The Northern Lights And Lapland

When you work in Global Travel, the globe doesn’t always play as nice as you’d wish. Right now there is turmoil in the Gulf and this is affecting flight that route through that area. Great Rail Journeys have been working hard to repatriate clients on flights affected but there’s always a knock-on. In this case, one of the Tour Managers has been stuck overseas and I’ve been asked to cover his upcoming tour – The Northern Lights & Lapland

Only a few weeks (and days) ago I was basking in the tropical heat of India and Sri Lanka, so snow and ice are going to be a bit of a shock to the system. The good news is that the weather isn’t as severe as it can be in peak Winter. Once we’re North of the Artic Circle we’re looking at temperatures of +2℃ daytime to -6℃ at night. I’ve got my thermals and snow grippers for my boots plus hats and gloves various – possibly not my best look. I checked in the mirror and… somewhere between Scott of the Antarctic and a homeless person. I’ll also be taking my thermos and a good supply of Masala Chai tea to keep me glowing like the Ready-Brek kid.

I’ve led this tour before and last time it was great fun. The scenery, particularly the remote and near deserted Lofoten Islands and the snowy desert at Kiruna, is spectacular. We have dog sleds, reindeer, an ice-hotel and two Artic trains. I need to ask a favour of you all. I need you to ask your preferred divinity, whoever She/He may be for the Northern Lights to be visible for my group at some point in the next 10 days or so. It’s in the title of the Tour, and I need there to be a break in the clouds at the same time as they are doing their dancing green thing up top… and I need that not to happen at 2:00am when we’re all tucked up in bed. I’ll take thought, prayers or whatever you’ve got please. My elderly Mother, who has rediscovered religion at a late stage when she felt Gods’ hand on her shoulder, will be lighting a candle for me.

The good news is that I will have an opportunity to revisit my ongoing love affair with Brünost, the Norwegian brown cheese that when layered on hot buttered toast is the Norwegian breakfast culinary equivalent of Kiri Te Kanawa’s voice in an Aria. There’s also Mills Kaviar, which is salted fish roe, in a tube that is like catnip for Norwegians (they grew up with this as a national comfort food).

And finally, there’s the reindeer thing. When I worked as a flight attendant, at Christmas we used to do “Santa” flights up to Lapland. Aircraft full of kids would fly up to Lapland (24 hour darkness at that time of year) and they would meet reindeer (Rudolph, of course), huskies, elves etc. and then at the end of the day they travelled in a sled to visit Santa/Father Christmas in his Artic grotto. The whole enterprise was rather well done and very tasteful. Everybody had a great time and on the flight back to the UK the exhausted kids would fall asleep while their parents and grandparents (who had paid for the whole thing) would reach for restorative Gins and Tonics on a legendary scale. The fly in the ointment was lunch – Burgers for the kids of course. The problem was that there are no cattle that far North. Only reindeer. They were eating Rudolph in a bun. We never had the heart to tell them. Can you imagine if we had done so?

Ever since then I’ve been haunted by reindeer. It may never wear off. We leave on Saturday morning and I’ll keep you updated on how it’s all going.