Day 04, Jan 31, 2025, Kemi to Rovaniemi, Finland

We wake up on the train at 5 AM. Neither of us chooses to brave the shower cubicle that is barely large enough to stand a body in. The train stops at 5:58 AM precisely and we have only 3 minutes to leave the train. So we are in the narrow passageway in advance and we leave the train at 6 am. We board a bus, that will now be our bus for the next 10 or so days. The driver, who will stay with us for that time, Viktor, is a very pleasant man. As it turns out, he is a very competent driver!

We go to breakfast at the Snow Castle. The Snow Castle is fun. After breakfast, we go into the Ice Room, where many ice sculptures are on display. I climb an ice staircase to find an ice slide on the other side! So my inner child comes out to play! I manage to sit down on the ice and let go! Someone in our group has spotted me and films the ride!

We then board the bus and drive on. Two hours later, we arrive at a port on a river where we board an Ice Breaker before 9 am. The Ice Breaker leaves at sunrise at 9:15. Days in this part of the world are less than 6 hours. Sunset will be shortly before 3 PM. The interesting thing is that days get longer this time of year by about 15 minutes each day! But we are also heading further north and the days will also get shorter as we do!

The Ice Breaker leaves the dock and makes its way into a channel. The ice has already been broken and the ship plows through ice flows on its way up the river. The bridge of the ship looks like a log cabin! After a while, the ship turns against the ice and makes its own path through the ice. It is interesting to see and feel the ship crush the ice! Our fingers and noses feeling the chill, we go inside. We find our way to the galley of the ship and steaming cups of hot chocolate and tea warm us back up. There are 180 passengers on the ship, of which we are only 25 with our Guide.

The ship comes to a stop and backs up and forward a few times. We will find out why soon. The crew lays a gangplank out onto the ice and most of the passengers debark. It is fun to walk out onto the frozen river and take photos of the ship from the ice. Our Guide even takes a photo of me as I pull on a lead line, towing the ship!

I meet a crew member, Jussi, with a Pro Nikon camera with all the lenses. I check out his rig and compliment him on his gear. Walking towards the back of the ship, I get too close to swim area and get yelled at. So I make my way back to the people in the front of the ship. This is why the ship backed up several times, to create a swim area behind the ship.

Our group is called to swim and we head for the changing room. Strip down to single layer, we are told. Brrr. We are assisted in putting on the float suit. I feel like the kid in A Christmas Story in his winter clothes. Now it’s time to go in. Climb down the ladder backwards. Enter the water. Wow, it’s not bad. Sit back they say. Hmmm, this is fun! Float away from the ship. A very different feeling! I make it to the ice floes, bumping into other floaters on the way. I see cameras on the ship. Pose for the camera! Pick up a piece of ice. Heavy! I am told later that I was yelled at again for picking up the piece of ice! I’m such a bad boy!

It’s time to get back on the ship. Climb up the steps. Back inside and assisted with removing the suit. Brrr! Get dressed into clothes again. We are the next to last group to float. After donning our clothes again, we have a little time for another hot chocolate before the ship returns to port. Then it’s back on the bus.

Viktor drives the bus across the Border into Sweden and we stop at IKEA for lunch! There are some small flowers in full bloom covered in snow! The menu and all the signs are in Swedish so we have to order by sight! Then the drive to Rovaniemi is beautiful with all the snowy trees. We check into our Scandic Rovaniemi Hotel and haul our luggage to our room. We find dinner and turn in for the night.