ARKTIKUM ........ I wanted to photograph the Arktikum Center at night. Actually, it was four in the afternoon and pitch dark. I got the photos I wanted, but in the process I really slipped and fell hard. I was afraid that I injured something. But, like I said, I got the photo I wanted. However, I ached all the way back to the guesthouse. That relaxed feeling I had after a trip to the Finnish sauna completely disappeared. Did I say I got the photo I wanted??

The visit to Arktikum came as a very pleasant surprise. I'd passed the museum several times on buses to various locations, but my visit didn't happen until the last day in Rovaniemi. And, it was timed well because there was an arts and crafts fair. The quality of items was better than most I'd seen. I especially liked the boots made from reindeer hide. They had little elf points at the tip. However, baby boots were 165 Euros and a pair to fit my feet was 420 Euros. That was out of my budget no matter how cute those elf tips were.

The museum was as beautiful indoors as it was outdoors. And, I didn't hurt my back taking photos in the interior. They weren't allowed. Wandering the exhibits was a vast amount of information on the history of the area and the various cultures that inhabited the region.

MARTIN