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Published: December 21st 2022
My sisters, their families and I took the 15 hour overnight train to the far north of Sweden: Kiruna, 150 km north of the arctic circle. I was actually quite excited for the train ride (I love trains), but a couple of the adults were a bit nervous (I won't say who). We had booked two cabins, each slept 6 people. The 6 kids all enjoyed some cousin time in their own cabin, while the adults played some bean board game two cabins down. We had asked the middle cabin if they wanted to switch, but they were an incomplete group of strangers.
The wine came out and we stated to enjoy our time, but the two families were divided come bed time. I made up most of the beds, climbing to the top bunk and working my way down. Have I mentioned I really get frustrated with duvets and duvet covers?
In the morning, we had a quick breakfast, got dressed, and repacked our stuff. It was crowded, but in a cozy way. The sun started to come up and it was just beautiful - the pretty sunrise colors with with white landscape and snow-covered pine trees. We
arrived to the lovely temperature of -20C. Brrrr! We walked past a monument to the iron mine workers before setting in the waiting room. Soon the rental car company came and gave us our cars. Actually, we only needed two with the cars we were given, but oh well. They were actually quite nice! And they drove really well in the snow.
Icehotel Since it was still only 10am, well before check in, we drove to the Icehotel, in the nearby village of Jukkasjärvi. The hotel is made each year, functional from December to April, from ice blocks harvested from the nearby Torne River. We were a bit early, the receptionist seemed annoyed by us, and the ice bar was not serving, so it was a bit disappointing, not helped by the steep price just to visit (my sister who paid refused to say how much it was). But it was very interesting to see the way they constructed the hotel. I would have loved to try the ice bar, but I guess I can actually do that in Dubai. The rooms were all designed by artists who compete each year and were all different; I thought the
one room with the creepy old guys staring at your to be very weird though.
Camp Alta Afterwards, we drove back to Kiruna to do grocery shopping before heading to Camp Alta. Honestly, I cannot overstate how incredible the scenery was along the road - the drives back and forth could have been tedious, but they were instead quite lovely. We arrived at the camp around midday. Since there were eleven of us, I had booked an 8-person cabin and two smaller 2-person huts, one which did not have its own bathroom. The woman at check in said the main cabin was 1km away. Whaaaat? The website said the cabin was not in the main camp, but I thought they just meant it was not in the cluster of buildings. Instead, she said there was a 6-person cabin adjacent to our main one, but it only had a dry outside bathroom (outhouse). However, it did have its own private sauna. I agreed and they gave it to me for the same rate as the other two huts. We got all the benefits of the camp, aside from having to drive to the location
Actually, it was pretty
perfect and peaceful. The cabins were nice and clean, well-stocked with cooking supplies, and the sauna was awesome. We were right on the frozen lake. My sister and I were a bit disappointed because we had planned to go into the camp sauna and jump in the frozen lake water (she spent a year of university in Finland), but the lake was frozen solid - there was no ice cold water to jump in. So, really, there was no need for us to be in the main camp at this point. Two adults stayed in the main cabin with the kids while the other three adults went to the smaller cabin when it was bedtime. The first night was pretty mellow - we made dinner, had some drinks, took photos, and the three sisters went to the sauna with all the kids but two. The kids kept daring everyone to run outside and roll in the snow, which we all did, some more than others (I did but was a bit of a wuss). It was so fun!
The next morning, we rented some cross-country skis from the camp and my sister took four of the kids on an
adventure on the frozen lake, while the other group (2 adults, 2 kids) went to the local Sami culture center, where they got to see some of the history and the little kids played with reindeer and snow. The skiing was fun - I took photos. My sister's kids do downhill skiing every year and are pretty good, but cross-country skiing is not as easy as it looks! I got some great videos of kids falling, especially at the end.
Later that day we went to Kiruna and had Thanksgiving dinner at a street food car. Yes, for real. My sister said it had like a thousand 5 star reviews. And yes, Stejk Street Food was amazing. You order from this food truck type set up, but you go into a large Sami style tent / teepee to eat. There is a central fire for warmth and picnic tables scattered inside. Then, one of the workers brings you your food; I don't know if he is like this with everyone, but he loved to entertain and tease our family. He was great! We ordered moose and reindeer meat in various options and it was yum. Really - a definite
must do!
Dog Sledding After "Thanksgiving dinner" we returned to camp to get ready for our evening adventure: dog sledding! We were to be picked up at the camp just before 5pm (it was very dark at this point), so we all bundled up in warm clothes. I loved seeing the two little ones wrestling in the snow outside - so cute! We were picked up by two people at the camp, one a French guy who worked in the mines during the day and did the dog sled tours at night, the other a Latvian woman who was relatively new. We broke into two groups at the dog kennel where they dressed us up in warm coveralls, giving us warmth and protecting our clothes from any of that fun dog smell.
I am sure there will be concerns or questions about the treatment of the dogs and the ethical boundaries of using dogs in this fashion. We are a family of dog lovers, and two of the kids in particular love dogs. We were left feeling very assured. We saw where the dogs are kept when not out running and they seem roomy and clean, and
each dog seems to get a lot of attention and love. The guides also told us the dogs love to run - indeed, when we were driven to the site, the dogs were so excited to be let loose!
We were separated into three groups; I rode with the two older boys. Our guide was Czech and rather than the typical huskies, he had mixed breeds (a bit of husky and Chinook I believe). He said he has a large property in Czechia where the dogs are free to roam after the winter season here. He told us that the huskies are known for their endurance, running those long races like the Iditarod, while his dogs are known for their speed. We were the last to start of the four groups (another group in addition to our family) and you could tell he was doing a lot of braking here. The two dogs in the back, father and son, were the largest and strongest of the group, while his fastest were at the front. He also had a female dog that was in the second line who he said was a world champion - I think he won a
400m (?) sprint with her.
He mentioned how it is still early in the season and they really need to have another meter of snow to have a better adventure, such as through the trees. But it was still nice, though no northern lights due to the clouds. He told us that while Kiruna was a relatively new town, founded about a hundred years ago due to the mines, the town where the Ice Hotel is located, Jukksjarvi, is one of the oldest towns in the area, being about 400 years old or more. It was previously a Sami gathering place, but the name is now Finnish.
About halfway through our ride, we stopped for a snack including tea, coffee or hot chocolate in a Sami-style teepee, with a fire in the middle for warmth. It was a bit crowded, but we enjoyed it. Then it was back to ride again and this time our guide was able to let his dogs go - we easily passed everyone else and were the first ones back. We gave each of the dogs a good pet before saying goodbye, then we were driven back to camp where we had an
easy night.
Kiruna The town / city was founded in about 1900, based on the iron ore locations and now has the present mining company (LKAB). However, due to mining activities, the ground in the town started to subside and the city is now famous for needing to be re-located. So, starting in about 2007, the re-location of the town and infrastructure was begun. We saw what is the new town center which looked new and smart (concentrated buildings, reducing the need to walk outside in the winter weather). Driving to the town and seeing the colorful buildings was very nice. I was sad that we did not have the time to visit the largest wooden church in Sweden though. The town has an interesting history, but it is its natural surroundings that make it memorable.
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Home and Away
Bob Carlsen
What an adventure!!!
And with your family. I bet the kids had fun. I'm not sure I can take the cold. Our high tomorrow is at midnight tonight at -1 F and I plan to stay indoors as much as possible. Anyway, I recall taking the train from Stockholm to Kiruna and on to Narvik, Norway in Aug 1968 right after graduating from high school. Then I took the train, ferry, and bus down the length of Norway to Oslo...my Eurailpass days!