Finland is definitely known of Santa Claus. Meeting him is a real dream come true for almost everyone. So given the fact that we are already so close to Santas village it would really be a sin not to visit it. So, we decided to go there and the planning of this trip has begun. At first, we wanted to go by a train because it is a lot cheaper but it would take us so much time that we decided to go by a plane.
So, because of a tight schedule we started our journey at one o clock in the morning. Our flight was at 7.30 am so we arrived at Rovaniemi at around 9 am. Because some technical problems we couldn’t book any activities for this day so we really hoped that something would be available for us. By a taxi we went to the tourist agency but they told us all the activities for that day were already booked. So, with our hopes up high at the arrival that weren’t exactly the words we wanted to hear. But we didn’t give up. We searched the internet for other agencies. Few of them were fully booked and one of them didn’t answer our phone so we decided to visit Santa Claus village on our own. In a few minutes on a bus, we received a call from an agency that they have an adventure that is available so we grabbed the chance by its tail and jumped of the bus to meet with our tour guide. At first, we had some problems by paying the tour because some of our bank cards weren’t the right type to pay on agencies Pos terminal. But we came up by a solution to pay by cash for the one who couldn’t pay by a card.
So, our tour started with a short drive around a city. Our guide told us all the details about the city and answered all of our questions. He really was a smart guy; he knew almost everything we asked him. Our first stop was a husky farm. We got a chance to drive with a dog sleigh. The owner of the farm than invited us on a cup of tea and some cookies and while we were there, he told us some basic information about huskies. They are really smart dogs and extra powerful. We could feel their power while we were driving with the sleigh.
Next stop was the Santa Claus village. It was the most Christmassy thing I have ever seen. It was like a fairytale. We actually got a chance to meet Santa in person. He knew about Ljubljana because he has already visited it and the funniest thing happened when elf told Santa we are from Slovenia he said ´´oo pozdravljeni´´. We didn’t expect that even a little. So, then he told us he has already been to Slovenia and that he likes it a lot. It was a nice experience meeting him.
Then we went on a Reindeer sleigh ride. It was also really nice but a lot slower than a ride with huskies.
As we finished our visit, we took a little time for our lunch and to buy some souvenirs. Then our guide took us to the airport and there we waited a couple of hours for our flight. Then the problems began. Our flight was delayed so we missed our direct one-hour train from Helsinki to our hotel. So, we bought tickets for another train. We were supposed to do two transfers. On first stop the railway station was opened so we could wait on next transfer in a warm and comfortable place. Then at the next stop we exited the train and there was no sign of any opened places because it was 3 in the morning. It was freezing, we were all frozen to the bone and we were supposed to be there for another hour and a help so we decided to call a taxi but because of the hour it was impossible and nobody didn’t answer our call. As the last idea we searched for a gas station so we could wait there and we wouldn’t freeze to death. As we were looking for the gas station, we saw a taxi and just ran to it. Thankfully it wasn’t already booked so nevertheless it was expensive he took us home to our hotel. So, we should arrive to our hotel about one in the morning but during all the problems and delays we arrived somewhere around five in the morning.
Nevertheless, Rovaniemi was a truly beautiful experience, it really was an exhausting and tough day.
