Finland > Visiting Santa Claus

A rest day today. We are staying in Rovaniemi, which means we can take it easy in the morning. After sleeping in, we walk into the town of Rovaniemi. At a terrace café, we order a sandwich and a cappuccino. The central square is quiet. A few men sit on a bench, and a lone tourist walks by.

Finland - A husky climbs the fence to say hello

At the end of the morning, we drive to the Husky Park. Today, too, it is sunny and unusually warm for this region. It is too warm for the huskies to pull a wheeled sled, but we can still visit the park. We walk past the kennels. Most of the dogs are sprawled out resting. Some still make an effort to be petted. At twelve o’clock, there is a guided tour. Alex, the caretaker, explains that 84 huskies live in this park, all trained to pull sleds for tourists in winter. Each sled is pulled by a team of twelve dogs. Every team has a lead dog at the front that follows commands, a few strong “wheel dogs” at the back, and the remaining team dogs in the middle. Usually, the dogs are paired, so one dog trains the other.

Finland - Visiting Santa Claus

On the other side lies Santa Claus Village, located precisely on the Arctic Circle. The Arctic Circle is just above 66° north latitude and marks the boundary where, on the longest day in June, the sun shines 24 hours a day. This is also the home of Santa Claus. In winter, there is likely a long line to meet him, but we can walk straight in. At the door, one of his elves greets us: “Come in!” Santa welcomes us in Dutch with “Goedemiddag” and “Hoe gaat het?” One of the elves takes photos and a video. Santa asks about our trip to the North Cape and whether we have visited Finland before. Outside, we can purchase the photos. Although the price is absurd (€40), we decide to buy them anyway—it’s a nice souvenir. The Arctic Circle also hosts Santa’s post office. All letters to him end up here, and letters have been received from 199 countries. Of course, a stamp in the passport is a must. We conclude the visit to Santa Claus Village with a reindeer meat sandwich. All in all, a very touristy but enjoyable experience.