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.
