Atlantica - 01.01.2006, Page 38

36 AT L A N T I CA
Winter is Finnish Lapland’s native season, when the northern
tip of the country comes into its element: snow. In the middle
of it all is the mountain town of Levi, home to 650 souls off-season.
What to do in such a small town in the middle of the Arctic? What not
to do? Levi’s population jumps to 1,900 between February and April,
when its forests and hills are host to all possible varieties of skiing,
snowboarding, snowshoeing, and snowmobiling. Go ice fishing or
ice swimming. Play snow football or snow golf. And at the end of the
season, celebrate Levi’s homegrown version of Vappu, or May Day, in
full swing on the snowy slopes of spring.
Happy Lappish
Happy Lappish. Not so much a saying
in Lapland as a frame of mind. Happy
Lappish comes from a place where
the natural elements are such a force
that people know there are certain
things in life you can’t control. Busy,
but not stressed. So relaxed that six
hours in the sauna feels good, and the
icy water that follows feels even better.
Photos by
Áslaug Snorradóttir
Text by
Krista Mahr
Levi
*
FINLAND
Helsinki
036-39 ATL106 Finland 2 .indd 36 16.12.2005 12:34:32