I was expecting to write this post as soon as we got back from Finland, but Si brought back a Finnish flu/cold/buggy thing that made us drop like flies as soon as we got back. Not the homecoming I expected, but at least we weren't both really sick while we were away. Si struggled on the last day or two of the honeymoon, but luckily we had planned to just relax and do nothing anyway, so it was ok.
So yeah, I'm still wheezing and hacking and snuffling, but at least I feel 'compos mentis' enough to actually write something now. I'm no longer in the fetal position under my duvet!
Finland was amazing! It was a great holiday, and a perfect honeymoon. We had planned just the right amount of stuff to do without me being completely knackered, we had two days of brilliant sunshine (which really does make the snow glisten like diamonds), we got to play with huskies, it snowed, and...we saw the Northern Lights!!! Hurrah!!
We were very lucky. The first proper night we were there was predicted to be great and just happened to be a cloudless night (which when you followed the forecast like I had, turned out to be pretty incredible) so we saw them dance, we saw them lazily laying across the sky, and we even saw them behind clouds on another night. Definitely lucky. I'm still reeling from my idiocy though because I managed to get my new camera on a ridiculous setting which meant I couldn't have a long enough exposure to get a really great photo of the 'dancing lights'. For someone who loves taking photos, it was a such a missed opportunity, so as petty as it sounds I was pretty peed off. Si had to put up with me getting in a huff and and flap and swearing at myself and the camera. He just switched it to the auto setting while I was cradling my head on my hands and get a series of photos like this:
The words 'knight' and 'shining' spring to mind. :)
I have to say I loved the cold. My MS does not react well with heat (I've started to dread the summer..and Britain hardly has what can be called a 'summer') but I was amazed to find that the extreme cold seemed to have opposite effect. I felt really good! Of course I had fatigued moments, but when I was out in the cold I almost felt like the weight had lifted. I definitely had more stamina and I found walking easier (despite having heavy snow boots). Perhaps it was the air quality as well? The air is so pure up there, part of me thought it could be having the same benefits as oxygen therapy?
I'll no doubt blog again about Finland, but rather than go on and on now...here are a few more photos!
Oh...and as good as the Northern Lights were, it was nothing compared to the smile on Lib's face when I got home! Amazing. :D
The Northern Lights behind the clouds
Baby reindeer
Fun in the snow! Taken at about 10pm..that's how bright the moon was!
Lovely photos! How did you manage the Swank Diet while on vacation? I'm going to Italy this spring and am guessing sticking to the diet will be verrrrry difficult.
ReplyDeleteItaly?! No chance! ;) The food wasn't too bad actually. I would have been able to stick to the diet quite well, but I chose to have a week off for various reasons. Going to write a post about the diet aspect now.
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