From one extreme to another
“Without imagination, things were only as they appeared – and the more they appeared they became so much more. Beauty exists merely in the mind which contemplates them; and each mind perceives a different beauty.”
It is amazing how quickly you can change your mind about things!

I know, being female I have that right… (as always) but my whole perspective changed about what I was seeing. Two days ago, I was complaining about the boring aspects of Finland and how cold I was and wanted to go home. I was not sure I really wanted to finish the holiday …Today was the complete opposite. I wanted to stay!
Yes, we went to a tourist location (and followed the tourist bus!)
Yes, we trailed other people around taking photographs.
Yes, we were still cold.
Oh but – what a difference.

Arriving after four hours travel along boring roads, thinking about what ‘wondrous’ tourist destination will I see today, perhaps another old town, probably more slippery paths to gingerly tread and try not to slide…contemplating what Finnish ‘beauty ‘ am I going to see today?
And to my complete astonishment, a snow castle rises before us.

High slightly yellow exterior walls surround this gigantic Snow Castle containing an amazing artwork of ice and snow.
Reindeer clatter in a pen close to where our car is parked.
You could mistakenly think that Santa has dropped in for a while.
The world around me is white and there is blue sky above me.
I think I am in a different world!
In fact, I am sure I am.

We venture out of the warmth of our car and walked into this new world.
A world filled with rooms of pure white snow filled with beautiful ice sculptures carved in ice rooms intricately carved in bas-relief out of snow and ice in each room. Simply put, it was amazing, fascinating, astounding and unbelievable! Was I still in the same country?

Feeling more exhilarated and excited than I have these past two days, we were welcomed to the castle by Joona, a young Finnish male who made my day by giving me heat packs for my pockets. (Mind you, I used them for the iPhone to keep it warm and it worked brilliantly!)
We wandered around the castle for hours – viewing the Snow Restaurant that seats over 200 people. We actually bought hot chocolates, sat on stumps of wood with fur ‘cushions’, placed our cups on solid clear-ice tables and were not surprised our hot chocolates were not ‘hot’ for very long and enjoyed the ambience just because we had to have something in this amazing restaurant.

We stopped within the Snow Chapel with its mystical sculptures of angels and carvings – the candles completed the atmosphere. Apparently, it is used as a memorable venue for wedding ceremonies, however I think the traditional wedding dress would not work here in this venue…. far too cold. The photos of the bride would turn out blue…because she would be frozen!
We ventured into the Snow Hotel section that apparently, you could hire for 300-500 AUD each night with unique beautifully decorated snow rooms.

Marc nicely suggested we stay for the night.

Really?
I am sure you can imagine the look I gave him with my vehement, “NO”.
Even lying on the mattresses on the ice beds that were covered in reindeer skin to pose for a traditional photograph, you could feel the cold soaking through you very quickly – and that with still being FULLY dressed!
Who in their right mind would want to actually disrobe and sleep in these rooms – even with pre-heated polar sleeping bag? And what happens when you have to have a pee during the night? Not allowed to leave yellow stains on the floor in here. A mad rush in slippered feet out of your room, down the freezing hallway and out – yes, I said “Out” – of the door into the arctic night to the outside amenities … whose idea of luxury sleeping is this?
(Apparently, there must be some very insane people out there because it is a popular attraction and something you must do., – not this little black duck. I prefer my warm bed, socks, plumbing and heating thank you!)

Of course, enhancing the display are great light-effects which added charm and beauty to what we saw! I even warmed my hands on an ice fireplace with red lighting…just because it looked so cosy!
Amazing what the mind does!
It is simply a beautiful construction of a castle made of snow.

It was an idea that was brought to life for the first time in 1996. The ice for the furnishings and decorations is pulled from the Gulf of Bothnia, the northernmost area of the Baltic Sea. The whole castle is made entirely of snow and ice from sea water.
We are in Kemi, a northern Finnish town at the top of the Gulf of Bothnia.

Each year, for obvious reasons, the Snow Castle is completely rebuilt with a different theme during the winter. The display only lasting from January to April. The construction starts in December and takes about five weeks to build with over 50 people building the snow castle. We were fortunate to see one of the ice carvers decked out in his thermal gear, armed with chain saws and ice picks (large ones) carving and building his room sculptures and pictures of the castle.

And, it changed my attitude about sight-seeing in Finland. It is more than just old-towns and LONG stretches of boring highways going through endless timber plantations. Still cold but amazing how that cold can be made into something so beautiful

Yes- each mind perceives a different “beauty.”
I saw glorious beauty today!

I think I shall stay!