The Lottes family took the trip of a lifetime to the Artic Circle this winter.  They made it to the Arctic Circle by way of Finland and visited Lapland, Rovaniemi, and Helsinki along the way.  

Ashley and Wesley Lottes have always been avid travelers and adventure seekers—and did not want to stop once they had children.  With their youngest being two, this trip was a great adventure, and it was a bonus to see the Santa Village during the holidays.  

Ashley and Wesley both work for Entergy.  Ashley is a financial analyst, and Wesley is in digital engineering.  Their four-year-old, Grant, and two-year-old, Myles, both attend pre-school at Broadmoor.  The trip was a fun break from their day-to-day!

They left Madison at 6 AM on a Saturday and arrived at their destination at 7:30 AM on Monday.  The travel included three planes, a commuter train, a public bus, a sleeping train, and a taxi to arrive at the Arctic Circle.  They were gone for a total of ten days.

Some of the highlights of their trip included seeing reindeer,  snowmobiling, dog sledding, crossing into the Artic Circle,  sleeping in a glass igloo,  sledding, and just being in the snow.  The boys got to meet Santa in his office.  At the North Pole, they got to experience Helsinki’s Christmas Market with glögi (Scandinavian hot red wine) and warm cinnamon doughnuts! 

The Lottes family was pleased that communicating was not an issue at all.  Although they only knew how to say a few words in Finnish, almost everyone was able to converse in English with them.  Also, there was no need for a stroller.  Hotels provide sleds to pull children around in the villages.  Another fun fact was that there were only about four hours of daylight a day in the winter, from around 10 AM until 2:30 PM.  The pictures with darkness were actually taken around 8 AM! 

They recommend adding the Artic to your travel list, and visiting Santa if you have kids!