Valentines Day but no cards or little gifts to wake up to, only a blanket of thick snow that was waiting for us. We had being staying in the guest house and the chore of the day was to dig our way into the family cabin- no mean feat when the cabin is 30 metres off the road sitting under knee deep snow. A big breakfast was going to be required before this mammoth 'gym' session - coffee, buns, porridge, bread, meat, cheese - ok, so that is the norm but we felt good and ready for the task ahead. After an hour, we reached the door and had a few minutes rest before beginning the next hour's labour to clear a path to the outside toilet - we were, of course, in the middle of the forest.

The muscles were aching and a sauna seemed like the perfect remedy but it wasn't going to be that easy...we would need to work a little harder for that. Collect and chop some firewood, not actually so bad because there were dry logs in the woodshed ;) Two fires had to be started, one for hot water and one for the actual sauna. Now, here is where we jump back to snow...there was no water in the hot water tank so it was carting buckets of snow from the piles outside. Within the hour, the snow had melted and the water was boiling and the sauna ready - time for a well earned relax in the heat...