פֿאַרעפֿנטלעכט: 28.12.2023
Day 5+6 or Visiting Santa Claus
We started our day with the usual morning routine which consists of taking down the bed and washing ourselves with the 4°C cold water, and yes, not just the face but also under the armpits etc. After getting this ice cold pleasure behind us , we prepared our breakfast and got ready to leave.
Then we went back on the icy roads towards Rovaniemi.
The E4 has been permanently icy since Hudiksvall and all smaller roads are also icy but also packed with snow.
Nevertheless, you can comfortably drive between 80km/h and 90km/h.
Since almost all of the locals have studded tires, they naturally drive faster than us.
After about 4 hours of driving we arrived at Santa Claus Village Rovaniemi.
What a stark contrast to the otherwise deserted streets.
All the nations of the world were represented here. There is even a direct flight from Tokyo to Rovaniemi!
We explored the holiday resort with its countless souvenir shops and ways to pass the time. Of course, something to eat must be offered at every location.
Here you can ride reindeer sleighs, dog sleds and snowmobiles. Of course for great prices.
Despite everything, it was a very beautifully designed place where you would enjoy staying.
Since I knew that the polar circle runs through this village, I was constantly looking for it in the beginning. But because of all the people, you couldn't see the forest for the trees. I had been looking for him for about 30 minutes. Until the scales fell from my eyes.
We were standing right on that line!
After a while we returned, made ourselves a delicious warm soup and read our books, all of which are about the eternal ice in the north or south.
In the evening we watched a Christmas film before going to sleep.
But not of the happy kind, but rather of the dark kind.
The film was called “Krampus”.
The next morning we took another short walk through the now significantly less crowded village and then set off on the long 512 km journey to Alta to a campsite, our last destination so that we could finally enjoy a hot shower and get our water supplies , which have shrunk considerably.
The further north we drove inland, the colder it became.
In Rovaniemi we still had a pleasant -5°C.
It was -17°C for most of the trip.
These temperatures can only be endured outside for long periods of time with polar equipment. The pee breaks and photo breaks were quite sufficient.
Halfway through the route we passed a souvenir shop in the middle of the Finnish wilderness. We stopped and let our tourist madness take over. We also used the break for a quick 5-minute terrine before we continued.
Our coldest point was in Norway at -22°C.
The cold really presses into the car when driving.
The last 20km were very exciting again because the road went along a river and the road was very winding and steep.
But luckily we've never had any slippage.
After 8 hours of driving, we arrived at the campsite at 5:00 p.m. We quickly plugged the camper in and turned on the heater. With the electricity we don't have to worry about the battery and we can run the heater at the highest level.
It's -15°C outside and with the heating we get around 15°C-17°C. That's more than 30°C temperature difference! Very remarkable in our opinion.
For dinner there was fried chicken breast in rice with a cheese cream sauce. Very tasty and beneficial.
Because of the long and tiring day, we went to bed early.
Good night.