Page 72 of From Helsinki with Love
She copies me again. “Saatana.”
“Good job,” I commend her. “So, if you’re feeling enraged, say all three together, and that gets your message across quickly. Vittu perkele saatana.”
“Oh wow, that made you sound furious.”
“Isn’t that the point of swearing?”
“You’re not wrong,” Vivian admits. “I think I’m ready to unleash my newfound knowledge on your farmor Lovisa.”
I chuckle, imagining the look of disapproval on my grandmother’s face. “Please don’t, she’ll never forgive me and will remove my name from her will.”
Vivian’s laughter fills the truck. I love making her laugh as seeing her happy is one of my favorite things.
“Don’t worry, I won’t. But it’s good to know these words just in case,” she points out after her laughter dies down.
I shake my head, amused by her eagerness to learn the less conventional parts of the Finnish language and culture.
20
I WAS UNSURE WHETHER I COULD SLEEP ON A BLOCK OF ICE
VIVIAN
“Are you kidding me?” are the first words that I say when I finally see where we are spending the night. I definitely couldn’t have guessed our destination even if I tried.
“I thought it would be special,” Jasper shrugs and gets out of the truck, walking to my side to open the door.
I was sure Jasper couldn’t surprise me like he did with the igloo. I’ve been complaining about the cold the entire time I’ve been in Finland, yet he has booked us a stay at a freaking Ice Hotel made of ice and snow. Still, I’m excited to be sharing the experience with him.
“It’ll surely be different,” I admit, glancing around. “I read about this place, but my parents and I were supposed to make a day trip to see it, not stay for a night.”
Jasper takes my hand and leads me to the reception. “It’s a tourist destination during the day, and then at night, it’s only open for the guests who are staying overnight. There’s a bar and a restaurant, too, but I booked us a private dining room from another restaurant nearby as it was still available.”
“That sounds fancy. Thanks for planning all this.”
“Anything for you, Muru.”
Jasper checks us in at the reception and they ask us to wait for a hotel employee to give us a guided safety tour. It doesn’t take long until a man in his twenties greets us, wearing winter clothes branded with the hotel logo featuring a snowflake.
“Hi, I’m Daniel, your guide tonight. Let’s start with visiting your suite first. Then I’ll show you the locker rooms and where the bathrooms and emergency exits are located.”
We introduce ourselves and follow Daniel. We make our way through the icy corridors, passing by intricate ice sculptures and frozen walls. It blows my mind that the whole place is made of ice, including the furniture and most likely the bed we’ll be sleeping in.
“How cold is it here?” I ask as Daniel shows us the bar area as we pass it.
“Around zero to minus five Celsius degrees, which means something like twenty to thirty Fahrenheit.”
“That’s actually warmer than I expected.”
He smiles knowingly. “The temperature always stays around that, no matter how cold it is outside. The snow works as insulation once the hotel is rebuilt every year.”
“And how many guests are here tonight?” Jasper asks.
“We’ve got a full house tonight, so around eighty guests,” Daniel answers him. “Come on, let me show you to your suite.”
When we finally reach the Aurora Borealis suite, I’m blown away by the beauty of it. Needless to say, the room is just as fascinating as the rest of the hotel. The walls are carved with delicate designs, imitating the Northern Lights, and the bed is covered in reindeer fur.
“As you can see, the bed has a normal thick mattress, but you’ll have to pick up the warm Arctic sleeping bags with fleece linings from the dressing rooms before going to bed,” Daniel explains, showing the room to us. “Do you have any questions?”
