Day One Of Our Finnish Fairytale
I’m writing this whilst still in the happy bubble that was formed the minute we stepped off the plane in Helsinki and were greeted by the Reima Kidventure team. What a whirlwind of a trip we had!
We were lucky enough to be selected as the family from the UK to join other families, bloggers and journalists from around the world to enjoy a fun filled week in Finnish Lapland. The plane from Helsinki to Kuusamo was a chartered flight just for us so we literally felt special from that moment onwards! Our accommodation was fabulous and had everything we needed and more. It had a sauna for goodness sake, how amazing!
There was also three bags full of goodies from the very generous guys at Reima. The kids were kitted out with snow boots, snow suits, warm mid layers, water bottles and beanies. My biggest concern when planning for the trip was not being warm enough and especially the kids not being warm enough. We’ve been on enough cold, wet miserable dog walks for me to know that once Emma gets cold, it’s game over! I shouldn’t have worried. The Reima range really has been designed with warmth and comfort in mind. The kids never complained once about being cold. Result.
Iisakki Village
No rest for the wicked. Our action packed holiday was off to a flying start with a day spent in Iisakki Village. We started with ice fishing which was one of the activities that the kids had been looking forward to the most. After a trek across a frozen lake which was so unbelievably picturesque, we set up camp for a spot of fishing. Our guide, Constantine who was from Ruka Safaris, gave the demonstration of how to get started and after some drilling, ice sieving and bait loading, we were set.
Crouched round our ice holes waiting for a nibble on the hook. I really wanted Adam to catch something because he developed a love of fishing last year during our holiday on the Northumberland Coast and despite never catching anything, still gets excited about going. But, it wasn’t to be. A couple of people in our group did catch a fish which was great to see but no luck for us! Great activity though and definitely something we’d recommend.
After warming ourselves up with some hot juice and biscuits we moved onto the next activity which was snow sculpting. If you’re uptight about health and safety then this one might not be for you. Seeing my 5 year old brandishing a huge saw was not for the feint hearted, ha! The group decided to create a Goey, the Reima mascot and set about transforming the snow cylinder.
It was a great team effort and I’m sure you can see from the video below, that it was all hands on deck for this one.
Kick sledging was up next which was on a nice gentle hill. It took a little bit of getting used to as it wasn’t as simple as sitting in a sledge and seeing where the speed of the hill takes you. It was almost like being on a scooter but in the snow. I think it’s safe to say everyone in our group enjoyed this activity. We were very conveniently positioned at this point to be first in line for lunch. We walked further up the hill from where we’d been kick sledging and were greeted by an old vehicle where two people were serving up chicken and vegetable soup and cheese sandwiches (much to Adam’s delight).
Image captured by Harri Tarvainen.
We then walked down some steps to a snow covered teepee.
Inside was a roaring fire surrounded by tree stump stools and reindeer skin rugs. To say it felt rustic is an understatement. The atmosphere it created to enjoy our lunch was just unreal. The food was delicious and there was even hot drinks and cakes for afterwards. Delightful.
After lunch we moved onto Snowmobiling which was so much fun. I was on GoPro duty so decided to be passenger while Paul drove. The kids sat in a sleigh pulled by another snow mobile and we set off in convoy with the rest of the group.
Image captured by Harri Tarvainen.
The scenery and overall experience of our ride out that day was incredible and if you ever have the opportunity to try it, you really must! The nice part was that when we got back the kids all got to have a try of a smaller snow mobile so they didn’t miss out on the snow driving experience. It really did feel like everything had been thought of to make it a special experience for the whole family.
Image captured by Harri Tarvainen.
A quick play on the snow wheel, which the kids loved, and it was time to get back on the bus after a fun filled day in Issakki Village.
The kids were desperate to give the sauna a whirl despite only sitting in there for all of around three minutes! I loved it though and can see why they’re so popular in Finnish households. After a beautiful evening meal at Piste Restaurant, our day was complete. What an amazing start to our holiday.
Come back soon to see what else we got up to on our trip.
