Bucket List Adventure Day 9 - The Final Push

We will arrive in the small town Kirkenes around 9am, located north east in as far north in Norway as you can go. It's the capital of the Barents Region and the gateway to the east. We are talking Russia and Finland - Lapland country! Guess I would have missed Santa in March?

The Kirkenes Snow hotel is my next destination, open between December and April (subject to global warming) it is built from ground up every year. The picture above is the lobby bar. I mean who wouldn't want to sip a vodka here? The temperature inside is a constant minus -4C but I'm told the beds are warmed with reindeer hide, I'd prefer a hunky Norwegian chap but there you are. Another possibility here are the log cabins on the same site but I've come this far and this is on the list!

There is surprisingly lots to do here, even during winter, dog-sledging at various times of the day, snowmobile tours, ice fishing and king crab safari. This area is called Eastern Finnmark and is rich in modern history; the old town of Hamningberg on the tip of the Varanger National Tourist Route, is a stunning fishing village and one of few places that was not razed to the ground by the retreating Germans at the end of the Second World War. Kirkenes however, bore the brunt with over 320 air attacks against the city and by contrast is a modern and integrated town. Vardø, about 45 kilometres away is a popular summer retreat and has a very unusual monument in memory of 91 people, mostly women, burnt at the stake during the witch hunt in the 17th century.

History lesson over - booked dog sledding in the morning to get my fix of canine power and after lunch I'm off on a 3 hour snowmobile safari. In the evening after dinner I'm on Northern Lights watch with a cocktail or two from the Ice Bar.

My journey planned, let's just do it - BOOKED!