Survived the Arctic Circle
Trip Start
Nov 02, 2006
1
11
44
Trip End
Dec 19, 2007
Kiruna,
Sweden
Monday, February 5, 2007
It snowed (lightly) the entire time I was there, so unfortunately I did not see the Northern Lights. However, on my flight back to STK at 6pm, there was this greenish glow in the horizon, above the clouds. Northern Lights? I think so.
Still, the trip was well worth it. The highlight was a dogsled trip - 12 dogs pull one sled with 4 people + the driver. The dogs were so adorable! Surprisingly, not all huskies and not as large as I expected. The owner said the leaner dogs were actually quite powerful
01 - Welcome to Kiruna
. Plus they probably don't have the chance to get fat when they're working hard every day. Anyhow, the dogs are super friendly and eager. Before we started off, while they were all waiting to get hooked in, they were barking so loudly and jumping up in place, like they were itching to get started. Once we started off, they were completely silent and seemed to be working very diligently at pulling the sled. One really cute one pulling my sled kept looking back, like he was checking if he was doing a good job.Being the shortest, I got to sit in front. Once we were settled in, my friend Ingrid kindly mentioned, "I probably shouldn't say this, but I heard the person sitting in front gets hit with the pee and pooh from the dogs..." Sweet. Luckily, I don't recall seeing any flying excrement, but I was also happily wearing ski goggles and otherwise well covered by a ski suit, fur hat, etc. The trip was great - definitely not any scenery I'd seen before. Hard to describe, but the ground was white, the sky was white, the trees were covered in white...when we traveled over a frozen lake, we couldn't even tell because it was so covered in snow. It was one of the most peaceful places I've ever been.
The ride includes a coffee break in a replica of a Sami (indigenous to northern Scandinavia) tepee/igloo structure. The owner, who was the driver on my sled, was a super friendly guy who has been raising dogs and giving tours for 17 years. He entertained us with stories of his past clients - good thing he didn't see me get off the sled & take one step off to the side & immediately fall waist-deep into snow. Ingrid managed to stop laughing only long enough to help pull me out of my snow ditch.
02 - Doggies!
The other must-do in Kiruna is to visit the Ice Hotel. I had no desire to stay there as sleeping in an ice box holds no appeal to someone who needs to wear gloves in balmy 50F weather. Plus, all guests and their belongings are kicked out at 9am everyday so that tourists can walk around. The Ice Hotel is built every winter next to the non-ice structures. It really is quite amazing - the suites are each unique and are designed by artists from around the world. Pretty impressive what people can do with a block of ice. And, of course, we stopped in the Ice Bar, where drinks are served in ice glasses.
Check out the pictures - much better than my descriptions of the weekend!
