8 Feb 2026
Finland and Schwannomas and Bears, Oh my!
Candy Chat is back with a 3-hour extravaganza. Ronnie Raviv joined hosts Leah Jones and Jocelyn Geboy to talk about medical diagnoses, Finland, the Ice Hotel, the last Bears game of the post-season, all while eating a lot of Finnish candy.
Candy that we sample during the episode. Photos on Threads
Suffeli Puffi
Marianne
Dumle Winter Mix
Jaffa
Karl Fazer Blueberry Truffle
Karl Fazer Salty Toffee Crunch
Salted Caramel Fudge
Ollo All Sorts
Susu Snacks
Tutti Frutti Winter Mix
Tyrkisk Peper
Fazer Glogikulaat
Lapland's blueberry candy
Vestibular Schwannoma or Acoustic Neuroma information
Mayo Clinic
Dr. Ricky Wong
Ronnie and Leah's guide to Lapland
Time-lapse drive to Sweden:
Housing between Kittila/Levy and Muonio
Villa Borealis (where we stayed)
https://www.villaborealis.com
Lapland Dream Villas (3adjacent cabins, different owner, same operator)
https://www.laplanddream.fi
Appropriate clothing
Our property owner had a warehouse that she took us to for boots, coats, gloves, snowpants, etc
Ice hotel provided coveralls, gloves, boots, balaclava
Base layer of cotton is a no-no in a cold room at Icehotel so make sure you at least have something synthetic or wool for top and bottom
Places we ate in Finland
Swiss cafe Muonio
Takka at Olos resort
Panoramic restaurant at Levi resort via gondola
Levi Pizza
Salteriat (schnitzel)
Finland activities and vendors
Aurora Chase with Arctic Frontiers http://www.arcticfrontier.fi/
Phenomenal. Would’ve booked a second night if needed
Base camp was on a frozen lake with a hut with a fire, warm juice and brownies
Dogsled http://www.maglelin.fi/
What a delightful afternoon! Ronnie drove a sled himself and I was a passenger on the guide's sled. Once she saw my cane, she made arrangements for me to sit and take 200 photos.
Family owned and operated. She offers different distances based on the weather and party size.
Arcandia Adventure Park
What a fun, silly night!
We did ramen with the shamen for dinner. Hot pot cooking with reindeer meat, filet, ramen, fresh veg
A la cart sausages and snacks looked good
Hot chocolate with mint liqueur was delicious
We threw spears, axes, archery, and did an astrology chart
This is hilly terrain with snow packed paths. We saw people slip and fall, but kept our footing.
Of course it’s a tourist trap! Take your best ren faire or Comic-Con attitude and have fun
https://www.arcandia.fi/
Reindeer safari https://www.getyourguide.com/sirkka-l139331/levi-reindeer-experience-with-sled-ride-t418396/?ranking_uuid=3248de96-0922-420f-af99-54f05c66decf
Warm drinks in a hut with a fire for fascinating reindeer facts after short sleigh ride and feeding reindeer
Ice hotel in Sweden
https://www.icehotel.com/
What we did
Ice Dinner
Slept cold in 365 art suite
Aurora photography with Scandinavian Sami Photoadventures
Www.scandanavianphtotoadventures.com.
Ice sculpture class
Ice Hotel suggestions
Look at the calendar for when the winter exhibit opens. We went a week before. Fun vibe with all the artists and builders on campus, but we didn’t get to see the annual build
Skip the ice dinner and eat a la carts
Use their gear! It’s really good
Make it two nights - one warm, one cold - and enjoy a slower visit
Overall thoughts
We went Nov 30 to December 6
2 hours of daylight stretched into 4-5 hours with dawn and dusk
Went before peak season of total darkness, so more cost effective
We didn’t do any Christmas or Santa stuff
A few notes on traveling fat and mobility-impaired
IceHotel had gear in sizes too big for me!
The icehotel sleeping bag was snug and a little claustrophobic, but it zipped
The property manager had coats big enough for me (actually a little too big)
WinterRent coat was my fave, but their 6x pants didn't fit. Their boots were also the best I borrowed for me.
The Snow Country snow pants I bought on clearance last year were perfect https://www.snowcountryouterwear.com/
Smart Wool base layers in largest size fit g
