The subsequent day, after a leisurely breakfast, we packed our suitcases up and stated farewell to Muotka Wilderness Lodge.

Enjoyable because it was, we’d be transferring to a unique lodge for the following couple of days right here (which is one thing we’d organize with Inghams Vacation previous to arriving so no surprises there).

As we had a free morning to kill, we made our method over to the Northern Lights Village which is only a hive of a lot of totally different Lapland enjoyable.

You may keep right here (they’ve rooms with glass roofs so you’ll be able to see the Northern Lights in mattress if they arrive out), sauna, previous-type Sami homes (the Sami persons are those who dwell round right here), reindeers, canine-sledding – the lot!

The morning right here began with a type of aimless amble across the village, the type that’s simply good for a chilly morning like this.

It’s simply so lovable right here and you’ll flip a nook and really feel such as you’re in the midst of nowhere with nobody else round you.

Fortunately as we aimlessly wandered round, we got here throughout the Sami reindeer farmer who was off to are inclined to his reindeers and was solely to happy to indicate off his reindeer.

In the area of 10 – 15 minutes, I really feel like I bought one thing of a crash course in reindeer-ology – what they like, what they eat, how they roam round in the summertime freely and even how one of many greatest predators they’ve are eagles (how an eagle can get at such an enormous animal I haven’t a clue nevertheless it occurs apparently).

Ultimately, we stated farewell to the farmer and made our method over to the restaurant for lunch, the place, nonetheless enthralled by the recollections of yesterday’s salmon stew, determined to have precisely the identical factor for lunch once more. I might simply have had that for lunch each single day once we had been up right here.

By the point lunch was over, the cloud had began to clear away and what was already fairly a stunning space regarded much more superb within the solar-tinted hues.

Now our residence for the evening can be the Star Arctic Lodge and we arrived simply in time for a wonderful sundown.

The solar doesn’t sometimes rise right here however as we’re slowly making our method in the direction of spring, there’s extra of a sundown round now and it. Is. GLORIOUS!

We didn’t even try and verify in till most of that sundown was effectively and actually soaked up. 😀

So, why the change of inns to the Star Arctic Lodge?

Properly, one factor you need to do up within the Finnish Lapland (you don’t must, clearly, however it’s at all times good) is to attempt to see the Northern Lights and if they’re out, there’s no higher method to do that than simply sat comfortably in mattress.

The Star Arctic is a kind of inns that has stated-glass roofs to make sure that you get fairly the present, even if you happen to’re in mattress (so long as you’re not quick asleep, in fact).

After checking in, we headed to the lodge’s restaurant for dinner which turned out to be totally different out of your typical Lapland lodge dinner.

Dinners in Finnish Lapland inns are sometimes buffets (you’ll be able to eat out however loads of locations have meals included which at all times good to take that off issues you need to plan for) however right here, it was a-la-carte and I’m simply gonna go forward and say it – completely scrumptious!

I feel that final bit took me unexpectedly as a result of I wasn’t even desirous about it initially. I used to be simply so ravenous (once more why? I don’t know cos I’d primarily achieved nothing however relaxed all day) that I hadn’t though about a lot else however simply eliminating that rumbling in my tummy.

We each began factor off with the native white fish earlier than diving into the goose for myself and the reindeer for Lloyd.

Dessert got here within the type of the baked apple for me and the chocolate brownie for Lloyd. Each good finishes to the completely scrumptious meal.

Utilizing the Northern Lights forecast app, I’d downloaded earlier, the climate and likelihood that the lights can be out appeared each excessive and with that, we determined to only head up the hill for a submit-dinner stroll (which was coincidentally proper subsequent to the identical place we had lunch the day earlier than) to see in the event that they had been out.

It was, by the best way, however not the strongest. Like you’ll be able to see that it’s out however my earlier expertise with the Northern Lights meant that I knew they may very well be a lot brighter.

We caught round for a bit, simply in case earlier than ultimately determined to name it an evening. If there have been out, there wasn’t a cosier place to see them than the cabin in any case. 😀