Rovaniemi Things to Do

Other than the reindeer, there were several types of traditional Lapp housing to be seen and visited at the farm. Take the "kota" tepees for example, doesn't it look strangely like an North American Indian Tepee? It's also made of hide and when we ventured in, it was strangely snug and dark.

Read on to find out what other dingbat adventures I got into on the Riverboat Cruise to a Reindeer Farm in Finland.

Our guide also added that at the farm only selected reindeer are kept so that they could be trained for sledge pulling and for reindeer racing. We were amused and tried our hand at feeding these magnificent creatures. It was a great experience though one of the reindeer got a little excited during feeding time and jumped on poor Liz! Both deer and gal fell to the ground. Lol. LIz was more amused than anything else, no serious injuries since the creature was so furry;p

Read on to find out what other dingbat adventures I got into on the Riverboat Cruise to a Reindeer Farm in Finland.

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Once we were at the reindeer farm, our mouths fell open the sight of the beautiful creatures. Somehow, years of watching animated versions of Rudolph, the red-nosed reindeer did not prepare us for this grand sight. Liz and I were awed by the majesty of the crown of velvety-brown antlers on the male adults and we admired it for quite a while. Somewhere in the background, our guide patiently explained to us, the daft sods from Singapore, how these semi-wild animals roamed free in the woods during summer and are rounded up in winter when food is scarce. Each reindeer is tagged with the owner's details so collection is not confusing.

Read on to find out what other dingbat adventures I got into on the Riverboat Cruise to a Reindeer Farm in Finland.

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After reaching the riverbank, we had to cut thru' a Finnish brushland before arriving at a reindeer farm. Not too surprisingly, there were no mosquitoes at 0c! We walked along a little wooden walkway and admired the greenery around us. Though this lousy pix doesn't do the scenary justice, Rovaniemi is truly beautiful in Autumn. The trees were in dappled shades of green, gold and brown. The Finnish also have a name to describe the beautiful colours of autumn, they call it "Ruska" *

*Liz and I found out about Ruska when we talked to a blond Finnish gal who shared our train bunk with us. She told us that Finnish folk would return to their hometown during this season just so to look at the magical colours of autumn.

Read on to find out what other dingbat adventures I got into on the Riverboat Cruise to a Reindeer Farm in Finland.

Other than the bloody cold weather, the river cruise in Rovaniemi was fine really. From the river Kemijoki we turned into Pudas, a delta area where the passage is sometimes only a few meters wide and the willow trees on the riverbank form a green tunnel. How beautiful it was!

Read on to find out what other dingbat adventures I got into on the Riverboat Cruise to a Reindeer Farm in Finland.

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Now, way before Liz and I started our Arctic adventures, Liz contacted Arctic Safaris (Finland) from Singapore and told them we were interested in a soft adventure tour to a reindeer farm. The Finnish staff replied almost immediately and told us that they would send someone over to pick us from the hotel. And they honoured their promise...

On the day of our arrival in Rovaneimi, a cute Finnish guide picked us up in the afternoon in a rugged 4WD and proceeded to the office where we paid for the programme by VISA and got kitted out in orangey life vests. From there, we proceeded to Koskikatu Pier (somewhere in the center of Rovaniemi) and went on a cruise on the Kemijoki River in a long, narrow boat. The cruise was fast, exciting but bloody cold considering that it was 0c in fall! We sped past the brown river straight to the reindeer farm.

Read on to find out what other dingbat adventures I got into on the Riverboat Cruise to a Reindeer Farm in Finland.

Other than visiting the Santa Claus' himself in Rovaniemi, try to pop into the original Santa Claus Post Office. Why, surely you'd want to post mom and pop a letter from the Arctic Circle right? Don't forget to buy a Santa stamp while you're at it;p

Have you always wondered where all those letters addressed to Santa Claus go to ? They arrive here, in the far north, way above the arctic circle, in the official Santa Claus Post Office.Yes, this is the very place that receives letters from children all over the world.
Most of the letters I've seen were marked "Santa Claus, North Pole, the Arctic Circle" or simply, " Santa, North Pole". They come from all over the world, and surprisingly, nice Mr Santa answers all those letters and files them neatly in a wooden cupboard! So when I ventured a peek into the cupboard, I found out that the biggest stack of letters came from.....SINGAPORE!. Ugh, God only knows what our Singaporean kids ask for!

Santa Claus' Main Post Office is open every day: June, July, August and December 9 a.m. to 7 p.m., other months 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

The present day church was completed in 1950. It was from the design of the archirect Bertil Liljequist. The main feature within the church is the huge fresco behind the altar - it was created by Professor Lennart Segerstrale in 1951. The "Sources of Life" fresco is wonderful and well worth visiting the church to see it!

The churchhas seats for 850 worshippers and has a45 key organ.