Over on Candy Chat Chicago, Ronnie Raviv joined hosts Leah Jones and Jocelyn Geboy to talk about medical diagnoses, Finland, the Ice Hotel, the last Bears game of the post-season, all while eating a lot of Finnish candy.
Candy that we sample during the episode. Photos on Threads
- Suffeli Puffi
- Marianne
- Dumle Winter Mix
- Jaffa
- Karl Fazer Blueberry Truffle
- Karl Fazer Salty Toffee Crunch
- Salted Caramel Fudge
- Ollo All Sorts
- Susu Snacks
- Tutti Frutti Winter Mix
- Tyrkisk Peper
- Fazer Glogikulaat
- Lapland's blueberry candy
Vestibular Schwannoma or Acoustic Neuroma information
Mayo Clinic
Dr. Ricky Wong
Ronnie and Leah's guide to Lapland
Time-lapse drive to Sweden:
Housing between Kittila/Levy and Muonio
- Villa Borealis (where we stayed)
- Lapland Dream Villas (3adjacent cabins, different owner, same operator)
Appropriate clothing
- Our property owner had a warehouse that she took us to for boots, coats, gloves, snowpants, etc
- Ice hotel provided coveralls, gloves, boots, balaclava
- Base layer of cotton is a no-no in a cold room at Icehotel so make sure you at least have something synthetic or wool for top and bottom
Places we ate in Finland
- Swiss cafe Muonio
- Takka at Olos resort
- Panoramic restaurant at Levi resort via gondola
- Levi Pizza
- Salteriat (schnitzel)
Finland activities and vendors
- Aurora Chase with Arctic Frontiers http://www.arcticfrontier.fi/
- Phenomenal. Would’ve booked a second night if needed
- Base camp was on a frozen lake with a hut with a fire, warm juice and brownies
- Dogsled http://www.maglelin.fi/
- What a delightful afternoon! Ronnie drove a sled himself and I was a passenger on the guide's sled. Once she saw my cane, she made arrangements for me to sit and take 200 photos.
- Family owned and operated. She offers different distances based on the weather and party size.
- Arcandia Adventure Park
- What a fun, silly night!
- We did ramen with the shamen for dinner. Hot pot cooking with reindeer meat, filet, ramen, fresh veg
- A la cart sausages and snacks looked good
- Hot chocolate with mint liqueur was delicious
- We threw spears, axes, archery, and did an astrology chart
- This is hilly terrain with snow packed paths. We saw people slip and fall, but kept our footing.
- Of course it’s a tourist trap! Take your best ren faire or Comic-Con attitude and have fun
- https://www.arcandia.fi/
- Reindeer safari https://www.getyourguide.com/sirkka-l139331/levi-reindeer-experience-with-sled-ride-t418396/?ranking_uuid=3248de96-0922-420f-af99-54f05c66decf
- Warm drinks in a hut with a fire for fascinating reindeer facts after short sleigh ride and feeding reindeer
Ice hotel in Sweden
https://www.icehotel.com/
What we did
- Ice Dinner
- Slept cold in 365 art suite
- Aurora photography with Scandinavian Sami Photoadventures
- Ice sculpture class
Ice Hotel suggestions
- Look at the calendar for when the winter exhibit opens. We went a week before. Fun vibe with all the artists and builders on campus, but we didn’t get to see the annual build
- Skip the ice dinner and eat a la carts
- Use their gear! It’s really good
- Make it two nights - one warm, one cold - and enjoy a slower visit
Overall thoughts
- We went Nov 30 to December 6
- 2 hours of daylight stretched into 4-5 hours with dawn and dusk
- Went before peak season of total darkness, so more cost effective
- We didn’t do any Christmas or Santa stuff
A few notes on traveling fat and mobility-impaired
- IceHotel had gear in sizes too big for me!
- The icehotel sleeping bag was snug and a little claustrophobic, but it zipped
- The property manager had coats big enough for me (actually a little too big)
- WinterRent coat was my fave, but their 6x pants didn't fit. Their boots were also the best I borrowed for me.
- The Snow Country snow pants I bought on clearance last year were perfect https://www.snowcountryouterwear.com/
- Smart Wool base layers in largest size fit great
- Darn Tough socks were tight on calf, but worked good enough
- Every restaurant has comfortable seating for me
- The wheelchair plane access in Kittila was an elevator on a truck. If you are unsteady on your feet, get wheelchair services in the airports and save your energy for dogsledding.
- Bring your own towel. No towel in Finland wrapped around my body.
