Europe Travel · February 19, 2018

Off To Finland

It seems over the last few months, my eyes have been truly opened to the beauty of heading to colder climbs for a beautiful break. With Iceland being my first experience of anywhere with a landscape quite like it- call me naive, but I’d never quite realised how stunning these pockets of the world really were.

In an age where we’re so used to seeing blue seas, white sands and bright turquoise skies all over social media- seeing the flip side of that and experiencing the other side of nature was a total treat, and naturally, heading to Finland at the end of January was absolutely something else and certainly made the chills of Iceland’s temperatures feel like a rather balmy dress rehearsal too.

With the Origins planned trip having been on the cards for a while, I felt suitably prepped are raring to go by the time our flight rolled around a couple of weeks ago. Our cases were loaded to the brim with base layers, duvet-style-puffa-jackets and enough pairs of socks to see us through far longer than our three day stay. Having only caught a glimpse of what our hotel was like from the internet, I barely had a clue of what the next few days were to have in store, and trust me when I say there’s definitely something to be said for seeing things in real life other than solely through a screen too- because my breath was truly taken away…





After a day of travelling from London to Helskini and then onto Ivalo, by the time we arrived it was safe to say we were ready for a hot chocolate to carry us through. Fortunately there were loaded flasks at hand, and after a coach journey not totally fuelled on sing songs (mainly just from yours truly to Joe) we arrived at Kakslauttanen Arctic Resort. Although it had been dark for hours, the magic of this place still shone through as if it were the middle of the day. With the snow crunching underfoot and the cold completely all encompassing, we made a beeline for our cabin-cum-igloo as soon as dinner was done and couldn’t have felt further away from the hubbub of life, as we settled into the covers under the stars.

But that wasn’t the end of our evening. As I started to scroll through possible alarm options for the next morning, we both looked up to see a flurry of slow moving faded yellow light dance across the sky above us. After waiting for a few moments and still in pyjamas, we didn’t waste a second more in pulling on our boots, jackets and hats and racing outside to catch our first glimpse of the Northern Lights. With the cabins around us silent in the evening, it felt like it was just us watching them at first- with people gradually stepping outside to catch the magical aurora- I’m certain we couldn’t have asked for a better first evening.








The next morning was spent diving straight into action, with an agenda of snowmobiling covering the majority of the morning. At -30, it was comfortably the coldest I’ve ever felt- but fortunately the views of endless white forests, with trees completely buried in snow (a little like what I’d imagine the Candy Cane forest to resemble), were enough to (almost) completely distract me from frozen fingers and toes. After catching a glimpse of a wider scope of the area, we headed back to the teepee for lunch- and tucked into hot soup, traditional rye sandwiches and steaming tea to help us defrost. With the remainder of the afternoon spent chatting to Dr. Weil about the incredible collaboration with Origins (more on this coming very soon), we started to wind down for day before a very special dinner and another magical evening ahead…

Stay tuned for the second half of our trip this week!

x




20 Comments

  • Reply
    Sneha
    February 19, 2018 at 7:36 pm

    These pictures are lovely, Finland looks breathtaking! And I couldn’t agree more – I love beaches and white sands as much as anyone else, but winter with its snow and ice is just a different kind of beautiful. x

    Sneha | lifewithsneha.com

  • Reply
    Ellenor | Champagne Lifestyle
    February 19, 2018 at 8:27 pm

    This place looks amazing! I need to go on a trip here!

    http://www.champagne-lifestyle.com

  • Reply
    Daeyz
    February 19, 2018 at 8:52 pm

    So many stunning images! Would love to visit one day!

    xx, Daeyz
    http://www.daeyz.com

  • Reply
    Siiri
    February 19, 2018 at 9:18 pm

    I’m so glad you enjoyed my home country <3 the days are really short this time of the year especially up north, but on the other hand, in the summer the sun doesn’t set at all for over two months! The days are also a tad warmer, haha!

  • Reply
    Briana
    February 19, 2018 at 9:48 pm

    A true winter wonderland! I have always wanted to see the northern lights!

    Briana
    https://beyoutifulbrunette.com/

  • Reply
    Julia
    February 19, 2018 at 10:09 pm

    Finland looks like a dream! It’s amazing that you got to discover more cold weather countries, they seem definitely worth visiting even though they’re generally less popular and well-known than warm destinations. It’s winter after all, and we all want the snow haha 🙂

    Julia x
    Last Post: The Karl Lagerfeld Camera Bag | http://juliaspeaksbeauty.blogspot.co.uk/2018/02/fashion-camera-bag-with-monnier-freres.html

  • Reply
    Lola Cezair
    February 20, 2018 at 3:27 am

    Wow it looks absolutely beautiful there! I hope you have a great time xx

    Lola | https://thelushspot.com

  • Reply
    Abi Street
    February 20, 2018 at 11:02 am

    This looks absolutely incredible – 100% on my bucket list. Your photos are absolutely gorgeous

    Abi | abistreetx

  • Reply
    Rosie
    February 20, 2018 at 12:00 pm

    How magical! I’ve never been to a cold destination before but your photos are very tempting x

  • Reply
    Neeltje | Thoughts in Style
    February 20, 2018 at 12:29 pm

    Wow this looks absolutely amazing! X
    http://www.thoughtsinstyle.com/

  • Reply
    Ana
    February 20, 2018 at 1:46 pm

    These pictures are amazing! Iceland must be such a cool place to visit xxx
    http://fallingforablog.blogspot.com.es/2018/02/green-black-outfit.html

  • Reply
    Laura
    February 20, 2018 at 2:54 pm

    Your photos are so beautiful! I’m originally from Helsinki, but I’ve never been that far up north – seeing these photos really make me want to explore more of my home country! Can’t wait to read more about your trip! xx

    Laura // Middle of Adventure

  • Reply
    Shloka
    February 20, 2018 at 4:26 pm

    Wow your trip looks stunning! I’ve never been to Finland but now I want to go!

    x
    Shloka
    http://www.thesilksneaker.com

  • Reply
    Sophie
    February 20, 2018 at 5:43 pm

    Ahh this looks so incredible! Went to Helsinki last year and am so desperate to explore more of Finland now. The Northern Lights would be the actual dream xx

    Sophie | Sophar So Good

  • Reply
    Arianne
    February 21, 2018 at 3:23 am

    That place looks so dreamy! I can’t believe it actually exists <3

    https://ariannecruz07.wixsite.com/ayre

  • Reply
    Steph
    February 21, 2018 at 9:51 am

    What incredibly beautiful photos! Steph x
    http://www.stephstyle.com

  • Reply
    Eva
    February 21, 2018 at 10:12 am

    This just looks magical !

  • Reply
    Holl JC
    February 21, 2018 at 1:14 pm

    These pictures are breath taking Liv, it looks like you had an incredible time! x

    holljc.blogspot.co.uk

  • Reply
    Flo la vita
    February 21, 2018 at 4:58 pm

    Loving all these pics! Finland looks so beautiful- it’s definitely v close to the top of my travel list! I’m so jealous! Xx

    http://www.flolavita.co.uk

  • Reply
    Flic
    February 23, 2018 at 10:58 am

    HOW do you manage to make puffer jackets and ski trousers look chic? Gahhhhh. Teach me! x

    http://www.sundaysundayblog.com

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