Introduction: To The Land of Ice and Snow

Time to head on to the next overdue trip report, this time again to Europe in October, 2022. I’ve already put up a few posts from this series, in fact. One long-time bucket list of mine was to see the Northern Lights. Sure, I could have gone back to Alaska to check that off the list. After all, the Dalton Highway north of Fairbanks provides excellent Northern Lights viewing around Coldfoot. But I decided to try something else instead – a stay in a famous “glass igloo” in Finland. Along with some fun flight reviews, and of course a road trip, along the way.

This trip report includes the following segments:

Finnair A350-900 Business Class, Dallas to Helsinki
Enjoying a Fall Day in Helsinki
Finnair Lounge, Helsinki
Aurora Chasing in Finnish Lapland
A Nordic Road Trip to the Arctic Ocean
Wilderness Hotel Inari, Inari, Finland
Aspire Lounge Gate 27, Helsinki
Finnair A319 Business Class, Helsinki to Frankfurt
Hilton Garden Inn Frankfurt Airport
Air Canada Maple Leaf Lounge, Frankfurt
Lufthansa Senator Lounge B, Frankfurt
Singapore Airlines A380 Suites Class, Frankfurt to New York

The Flight Plan

The major flight portion of this trip consisted of some pretty sweet points redemptions for premium products. To get to Finland, I took advantage of Finnair’s Dallas to Helsinki nonstop on the A350-900. An added bonus? I got to check out Finnair’s unique Business Class product, the “Air Lounge”. All for the low price of just 57,500 American AAdvantage miles and $5.60 in taxes.

Getting to Finland only got me so far, though. My journey took me to the far reaches of Lapland in northern Finland. To get the rest of the way, I booked a cash ticket in Economy Class for €141.92.

Then to get from Lapland to Frankfurt, I redeemed 20,000 Alaska miles for Finnair’s intra-Europe Business Class*. Why the asterisk? The day I needed to fly, the only option was a connection via Helskinki. The Helsinki – Frankfurt leg was in standard Euro Business, though the short hop from Rovaniemi only offered coach. I plan on reviewing the Business Class flight. While I intended to review the regional Economy flight from Rovaniemi, it appears my photos of the cabin disappeared. The gorgeous fall scenery approaching Helsinki survived, though.

Then to get home, the big treat – Singapore Airlines Suites Class from Frankfurt. Until about a year ago, Singapore flew the A380 on this route, earning it the “Blogger Special” moniker. Because if you couldn’t swing an ultra long-haul, you could snag Frankfurt – New York easily for 86,000 KrisFlyer miles. I grabbed a seat just before the price increased. And it was a terrific experience for the price.

Finally, to get back from New York to Dallas, I took a plain-Jane flight on Southwest. I won’t review that flight; the Southwest experience just hasn’t changed much over the years. With that, my final flight plan ended up like this:

10/20/22 AY 20 Depart DFW International (DFW) 16:55 Arrive Helsinki-Vantaa (HEL) 11:10 (+1)
10/21/22 AY 639 Depart HEL 20:05 Arrive Ivalo (IVL) 21:35
10/24/22 AY 534 Depart Rovaniemi (RVN) 14:15 Arrive HEL 15:50
10/24/22 AY 1415 Depart HEL 16:55 Arrive Frankfurt (FRA) 18:35
10/25/22 SQ 26 Depart FRA 08:35 Arrive New York – John F Kennedy (JFK) 11:10
10/25/22 WN 2820 Depart New York – La Guardia (LGA) 16:20 Arrive Dallas – Love Field (DAL) 19:15

The Hotel Plan

The hotel plan for this trip was actually pretty simple. I planned to stay in one place for a few days in Lapland, then grab an airport hotel in Frankfurt before heading home. I looked at a variety of “glass igloo” options in Finnish Lapland. (Needless to say, points options largely don’t exist). I eventually settled on the Wilderness Hotel Inari, located on Lake Inari in the far north of Lapland. Why this hotel? Location. Specifically, Inari looked like it had the highest chances of seeing the aurora borealis in the region. With late October representing shoulder season, cash rates came in remarkably reasonable. I paid 260 euro per night for an “Aurora Cabin” with a heated glass roof. And yes, when the aurora appears, you really can watch while lying in your bed.

In Frankfurt, I kept it simple and booked one night at the Hilton Garden Inn at the airport. This set me back 166 euro for a single room. Nothing fancy, but convenient, and surprisingly nice for a Hilton Garden Inn.

The Road Trip Plan

Of course, no vacation of mine can be complete without a road trip. In this case, I designed to also visit the Arctic Ocean, after a near miss on my trip to Alaska. That necessitated a day trip to Norway to stick my feet in the Barents Sea. In the midst of the first snow of the season, no less.

In addition to the Arctic Ocean, the road trip brought me up close and personal with reindeer. This part of the world resembles Alaska in more way than one, as it turns out.