2024. 6. 27. 23:57ㆍ카테고리 없음
My journey to Finland began with a single goal: to meet Santa Claus on Christmas.
Initially, I was worried because I couldn’t find much information about Finland online. However, this lack of information led to many unexpected experiences. My first adventure was taking a large cruise to Tallinn, Estonia. Tallinn reminded me of Prague, and I have fond memories of drinking beer while gazing at the Baltic Sea.
Helsinki, a city I had always wanted to visit because of its beautiful name, turned out to be a blend of Russian and Northern European influences.
We missed Santa Claus yesterday because we arrived at Santa Claus Village around 5 pm, so today we came early to meet him. It felt childish to come to Finland just to meet Santa, but standing at the front of the line, I felt nervous. Meeting Santa was more fantastic and impressive than I had imagined. This experience, meeting the real Santa officially recognized by the Vatican, is something I’ll cherish and often talk about.
The journey to Saariselka was through a stunning winter forest, completely blanketed in snow. There’s a famous line from the movie “Kamome Diner”: The reason why Finns are relaxed is because they have vast, dense forests.” Now, I fully understand that sentiment.
Having visited Iceland and Norway, I can say each Northern European country has its unique charm. Iceland felt like another planet, Norway was all about fjords, and Finland is a winter wonderland of forests.
Our accommodation is Saariselka, the Holiday Club Saariselka, was fantastic. I loved the routine of reading on the couch while watching the snow, using a sled to go to the market, enjoying the sauna twice a day, and skiing a long-held dream since I missed out in Switzerland. The view from the top of the ski resort was breathtaking.
Despite the high prices (four burger sets and four chicken wings cost around $ 43), the experience was worth it.
We finally saw the Northern Lights at the Kakslauttanen Igloo Resort after the clouds miraculously cleared. I credit this achievement to Mr. Choi, who wandered around the ski resort alone, contemplating whether to climb to the top to see the Northern Lights. As someone once said, the Northern Lights reveal their brilliance only to those who chase them. We danced under the shimmering Aurora, even though we got locked outside when the door closed and locked automatically behind us.
Despite costing around $723 per night, the Igloo Resort had its drawbacks. Check-in was tedious, taking nearly an hour, and we were misinformed about not needing dinner reservations, which resulted in us being turned away at the restaurant. When I requested tools to clean the snow off our igloo, they told me they had none, so we had to wait for the snow to melt. Additionally, the starter dish of goat cheese and beetroot was not to our taste.
The extreme cold seemed to settle in since that day. Surprisingly, the Korean restaurant in Rovaniemi was better than some in Korea. Our night train journey from Rovaniemi to Helsinki, taking about 12 hours, was filled with romance. We drank wine despite its high cost, and I, for one, blacked out.
Back in Helsinki, I tried the sauna again and even dove into the Baltic Seal. However, I couldn’t stay long due to health concerns and realized I’d bring slippers next time to avoid the pain of waling on the cold ground outside.
I made a last-minute reservation for a New Year's Eve choir performance at Helsinki Cathedral. I was able to pick up the tickets at the ticket counter on the eighth floor of the department store. The performance was incredible, and singing along with everyone in the Cathedral felt heavenly.
Unfortunately, I fell ill and had to watch the New Year’s countdown from bed. Still, this second countdown abroad will be a lasting memory.
I loved Finland, where I took a break when I felt burnout coming from too many projects since October. It was a valuable time to reflect on my future direction.
