On friday we came back from an amazing Lapland study trip. We had perfect weather all week and we especially took some amazing photos of the sun setting over the snowy hills of Norway (we drove over the border on Wednesday and slept over in Alta). There were 18 students in total who went. Our first stop was Rovaniemi and Santa's Village.
Rovaniemi and the Arctic circleWhen we arrived in Rovaniemi, we had just entered the Arctic circle.
It was snowing quite a bit- perfect weather for visiting Santa Clause. Although, to be honest, most of us thought that it was very commercialized, especially since you have to pay to take a photo with "Santa"...a whopping 23 euros!!!
We then went to Sodankyla Geophysical Observatory where we were given a presentation of what goes on in the observatory and how they measure and keep track of northern lights and other happenings. The first evening we stayed in a really beautiful big cottage (10 of us stayed in the one cottage and 10 in the other cottage). It had a beautiful fire place and was equipped with everything, kitchen, tv, big bathroom, towels and bedding. That evening we made pasta for dinner and enjoyed it while the fire was burning and heating up the cottage. In the evening we all went into sauna (they had seperate sauna's for guys and girls) and Petra, Lind, Magda and I decided to go ice-whole swimming after sauna as we had not done this traditional Finnish activity yet and we decided it HAD TO BE DONE!
The lake (photo above) was only a couple meetings from the Sauna so we all ran down in our towels and took a dip in the lake...we then proceeded with a snow fight (still just wrapped in our towels!)...needless to say after a while we had to return to the sauna (we ended up going into the sauna 3 times) to defrost!! The view as you walk out of the cottage...
All ready and packed to leave on day 2 for Paadar Reindeer Farm...
(From left: Barbara-Swiss, ME, Lind-from Iceland, Benjamin-from Germany and Petra from Slovenia)
Paadar Reindeer FarmThe second day we went to Paadar reindeer farm where a group of us decided to go on reindeer sleigh ride (for a "small" fee), two people on one sled. Petra and I went togather on a sled and Wolfi and Benjamin (German) were in front of us. We were given a quick lesson on how to ride a reindeer sleigh, and before we went the instructor kindly informed Petra and I that our Reindeer was still in training...of course, that did not ease our nerves and as we started the reindeer started galloping away, faster than any of the other reindeers and went off the path onto the raised snow. I though we were going to tip over at one stage but luckily he returned to a slow trot on the path again before that could happen...hehe we couldnt stop laughing afterwards! we were happy to arrive safely (still intact in the sleigh) back to the start.
Day 3: NORWAY!The third day we departed to Karasjok, Norway...we were all excited! The drive through Norway was beautiful...we drove through the Norwegian mountains covered in snow and frozen bright blue waterfalls...amazing!!
That evening we stayed in a cottage in Alta and we were lucky to see some northern lights that evening.
That evening we went to the Finnmark University in Norway where we met up with their exchange students for dinner. They had cooked a feast for us...afterwards we chatted and played games. The last day we went to Fell Lapland Nature Centre for a presentation on Lapland nature and an exhibition. Afterwards we did a hike up a hill next to the centre.
Petra, Magda, Lind and I on top of the hill...it was a beautiful sunny warm day!
The amazing view from the top of the hill...the perfect way to end our trip before our long return journey back to Oulu!
(In the pic: Petra, Barbora, Marko, Paul, Jakub and Daniel)
Then this afternoon a few friends came over for some biscuits, tea and chatting...
After biscuits it was over to Paul and Marko's place to plan the Halti trip and after that a half-hour session in the sauna. Phew! Another busy day coming to an end...
The days are getting longer and warmer quickly now and we sometimes walk down to the lake to watch the sunset over the lake. Here we saw an amazing sunset of rich orange, red and pink colours!
It was snowing quite a bit- perfect weather for visiting Santa Clause. Although, to be honest, most of us thought that it was very commercialized, especially since you have to pay to take a photo with "Santa"...a whopping 23 euros!!!
The lake (photo above) was only a couple meetings from the Sauna so we all ran down in our towels and took a dip in the lake...we then proceeded with a snow fight (still just wrapped in our towels!)...needless to say after a while we had to return to the sauna (we ended up going into the sauna 3 times) to defrost!! The view as you walk out of the cottage... 
All ready and packed to leave on day 2 for Paadar Reindeer Farm...
(From left: Barbara-Swiss, ME, Lind-from Iceland, Benjamin-from Germany and Petra from Slovenia)
That evening we stayed in a cottage in Alta and we were lucky to see some northern lights that evening. 
That evening we went to the Finnmark University in Norway where we met up with their exchange students for dinner. They had cooked a feast for us...afterwards we chatted and played games. The last day we went to Fell Lapland Nature Centre for a presentation on Lapland nature and an exhibition. Afterwards we did a hike up a hill next to the centre.
The amazing view from the top of the hill...the perfect way to end our trip before our long return journey back to Oulu!
On the first Sunday back, Petra made a typical Slovenian meal called Burek for Sunday lunch...YUM! I think she sensed I was missing the Slovenian food already;) 
One of the first mornings back we woke up to Oulu covered in snow after it had snowed the whole morning. However that snow quickly disappeared as the days became sunnier and warmer as the week went by.
