Zurich to Kuusamo

Early in the morning we take the train from Basel to Zurich, change trains and continue to the airport. We check in our luggage, grab a small bite to eat, and soon boarding begins. Once on the plane we learn that this is Edelweiss’s very first flight to Kuusamo, though we only find out from the pilot’s announcement mid-flight. We’re quite astonished that there is even breakfast on board: warm Zopf bread with jam and cheese, filled savoury wraps and Birchermüesli, plus drinks of our choice. It’s wonderful, we’re certainly not used to that from Easyjet! The pilot announces early on that the flight will take longer than planned because of “quite remarkable headwinds” over Scandinavia. Then he asks whether we’re still feeling comfortable on board. They must have had great fun in the cockpit! The flight turns out to be surprisingly smooth, and we land safely in Kuusamo. There we receive a very special welcome with traditional drum music and several cameras documenting this historic event. We grab our luggage and pick up our rental car: a Škoda Octavia including spike tyres! The roads are white and full of snow and ice. Driving in these conditions feels special, but after a short shopping stop we reach our first accommodation safely. We’re staying at Magical Ponds, a small settlement of glass igloos. From our igloo we look straight out onto the surrounding snow-covered nature. We watch a beautiful sunset, which up here already happens at 3:30 pm! For dinner we make instant cups, a ready meal that only needs hot water. We keep hoping for northern lights, but that hope goes unfulfilled, the solar winds apparently aren’t strong enough today. With a beautiful view and full bellies, we fall asleep in our little glass cabin.