31-year-old Milda Dapkeviciute joined Melissa Dalton live on The Home Stretch on Wednesday to discuss her unusual story.
Milda was living a happy and exciting life after arriving here in April 2019. Her partner Tiago had been headhunted for a job at at a multinational based in the city and the couple took the decision to relocate from Helsinki.
The initial draw of Luxembourg, Milda says, was its rich history, nature in abundance as well as its promising location to explore Europe.
“I had never been to Luxembourg before and all I knew was that it was small and expensive, but I thought “you know, why not? It’s an adventure” but also because I love travelling and I saw that it was right in the middle of Europe and so easy to go to many places from there.”
Basing themselves in Kirchberg, the couple settled into life with Milda putting her background in tourism to good use.
With prior experience as a tour guide in Helsinki, Milda quickly took up where she had left off and began giving city tours to expats. Before long she had a deep knowledge of Luxembourg - both its history as well as practical information for new arrivals.
She offered tours to groups of up to 10 expats at a time and it was a job she relished, she says. An indispensable service which enabled her to take the newcomers by the hand, so to speak, “to show them around the cools bars and cafes.”
However, as the pandemic struck in 2020, it was period of reevaluation and reflection for Milda and Tiago and out of crisis a “crazy idea” was born.
“I’ve always been really fascinated by hotels so that summer in July we rented a car and went down to Switzerland and France. We were staying in this really nice Airbnb and we met a host who had these chalets in skiing resorts in France. He was sharing information about the business and I remember I was sitting there fascinated thinking “wow I’d love to do that.""
From that trip, she recalls, the all-important seed was sown for the igloo adventure.
Ultimately the pull of their former home, Finland, proved decisive and in winter 2020 the couple said goodbye their life in Luxembourg to explore the idea of building igloos and developing a small glamping business in the Scandinavian country.
After travelling to Finnish Lapland in January 2021 on a reconnaissance mission they found the perfect location to establish themselves in the middle of nature, 30 minutes from the capital Rovaniemi.
It was a labour of love and the building project took a bit longer than anticipated. Due to the deep snow they couldn’t begin building their igloos until early summer when the snow melted. Eventually the dream became reality and Pandomes Aurora Igloo Hotel came to fruition with the new hosts, and their dog Ragna, welcoming their first guests on Christmas Eve 2021.
Milda explains that the igloos are in fact wooden dome structures, so they are in place year-round and offer a true, raw “glamping” experience.
At the moment they have two igloos that can accommodate three people each and they are hoping to double that number next year.
The “warm and cozy” domes are equipped with a panoramic window, BBQ facilities, a bio-toilet and a fireplace making it the perfect place to sit and admire the Northern Lights when they appear in the night sky, says Milda.
Overall, Lapland is booming at the moment, which she attributes to a number of factors.
“The Christmas vibe is a really big attraction and I would say a lot of families are coming. To see your kid having their dream come true - I don’t think there is anything more beautiful.
“There is Santa Claus, the Northern lights and just to see a proper winter. There is the nice, clean snow that kids can actually enjoy and just to see the frozen trees and that doesn’t happen many in places in the world. It is very dry and because it is a dry cold it doesn’t feel that bad. Another thing that people love doing is meeting reindeer and huskies.”
Milda adds that romance is also a reason to visit.
“There are a lot of young couples coming and a lot of people also come for proposals. This week we have one couple coming and the guy is planning to propose. I’m really happy when people tell me that in advance because we can make it extra special for them.”
Although she misses Luxembourg, the joy of being surrounded by boundless nature, crisp air and deep, powder snow can’t be matched in many places.
“I’m glad to have listened to my gut and followed my dream.”
