Forbes.com

Just the ticket - Finland

By MARIA FINN

Lapland: The short curtains hide only the most intimate of tasks in the glass-domed "igloos" of Hotel and Igloo village Kakslauttanen in northern Finland, but the lack of privacy is quickly excused when night falls and the sensation of winter camping -- without the chill -- sets in.

The beds are adjustable so you can watch for the northern lights through the clear, geodesic roof. Up in the Arctic Circle, as elsewhere in the northern hemisphere, you lose light every day until December 21 (and then the days lengthen until the summer solstice, June 21). The change is just more dramatic here, with whole days of light or dark -- though the light and dark are rarely absolutes, but rather a spectrum of shifting tones of blue and twilight hues that extend from afternoon through late night. You marvel at the sky, and doze on and off while waiting to see the ethereal aurora borealis.

The Igloo Village is a hub for the Nordic winter wonders of Lapland. The hotel provides cross-country skis for the trails that cut through the property then stretch on for longer journeys. Reindeer meander the paths and ptarmigan scatter among the rolling hills. But this is Europe after all, with civilization always near at hand, including cafés along the ski route serving salmon soup or hot berry tea.

Europe's earliest-arriving people -- the Sami -- still live in Lapland and herd reindeer across northern Russia, Norway, Sweden and here in Finland, oblivious to borders. Once part of Sweden and then the Russian empire, Finland gained its independence in 1917. It's technically not a Scandinavian country since it doesn't share a common linguistic base with the others (its closest language ties are to Hungary). But the familiar Scandinavian landscape of frozen lakes, open fields of snow and simple birch and pine forests is also the basis of the Finnish aesthetic.

Though most of Lapland is in the Arctic Circle, its chill is tempered by the Gulf Stream from the Atlantic and it is relatively mild compared to other places along this latitude. Outdoor activities continue all winter, and the landscape can be experienced in a variety of ways. Snowmobile safaris rumble all the way to the Arctic Ocean--it's about a three-day trip from the igloo hotel, with overnights in reindeer herders' cabins. But an afternoon of gliding over the fells and hills around the nearby resort town of Saariselkä is also satisfying. Zip by the downhill skiers, pass reindeer farms, excite dog sled teams and take in vistas of endless white snow and slate-gray boulders.

A perfect day-trip snowmobile excursion leads you 31 miles from the Hotel to Design House Idoli, a small museum and shop that showcases the work of Finnish designers, who translate the stark beauty of the landscape into elegantly crafted ceramics, textiles, glassworks and steel. Situated on the shore of Lake Inari, Idoli is curated by founders Hanneli and Pekka Sillfors. It includes classics by Alvar Aalto along with works from rising stars in the design world, like Markku Salo. The tour ends with a visit to a glass tepee, or "koti," as it is known in Finland, with a 360-degree view. Sipping sparkling wine from flutes the texture of chiseled ice made by Salo is a highlight.

The Finns like to tell visitors that there are one million saunas in a country of five million people, and accurate or not, you get the idea that they take the activity very seriously. Back at the hotel, the glass-domed igloos don't have showers themselves; rather you walk up the hill to the largest smoke sauna in the world, which provides a wetter heat than the familiar electric-heat dry sauna. Seasoned sauna-takers work up a sweat then tiptoe down the snowy trail to the river, where a hole has been cut through the thick ice for dipping.

You can warm up again in the Igloo hotel's restaurant, which serves local specialties--in fact, many of the animals you see in the wild are consumed right here: elk carpaccio, ptarmigan breasts, wild duck and lots of lean, tender reindeer. Berries are abundant as well, so many of the meats are paired with tart cranberry or lingonberry sauces. A classic Finnish dessert is small frozen cranberries served with warm caramel. The tart and sweet, hot and cold contrasts are as sensual as the hot saunas and cold swims.

I realized I had been won over by Lapland one night while walking the trails back to the hotel, the smell of burning pine in the air. Dramatic rays of orange light left a wake of deepening blue shadows. Back in the glass-domed igloo, I looked up at the branches darkening into shadows. The stars were beginning to dot the indigo sky, and I waited for the light show to begin.

The Setup

Hotel and Igloo Village Kakslauttanen, 011-358-16-667-100, www.kakslauttanen.fi. Small cabin rates start at $160; glass igloo rates from $360. Overnight safaris from $1,100. Design House Idoli, www.idoli.fi.