I was really excited to see the actual latitude line of the Arctic Circle. I have no idea why…I just was. Well, arriving at 66° 33′ 44″ N was a lesson in expectation management. This is all there was:

Santa Claus has his “grotto” exactly 100m north of this crappy longitude marker, so we decided to pay him a visit. Well…Santa was nowhere to be seen.

Dear Santa, you suck!

Given that we are adults and (spoiler alert!) know the truth about jolly ol’ Saint Nick, we decided NOT to wait 45 minutes to see him, which would have then required us to wait an additional hour and a half for our bus back to town. They should really have a stand-in for Santa when he needs a potty break!

We opted instead to drink a toast to failed Christmas wishes at the train station and prepare for our overnight train to Russia!

I also had really high expectations for our 18-hour train ride from the Arctic Circle to St. Petersburg. I have no idea why…I just did. Maybe because we reserved a “private sleeper cabin with en suite shower”. Apparently what this really meant was: a table that turned into a sink, no shower anywhere on the train, and toilets that emptied directly onto the tracks. Again, expectation management.

Please don’t let that suitcase fall down…please don’t let that suitcase fall down.

Look who got the top bunk!

Well…there was nowhere to go but up from this let down of a day. So…Russia or bust, baby!

Seventeen months ago I set my heart on one date: April 11, 2014. This entire trip centered around one activity: Rovaniemi’s Reindeer Sprint Race. Sadly, at the airport in Frankfurt, we checked the internet and discovered that the races were cancelled due to lack of snow during this year’s horrifically mild winter in Europe.

If devastation could be captured in a screen shot, this is what it would look like.

Seventeen months! I didn’t even wait for my wedding day that long. “Disappointed” is far from adequate in describing my feelings about not being able to experience this event!

With sunken hearts, we headed north of the Arctic Circle anyway, and tried to salvage some sort of reindeer-fun! There was just enough snow left for us to enjoy a sleigh ride through the forest with some furry pals:

Even though it is technically spring, and the winter has been unprecedentedly warm, we were still required to bundle up in insulated jump suits, wool socks and boots. Despite all these layers and a campfire, I still had frozen digits!

Although not quite the spectacle that the Sprint Races would have been, it was still fun to get up close and personal with my favorite winter icon.  Our guide was really interesting and excited to share his experiences as a reindeer herder, and even cooked up some “arctic coffee” by the campfire.

Don’t overlook the resting reindeer in the upper right corner!

White reindeer are actually more rare and valuable than the “traditional” coloring we think of. This little guy is only three years old. Today was his first outing with tourists. He was a little skeptical, but he managed ok!

Here is Joe, wrestling with one of the reindeer for a lichen treat. Look at those crazy feet!

I guess I’ll just have to wait another 40+ years to see Rudolph run! I made Joe promise to take me back to see the reindeer races when we are old and retired and have nothing else to do with our time. Here’s to hoping!