sneak peek for this week's episode.
hang your whole trip on seeing the northern lights, because if you don't, it's going to really bum you out.
That's excellent advice.
Scott.
I'm Melissa.
And we are the Sunshine Travelers. Our passion is travel and sharing our experiences with those who enjoy it as much as we do, or those who want to learn more about travel, or even those who just want to live vicariously through our travel stories. No matter where you fall along that journey, get ready to hear about our first-hand experiences as we visit some of the most interesting and amazing places on earth. In this week's episode, we are journeying to a destination that has a lot of attention on social media this year. People from all over the world are traveling to locations in search of the Northern Lights. They're supposed to be at their peak this year and travel enthusiasts from everywhere are trying to get their glimpse. Join us as we talk to a friend of ours about her recent trip to Norway and some of the exciting places she visited and fun activities she experienced along the way. So pack your bag, bring some warm clothes, and let's head to
Norway.
with a friend and business partner about an upcoming trip for work, and she said, oh, remind me to tell you about my trip to Norway. I immediately responded back to her with our Calendly link and said, Let's get you on the podcast to tell the story.
the opportunity to meet this week's guest on a couple of Scott's business trips. We had an immediate connection in our love of travel, and I'm surprised that it has taken us this long to get her on the show. With that, let's jump right into the interview with Lacey as she shares her journey and her experiences in Norway.
this is Scott. I just want to take a quick minute and apologize to you because in this interview you're about to hear, I forgot to turn on Melissa's microphone. So although you're going to be able to hear her, it's not the quality that we expect for ourselves and want to have for you. it's not the quality her, that we expect for ourselves and want to have for you. We're joined this evening by a friend of ours that's recently returned from a trip to Norway, which is something that's been on our list for quite a while. So welcome,
Melissa Scott. Hi, Thanks for
having me. glad Yeah, to have you here. So how did that Norway, you even in get, the realm know, of something that you wanted to do?
an obvious answer, but I'm not going to state the obvious, especially during the wintertime. But I read a book not that long ago, and it took place in Oslo and in Kirkenes. And in the book, they also went all the way up to Svalbard. I did not go to Svalbard, but I thought it sounded so interesting, especially hearing the character in the book talking about all the things that were in Oslo that sounded so interesting. And then in Kirkenes and talking about the snow hotel and it just sounded like such a cool experience. So when I heard that 2024 was going to be the peak time to see the Northern Lights, I started looking at destinations. And to me, it seemed like a no-brainer. I got to kind of see that story come to life, so to speak, and experience it. And then there's obviously the icing on the cake being able to see the Northern Lights as well.
Devon, Sharon, what that was? Yeah. what your, like, kind of what your inspiration was? Because that's interesting, right? Yeah. Yeah.
So it's a series by an author, Brad Thor. I don't know why, I love to listen to audiobooks, and I love to listen to kind of a spy action adventure. And the first book is, I think it takes place in Lucerne, but the book takes place it's a series it's been going on for quite some time and it takes place all around the world so he like gets exposed to me to a lot of he must like to travel the author so that's the inspiration i was
i was gonna say it's probably a good way for him to write just to get these places and stay there. Right. That's so interesting.
Yeah. You know, I was thinking Norway, like your inspiration has to be frozen.
You would think so. You weren't
weren't going to see Elsa and Anna?
No, but in the snow hotel, they do have themed rooms and not surprising, many of them are frozen. So I guess I did kind of see that.
We watched a TV show that was, I think it's part of the Amazing Hotels series. If you listen to our podcast recently, you're going to hear a lot about Amazing Hotels because it's really informing some of the places that we might want to go and see. And they stayed at an ice hotel. And I was like, yeah, no, I'm not sure that's my thing. Did you actually stay in the snow hotel or ice hotel, whatever? So I feel
such a phony for saying I stayed in the ice hotel, whatever. So I feel like such a phony for saying I stayed in an ice hotel. But what I really mean is they have these lovely cabins right next door with heated floors and they're really quaint and charming with cute places to sit and watch the snow. We stayed there.
Not phony at all. We
at all. We would stay there too because i was just
about that that looked or seemed comfortable
so you're paying the same price essentially so and then you only have access to the room or the room from the evening until i think like eight or nine in the morning. So it's a very short period of time and there's no bathrooms, there's no electricity in the room. So you don't have your phone. If you have to get up in the middle of the night, you have to put your boots on and walk to the adjacent building. So for me, I would just prefer to have creature comfort and then be able to go visit, which if you're staying at the snow hotel, you can go in and out of the building when obviously people aren't sleeping. So we have kind of unlimited access to it. So it was the best of both worlds.
Very cool. Because you go through the different, they have now, so I guess I'm wondering, is there, is there one of these or there are lots of these in Norway
know sure how many there are in Norway I could be wrong I think it may be the only one in Norway but there are several in Sweden I'm not sure about Finland
okay okay
but I know in Tromso there's a lot of ice themes and something that's especially if people want to see the Northern Lights, one of the things that's really popular is these igloo-style glass-roofed centers. And so a lot of people will stay in those. Kirkenes didn't have that, but I think there may have been some places that were sold out. I also booked everything in August, and I do think all that stuff books out pretty far in advance. So it was a little bit limited, but Finland. So a lot of people that we met on the trip, they were hitting Kirkenes and they were also hitting Finland because Finland has like Santa Claus village and it's not that far.
far. Yeah.
Lapland and it's so, you know, very similar kind of experiences, I would say.
Yeah. We've got to do an episode on Lapland. We haven't been, but we've got a real good friend in the UK
the UK who goes every
year.
year. So I think that's just really cool. So real quick then, so tell us the name of the place that you stay. So we'll have that.
Yeah. So it's in Kirkenes, Norway, and it's called the Snow Hotel, I think, Kirkenes. So pretty easy to find. There's not a whole lot in Kirkenes. It's a pretty small community. It's an old mining town, and it's really close to Murmansk, Russia. So it's right on the border. And interestingly enough, it was one of the most bombed cities during World War II, which I didn't realize that until we went. So I think they said that they were bombed 328 times, which when you go there, it's such a tiny little place that kind of amazing that that even happened. But yeah, it's called Kirkenes. It's a snow hotel. And it's really charming. I think they do a great job of just making kind of a whole experience. So you really wouldn't even have to leave if you didn't want to.
So how long did you stay there?
were there four nights. And from what I understand, it's pretty common for folks maybe just to stay two nights. I think we were one of the few guests, I think, that stayed four. I think there was maybe another family that was there that was staying a couple days longer than we were. But from what I understood, a lot of people would just stay for one night stay in the snow hotel or they would do one night in the cabins one night in the snow hotel personally i would i think the cabins are really cute and charming and i would do that and i want to go visit the the snow hotel personally so then
i was going to ask so so then in the snow hotel, like you said, so each room has a different theme and the one that we saw, they have different artists come in, I guess, the season, right? And create these different themes. So we might actually be talking about the same place. We'll have to go check. So that's why the attraction and then people can come for the day or overnight guests, right? And then you go through
the day or overnight guests, right? And then you go through and see everything. Yeah, exactly. Very bundled can up. come for the day or overnight guests right yeah yeah yeah they're they're exactly very bundled up there's there's a lot of cruises that go through there they'll start in Bergen and
the day
take various like various lengths of time on the cruise ship so some people go all the way from Bergen to Kirkenes and I I thought it was interesting. A lot of the locals use those cruise ships almost as a place, a way to get from point A to point B. But I don't think it's like a cruise ship. Like there's nightlife. I think it's just dinners and food. And I think it's fairly quiet. And a lot of the ships are electric too. So it looked interesting. I wouldn't mind doing one of those one day because you can see a lot as
sure that sounds neat that's a good
so was there any special purpose for the trip or was it really about getting up and seeing that spectacular northern light display and stuff like that yeah that
part of it i also really enjoy going someplace for new year's so we sort of celebrated New Year's there. So that was fun. One of my New Year's resolutions is I want to be traveling for my birthday for New Year's. It doesn't have to be any place far or exotic, but there's just something about it. I don't know. Just I like the idea of it. So that's one of my New Year's resolutions is to travel for those kind of So that's dates. We like interesting. to do that So too. it's Yeah. one of Yeah. my New Year's resolutions is to travel for those kind of dates.
So that's interesting. We like
it's interesting because I think the Russian New Year we learned recently is like January I didn't 6th. know Oh, that.
our recent guests was talking about, and I think it was in the Maldives episode where they were saying there were, they liked to go, you know, in January, but they said the time frame that they usually go, there's a lot of Russian families visiting because the Russian year is January 6th. So interesting. Yeah. Interesting. That's when they celebrate new year out, you know?
I don't know.
Oh, if you ever want to travel with the Russians, January 6th is your time to do it. So how do you get to Norway? I mean, where do you fly into and stuff like that?
So what I understood from talking to Norwegians, it's there are some of the most domestic flights in Norway just because it's difficult to travel and drive. So a lot of folks take those domestic airlines, or you can take the cruise ships, like I mentioned, to get up to Kirkenes. So we flew from the U.S. to Oslo, and then from Oslo, we flew up to Kirkenes. I will say, if you do go that route, expect some delays, especially in the winter. We were delayed going up and we were delayed coming back too. And there's not a whole lot to do at the Kirkenes airport. So come prepared with snacks. You're going to wait. It's basically like gas station hot dogs if you are stuck there. So there's not a lot there. And I know how
you love a good hot dog.
for me. Luckily, I always travel with a lot of snacks just because I have to be prepared.
for me.
so I imagine you don't do a lot of driving there, or do you?
We did not. I really wanted to go to Finland just because I've never been, but I was a little bit worried about the roads. Plus, it's the Arctic night, at least. I don't know when exactly it starts, but they essentially don't really ever see the sun for around 70 days. So it's dark a lot. You do get kind of that golden hour light, but the sun never fully rises. And when it does, I think they said it rises for about three minutes and they're all this is like, so oh, And when it nice. I think they does, said it rises for about three minutes and they're all like, oh, this is so nice. And then it sets again. So I was a little bit nervous about that, but it's so amazing watching the locals drive around like it's no big deal. And it's cold, you're in the Arctic circle and it's negative, whatever degrees. And you see people out running, walking their dogs and doing all kinds of things that most of us would just be shocked at. I think it's an easy way too, to be able to identify somebody who's not from Norway because they're not wearing something reflective because all of the Norwegians are wearing something reflective. Either it's like a strap on a bag or something just because they know they're going to be out and it's going to be dark. And we even saw that in Oslo, which I thought was interesting. And even people walking their dogs and they have these sort of like push sleds. And if you're walking your dog, you might like just kind of attach your dog at the front and you're just kind of walking along. And then if you're on the you just kind downhill, of step on the little the front and you're just kind of walking And then if you're along. on the downhill, you just kind of step on the little skis and slide down the hill and people shopping in Kirkeness were using like little sleds to put their stuff in and then basically pushing them around the city. It was interesting.
That sounds cool. I think we'll have to take Lottie and Rupert. I told them I needed them.
I told them I needed them. The problem is, is that Lottie wouldn't want to.
just lay down in the snow. Yeah, she
Yeah, she would just lay
are to look like a local wear something reflective on. Yes. Yes. Yes.
That's a really good tip. I've never heard that before. So we might be the first to put that out there as a tip.
Yeah. You'll look like a local. Just have it like a reflective strap on your bag. Even the nicest bags, I saw a reflective strap. So everybody was using them.
got some tape you can put on your... What's that bag you got? Anyhow, different story. All right. And while you were there, you guys did a few different activities and stuff like that. Share a little bit about some of those.
Yeah, I think if you look up Kirkenes, you'll see king crabs everywhere. The story was, I don't know how accurate, I haven't looked this up, but I guess king crab, I think they come from Asia. And from what I understand, the Russians felt bad for the folks in Murmansk. They didn't really have anything special, I guess, for them. So they started importing these king crab. Well, they're invasive. And the Norwegians, they just started like popping up. And now it's become a pretty big industry. So anyways, make a long story short, we did do a king crab safari. And it was when we were there they were talking about they fly these king crab from kirkenes to oslo live and then they have like a king crab hotel apparently in oslo where they can kind of chill out and relax for a couple of days and then they fly them on to their donate their final destination and they were saying in like places like singapore and things like that. A king crab, a live king crab from Norway costs, I think they said maybe $3,000, $4,000. Kind of crazy. Anyways, so we did a king crab safari. And there's a couple of different places. We did one at the snow hotel. And you sort of sit in a little sled and they drive you out on the ice. They pull the traps up. If you're there in the summer, you actually go out on a rib boat and pull the traps out of the water. And then they kind of like butcher them there on the ice. And then they bring them back to the snow hotel. And it's basically all you can eat king crab. And I guess once they tell you how much they're paying for in Singapore, you're like, this is a great deal. And so at the snow hotel, they also have a lot of activities. They have sleds that you can grab and some hills. So you want to go sledding. There's snowshoes and things like that that you can grab and they have all the dog sleds there. So they've got all these dogs out. You can go and play with the dogs, hang out with the dogs if you want. And they have a puppy playpen as well. So if you want to get up in the morning and go see and hang out with the puppies, you can do that. And they actually have snow yoga. I did not do that. I'm not really a yogi anyway. And the thought of sitting out in the snow doing yoga just was not my jam. But we did take the snowshoes out and kind of walked around. That was cool. And the other activities we did, we went snowmobiling through the Pacific forest and you're kind of just going along the fjord. You're actually able to drive on the ice since it's frozen. We did that and that was cool. And then we did hunting the Northern lights by bus. And the reason that we chose the hunting the Northern lights by bus, you can also do by dog sled or snowmobile but they recommended the bus because you're able to go out farther and for longer because it's warmer and we did see the northern lights on our first night there and then our bus driver stopped us at the russian border i got out took a picture and ran back into
now as good a time as any to kind of talk about that experience of you you know, seeing the Northern Lights. And it's interesting that you say that you went on a Northern Lights hunting tour because that's exactly how I've heard it described.
Yes. So you stop at a couple different places. The more remote, the better. So they take you out pretty far. And I guess it has to do with what's happening with the sun. And that's why you're seeing those solar flares. So we, and they do educational sessions at the snow hotel and have somebody kind of speak about it. And then you have, there's apps that you can turn on to for hunting the Northern lights. And it has, it's called the KP index that also helps you determine whether or not the likelihood you're going to see them. So the first night we drove up pretty far, the first place that we went to, we sort of saw them second place. We saw them. They were, it's just pretty awe inspiring. I'm not going to lie. It sounds weird to be like, Oh, there's the lights in the sky, but it's really cool. Especially seeing that move or people call it dancing. So seeing that, I know there are certain settings that you can get for your camera or for your iPhone. I didn't honestly mess around with it too much, but my iPhone just took great pictures. I didn't just my iPhone. My husband bought a GoPro, but I don't think that he really properly used it. So we really didn't get any good images. And he tried to leave So we really it. didn't get any good images and he tried to leave it out one night. And I think the battery, even though it was brand new and had a full charge lasted like maybe two hours because it's so cold. So your batteries die pretty fast there, but it was, it was really, it was really cool seeing the lights and it's just a big streak across the sky. And in our last night there, as we're getting ready to head to the airport, we're just hanging out in the lodge and people are like the Northern lights and everybody will tell you. And everybody just ran outside. So right outside of where we're hanging out, we saw the Northern lights and it was, it was, they were very vivid that night. Cause they're, they're not always super strong. But the last night was really strong. It it was pretty was, amazing. And Oh, so the wow. last night was really strong it was it was pretty amazing
and so and that was at that was at the hotel
yeah yeah we just walked out actually we were we were in the sauna and trying to take pictures it was it was a little brisk not gonna lie but it was cool seeing it it was cool seeing it yeah
probably just don't think about the cold you're're just like, oh, the northern lights. Yeah. Yes. Yeah. The pictures are amazing. And so you sent those to us. We're definitely going to be sharing that. They were just incredible. But I think for that, you know, it's one of those things that no matter how much you see pictures or videos, like it's one of those things for seeing it for yourself. you see pictures
it Yeah. for yourself. Yeah. I wanted to see but it, it's funny because going into I've it, heard from so many people that they went on these trips and they didn't see the Northern Lights. So I don't think you can decide to go someplace just to see the Northern Lights because I think it would be a bit of a letdown. I wanted to go because I wanted to see Norway. I've never been. And I wanted to see the snow hotel and experience it. You know, we didn't do a dog sled ride. I've done dog sled rides before in Jackson, Wyoming. And while I thought it was cool, my neck hurt the next day.
I was
like, I think I'm good. I think I'm good. But the puppies were really cute. They were super enthusiastic. I think you look at those dogs and you think, oh my gosh, I bet they're cold. They are so excited and desperately wanting to get picked to go on one of the rides on the run. So the dogs were all so happy and like, they're just curious why it's so cold and they're so happy, but they're just delighted to be there.
just what they like that's what they're bred for right that's what they do like that's their job so that is so cool yeah well
is so
sounds like a lot of people then like you were saying like they kind of rush right you have a day here and then you rush to do the next thing but it sounds like because you've had so much time, then you got to really enjoy just relaxing and then some of those other activities that just kind of made it relaxing.
Yeah. And the food was really good too at the hotel. So, and they have a sauna that you can go and enjoy. And we found out from the locals, apparently the Norwegian way of doing a sauna is you leave the sauna and you're supposed to grab handfuls of snow and basically just like have like just basically just kind of like scrub yourself down with snow. Or I guess you could throw yourself in the snow bank if you're really brave, but I'm not that brave.
So back in, well, we went to Arizona for Scott's birthday and we stayed at a place in Flagstaff that had a Nordic spa experience. Now, there wasn't snow on the ground, but that's essentially they had these little saunas and you had along and they told you, here's the circuit. Right. So then either you're supposed to go under the shower or jump in the swimming pool. And it was what would you say the temperature was then? Because in Flagstaff, you in know, December, it's like it's you even, say the temperature was then because in flight staff you know in december it's like it's even you know the elevation so then you jump in the pool and then they have like a like a hot tub and
you can i think it was close to the 30s somewhere in the 30s at night so yes we
yes we have a little taste of that in arizona so but apparently the health benefits right are supposed to be melissa
actually jumped in the pool and the pool temperature was 47 degrees.
do it once and it was cute because these other people were like, we saw you do that. And then we had to do it. We, you know, like we couldn't let you show us up or whatever. So, but yeah. But you have
to have one person on the outside because if you're both in there and you get in trouble, you're gone. You need
need to make a plan.
Yeah.
It's very cold.
It's very cold. So you're supposed to jump in the snow bank and use snow angels or something.
guess. Or the guy likes to tell tourists that and they're like, okay.
brave enough. After she jumped in that water, I was like, I can't do that. So I actually did the shower, but the shower was really cold as well.
It's brisk. We stayed, I wanted, so in the book, he stays at a hotel in Oslo called The Thief, which is a very cool area. It's very trendy. It's a really nice area and they have a beautiful spa. And so we stayed there and they have saunas and everything. And they actually have an ice maker for just shredding, shredded ice, just shaved ice coming out of it nonstop. So I don't think the guy was completely pulling my leg on the whole snow thing if you want you can also go and jump in the fjord if you're staying at the thief but it's a bit of a walk so i in my mind i was like i want to do it if it was like right outside i would have done it i think you have to like kind of like walk out walk down the street i was like not doing that but yeah it's
fun it's so cool
and your little spa slippers
so did you did you do oslo then when you first arrived before you went to the hotel or how like kind of what was your what was your overall like trip plan just Just to give an idea.
Yeah. So we did Kirkenes and then we went to Oslo. Okay. So we flew from Oslo. We had about, we had a long hour, long 12 hour layover in my head. I'm like, oh, we're going to go and explore. We're going to do this. We're going to do that. And booking a day room. And we just crashed at the hotel. And then we went to the airport, which it was, it's really, it's right across the street and Norway. So I never felt, I never once felt unsafe. I never once felt like it was worried about pickpocket. It's, it felt very safe, felt very easy, very approachable country. So really definitely would go back. I'd love to go back in the summer and supposed to be beautiful hiking. But we went to so oslo was the back end of our trip and we stayed for three nights i will say their hours are different in norway so for instance in kirkenes we went to grab lunch one afternoon and there's this great hotel right on the fjord and we're like oh we'll just have a drink and like hang out and maybe go get lunch and the bar's closed the bar is closed until the evening didn't seem very american you know
so for
then even like you like you need to have lunch at a certain time and then they're going to close the kitchen and then yeah dinner at a certain time so let's like we you see that in the uk sometimes right if you're
not in one yeah so yeah i would definitely say pay attention to the time for sure now i think at the snow hotel it's probably different there it's probably you know we did eat at the little lodge it was really charming it's kind of everything the the local indigenous people in norway are called the sami and they have this great little like cute little conical kind of fire open fire in the center and you get your reindeer sausage and you can cook them over the fire yourself or they have these sandwiches or stew and they're all served these quaint little like farming cups and things so i think snow hotel you'd have no problem in town we We asked the hotel, we're like, okay, what is open there? They're like, well, at one 30, this place called surf and turf is going to be open. And that was our only option. I mean, it's not like it's a huge town, but still there were several restaurant options, but it's somewhat limited. And they, yeah, they're, they definitely view things differently. And even when we were staying in Oslo, we were staying at the hotel and the bar, restaurant, everything closes at 11. There's nothing open after that. Now, the Thief was open later. I wanted to try two different hotels. I want to try the Samarero and the Thief. So we stayed a couple nights at one and one night at the other. The Thief was open late. But yeah, if you're looking for nightlife, it might be a little bit of a struggle. In Oslo, you'd probably be okay. In Kirkenes, not so much.
your book and just enjoy. Yeah. So was there Wi-Fi, internet, TVs and stuff? Oh,
Oh, no TV. Yeah, no TV.
But Wi-Fi.
But Wi-Fi, yes. And the food was good. I really enjoyed it. And they accommodated me being vegan. My husband's not vegan. He was happy with the food. If you're not okay with reindeer and eating reindeer, you may want to make a special request. But they had, you know, like Arctic char and things like that on the menu if you eat so and the food was really
so yeah i kind of think of you as a foodie a little bit yeah a few times that we've you know had dinner together and stuff like that you picked some really good but more more what i would consider foodie scene restaurants now so what did you think of the food you know comparatively
so yeah i kind
well they do and kind of helping you and your dietary concerns, stuff like that.
Yeah. At the Snow Hotel, they were very accommodating. So they had something set out for me for breakfast and they did a nice job with that. And then for dinner, they made something different every night. It is a little bit of a fixed plate. So if you're staying at the Snow Hotel, I think you can purchase the dinner. But I think it's a little bit of a fixed course. And they'll accommodate your dietary restrictions. But it's not like you can just order off of the menu. It's kind of like what they've prepared that night. But it was great. I will say, I didn't realize that it was sort of a set time when they ate. And they probably told me everything. I didn't pay enough attention. Our flight came in late that night. So technically we missed dinner, but the staff stayed and they stayed and kept everything up for us to eat, which was really very kind of them. So, but I thought the food was really good. I enjoyed it. I thought, and the staff, super friendly. A lot of them are from all over. So they were, they're all very friendly and everybody was, yeah, I would highly recommend it. I wouldn't have any issues with food. I was a little bit worried going into it and I brought a lot of snacks and I was really happy with it. So
accommodating and then just like with your delays and stuff like that. So Scott asked you about driving. So then how far and how far was the town and did you go there often and how did you get there?
so we did not have a car. The Snow Hotel can pick you up by Husky taxi. So if you want to get really fancy, you can actually get picked up by dog sled, which would be very cool. It was just, it was pretty expensive. So I opted for the more economical and I just booked it through Kirkenes Taxi. But there's really no Ubers, at least in Kirkenes. There is an Oslo. So you almost have to arrange it that way. It was almost double the price to book it through the snow hotel. So I booked through Kirkenes Taxi. And the poor guy, he said he had been waiting at the airport for us for almost two hours.
I can't imagine
any taxi driver doing that. So they were lovely. So getting there, it took about 15 minutes to get from the airport to the hotel. Word to the wise, you have to walk on the tarmac. So dress accordingly if it's winter, because you're going to be carrying your stuff up the stairs. So make sure you're able-bodied enough. And it was interesting because we were on the flight, there were tons of Norwegian soldiers because it's something where they're all in the military. There's all these like young military aged kids on the plane and they're going off to the military base and we're all off to our winter adventure. So it was a little bit interesting kind of seeing that juxtaposition. And so, yeah, so getting into the town, probably about 15, 20 minutes, depending on where you're going, I would say ask the snow hotel, if you can just catch a ride on one of the buses because they have tours going in and out. It'll probably save you $40 to $50 depending because they say things are expensive in Norway and they certainly are expensive. So
good to know. It's definitely a more expensive destination. But I mean, it's remote, right? And it's harder to get food, especially in the winter. So I imagine that's why it's like hey these are the options and it's not you know
to get
you want and then these are the times that yeah yeah so i i would guess then a lot of local people probably like fix their meals at home and eat at home there's not a lot of going out
like what you
in the u.s interesting
just tried to time it with catching a ride on one of the buses and then they would just drop you off at the hotels which are right in town so it's pretty easy so we would only have the one-way taxi back to the hotel so it worked out well okay so what
was your most memorable experience from the trip probably
just going and experiencing the snow hotel i think you can go crazy doing the activities but just seeing it like one of my favorite things that we did they opened there's an actual bar made entirely of ice in the snow hotel so the bar stools are ice they're covered with the reindeer hide, and there is even tables you can stand and like hang out at. But they only, they don't keep it open all the time, but after dinner, they'll open it for guests that want to go and experience it. For obvious reasons, they only serve hard alcohol because anything else is going to freeze, right? else is going to freeze. Right. So it was fun just getting to know some of the other guests hanging out there and they serve everything in these little ice shot glasses. And what you do is you take a shot and then you break it on the corner of the bar. And I've got to say, there's something very cathartic about taking a shot and just slamming your glass down and breaking it.
Yeah, just something that you can't do just anywhere, right? It was really fun.
I imagine there's a lot of vodka.
a lot of vodka there. And fireball and everything else you can possibly think of. So whatever you're into.
There you go. Well, you know, one of the things that we often ask Melissa to do at the end of a destination episode is to give us a packing list. So let's ask you, what do we need to pack on this trip?
Well, I can tell you, I had no idea what to pack. And I tried to read about it. So I think it's a great question. I brought a lot of hand warmers and feet warmers. So I know that my feet get really cold. So I came prepared. I bought like the Costco size thing of hand and feet warmer. So if you need any, I'm your girl. But I did use quite a bit of them. And my husband and I both had no idea. We've gone skiing before and obviously you're pretty active and you're all your stuff gets kind of gross. We brought way too many socks and way too much of everything, honestly, because you're, you're not super active for the most part. So I, we probably could have cut the number of winter socks that we brought in half. I would say having for things like snowmobiling and things are going to be out for a prolonged period of time where it's going to be cold. I would get those like liner socks, do your little toe warmers, get the really thick ones. And then obviously brought winter boots and I like mittens and I would keep my hand, I keep a pair of mittens in my hand warmer, hand warmers in my mittens. And then I would also keep warmers in my pockets. So wherever my hands were, they were warm, but I, you know, you don't really have to go crazy. Now we brought some pretty big bags because obviously winter stuff is bulkier, but if you had like one pair of snow pants, maybe some fleece line tights, if you're a girl, you really don't have to get too crazy. I way over I would packed. have to get too I way crazy. over packed. I would say that in a heartbeat. I feel like I was kind of wearing the same things and you're, no one's really seeing what's under your stuff because you're wearing your big bulky coat a lot. So, and it's a pretty casual environment up there. So you don't have to get really dressy. So if you're, I would say whatever you're thinking of packing, you can definitely cut it in half and you will probably be fine.
that's true on most trips, honestly.
Yes. You're like, I'm going to change my outfit.
as like checking bags and carrying on. So because I imagine like, you know, obviously a smaller plane that you fly, you know, overseas. But like what size was the plane and you were able to just check bags from Oslo? No problem.
Oh, it was no problem. It was, I mean, it was a pretty good size plane. It was three rows each side. So it's a pretty big, pretty big plane going from Oslo to Kirkenes. Now there are smaller planes I saw going to some of the other places like Tromso and Tron Time and some of those other spots. But I think he would be fine going. And we had no problems with our bags. So most people are carrying pretty bulky things. Like most people have camera equipment, drones that they're bringing with them. So we saw a lot of camera equipment, a lot of drones.
Okay. That's good to know.
Yeah. Well, then we also asked three questions at the end of each interview. So all of our guests get these same three questions. What is the favorite place that you've ever visited and any stories on why? It doesn't have to be Norway, right? It can be anywhere else. So
trip that I took that I really enjoyed was going to Italy, but especially in Sicily. So going to Syracuse and this great little place and just jumping off the cliffs into the water was one of my favorite experiences. Sicily
is one of those underrated places, I think. We've had a lot of recommendations for Sicily. It wasn't necessarily on our original bucket list. Yeah.
want to share real quick, you shared something with us about like how to get to Sicily before we started recording that might be of interest. So you want to share that about the train and
would do instead? So Sicily is one of the, there's no bridges that connect Sicily to the mainland in Italy. So, you have to get there. If you're going by car or even by train, you're going to be in the water, which I thought was fascinating. I don't know that I would do it again, but in my mind, I thought it'd be really cool and had my stepson with me. So I was like, oh, I think he'll be into this. And I think if we did it again, I'd fly or drive, but that's just, it was an experience that we did it.
Yeah. That's the thing is creating those experiences.
those recommendations to other people. So that's good to know. Interesting.
I realized I did forget one of the excursions that I meant to mention. So I just think it's something kind of different. So one of the things we did was the Anders, I don't know if I'm pronouncing it right, the Andersgrada bomb shelter in the town of Kirkenes. So it's actually owned by the Snow Hotel. And from what I understand, he used to be a producer or movie director, and he actually made a little short film. You kind of watch it and go through this bomb shelter, but it's where all the citizens of Kirkenes went during the bombings during World War II. So it was really interesting seeing it, but I'm a big World War II fan. I always liked that history. So for anybody that's going, it's interesting to see it, certainly. You
you mentioned that, though, because when you can take a trip like this and you can have like a vacation, right, you had some relaxing elements and then you can have some nature experiences but then you get to experience some history and then some local you know the people and the food you just get like a a broad range right of experiences so i love that you shared that yeah
well the next question is what are the top things on your bucket list i say top three but you know some people don't have a long bucket list.
have a long list. Yeah, that's right. I have a long list. I
Yeah, that's right.
really like to go to Tanzania. I'd like to go see Zanzibar and try and do a safari. I was hoping I could do it this year with some friends, but it didn't work out. But that's on my list. I know you guys have been to the Galapagos. I'd like to go do that as well. I'd love to go to the Maldives. I've really never been to anywhere in Asia. I'd like to go to some places. So a few countries I'd love to see, South Korea, I'd love to see Japan. I don't know, you name it. I think I want to see it. So I'd love to go to Antarctica. That's one place I would love to go. It's really, I would like to see it all, honestly.
if you can, if you can hold out on Antarctica, we're trying to look at the opportunity to do a group cruise to Antarctica.
Let me know. Well, that's on their list. And we're like, oh, well, maybe we can all go together and it would be really fun. So that would
be really cool. I've seen some videos where people talk about old plunges. They jump off of the ships into the water.
actually put a rope
can pull
them back in.
to have to all jump, so we do that.
go last.
No way.
way, Scott. jump so if we do that i'll go last yeah no way no way and then just finally where are you going next well i'm going to london well actually no i take that back we run into each
next well i'm going to london well actually no i take that back we run into each other there may
into each other actually i take that back i'm going to st martin on wednesday yeah
was kind of a last minute thing, huh?
It was last minute. I've never been. So I don't know if any of your listeners have any recommendations, but it's probably I'm probably already going to be there and back by the time this comes out.
yeah, so then going to London and then from there, actually going to see a friend in Spain. So we're flying into Milago. So we're going to be in that Andalusian area and we're going to go a friend in So I'm Spain. flying we're, into So we're going Milago. to be in that Andalusian area and we're going to go to Cordoba. So I've never been, and she's the planner. So I'm just kind of showing up though. It should be
fun. Melissa, maybe you can post something out on Instagram or whatever, looking for recommendations. Great. So now
is that something you said that was last minute? Was that just, we need to get away last minute or did you find a good deal or how did that?
Oh, I think coming back from such a being in the Arctic circle would really, I like to go someplace warm during the winter, kind of break up the trips. I'm in Ohio, so we don't really get snow, which is part of the reason I like going places that are really snowy. We don't really get any, it's sort of gray and cold, but I like to go and just get a little bit of little sunshine, at least in the winter every year. Awesome.
if we can get some recommendations for
thank you for spending time with us. And, you know, if you go on any other great excursions or trips, you gotta let us know.
I would say after, after that trip, my husband and I both said this was such a unique experience going and experiencing that. So for anybody who's sort of considering it, I would highly recommend it, but don't hang your whole trip on seeing the northern lights. Cause if you don't, it's going to really bum you out.
That's excellent advice. I've never known anyone that's personally gone to one of these ice hotels before. We've been watching the BBC series called Amazing Hotels, and one of the places that they visit is an ice hotel. And I just couldn't help but think that this really isn't something that I would find very pleasant, because even the bed is made of ice. But I really liked her perspective that it was there and she could visit the room, but she didn't have to stay in it and spend the night inside the ice room.
me either. And you know, Scott, I don't like to miss out on experiences, but I think this one is a little extreme. One of those glass igloos that she talked about where you can see the stars and maybe the Northern Lights right in the comfort of a warm bed would be awesome. It sure beats having to get up in the middle of the night at an ice hotel and having to go to the bathroom.
it's important to note that, you know, for anybody listening, this year is not the only time that you're going to have a chance to see the northern lights. This is a regular recurring phenomenon, but this year there's an increase in solar activity, which increases your odds of being able to see it. So I think that's why everybody is flocking there this year. But I've also read that it's believed that this phenomenon may actually last for a couple of years. So if you don't have plans right now to go and see the Northern Lights, I think you still have plenty of opportunity. So don't worry about it.
I think it is a good reminder, though, and Lacey mentioned it, is that you really shouldn't plan a trip and that be the key aspect. Because then the whole trip just feels like a disappointment. But of all these things she talked about, I mean, there were so many other amazing things that it's almost like icing on the cake. And so I think you really have to keep that in perspective as hard as that would
Yeah. One of those things that she talked about in the interview is the crab safari that they did. So she has shared some videos with us that we're going to post on Sunshine Travelers podcast, our social media pages that you're not going to want to miss. And if you're a crab leg lover like I am, be prepared to be absolutely jealous.
Yeah, you're not going to believe the size of these. And how
And how many?
Yes. And how many? Lacey did give us some great tips on packing so don't overpack you're going to spend a lot of time in your sweaters and your parka no one's going to see your outfit so pack about half of what you think that you'll need one pair of snow pants or fleece long tights it's a very casual environment even for dinner and so make sure that you have good warm layers and i would say make sure that you have good warm layers. And I would say make sure that you have one of those mitten clips that she found really useful. And I think the hand warmers and the foot warmers, too.
even said that she had way too many of those because she bought the Costco size package of them. So if you need hand and foot warmers, maybe you want to reach out to Lacey because I think she's got quite a few left. So she also
other recommendation for visiting Sicily. And so that was a cool story about the train that goes on the ferry too, and whether or not she would do it again, but sounds very cool. I'm trying
picture this. I'm going to have to go Google it because I just can't picture the train being on a ferry. I don't know what that looks like in my head. We thought that this year might be a good time to try and catch our own glimpse of the Northern Lights, but with everything else that we've got planned already, this is just going to have to stay on our bucket list a little bit longer. And if you've been to Norway and have an experience that you'd like to share with us, please email me scott at sunshinetravelers.com. I'm always excited to hear from you and I'm inspired by your travel journeys.
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