#147 Rovaniemi, Finnish Lapland

When I was a teenager I visited Finnish Lapland, more specifically the capital Rovaniemi. This would have been around....2007? So while I've finally decided to share my experience, I realize the information below may be a little outdated, but it should still be a good place to start. We visited at Halloween, which may sound a little bizarre, but the only reason we went is because my sister spent a semester at the University there (which admittedly is also a little bizarre, but anyway!).

I'll firstly mention a few highlights: we were there about 5 days and did not see the Northern Lights, we did not do a sleigh/husky ride into the wilderness, we did not sleep in an igloo or an ice hotel, we did not get naked in a sauna and run outside into the snow. We did visit Santa at his workshop, we did cross the Arctic circle, we did visit the Arktikum museum and we did see the restaurant owned by Eurovision winners Lordi (however it was seasonally closed, and now I presume forever closed?).

To get to the point, would I recommend it? No! Although my parents arranged and paid for it (I believe it was outrageously expensive), I really don't think it offers value for money, especially for families.

Ok, so now for a little more detail!

The Northern Lights

We've all seen those mad photographs where the sky is an amazing big greeny haze. The reality of you seeing the Northern Lights is quite low, and the chance they will be even half as distinctive as in the photos even lower. This is based on the experience of my sister who spent 5 months living in Rovaniemi, my own personal experience visiting for a few days, and also the experience of a few friends of mine who spent a fortune travelling to Swedish Lapland and came home bitterly disappointed after a few days as they had only barely seen a greenish glow on one night, and it didn't come out in any photos. I believe they are better times of year and better places to view them, but I think you're mostly depending on the weather and pure luck. So, if you desperately want to see the Northern Lights, please be aware despite what the travel agents are selling, there is a very good chance you will not see them, or they will be very faint and not "Instagrammable".

Here's another interesting experience I found online: https://luxeadventuretraveler.com/northern-lights/


Up next....

The Real Santa Claus

Ok, so I was at an age where I knew Santa wasn't real, and as I said we visited on like 28th October or something, so not quite seasonal but I do think there was a little snow. I personally enjoyed our visit to Santa's workshop. My sister has previously been on a group trip and was terribly disappointed, so admittedly I was surprised when it wasn't bad. However if you go in thinking it's like a scene out of "The Santa Clause" or "The Polar Express" you will be disappointed.
Again there has probably been upgrades to it since I went, but basically there was lots of pretty wooden huts selling numerous types of souvenirs. I think there may have been some reindeer. There is a big red line on the ground indicating the Arctic Circle, and you can get a certificate to say you crossed it. For Santa's compound, we were the only people there I think, but we were greeted by an elf who asked us what language we speak (I guess there are different Santas for different languages maybe?) and we walked in, spoke to him a little, got a photo taken and left. Santa himself was good, friendly and had a top quality suit and beard. The queuing area was nice, similar to maybe one before a ride in Disneyland, and I remember it had a big machine that helps Santa stop time to travel around the world (or something to that effect?), but to be honest a lot of home-grown Santa experiences here in Ireland have really upped their game in recent years, so while it was nice, it wasn't exactly made of childhood dreams or probably worth the cost of going there just to see Santa.

For more up to date information, here's a link to their official website:
https://www.santaclausvillage.info/santa-claus/santa-park/

Santa Claus in Rovaniemi

Rovaniemi

It's a lovely little town, incredibly clean and modern. Felt very safe and welcoming. I remember spending a lot of money in the local H&M! I can't really remember much about restaurants or food, I know we ate at my sisters apartment a few times and had breakfast inclusive at our hotel.

Arktikum Museum

This is a science/natural history museum based on the local area, and one of the highlights of the trip. It was very insightful as well as being fun and interactive. I think I remember there being like a "northern lights" kind of cinema experience but I could be wrong.

#146 Bruges, Belgium

My experience of Bruges (also known as Brugge) was absolutely magical. I had seen the movie. I had read it was nice. But I really only decided to go because I found incredibly cheap flights to Brussels and Bruges was a short train ride away.

Bruges was like a fairy tale, with incredibly old winding streets and picturesque old buildings. I only spent about 24 hours in this wonderful place, and while it was more than enough to see all the main sights, I could easily have spent a few more days just relaxing and soaking up the atmosphere. It is one of the few places that I would highly recommend to visit, and in fact I look forward to returning again.

Transport and Accommodation

I got to Bruges via train from Brussels which took just over one hour. Since I am under 26 years old I qualified for a Go pass, which means I can travel anywhere in Belgium for only €6.40, which is fantastic value! I was also surprised to find out that there are a few hostels in Bruges, and they were similar in price to what I found in Brussels too. I stayed at Hostel Lybeer which was very close to both the train station and the historic centre and although it was quite nice, however I would be open to staying somewhere else if I were to return.

If you haven't, you should try watch the film In Bruges before you go. I'd seen it a few years ago but I actually didn't have the time to watch it before I went so I'm rusty on the details. I'm probably a little prejudiced since it's an Irish film, it's a black comedy and a little bleak at times, but a really well made film and it does show you quite a few sights around Bruges as well. It was on Netflix however I think it may have been removed from the lineup.

Weather

As I visited in May, the weather was gorgeous - getting to around 29 degrees Celsius (which for my Irish skin was a bit much). Apparently I was lucky with the weather as I was told Belgium is quite a rainy country, and in fact it rained on my second day there, however I had already seen all the sights and was getting ready to leave anyway. Since the aesthetic of Bruges is all outdoors, I do think wet weather would put a damper on it, but these are risks you take!


I arrived on an early train from Brussels, left my baggage at the hostel and started my day with a free walking tour by Legends of Bruges. It was a 2 hour tour and was a good introduction to Bruges and took us around all the main sights, as well as giving a brief history of the town. I really enjoyed it, and think it may have been one of the better free walking tours I had been on. Following on from the tour I walked around the sights again and took my time, especially with photos etc.

The best way to get around Bruges is walking, it's a short walk from the train station and the town itself is very small to get around. There's also horse and carriage rides, and of course boat rides as well. The boat ride tour itself is very good value, €8 for about 30mins, and they run every few minutes. I found it very enjoyable, however they really fill the boats so it was a little cramped in terms of legroom.

While Bruges does offer surprising more value for money than expected in terms of accommodation and sightseeing, I feel the biggest barrier is eating out. I found it difficult to find or decide on a restaurant that would offer value, so I settled for buying my own breakfast and lunch in the supermarkets. There is a McDonalds, however I am glad to say I didn't need to visit!

Food

One of the many things Belgium is famous for is chocolate - and there are plenty of places in Bruges to buy some. My preference would probably be The Chocolate Line by Dominque Persoon, as you can try chocolates with strange flavours there, such as wasabi and bacon. In terms of Belgian waffles, I admitted in a previous post I'm not a huge fan, but there are a few different places you can get them, I went to Chez Albert based on reviews but I didn't think it was anything special in comparison to other places.

#145 Brussels, Belgium

I spent a lovely 24 hours in Brussels, which I found was more than enough time to see all the main sights in the city. 

I started the day with a free walking tour, which took me around all the sights and gave me a brief history of the city. Although I didn't particularly like the tour guide I still enjoyed the tour and being brought around the city, and would recommend it as a good way to see the all the sights if you only have a short time. 

 
Belgian WafflesBelgian Beer 
Transport 
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After the tour I had lunch, then revisited some of the main areas again so I could get more photos and soak in the atmosphere a bit more. Of course the main attractions are the Grand Place (the big colourful square) and the Mannequin Pis (the tiny statue of the boy peeing), both within a moments walking distance of each other. 

The most popular places for lunch would be the many places that sell French fries, of course the fries being a Belgian invention that was introduced to Americans by some French speaking Belgians (hence the confusion of the name, although in Ireland we just call them chips).  

Weather

Being mid-May the weather was glorious and got as hot as 27 degrees, although I had heard that it usually rains a lot in Belgium and had rained for a few days before my visit. To beat the heat I treated myself to a visit to one of the many gelato places in the city centre, they all seemed to have similar prices and flavours. 

Belgian Waffles

As for the waffles - I have a confession. I didn't really like them!! I absolutely love sweet things and had been drooling over photos of Belgian waffles on Instagram in the days before my trip. However I had two - one was plain and I thought it a bit stale tasting, and the other was covered in strawberries and cream from an eatery in Bruges (which is apparently the best), and while it was definitely fresh I still found it very heavy and a bit chewy, not what I was expecting. My sister has a waffle maker in her house and I much prefer the light and fluffy ones we make, sorry Belgium! 

After a return to my hostel for a shower I headed out again to the Parlementarium, the interactive exhibit about the European Union, which is of course based in Brussels. They provide free audio guide devices with little screens which you can use to interact with the many exhibits. I was tired and honestly skipped through a lot of it but it's a modern and interesting facility nonetheless and would be a good place to visit while the weather is very hot in the afternoon. 

Belgian Beer and Belgian Chocolate

Of course Belgium is also very famous for its beers and there are many bars and restaurants with plenty of space to sit and relax outside, a cold beer in hand. One of the most famous bars in Brussels is Delirium Village, a complex of about four or five different bars ranging from tequila bars to beer, based on the famous Delirium beer, a very strong beer with a pink elephant logo.

There are also many chocolate shops, however you will find that many are for example Leonidas or Godiva and are the same as you can get in these chain stores in your home country, or are tourist traps selling very poor quality chocolate in boxes from China that say "Belgium" on them. It can be difficult to try find a genuine chocolate shop!

Transport

In terms of transport, most of the main sights are within walking distance of each other, but there is a metro, bus and train available. During my visit to Belgium I also went to Bruges, which is just over one hour away by train, so very closeby. You can also get trains to countries like the Netherlands, Luxembourg and France.

#144 On Travelling During The Summer

So we're at the end of April now, and summer is steadfast approaching! I'm sure a lot of you have already planned your summer holidays away.

Summer holiday. Eponymous. Renowned. A standard part of life for many people. Yet a summer holiday is something I admittedly don't really understand. Why travel during the summer? The reasons I can think of would be that either a) you have kids in school, b) you're still in education yourself, c) you work in education, or d) you like really hot weather.

Sandhamm, a popular holiday island in Sweden

So basically it mostly revolves around school. If you're not a teacher and you don't have child in school, I have no idea why you would actually ever want to travel during the summer season. I personally hate summer travel, I did it last year in Asia as I was unfortunately in the above mentioned grouping of being a teacher, and I would have much preferred to have done it any other time of year. Why do I hate it so? Summer travel is a) crazy expensive, b) overcrowded, c) tons of unsupervised children running riot and d) just too damn hot.



Irish people don't get a lot of warm weather, so most of them like to holiday in Spain or somewhere with a warmer climate. However, a lot of places are quite warm all year, and by going in the summer the Irish subject themselves to weather that is uncomfortably hot (although they will deny it) and earn dodgy tans and wince-worthy sunburns that they will wear back home like badges of honor.


I don't like hot weather. I don't like annoying children. I don't like being ripped off. I do not like summer holidays. Next month I will make a short mid-week trip to Belgium, and then I will remain static until around October, when the weather cools off, the prices dip, and the crowds are few and far between. Bliss.

Sunset on an island in the Stockholm archipelago

#143 Edinburgh, Scotland

Since I’m from Ireland, visiting Scotland didn’t seem particularly exotic or exciting for me because it’s so close both geographically and culturally. However, for my sister’s birthday this year we decided to finally visit the capital, Edinburgh, and cross it off the to-do list. The fact that flights were really cheap also helped make up our minds, and honestly we had an absolute blast. We really, really enjoyed our time in the city and would recommend it as a great place for a city or weekend break. 

Flights and transport

Writers Museum

When we arrived at our hostel early in the morning she guessed we were either from the Dublin flight or the overnight bus from London, so now we know coming from London that the bus is an option. You can also get trains and flights but these are likely to be far more expensive.

Edinburgh International Airport is really close to the city and connections are cheap, you can get either the tram or bus – we opted for the route 100 airlink bus which cost only £7.50 return and took about 30mins each way. The bus had a few stops along the way (including Edinburgh Zoo) and we got off at the final stop at Waverly station, from where we could easily walk to our hostel in the Old Town. I had looked up tickets for the tram and buses should the weather be very bad to walk around, but actually all the main sights in Edinburgh are very close together and since the weather was clear (although very windy) we easily just walked everywhere.

Sightseeing and things to-do

It's worth mentioning first of all that most of the attractions in Edinburgh are quite expensive, so unless you have a large budget you should plan in advance and try and pick and choose what to see and what to leave out. We had considered getting a free walking tour, and actually while eating breakfast we happened to notice a crowd forming for one right outside the restaurant so we went out and joined it. Sandemanns do lots of walking tours around Europe and this Edinburgh one was enjoyable, although there are also different groups and types of tours available too. It was a good way to see the city and get your bearings, so I would recommend doing it the day you arrive as it will give you ideas on where to go back and visit again yourself. 

National Museum

We were never given a map which is probably a first on my travels, but I had downloaded an offline Google map of the city on my phone and since the city's quite small anyway we didn't really need one. Obviously the main attraction is the Castle, but since our hostel overlooked it and we're really cheap we actually just took pictures outside...we never paid to go in. This sounds like a sin, but honestly we just weren't up to paying to go inside as we were fairly certain we didn't have an interest, and we're fine about that choice. The attraction we enjoyed most was the National Museum Of Scotland, it was free, absolutely huge and had great exhibits including ones on Scotland but also lots of interactive ones with natural history and science.

Greyfriar's Bobby

Some of the sight-seeing areas include Greyfriars Kirk graveyard, the statue of Bobby the dog, the Elephant House cafe (where JK Rowling wrote Harry Potter), Calton Hill (good views of the city and also the Greek monument), Arthurs Seat (views) and Prince's Street (shopping). We didn't climb up to Arthurs Seat, this was for a variety of reasons like we didn't have any appropriate clothes and we really weren't sure how difficult it would be as reviews were mixed between it was easy and quite tough, so in the end we decided not to risk it just in case. 

The other main attractions are the Edinburgh Dungeons and Real Mary Kings Close. I've done the London and Amsterdam Dunegon's and I find them good fun although I appreciate they wouldn't be for everyone. This time I  had read lots of positive for Real Mary Kings close, so we said we would spend our hard earned cash going to this. This was a big mistake, we absolutely hated it. We found it incredibly overpriced for what was offered - namely empty rooms, and I genuinely can't see how it's so busy and how it's so popular as it was by far the worst attraction I've every visited on any of my travels around the world, so please avoid it and spend your money elsewhere. Many people also visit the city just for the Zoo to see rare Giant Pandas, but I've already seen them in China itself so I didn't need to see them here too. 

Food and Drink

Elephant House café

We have probably never eaten so well as we did on this trip. The fact that obviously everything was in English and we were familiar with the food and menus also made it easier for us to pick and choose wisely. I had looked up some places on TripAdvisor and also looked for deals on Groupon – opting for a cocktails and nachos deal in a bar. 

There are absolutely tons of places for afternoon tea in Edinburgh, and although it’s primarily an English thing you’re still in the UK so with the variety it’s a good time to try. The best and most expensive would be in the famous Balmoral Hotel, this was out of our price range but as it was my sisters birthday we still opted for a relatively expensive set at the Fourth Floor Bar in Harvey Nicholls. While I enjoyed it I would probably try somewhere else in the future, especially somewhere a little cheaper too.

We didn’t go out of our way to try any haggis but we did end up trying a little as part of our large cooked breakfast (sausages, pudding, eggs, bacon etc) at the City Café which was very enjoyable, it was like an American diner and looked like a cool spot to go out at night too. On another morning we had porridge and gourmet tea at Eteaket which was a quaint café and a must for any tea lovers as they had a great selection.

For dinner our highlight was Cosmo, which I believe is a buffet chain around the UK. The foods were delicious and there was a great selection including desserts (which are usually a let-down at most buffets). Would absolutely recommend this as a great place to really load up for the day (we skipped lunch so we were really hungry by the time it opened at 5.30). It can get very busy on weekends and even on a Tuesday at 6pm it was crowded so go early if possible.

Another Scottish thing is deep fried Mars bars, which is basically a chocolate bar dipped in batter and fried. We found one at Grassmarket for £2.50 which was definitely overpriced as the bars cost them less than a pound, so shop around and pop into any chipper (fast food restaurant) and you should be able to find one.