Muotka Lapland Finland

Our quest to search for the aurora borealis has been a failure, the one-week Valentine’s holiday in Muotka, a wilderness reserve in Lapland, however, was still a great one. Husky safari, snowmobile safari, snowshoe hike, visit to reindeer farm, etc. were all fun things to do there in the Arctic Circle. Local Finnish guides were not only professional, but also very kind. Most importantly, they communicated fluently in English. Food was just fine, while we found the soup made by Finnish exceptional. On the entire Day One we had no fun but flew from Heathrow to Helsinki and then from Helsinki to Ivalo thanks to the long wait for the domestic flight from Helsinki. The holiday ended on Day Seven when we departed from the Muotka Wilderness Lodge at 10am and arrived in Heathrow at 5pm.

Husky Safari + Aurora Workshop + Night Snowshoeing

On Day Two after breakfast we were transferred to the husky farm to meet lots of lovely huskies that could not wait any longer to run! There was a full safety briefing before the safari. The only thing the driver should and could do was to control the brake. Simple enough! Each two persons took charge of their own team of six huskies. The passenger sat in the sledge, while the driver stood just behind. The huskies were so excited that they rushed to take off and continued to run so fast. As the huskies disliked stopping, it was not an easy task to brake. At some point I wondered whether there could have been a crash into the sledge in the front! It was such good fun especially on bumpy snow! There was a break en route for those who wished to swap drivers before heading back to the farm. This husky safari is definitely a must-do! 

In the evening there was the aurora workshop during which videos about aurora borealis were shown. Honestly, there are a load of videos as such on YouTube. For those who know very well about the science behind the Lights, this is absolutely redundant. The guide did explain some of the local myths and legends which are inspired by the Aurora, but we did not find anything extraordinary. At the end of the session the guide gave some tips about how to set individual cameras in order to capture the Lights as much as possible.

Snowshoeing has always been our favorite activity, but this was the first time snowshoeing at night. On the way to some great Northern Lights vantage points the guide talked about wildlife around the area. The snow covered trees looked like unique sculptures in the beam of head torches and the absolute silence when we stopped was something we rarely got to experience. Failed to see a wonderful display, the group settled in a lavvu, i.e. Finnish Tipi, where the guide made a fire on which a kettle of berries juice was hanged and pancakes cooking on a frying pan. A cup of hot berries juice was perfect out there in the cold! 

Snowshoeing + Snowmobiling Lesson + Night Snowmobiling

This morning we headed out into the forest on a snowshoe trek. There were quite a lot of places there we could not explore without snowshoes so they allowed us real freedom to get around the area. We did see a reindeer but nothing else on this trip. It was lovely snowshoeing again though. We then had lunch back at the lodge before having a snowmobiling lesson in the afternoon.

Driving a snowmobile did not seem that hard. Drivers must possess a full driving license. The guide took us through all of the instructions and safety requirements for driving a snowmobile. The lesson lasted less than 15 minutes. Everyone had the chance to practice their own skills on the trails around the lodge before heading off in convoy for a short scenic safari. Again, we loved travelling on bumpy snow! Going up and down hill were exciting too. Night snowmobiling was equally fun. As the drivers got used to the driving, we had a longer and smoother safari this night. We did not have a chance to experience another Tipi time but the guide did serve us some hot drinks and snacks on the way.

Snowmobile Safari to a Reindeer Farm

This was the third and the last time we travelled on a snowmobile. It seemed to be a lot, but believe me, everyone wanted a fourth time. We enjoyed this long safari and get to explore further afield. It was certainly an exhilarating way to travel and as we journeyed along the marked trails we felt a million miles away from our normal day to day routine! Again we travelled two persons per snowmobile and our destination was a reindeer farm around 20km from Nellim. Everyone had a chance to take a 5-minute ride on a reindeer sledge. This had nothing to do with husky safari, since the one reindeer carrying two persons on a sledge did not run at all. It walked in a relaxing way… I loved it. This ride made some kinds of fairy-tale dreams come true. Reindeer herding has been an inherent part of life in Lapland for many hundreds of years. We learnt a little about the fascinating history of herding and its importance to the local culture. After having some tasty fish soup with bread, coffee and tea as lunch, we headed back to the lodge on snowmobiles. It was a long day out, and we really loved travelling a long way on the snowmobile.

Visit to Inari Sami Siida + Aurora by Car

It took more than one hour by coach to go from the lodge to the small village of Inari to visit the Sami Siida Museum which is the center for Sami culture. The museum has several permanent exhibits detailing the history of the Sami people and the region’s wildlife. Since we are not big fans of museums especially this kind of little ones, touring around the museum for one hour and a half was more than enough for us. We also had lunch there in the museum before heading to fish on the frozen river nearby. Of course we knew we would not catch any fish, but it was so much fun drilling holes in the snow/ice through which some in the group hoped to catch a fish for dinner. We were out for most of the day thanks to the almost 3 hours spent in the coach.

After dinner back in the lodge there was another dedicated search for the Aurora as we headed out in a minibus to try and track down a display. The mobility provided by the minibus did allow the guide to utilise the weather and Aurora forecasts to determine the best route to take to avoid any potential cloud cover, it was, however, too cloudy like every other nights throughout our stay and so we failed to see any Lights. We stopped somewhere and this time settled in a cabin instead of Tipi. We had some hot berries juice and cookies. Time spent with the group around a fire in Tipi or cabin with hot drinks was one of the most remarkable in this Lapland trip. 

Cross Country Skiing + Aurora Camp

This was the last day of the trip. We were provided with cross country ski’s and after a 15-minute lesson we headed out to explore one of the many cross country ski trails in the area. These trails around Muotka are popular with the locals and we saw people out enjoying the pretty landscape. Even though cross country skiing seemed easier than skiing, it was very tiring and I could hardly make it! The others in the group were fine. Some liked it quite much.

This evening we headed out on a snowmobile pulled sleigh. This was our very last chance of Aurora hunt. The guide drove us to one of the best locations in the area some hundreds meters away from the lodge. It was just too cloudy all the time. No way we could have seen anything in the sky. We spent some time in a Tipi the last time and mourned the failure of Aurora hunt.

White Christmas in France and Switzerland

I mistakenly believed that I should avoid traveling in winter when days were shortest and weather was coldest, until I started to realize how wonderful it could be to have a white Christmas, not to mention my current location’s proximity to all those all-white ski resorts in the beautiful Switzerland, one of my favorite countries. We journeyed from Geneva, where we picked up the car, to Megève and Chamonix in France, and then to Crans-Montana, Leukerbad, Saas Fee, and Zermatt in Switzerland where lots of pretty Swiss chalets stood on complete snow white amid magnificent mountains, and finally back to Geneva via Montreux along Lake Geneva. We also made a detour to visit the French medieval village called Yvoire, because we had some free time before catching the flight back home from Geneva International Airport.

Megève

Megève was not that white when we were there on 22 and 23 December. Apart from sledging and snowshoeing, we spent a full day simply hiking under the clear blue sky and of course there was enough snow only on summits. The village itself was an attraction, especially when Christmas trees and Christmas lights were all there shining. There were cozy restaurants and bars all around the town square. Most importantly, we did not forget to grab some patisserie as we were still in France. Opera cake, for example, may be easily accessible for most, but we had a hard time to find one in London. 

Chamonix Mont Blanc

This was a 1-day stop on the way to Switzerland. Weather was so nice, but unfortunately cable cars to Aiguille du Midi were closed due to wind condition. We took the cable car up to Le Brévent instead. That was awesome! Even though we missed Aiguille du Midi, the panorama up there of layers of mountains from afar together with Mont Blanc on a sunny day was still my most favorite of this trip. There were lots of shops and restaurants in the village but most were closed on the Christmas Eve, and it was not at all as pretty as the one in Megève. Here it was our very last chance to grab some tasty Christmas-styled patisserie again before leaving France.

Crans-Montana

We intentionally spent three full days in Crans-Montana just to maximize the chance of doing hot air ballooning, an activity highly dependent on very nice weather condition. The person in charge of probably the only one hot air ballooning operator in the entire region of Valais claimed that the weather was unfavorable throughout our stay and also the coming days and so the pilot had cancelled all flights ahead. However, the weather on 27 Dec was perfect and without wind. If that kind of weather is unfavorable for hot air ballooning, then I am sure her hot air balloon can never fly. Obviously she lied to us, not to mention she rudely ignored all my English inquiries until my husband wrote to her in French. Not only did she discriminate against non-French speaking tourists, she never replied promptly and have us tried so hard to contact her over and over again. Regardless of disappointment, we did spend lots of nice times in Crans-Montana. As it snowed the first night, there were deep snow everywhere and trees were all white! Town centers were definitely not any attractions. In fact it was quite “dead”.

Leukerbad

We planned to visit both Albinen and Leukerbad, but then we realized there was not really any Albinen town center for tourists to hang around. Albinen seemed purely residential. The view at twilight from afar of densely populated chalets surrounded by white mountains was stunning though. We did spend a night there for a good sleep after a long day in Crans-Montana, before heading to the neighboring Leukerbad the next day for a relaxing bath in one of the most beautiful thermal baths in Switzerland - Walliser Alpentherme & Spa Leukerbad. The bath was awesome! The village itself was a nice one too. 28 Dec was not a public holiday. With the Swiss people’s relatively relaxing lifestyle, however, most shops and restaurants were closed. We had a hard time searching for our dinner. 

Saas Fee and Saas Grund

We experienced a dramatic drop of temperature. Saas Fee was the coldest destination of this trip. It was between -10C in the village and -20C on summits. We wrapped ourselves so well before enjoying the activity of the day - snowshoeing on deep snow. Pine trees, mountains, Swiss chalets in snow white under a clear blue sky… what a wonderful day! The next day we stayed right where our hotel was. We were so lucky to have perfect weather again and had lots of fun simply hiking in this place called Saas Grund where tracks for skiing, walking, and sledging were very well-made. That impressive sledging track went from the summit and then all the way down to the village.

Zermatt

If you do not read German, you will probably get fooled here driving directly into Zermatt where you will be told you need to drive all the way back to the neighboring Täsch as cars are not allowed in Zermatt. Most people enter Zermatt by train while some arrange shuttle service themselves. We took the tram all the way up to the summit. After some sightseeing we had some fun on a relatively short sledging track that ran from Rotenboden to the next train station. We then walked around the pretty snowy village before departing for Montreux, a small stop on the way back to Geneva for car return and international departure on 1st of January.

Montreux and Yvoire

We do not usually go for fancy hotels, but this Best Western Eurotel Riviera in Montreux was quite a nice one for a peaceful and romantic New Year Eve. Our hotel room overlooked east end of Lake Geneva. We could have enjoyed our dinner out on the balcony but it did not seem a good idea when it was 3 degree outside. On the 1st we revisited Château de Chillon and then continued our journey back to Geneva along the Lake. It was still early when we arrived in Geneva, and so we decided to make a detour to Yvoire, a French medieval village. Of course almost everything was closed, but this popular destination was not at all short of tourists.

Beyond Central London: Strawberry Hill Gothic Castle

After a first visit during which all popular tourists attractions in zone 1 were covered, here’s this frequently asked question: Where would you recommend for a day-trip in London, except for all those well-known hot spots? Well, there’re a lot more to see in this one of the largest cities in Europe.

Strawberry Hill House, Southwest London (zone 5)

Catch a South West Train which runs in both directions on a circular route from London Waterloo station. The house is just 5-min walk from Strawberry Hill station. Full ticket price per adult is £8.40. Not only is this recently renovated property a lovely fairy-tale castle, but its gothic-styled interior is also impressive. There are some of the most beautiful fireplaces I’ve ever seen. The garden at the back of the castle, which is just a spacious green, may not be so appealing, but from which there is the nicest view of this finest example of a gothic castle.

Kent England

The 27th of May, Monday, was one of the very few bank holidays that come immediately before or after a weekend in 2013. A 3-day trip from 25 to 27 May to Kent was just perfect. We went on this circular route from London to Down House, and then Bayham Abbey on the way to Dover where White Cliffs of Dover and Dover Castle were must-see, from Dover to Canterbury via Walmer Castle and Deal Castle, and finally got back to London via Rochester Castle and Upnor Castle.

From the car rental location at Westfield Shopping Center in Shepherd’s Bush we departed on Saturday morning for Down House, Home of Charles Darwin located only 35 km southeast. It was already midday when we arrived, however, as it was such a pain to drive through the congested traffic in London. Luckily, weather was very nice though. Home of Charles Darwin, one of the major visitor attractions in the South East, is a unique museum of history of science that tells how Darwin developed his ideas. Equally interesting were glimpses we got into the life of the Darwins in the family rooms. We also strolled through the extensive gardens that so inspired this great scientist. For those with an interest in science and evolution, this is a place for a great day out in Kent. Next, we continued to head southeast to Bayham Old Abbey, impressive ruins that include much of the 13th to 15th-century church, the chapter house, and a picturesque 14th-century gatehouse. This abbey was quite an extensive attraction definitely worth a visit, especially as we did not get annoyed by a crowd of tourists in that remote area. We were approaching Dover at around 18:00. There was no time to lose, we managed to park the car somewhere in Saint Margarets Bay and went on that scenic coastal trail. We were so happy we could take enough nice pictures of the beautiful White Cliffs of Dover under bright sunshine and also at twilight. By the end of this wonderful day we had a delicious seafood dinner at Cullins Yard at the marina, before settling in our accommodation nearby.

Dover Castle is probably the most popular attraction in Dover. There were just too many tourists. Even though we departed early at half past nine before the castle opened at ten with the aim of beating the queue, we finally ended up at the end of a long queue, after having the car parked in the very crowded parking 10-minute walk away. Known as the “Key to England”, Dover Castle spectacularly situated above the White Cliffs of Dover is a magnificent castle which has guarded shores of England from invasion for 20 centuries. Main things to see included darkly atmospheric Secret Wartime Tunnels and colorful richly-furnished Great Tower. This is a huge castle, so a minimum of 4 hours is required for a thorough visit. Just 15-minute drive northeast there are Walmer Castle and Gardens. Originally designed as part of a chain of coastal artillery defences, Walmer looks more like a big beautiful house nowadays, in contrast to the military Dover, as it evolved into the official residence of the Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports in 1708. We enjoyed a leisurely stroll in the sunshine in the Broadwalk, The Kitchen Garden, The Queen Mother’s Garden, etc. Another 5-minute drive north we arrived in Deal Castle, one of the finest Tudor artillery castles in England among the earliest and most elaborate of a chain of coastal forts, including Walmer. Instead of going straight to Canterbury, we headed north to Broadstairs where we stopped by Joss Bay to admire the views of White Cliffs of Kent. White Cliffs together with its shadows under sunshine looked gorgeous.

On Monday morning we checked out from our hotel in Canterbury but left the car parked there, as we anticipated difficulty parking the car around the city center nearer to tourists attractions. The decision was proven right, firstly because parking in the city, if any, costs quite much, and secondly Canterbury is a compact city best explored on foot. It was a sunny nice day, again. We visited St Augustines Abbey, a great abbey founded shortly after AD597 by St Augustine and originally created as a burial place for the Anglo-Saxon kings of Kent. The impressive abbey is situated outside the city walls and is sometimes missed by visitors. Next, we walked into the city center where attractions included Canterbury Cathedral, Canterbury Castle, and Westgate Gardens. We left this small pretty city at around 13:00 and headed northwest to Rochester, where we visited Rochester Castle, an imposing fortress with a complex history of destruction and rebuilding. The Norman tower-keep of Rochester Castle consisting of three floors above the basement was built about 1127. In 1215, garrisoned by rebel barons, the castle endured an epic siege by King John. Rebuilt under Henry III and Edward I, the castle remained as a viable fortress until the sixteenth century. On the top we had bird eye’s views over the city of which River Medway and White Cliffs looked spectacular on that beautiful day. We also visited Rochester Cathedral, before departing for Upnor Castle, which was not as fascinating as Rochester Castle but conveniently situated nearby. It was a very happy weekend trip with excellent weather.