Finland Trip Recap, Part III

On the third evening, The Horde loaded up into buses, then into airplanes and flew to Lapland for the Midnight Sun event the trip was centered around. In Lapland, the sun shines 24 hours a day, especially on this, the longest day of the year. (Okay, actually the day before the longest day of the year but the longest day of the year is a national holiday in the country and we probably wouldn't have been able to get there.)

We checked into hotels and killed a few hours before going to the party. We had to walk a path through the woods to this lakeside farm where the party was held. The party had DJs and live bands, fortune tellers and folk crafts, about five bars, and all the reindeer meat you could eat. It was fun just going around to all of the activity areas in between cocktails. At midnight, they lit the ceremonial bonfire on the lake. (Yes, it's that bright at midnight.)

It did get pretty cold so people were swaddled in Finlandia blankets and chattering their teeth, until The Horde decided the best way to stay warm was to start drinking vodka straight from the bottle without all the chilling ice and mixers. This was a very good idea, and soon we were shitfaced. Then the dance music picked up around 2AM and we threw down on the dancefloor/muddy lawn area. The Horde and I were disappointed that the last bus left at 3:30AM, which most of us seem to get on.

Unfortunately for demure Carol, she got off at the wrong hotel, passed out on a couch, then got lost trying to get back the correct hotel. It was good to learn that the getting lost thing wasn't just my fault.

At what seemed like an early hour the next morning, we all boarded buses, planes, and another bus to get back to the hotel in Helsinki. That night we went out for a final dinner and then I returned to the hotel, only to hear the next morning that The Horde (all of whom professed a desire to have an "easy night") stayed drinking at the hotel bar until they were thrown out, then had another after-hours until 5AM or so.

I couldn't sleep so I went for a bike ride at 7 AM before packing, check-out, and a generally miserable flight back home. My liver was rebelling, my system was in shock, vodka was pouring from my pores, and I needed a good week to recover from the trip and the cold I picked up on the plane ride home. Unfortunately, I had another distillery tour to fly to in Idaho two days later...

More pictures here.