If you had told me three years ago that I would be going to the North Pole of my own free will in the dead of winter, it would have only been true if a zombie apocalypse had occurred, and Finland was the last bastion of the human race. And yet here I am.
Everyone knows I am not a fan of the cold. I would go so far as to say I am an anti-fan. So this vacation to one of the coldest corners of the planet is a stretch for me. But Finland is a land of adventure, and I am up for it…I think. Santa Claus, I hope you are ready for us because the Murphys are coming to town!
Embarking for Finland at “o’dark thirty” per our commander in chief.
Ugh! Unfortunately the coffee is universally bad in London. I had to temporarily convert during my time here.
To Baileys…nothing like a drink at 5:00 am from Duty Free to start the trip off right.
If you are not lucky enough to have flying reindeer at your disposal, this is the only other option to the North Pole.
Packed with kids, the staff go all out to entertain them. The captain graciously invites each child to the cockpit for a personal visit.
The fun loving staff even had the kids sing Christmas karaoke over the loudspeaker. Olivia had a grand time entertaining the plane.
And this is our first view of the Arctic Circle as we descend into Finland. Pretty huh?
Baby it’s cold outside…to the tune of -7 degrees Celsius.
Elves welcome us as we disembark into Ivalo airport.
The little apartment Brian rented for us is not the Ritz, but is quite charming in its own right. I have no idea why they gave us a menorah but it’s very festive.
And can you believe how dark it is at only 2:00 pm in the afternoon? An hour later it is pitch black outside.
But that does not stop us from having a rousing snowball fight in the dark…
Complete with full body tackles and…
Even some reindeer games! Brian making a new friend the first night out.