so that's why all the Nobel Prize action happens there, except for the Peace Prize, which he decided to share with Norway. That explains why Barack Obama (recipient of the 2009 Peace Prize, God love him!) will be heading to both Stockholm and Oslo in December. If only he was here this week!

I bought a magnet at the museum with a very fitting quote: "To Travel is to Live", by H.C. Andersen. It's interesting that I found that magnet, because just last week, the guy at the hostel in Pula asked me what my life is about, and I said "travel", and I've been contemplating that answer ever since.

(I'm getting a tad chilly sitting out here now ... this blanket, cute as it is, is useless).

After the museum, I busted a move back to the centre of town, where I luckily found the free IKEA bus, and in no time at all, I was at the IKEA Mecca! Actually, it wasn't all that magical a place; I wandered around, bought Mom some napkins (they were the smallest thing I could find), and was back on the bus an hour later. I didn't even have time for Swedish Meatballs!

I headed again to Sodermalm, and I heard this bar before I saw it. In hindsight, I probably should've sat in a warm and coze pub because it's quite cold, but the blankies (especially the one wrapped around a big guy's shoulders in front of me) are worth it.

My train to Oslo is at 8:30 tomorrow morning, and I don't actually know where to catch it form, so I'll have an early start. Also, I'm a little worried that everything might be fully booked in Oslo, like it is in Stockholm, so I might spend some time searching for hostels online when I get back to the hostel tonight. Mom made a good point in her email: I barely spent any money all summer, so I can afford to spend a bit now. Screw it: I deserve a holiday (but even as I write that, I can't keep a straight face ... my whole life is a holiday!

Bye for now! (and thanks to Stockholm for a great visit!)

A Great Start to Stockholm...

Well, here I am in Stockholm, Sweden, and I couldn't be more elated about it! What a FABULOUS city! I've only been here 3 hours, but I'm in love already!  Wandering the streets, albeit a tad cold, has been awesome. There's not a chance in Hell that I'll ever get drunk here as it would probably bankrupt me, but I am going to have one beer in this pub, I'm about to listen to some live music, and I definitely made the right choice to travel North. Yipppeee!!

So, I left Bratislava early this morning. I unfortunately didn't have time to buy Mom a Slovakian hockey puck (which would've been a very cool souvenir, after all the Slovakians do make the most hockey pucks in the world).

I caught the airport bus at 10:25 from just outside the hostel; I didn't buy a bus ticket, more because I didn't know where to buy one than because I didn't want to buy one. It took only 25 minutes to get to the airport, but I needed the extra time because I knew I'd have to sort out my suitcase, weight-wise.

Turns out, I was only 3 kilos over, so I took out a few shirts, threw a couple of things away (they needed to be tossed anyway), and when I brought my suitcase back and it was still 2 kilos over, the girl let me check it in anyway. Phew! I spent a little time with the duty-free lotions, then hopped onto a quick 2-hr flight to Stockholm. All in all, a fantastic airport experience.

I arrived in sunny Stockholm, and caught the 80-minute bus into the city. I think I saw reindeer in the fields, but I'm not sure if they were reindeer or just (JUST?!) regular deer.

I got off at the Central Station, got a little bit turned around trying to find the street my hostel was on, then when I finally found it, they told me they were fully-booked. I had a momentary panic that I'd end up spending a fortune on a hotel, if I could even find an available hotel, but Thank God the next hostel I tried had a few spare beds.

It's a massive hotel, and I'm in a 10-bed dorm tonight and an 18-bed dorm tomorrow. PLEASE don't let there be any loud snorers!!

The guy at reception was very cool, Aussie I think, so I chatted with him for a few minutes before dropping my bags in the room and heading out.

I quickly passed through the Old Town (Gamla Stan) on my way to the funky district Sodermalm, where I was giddy from all the shopping: H&M (which, I forgot, is Swedish!), an excellent H&M wannabe called Gina Tricot, and many other great boutiques and department stores. I'm going to buy many, many an item tomorrow!

I decided to eat cheaply (2 little cheesburgers from McDonald's did the trick), then I headed back to Gamla Stan, and came into the Liffey Pub, where I am now, and the beer is great and the band is just gearing up to start. LOVE STOCKHOLM!