Candy Chat Crossover: Lapland and Finnish Candy

Over on Candy Chat Chicago, Ronnie Raviv joined hosts Leah Jones and Jocelyn Geboy to talk about medical diagnoses, Finland, the Ice Hotel, the last Bears game of the post-season, all while eating a lot of Finnish candy.

Candy that we sample during the episode. Photos on Threads

• Suffeli Puffi
• Marianne
• Dumle Winter Mix
• Jaffa
• Karl Fazer Blueberry Truffle
• Karl Fazer Salty Toffee Crunch
• Salted Caramel Fudge
• Ollo All Sorts
• Susu Snacks
• Tutti Frutti Winter Mix
• Tyrkisk Peper
• Fazer Glogikulaat
• Lapland's blueberry candy 

Vestibular Schwannoma or Acoustic Neuroma information

Mayo Clinic

Dr. Ricky Wong

 

Ronnie and Leah's guide to Lapland

Time-lapse drive to Sweden:

Housing between Kittila/Levy and Muonio

• Villa Borealis (where we stayed)
  • https://www.villaborealis.com 
• Lapland Dream Villas (3adjacent cabins, different owner, same operator)
  • https://www.laplanddream.fi 

 

Appropriate clothing

• Our property owner had a warehouse that she took us to for boots, coats, gloves, snowpants, etc
• Ice hotel provided coveralls, gloves, boots, balaclava
  • Base layer of cotton is a no-no in a cold room at Icehotel so make sure you at least have something synthetic or wool for top and bottom

 

Places we ate in Finland

• Swiss cafe Muonio
• Takka at Olos resort
• Panoramic restaurant at Levi resort via gondola
• Levi Pizza
• Salteriat (schnitzel)

Finland activities and vendors

• Aurora Chase with Arctic Frontiers http://www.arcticfrontier.fi/ 
  • Phenomenal. Would’ve booked a second night if needed
  • Base camp was on a frozen lake with a hut with a fire, warm juice and brownies
• Dogsled http://www.maglelin.fi/ 
  • What a delightful afternoon! Ronnie drove a sled himself and I was a passenger on the guide's sled. Once she saw my cane, she made arrangements for me to sit and take 200 photos. 
  • Family owned and operated. She offers different distances based on the weather and party size. 
• Arcandia Adventure Park 
  • What a fun, silly night! 
  • We did ramen with the shamen for dinner. Hot pot cooking with reindeer meat, filet, ramen, fresh veg
  • A la cart sausages and snacks looked good
  • Hot chocolate with mint liqueur was delicious 
  • We threw spears, axes, archery, and did an astrology chart
  • This is hilly terrain with snow packed paths. We saw people slip and fall, but kept our footing. 
  • Of course it’s a tourist trap! Take your best ren faire or Comic-Con attitude and have fun
  • https://www.arcandia.fi/ 
• Reindeer safari https://www.getyourguide.com/sirkka-l139331/levi-reindeer-experience-with-sled-ride-t418396/?ranking_uuid=3248de96-0922-420f-af99-54f05c66decf 
  • Warm drinks in a hut with a fire for fascinating reindeer facts after short sleigh ride and feeding reindeer

 

Ice hotel in Sweden

https://www.icehotel.com/ 

What we did

• Ice Dinner
• Slept cold in 365 art suite
• Aurora photography with Scandinavian Sami Photoadventures
  • Www.scandanavianphtotoadventures.com. 
• Ice sculpture class

Ice Hotel suggestions

• Look at the calendar for when the winter exhibit opens. We went a week before. Fun vibe with all the artists and builders on campus, but we didn’t get to see the annual build
• Skip the ice dinner and eat a la carts
• Use their gear! It’s really good
• Make it two nights - one warm, one cold - and enjoy a slower visit

Overall thoughts

• We went Nov 30 to December 6
• 2 hours of daylight stretched into 4-5 hours with dawn and dusk
• Went before peak season of total darkness, so more cost effective 
• We didn’t do any Christmas or Santa stuff

A few notes on traveling fat and mobility-impaired

• IceHotel had gear in sizes too big for me!
• The icehotel sleeping bag was snug and a little claustrophobic, but it zipped
• The property manager had coats big enough for me (actually a little too big)
• WinterRent coat was my fave, but their 6x pants didn't fit. Their boots were also the best I borrowed for me. 
• The Snow Country snow pants I bought on clearance last year were perfect https://www.snowcountryouterwear.com/ 
• Smart Wool base layers in largest size fit great
• Darn Tough socks were tight on calf, but worked good enough 
• Every restaurant has comfortable seating for me
• The wheelchair plane access in Kittila was an elevator on a truck. If you are unsteady on your feet, get wheelchair services in the airports and save your energy for dogsledding. 
• Bring your own towel. No towel in Finland wrapped around my body.