Winter Wonderland…

This year we decided to celebrate New Year’s in style with a short four day trip out to the IceHotel in Sweden.

It didn’t start out to well as we had trouble finding the car parking at the airport which stressed Sue in particular. Trouble with the lift then compounded the issue. We did manage to relax a bit before we boarded our plane but then we were informed it was being grounded due to a problem with one of the tyres. Luckily as this was our first organised tour (with Discover The World) we had a travel rep on-board and she assured us she would inform the people in Sweden of our predicament and make sure everything was done to make sure our transfers and excursions were unaffected. Eventually after a couple of hours delay we were on another plane heading for the remote Swedish town of Kiruna.

When we arrived we hurriedly transferred to our shuttles to our various locations. We had to rush through our hotel check-in as we were due on an excursion and consequently we were quite flustered when we arrived at the meeting point in our newly acquired snow suits. We then we able to settle down as the group assembled at the snowmobile area where we took the last machine in the line and mounted up. We headed out first onto the frozen river to get used to our stubborn beasts, wrestling with the steering as it tried to follow the ruts in the snow. The couple in front of us were nervous drivers and so we would tend to lag behind causing the group to occasionally stop for us to catch up. Leaving the river we headed up through wooded areas, across lakes and into the hills, stopping once and a while to see if we could see stars or northern lights, but alas the cloud cover was low and complete and we saw neither. As we wound through the drooping snow covered pines we went off trail when we lost sight of the leading pack, luckily the side route soon re-joined the main track causing only a minor panic. We stopped at the wilderness camp which was a series of octagonal buildings with a central fire around which we all sat on benches as our guide warmed up a lovely meal (leak and potato soup, reindeer stew, panna cotta and lingonberry desert, all washed down with warm lingonberry juice – alternatively humorously called ‘dingle berry’ by one of the Americans). We enjoyed the company of our fellow riders especially the gregarious half of the gay American couple seated next to us (a couple of the women in their group being the slow drivers). Our return journey was shorter and quicker and soon we were back at the IceHotel. It was now late and we decided to turn in and organise our hastily unpack belongings.

We were staying the first three nights in a Kaamos Room (named after the Kaamos light – the twilight illumination that occurs at this time of the year as the sun stays below the horizon). It was a comfortable large room with its own bathroom in a block. Several blocks were arranged around the site as were chalets and a larger octagonal accommodation. There several other buildings on site – several service buildings, a main reception with a lovely lounge in it, a shop, and a cold reception adjacent to the IceHotel itself. There were also a couple of warehouses for the storage of the ice (it is harvested in spring when the ice is at its thickest and stored over summer until it is used when they start construction in December). Over the road from the main reception is a large restaurant that was part of the facilities, and down in the small town was a local shop, a lovely church and the Homestead restaurant (part of a complex of older buildings that formed a historic museum).

After breakfast we explored the site a bit more finding the domed IceBar (unfortunately or fortunately not serving drinks in the morning). This structure was interesting as it differed from earlier years when it was part of the main IceHotel complex as it was now separate – built by inflating a large dome and spraying it with water until it froze solid, thick enough to support its own weight yet still allowing some light to penetrate such that you could see figures moving around inside at night. It had been a warm winter locally so the second ‘breast’ next door was not complete.

During the middle of the day we had arranged a Husky Sledding experience and we met our teams out on the river. Each sled took four people sitting with the guide standing at the controls behind is and about a dozen small dogs ranged out in front barking like mad to be on their way. This was a lovely journey (if slightly smelly – a result of a meaty diet) across river and through woodland to another group of huts where we were served homemade spiced apple cake and more lingonberry juice.

Being New Year’s Eve that night we had a meal arranged at the restaurant and we preloaded a little with some of the alcohol we brought from the UK with us. We also returned to the IceBar and had another fortifying drink where we met a group a Swedes who were very friendly. Our last drink there was called the Tribute, but was locally called ‘wolf’s paw’ as it could knock you down being that it was mostly vodka (locally it would be moonshine) and the ubiquitous lingonberry juice. The meal was lovely and we chose to have the matching drinks (very generous they were too). As the hour approached we met at the main reception where the King and Queen of 2015 and their courtiers (one playing a white tuba) and a drummer (playing his kit supported by a fork lift) gathered to process down towards the river. They stopped briefly at the IceBar to gather more supporters and then as the crowd gathered in a snowy mosh pit one of the courtiers donned a helmet and head-butted down a portion of the ice wall to allow the 2015 royals to enter and address the crowd (humorous speeches and mad opera singing) until time drew close and as the new King and Queen of 2016 arrived (two children in the bucket of a digger) and we inaugurated the old King and Queen smashed the ice 2015 sculpture with sledgehammers as the 2016 sculpture rose above the ice wall and the countdown to the New Year began. It was all quite funny – especially as we had nearly finished the hip flask of brandy we had brought. Fireworks went off, music started and pools of coloured flames were lit in large ice blocks as the party began.

Luckily we had no plans for the next day as I needed to return to bed after breakfast the worse for drink, and did not reappear until much later on. We did explore the town, walking down the snow covered road past the local houses still festive with their Christmas decorations, to look at the quaint church and walk back along the river (looking at the icy plunge pool cut into the river for those who wanted to cool down after their sauna). We had our tour of the IceHotel this day seeing the fabulous art rooms with individual sculptures within. We also had our briefing about how to cope with sleeping in the rooms. That night we had another fabulous meal at the restaurant and as we had an early start the next day we did not linger too late.

The next morning was our Raidu excursion to the Sami camp where we would get up close and personal with the reindeer. We were shuttled out on sleds pulled by a snow mobile where we fed the reindeer calves by hand with lichen. Then we went to the enclosure where the gelded reindeer used to pull sleds were kept. After a couple were selected we moved to a fenced in track where they were each hooked up to a small sled. We were then invited to volunteer to drive one of the sleds. An American woman and I stepped forward, her sled started first in a steady manner and I was quite happy until mine lurched off in a mad gallop to catch the first where upon they both thundered around the track neck and neck with us ‘drivers’ hanging on for dear life. Later one couple had a minor crash but were unhurt, though it was enough to put Sue off trying it herself. After this we went with our Sami guide to a traditional lavvu (large tepee style structure with and open fire in the middle and seating on skins on the ground), there he talked to us about his culture and the reindeer while cooking us a traditional smoked reindeer dish called suovas. After this we were transported on the snowmobile sled to an open air museum where we could learn more about their culture.

As this was our night in the IceHotel cold room we had to check out of our other accommodation effectively making us homeless for the day. We relaxed and had a snack in the lounge watched over by stuffed animals (a lynx with an artic hare in its mouth) an impressive set of antlers with the name ‘Rudolph’ printed underneath. This evening we had an evening meal at the Homestead and we wandered down early for a drink first. The food here was more basic but it was a lovely cosy environment in the old wood panelled rooms. We strolled back and warmed up in the cold reception area (not cold in temperature just associated with the cold accommodation), leaving it until quite late before collecting our thermal sleeping bags and moving into our ‘Northern Lights Room’ (so called for the waving multi-coloured illumination shone on the ceiling). I apparently was out like a like and snoring terribly such that Sue did not get anywhere as much sleep. However she was dead to the world when the girl arrived in the morning with our now slightly boring hot lingonberry juice to wake us up.

We made use of the facilities, ate a good breakfast and lingered in the lounge until our coach arrived to take us back to the little airport and to catch our plane homeward.

The only think we missed out on was the Northern Lights and had we known before we might have reorganised our stay to include a night at the Abisko National Park and the Aurora Sky Station where some of our travellers had seen fabulous displays.