Chester Zoo launched their Frost Fair with an opportunity to win an amazing holiday to meet Santa in Finnish Lapland.

Anyone ordering tickets to Chester Zoos winter Frost Fair by 31 October 2006 will automatically be entered into a prize draw to win a holiday of a life to for a family of four to meet Santa to with Lapland specialist Emagine. The four day holiday in December will include reindeer rides, husky sled safari and snowmobile safari. The lucky winners will get to meet Santa in his forest cabin as a family and again at a Christmas party.

The Frost Fair will run from 01 December 2006 – 04 February 2007. It includes an outdoor ice rink on which there will be ice discos, family sport and obstacle sessions, and toddler time. Stalls will be featuring local produce, arts, crafts, food and drink. Daily events will include street entertainers, Winter Tails story time in an Ice cabin, a treasure trail and a chance to create zoo-themed winter crafts that you can take home.

For further details about the frost fair click here

If you want further details of visiting Santa with Emagine click here.

Swedish Authorities find a unique way to test driver observation skills!

Swedish authorities are trying to remind drivers of the dangers that lurk in woods along the country's roads.

This week, papier maché elks will be positioned off the road in several places throughout the country in hopes drivers will realize how easy it would be for an elk to walk out from the woods onto the road.

“They could, for example, be placed about 25 meters to 50 meters from the road so that it appears as real as possible,” said Lars Sävberger, spokesman for the project, according to Dagens Nyheter.

Swedish police, SOS Alarm and the Swedish Road Administration are all involved in the week-long project.

After a meeting with an imitation elk, police will stop many drivers and ask them if they saw the animal. Some 9,000 car travelers were stopped during last year’s campaign.

“There is a tendency for many drivers to not pay attention to that which exists on the side of the road,” said Sävberger. “If you did, you could reduce the number of accidents.”

Some 35,000 elk are hit on Swedish roads each year. The program will last until September 3.

First published in The Local, by Adam Ewing.

Image provided by:Håkan Vargas S. / Swedish Travel & Tourism Council

For further deytails on visiting Sweden Click here.

Finns take almost all medals in mobile phone throwing world championships World record stays in Finnish hands.

Summer in Finland is the time of year when wives are carried, saunas are endured, and mobile phones are thrown with main force as far as possible. We may have missed the wife-carrying (in Sonkajärvi at the beginning of July), and the sauna endurance world championships (in Heinola earlier this month), but the mobile phone tossers will not be denied.
      Unlike the wife-carrying, where Estonians seem to be invincible these days, and sitting in the sauna, where Finnish hegemony has recently been threatened by sweat-meisters from Belarus, the Finns cleaned up in almost every category at Saturday's mobile phone throwing worlds, held in Savonlinna.

     
The men's traditional event was won by Lasse Etelätalo with a throw of 89.00 metres. In the women's traditional competition Eija Laakso not only secured victory but also set a new Finnish and world record mark of 50.83.

The most international category was the freestyle team competition, where the throwing technique was perhaps less important than originality, style, aesthetics, and convincing the panel of judges. 
Victory here went to Team Sweden. The team's Peter Siepen also hurled the mobile nearly 40 metres in the individual men's event, setting a new Swedish record. Even though this distance pales somewhat beside the other throws, it was enough for the national best - mobiles have not previously been thrown in Sweden under strict competition conditions.
     

This was the seventh holding of the championships, and there were around 70 competitors, hailing from Finland, Sweden, Russia, Holland, Belgium, and Canada. The Dutch and Belgian national champions were also represented, but they did not figure on the podium in Savonlinna.
      However much one might have wished at some point to hurl one's own malfunctioning Nokia, Ericsson, Motorola, or Samsung, this was not possible in Savonlinna. The organisers provided the official phones, with all kinds of models and brands to choose from.
     

Perhaps the weekend's happiest winner was 6-year-old Paavo Kolari, who took top honours in the individual freestyle event with his heavy-metal outfit, throwing the mobile with vigour and style despite being hampered by a guitar and a long black wig. 
Paavo had charmed spectators a year ago as a phone-throwing Captain Hook, but the 2005 jury had relegated him to the silver medal spot.

Reported in Helsinki Sanomat - International Edition.

If you want to start practising next years event will be held on 25 August 2007 for

further details click here

For further details on visiting Finland click here.

Some phrases and words that you may find useful if planning to visit Finnish Lapland in the coming months…….you never know who you might bump into.

Hauska tavata!   = Nice to meet you!

Hyvää huomenta!  = Good morning!

Hyvää iltaa!   = Good evening!

Hyvää päivää!   = Good afternoon!

Nimeni on ….  = My name is …….

Kyllä kiitos  = Yes, please

Ei kiitos  = No, thank-you.

Kiitos!   = Thank you!

Kippis!   = Cheers!

Kylmä    = Cold

Ulkona on Kylmä  = It is cold.

On todekka Kylmä = It is very cold.

Sataa lunta  = It is snowing.

Lämmin    = Warm

Minulla oli mukavaa.  = I had a nice time.

Hei!    = Hi! 

Hei Hei!   = Bye-bye

Näkemiin!   = Goodbye

Tämä on hyvää!  = This is good!

Poro    = Reindeer

Anteeksi   = Sorry / Excuse me

Joulu   = Christmas

Joulukuusi  = Christmas tree

Joulupukki  = Father Christmas / Santa Claus

Tonttu   = Elf

Revontulet  = Aurora Borealis

Iso tuoppi!   = Could I have a pint of beer, please!

And if all else fails………………………………En puhu suomea.  = I don't speak Finnish

If you want to put your new vocabulary to good use visit Lapland or meet Santa.

Image provided by Loraine Highfield.

Clients love the Stockholm, Viking Line, Helsinki and Tallinn combination.

This spring and summer we were contacted by many people looking for city breaks who following our advice took the opportunity of using the excellent Viking Line services to experience several Baltic capitals in one trip. For many the overnight cruise between Sweden and Finland was a highlight of their trip. We thought you might like to hear a little more about it in their words.

“ I am writing to thank you for your seamless organisation of our Baltic trip.
 We enjoyed our stay on the boat from Stockholm to Helsinki and the hotel in Helsinki was excellent and I would recommend it as convenient for the city and the port.
The Tallinn hotel was also good and altogether it was a very enjoyable break”

Julia Lecky
Neston
South Wirral

Image by Nicho Sodling.

We had done the usual city break locations, Paris, Amsterdam, Prague and Barcelona. When we started to look for somewhere new a friend recommended Stockholm. After doing some research it sounded brilliant so we decided to give it a go.
When we called Emagine and started to talk through the various options Loraine suggested that we
might want to combine Stockholm with an overnight sailing through the archipelago on Viking Line to Helsinki and if we had time to do a day visit to Tallinn. Our planned short break had now transformed into a fabulous long weekend all of which you kindly arranged.

We took the morning flight to Stockholm and reached our hotel, Scandic Malmen, just after lunch. The welcome was friendly, location good and room clean and bright. We dropped our bags and headed off on foot to the Old Town. Stockholm is a beautiful city and the weather was very kind. We spent the next 2 days hopping on and off boats, visiting amazing museums, eating picnics in the parks and enjoying the local nightlife. The hotel had quite a few bars and restaurants close by which was perfect.

The next afternoon we boarded the Viking Line ship. We certainly weren’t prepared for something so grand, I guess we just thought it would be like the ferries at home but this was more like a cruise ship. The three of us shared a cabin which was fine for one night. It had its own toilet, sink and shower. After a quick tour of the ship we knew we wouldn’t be spending much time in our cabin. We started the evening with the buffet dinner (thanks for the recommendation Loraine), so much great seafood and wine included. The rest of the evening was a blur of listening to live bands, in the many bars and then rounded off until the small hours in the brilliant nightclub. We did keep popping out onto the deck to take in the views, especially as it remained light nearly all night!

The last day was manic. We packed our bags and left them at the hotel. We then hopped on the hydrofoil to Tallinn with Nordic Jet. The journey was smooth and fast, only 1 ½ hours.  You arrive quite centrally. As we had limited time we did the sightseeing bus tour from the hydrofolil which was a great way of getting to know the city. After this we had a couple of hours to explore the old town and grab a bite to eat before it was back on the hydrofoil. Tallinn was really interesting and had a great buzz about it. We all agreed we would go back for longer, even a full day may have done the trick but we are glad we went. Once in Helsinki it was a taxi to the airport and our flight home…….
Thanks so much from all of us for arranging such a brilliant holiday.  We are now telling all our friends about our adventure and will be in touch to arrange that crazy weekend on Viking Cinderella that you recommended as our next girls get together.
 
L..P. and friends.
Manchester.

For more information about Viking Line and Baltic combinations click here.

Finland’s first Kung Fu film combines Finnish and Chinese Mythologies.

Jade Warrior, inspired by the myth and majesty of the Kalevala, tells the tale of a love-struck hero fighting against the restrictions of modern life and searching for love beyond time and place. In the course of his journey to be reunited with his love, he re-discovers his true origin, his skill as a warrior, and his unique destiny.

Jade Warrior, the first-ever Sino-Finnish co-production, will be the most exciting cross-cultural film adventure of 2006. Based on the Finnish national epic Kalevala, the film traverses modern day Finland and ancient China, where the battle against evil is underway.

To link to the Jade Warrior website click here.

The Kalevala is an epic poem which Elias Lönnrot compiled from Finnish folk lore in the 19th century. It is commonly called the Finnish national epic and is traditionally thought of as one of the most significant works of Finnish-language literature. The Kalevala is credited with some of the inspiration for the national awakening that ultimately led to Finland's independence from Russia in 1917.
The name can be interpreted as the "lands of Kaleva" (by the Finnish suffix -la/lä for place). The epic consists of 22,795 verses, divided into fifty cantos or "chapters".

To do it justice everyone should visit at least four times or stay for a year!

I love the fact that Lapland has such defined seasons, even if they vary dramatically in length.
I have been asked on many occasions, often by Finns, which I like best and have struggled to come to a conclusion. When in Lapland I always have a very strong feeling that Mother Nature is in charge and when left to her own devices does very nicely thank you.

Ruska, as they call Autumn in Lapland,

is spectacular. Once the cold nights set in the trees dramatically change colour to a breathtaking array of reds and gold’s. What always amazes me is that the Finns have pretty much managed to keep this secret season to themselves with them flocking north for hiking, mushroom picking and just to sit on top of a fell and take in the spectacle. It can compete with anything the New England has to offer but, yes sadly there is one, it is a short as it is sweet. Lasting just a few short weeks it can start at any point during September. There is nothing nicer than hiking with friends through the forests, stopping to cook sausages over an open fire by a lake and breathing in that cool fresh air.

Winter

The first flakes of snow can fall in early October but winter for real doesn’t kick in until late November. In the far north of Lapland from mid November the sun disappears below the horizon and will not surface again until mid January. This doesn’t mean it is completely dark, for at least 4 hours a day the glow of the sun just below the horizon lights up the sky often with spectacular effect.  Nature as always is kind, on cloudy days it is much warmer but on those cloudless days when temperatures of -30 and below are not unusual you are compensated with skies with a range of colours that do not seem exist anywhere other than the arctic.
The snow is deep enough to start to enjoy the arctic activities such as snowmobiling, husky safaris and reindeer rides. Another treat that are often seen in Lapland are the Northern Lights.

Spring

This is very different to our spring, while we experience the appearance of flowers and blossom, Lapland is still under a deep layer of snow but the days are now drawing out at a dramatic rate. In March and April you are experiencing long sunny days and cold nights. It is the perfect time for taking those long husky or snowmobile safaris, with stops along the way for fireside picnics and over-nighting in wilderness cabins or igloos. This is when the locals sit out on the huge lakes for hours on end ice fishing, take saunas followed by a refreshing dips in ice holes or set off on cross-country skis through the silent forests.

Summer

Nothing ever prepares you for the midnight sun. Although everyone tells you that it is light all the time you never quite believe them until you experience it for yourself. On a sunny day, of which Lapland has its fair share, midnight does look the same as midday. There is nothing nicer staying in lakeside cottage, taking late night saunas, swimming in a lake and then gently in a boat and reading under the midnight sun. Just as the locals do!

To experience it for yourself click here.

National Geographics update on Wolves in Sweden and Norway.

The call of the wild can once again be heard in forests in Sweden and Norway, heralding the recovery of the gray wolf.
The wolf had been driven to extinction during the last century, and the animals' comeback since the 1980s has the elements for a conservation success story.
But the growing presence of wolves in Scandinavia has polarized residents there and put the mammal's long-term future in the region in doubt.
Many rural communities have brought strong opposition to wolf conservation, saying the wild predators kill their livestock and hunting dogs.

Public opinion in Norway, which has a large rural population, has tended to side against the wolf, and in Sweden the carnivore also appears to be losing support.
Increasing numbers of gray wolves are being killed illegally, researchers say. At the same time the population has been isolated and, as a result, weakened by inbreeding.

With the Swedish countryside seen as a key battleground in what's expected to be a close-run general election in September, the wolf debate is at the top of the political agenda.
"All the political parties are now saying you must listen to the people living with the wolves," said wolf researcher Olof Liberg of the Grimsö Wildlife Research Station in Riddarhyttan, Sweden.
According to Stockholm-based ecologist and commentator Petter Hedberg, the wolf in Sweden has become "a symbol for the way the political power in Stockholm dictates the way people live in rural areas, without [the politicians] having to face the consequences of their decision."

Controversial Conviction

Gray wolves were thought to be extinct in Sweden and Norway by the 1960s following centuries of persecution.

 Unexpectedly in the 1980s a single breeding pack was discovered in south-central Sweden.
Studies suggest the pack came to the area naturally from the Finnish-Russian border region more than 1,000 kilometers (620 miles) away

The wolves had been granted government protections since the 1960s in Sweden and the 1970s in Norway that made it illegal to shoot wolves in the wild.

The latest surveys by Swedish and Norwegian researchers with Skandulv (the Scandinavian Wolf Research Project) indicate that the wolf population is currently growing at a rate of about 20 percent annually.
Latest estimates suggest there are around 125 gray wolves living wild in Sweden and about 25 in Norway.
The population's stronghold is the densely forested central southern region of the Scandinavian peninsula but as wolf numbers increase, the animals are moving closer to human territory, and conflicts are on the rise.

Last year a sheep farmer from Dalsland in central Sweden was sentenced to six months' imprisonment for illegally shooting a wolf that he claimed had recently attacked his flock.
The conviction was followed by a successful campaign by the farming and hunting lobby to allow farmers to kill wolves that pose an immediate threat to fenced livestock.
"Before, you had to wait until the wolf had actually put its teeth in the animal," Liberg said.
This month Swedish media reported that rural campaigners are seeking to petition the Swedish Parliament for a further relaxation of wolf protection measures.
Their proposal would allow wolves that attack hunting dogs or livestock outside of fenced areas to be shot.

Maximum Number

Governments already place limits on the number of breeding packs or individuals that can exist within their borders.
Norway, which has around two million free-grazing sheep, wants just three reproducing packs.
The government there has established a wolf zone next to the Swedish border outside of which wolves may be shot.

Sweden has a preliminary population target of 200 wolves. Liberg, coordinator of Skandulv, is now doubtful whether this figure will be increased.
"If you had asked me five years ago, I would certainly have said, Yes," the researcher added. "Now I'm not so sure, because the wolf issue has become hotter politically."
If the Swedish wolf population continues to grow at the current rate, he says, this will probably mean licensed culling.

According to a new Skandulv study yet to be published, fatalities of radio-tagged wolves suggest that up to 20 percent of the Scandinavian population is killed illegally each year.
"That's about 25 to 30 wolves," Liberg added. "It's a very heavy drain on the population."
Wolf researchers are also worried about the health of a population founded by just a few individuals.
Such packs have little genetic diversity and are vulnerable to inbreeding. As result, Skandulv says, litter sizes are decreasing.

And further wolf migrants from the north are being prevented from coming to the rescue, Liberg says.
"The northern third of Sweden [part of Lapland] is a reindeer husbandry area, and the Saami herders say they cannot tolerate any wolves at all," he explained.
Proposals to import new blood from Finland or Russia are seen as too controversial, Liberg adds.
"The politicians are not ready for that," he said.
"In the long run we need new wolves," he added, "Sooner or later the litter sizes will be so small they will not compensate for mortality."

James Owen for National Geographic News 
August 17, 2006

Image by phantom_ace_x1 (flickr)