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Published: March 16th 2009
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Two weeks ago, I took a 17 hour train ride to Lulea, Sweden. Its a few hours from the Arctic Circle and its where Kai studies. I had a bed in the train so it wasn't as bad as it sounds because I just watched movies on my laptop and slept for a good portion of the ride. Kai's roommate Markus had two friends from Germany visiting him as well and we all rented a car to drive North for the weekend. There were many other exchange students who joined us in other rental cars. We drove a few hours North and got out of the car to get some pictures of where the Arctic Circle officially begins. The Arctic Circle is defined as the point where the sun never sets on Summer Solstice, around June 20. The Circle shifts a little bit every year, but its very gradual. We drove farther North to Kiruna, the largest city in the world (by area). It has about 20,000 people but the city limits go on for miles and miles to give them their claim to the biggest city. The Ice Hotel is close by and we spent a few hours there. It
is the 19th one, since it melts every summer and is rebuilt every winter. Nearly everything is made of ice. There are several rooms and people actually stay in them! They wear full body sleeping bags and there are reindeer skins on the beds. The cheapest room is $400 a night and there is a room for over $1000! The guests also get a non-ice place to dwell when they aren't sleeping. Each room has different sculptures which are really well done. There was even an ice chandelier with lighting installed. I sat on an ice couch but not for long, of course it was way too cold! And the Absolut Ice Bar is really cool. Only Absolut vodka is served, a famous Swedish vodka. It is served in ice glasses and a tiny mixed drink with one shot is $13! I was freezing by the time we left but it was well worth it. I bought Kai a bottle opener with a handle made of reindeer antler for his birthday which is a nice way to remember that experience. We continued traveling North until we reached our "house". It wasn't exactly a hotel. Lulea community owns a house which
is more like a dormitory that students and other citizens can rent. We brought all of our own groceries and home-made wine with us and our cars were packed to the brim! We had to cross train tracks to get from the car to the house which was interesting (but totally safe mom!) I got to meet a lot of Kai's friends from Lulea that are from countries like Scotland, US, Austria, and Australia. The next day we went to Riksgransen, a ski resort on the Swedish-Norwegian border. Since I'm very inexperienced and the lift ticket and ski rental was so pricey, I decided to enjoy a day in the lodge's spa. First I went tanning, which felt so great! Then I went in a brand new sauna with a window to gaze out at the mountainous scenery. The mountains weren't like Colorado, but still very beautiful. I also went in the Jacuzzi which had large windows for gazing as well. It was a very relaxing afternoon. We spent that evening back at the house with friends. On Saturday, Kai, me, and Bobby from New York headed back to Lulea early. Kai's sister Brie had arrived in Lulea for her
spring break. I spent two more nights in Lulea before heading back to Vaxjo. It was really nice to see the Arctic Circle and I was surprised that the temperature was about the same as Minnesota in the winter! We were blessed with excellent sunny skies. Kai is probably going back to this resort in late May, just a month shy of Summer Solstice. He will be able to ski until midnight or later! I am very thankful I got to join him and his friends on this trip and it made me realize how cold Duluth can get when its not even close to the Arctic Circle!
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