Once upon a time...

...the European Space Agency (ESA) invited ten social media followers to take part in a day-long space weather science seminar in Rovaniemi, Finland. The event would include an evening of aurora viewing. So I clicked on the link hoping for the best but expecting nothing.

The message from ESA on Facebook

But a few days later (February 22) I received the following email from the ESOC (European Space Operations Centre, near Darmstadt) communications department:

Dear Stijn,

Thank you very much for registering for ESA's Space Weather Seminar, Rovaniemi, Finland, 14 March 2013.
On behalf of the Communication team at ESA, we are pleased to confirm your invitation and we look forward to seeing you in Finland!
You should plan your travel to arrive in Rovaniemi on 13 March and depart 15 March; our programme on 14 March will last the entire day.

From that moment on time was flying! I had to organise my trip to Finland in two weeks. There was already a plan to visit a friend, Cyril, who works since a few months at the Finish Meteorological Institute (FMI) in Helsinki. So maybe I could combine a visit of Helsinki with this space weather seminar in Rovaniemi?