SnowCastle of Kemi

The SnowCastle of Kemi is built new every winter on the shore of the Gulf of Bothnia, and no two versions match. Walls, vaults and furniture are formed from snow and ice; layout, carving and scale change with each season's design. By spring it has melted.

Guests in the snow rooms sleep at a steady temperature a little below freezing, insulated by expedition bedding on an ice base. Warm facilities sit alongside — washrooms, sauna, a heated restaurant — which is what makes a night here practical rather than an endurance test.

Kemi is also a working Baltic port, and the frozen sea nearby supports icebreaker excursions through the winter. Anyone this far north in the dark season stands a reasonable chance of the aurora as well.