Kiruna/Arctic Circle

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This past weekend I went for a trip up north to a town called Kiruna which lies about 150Km inland from the Arctic Circle. It was an amazing trip to say the least and I'm totally glad I decided go. My friend Brian had called me earlier in the week letting me know a bunch of his friends/other exchange students were planning a trip and to book a train ticket if I was interested. It took me about a day to decide and I figured why not, I had been planning to go up there anyways at some point so I might as well do it while its primetime to go.

The trip began on Thursday (January 27th) when I woke up and realized I had nothing packed, no cash, no groceries, and I only had a bit of time to get all 3 of these things done before 9pm that night. Since being here in Uppsala, this was the first time I had done laundry. i went over to the laundry facilities and struggled a bit as all the instructions were in Swedish, luckily there were other students there doing laundry and I was able to get some help.

After that I came back to my room and started making a list of what I wanted to bring, started getting stuff packed, etc. Went out to get cash and groceries around 4pm and met my friend Brian in the centrum to go over the details, get food and stuff. My VISA had been giving me problems with cash advances, and going so far up north I didn't want to take the chance of using credit card cause its kind of hit or miss over here (with mine at least) so I went to the forex and luckily it worked and was able to get cash. After getting that all done I got back to my room to get everything together, skype my parents before leaving for the weekend, and double checking I had everything. Now it was time for the real adventure to begin.

Went off to the train station only knowing 1 of the 8 people I was going on the trip with so I really didn't know who to look for at the train station. A few people showed up and started hanging around where the meeting spot was but I wasn't entirely sure if it was them or not so I stuck by myself until my friend arrived, and sure enough the people who I thought were part of the group were and I went over and introduced myself. Once everyone got there we went up to the platform and waited for the train to Boden, haha, Boden. It was a 12 hour ride and even though I had planned to just sleep that wasn't the case, although my ticket wasn't beside anyone else's I was going with it didn't end up being a problem, the train to Boden wasn't exactly jam packed so we were able to move around. We got on the train, got settled in, got a beer, and started to play some asshole. It was great that everyone was in the mood to stay up for a bit instead of going to sleep as it helped pass the first few hours nicely, and helped me get to know everyone a little better having only even met them hours earlier. It was a long train ride and I didn't get much sleep, mainly just had the ipod on most of the way dozing off for moments at a time. We arrived in a place called ornskoldsvisk (home town of the Sedin twins) and the train stopped for a good 20 minutes. In hindsight we were changing tracks but I was a bit confused at that point, the train started going backwards and I was convinced were going back for some reason.. like i said we just changed tracks and once we got to the next stop it was obvious that we hadn't gone backwards.

We arrived in Boden around 10 the next morning and had a quick layover before getting on the connecting train to Kiruna. This train ride was only 3 hours and passed almost instantly, it was getting dark by the time we got to Kiruna but overall the absence of daylight wasn't really noticeable as we were all excited just to get there and start the weekend. We arrived at the train station and were met by the guy who had arranged the stay for us, Tomas, and he picked us up in a big van and took us to the ICA for groceries and the SystemBolaget for alcohol (its like the Swedish equivalent of the LCBO). On the train from Boden to Kiruna we made a grocery list and figured we would cook meals all together instead of separately. We overfilled a cart with stuff for dinners lunches and breakfasts for 9 and the total ended up being around 1500SEK, we were definitely set for the weekend. The SystemBolaget was packed and it took almost as long to get beer as it did for groceries, anyways we got our stuff and filled the already packed van with more stuff. Tomas drove us to the cabin we would be calling home for the next 2 days and it was nothing short of that. A full kitchen (although pretty cramped when more than 3 people were in it) a bunk bed with double mattresses, a fold out couch (well kinda) and some mattresses, a big table, a stereo, a sauna/shower/bathroom all in one and 9 exchange students with more food and booze than necessary. It was a great mix.

We quickly got our things inside the house, groceries put away, and before eating walked across the frozen lake to the ice hotel. This was the first adventure of the weekend and it was about a 15 minute walk across the lake to the hotel, most of us got wet socks on the way but that didn't matter, we stopped to make a group of snow angels and before we knew it we were at the ice hotel. See posted pictures. There was some ice carvings, an ice church, pretty much everything was ice. We didn't get the tour of the hotel as it was about $30CDN per person and it closed at 6, it was 5:50 when we got to the reception so it was pointless. The Ice Bar was open though, and that was the main attraction for us anyway so it was all good. This bar was awesome. Everything was made of ice, even the glasses you drank out of! It was so cool (no pun intended), the seats were lined with reindeer fur and were actually quite comfortable. We each got a drink that ran 110SEK , so about $15CDN, it included an ice glass and a fairly small but tasty drink made with Absolut vodka (its the Absolut vodka ice bar so thats about all they served) there) we stayed for a while and definitely slow-sipped the drink as it was expensive. We were there for about an hour tops, I wasn't really keeping track but around there. Took a few pictures and videos, and went back to the cabin to make some dinner.

We got back, started a fire, and began to cook a massive meal for 9 that took about an hour if not longer. I did the chicken, everyone else set the table, did the vegetables, got the music going, the fire going, it was like a huge family of 9 and although none of us had known each other for longer than a few weeks (for me more than a day) it felt like one big family, haha, it was great. We didn't bring any ipod speakers so we had to make due with the stereo and CDs that were in the cabin, we found some reggae music and that seemed to be the perfect fit. It was cold and dark outside, but warm in the cabin with some reggae music, totally cool. After dinner we just had a great time, sat around drinking, listening to tunes, went in the sauna; we were all pretty tired but it didn't stop us from having an enjoyable first night. Tomas came and joined us for a few minutes to discuss the events for the weekend (dog sledding, snow mobiling) and wanted to get an idea of the numbers for each activity. We all got to bed eventually, and for a small cabin it slept 9 people comfortably.

The next morning came quickly as those who went snow mobiling had to get up pretty early to eat and get dressed for the day. I didn't end up going so me and the 3 others who didn't got up at our own pace, ate breakfast, cleaned the cabin a bit, made a fire, just had an easy going morning and I was totally glad I did that (even though snow mobiling sounded awesome). After we did all that it was still pretty early so we thought we should go tobogganing arctic style, we got dressed up and headed out to find a good hill. Tomas told us where one was and had some mats for us to slide down on so we just went off in search for the hill. We wandered into the woods and it was spectacular, I don't use the word spectacular too often so that should give you an idea of just how "spectacular" it really was. It was snowing quite a bit but the snowflakes were so light but massive at the same time, nothing I'd seen in Canada before. You could jump into the snow piles on the sides of the paths and just sink in, it was a bit tricky to get out of them actually. We found some great hills to go down, and even though it took some effort to get to the top it was totally worth it. There were 4 of us with 3 mats, so one person would stay down and take a pic/vid while the others went down. It was so silent around us, we were in the middle of the woods with no one else around and it felt like were the only people for miles, it was the coolest tobogganing I had ever done and you really had to be there to feel what it was like, no description in words could match the feeling of that day it was unreal. We stopped on the way back in the snowbank and just sat there looking up at the snow coming down. I attempted to burrow into a snowbank and make an igloo, and had we had more time I totally would have finished it.. it was coming along nicely but we had to get back and eat some lunch and get prepared for dog sledding. The 4 of us experienced something quite amazing, even though it was something as simple as tobogganing it was the nature and surroundings we were in that made it an unforgettable experience and one of the highlights of the weekend and surely of my exchange.

(This is a long ass post, need to take a break and make some food)

We got back and were surprised to see the others had already gotten back from snow mobiliing, we locked the cabin door but Tomas had a spare key to let them in so it was no big d. We got or outer layers off to hang up so that it wasn't wet for the dog sledding, then made a fire and swapped stories about the day with the others. Made some lunch, chilled out, and then got ready for deg sledding. We were all looking forward to this the most. Tomas had some arctic boots and snowsuits for us so that we didn't freeze on the sleds so we got decked out in that and took some hilarious pictures, see fb.

The dog sledding crew arrived with 24 dogs in what seemed like a small trailer but the dogs seemed to really like it. They took the dogs out 2 at a time after laying the sleds and lines down, it took about 20 minutes to get it all set up and then we split into 2 groups and got settled on the sleds. Then we were off, the sleds go pretty fast considering there were 5-6 on each sled, there were 12 dogs per. I took a few videos which I will upload soon hopefully so that should give you a good idea of what its like. We went a few Km's into the bush where we stopped on an island (or what would be one in the spring/summer) and the dog sled crew started a fire and made coffee. Meanwhile, we all stood outside and looked at the insane amount of stars that lit up the sky. It was more than I had ever seen, and we were all really thankful for it as it was cloudy and snowing all day but seemed to clear up after our "northern lights dance" haha, kind of like a rain dance but not really. It was pretty wild, the sky literally began to clear up after we did this, cool indeed. We then went into a teepee to warm up by the fire and drink coffee and eat biscuits. It was cool to have a break before going back to warm up and to talk to our dog sledders and get to know them better. They have about 70 dogs that they train/use and breed them all themselves. They knew an extreme amount about each individual dog and could tell them apart with ease, they take really good care of them and are able to pick out which ones are suited for being pack leaders and those who were inferior and were suited for the back of the pack. The dogs get really restless when they aren't moving, they almost get too warm when they are stationary after running for a while because they don't sweat so they would be rolling in the snow. The dogs were so friendly, you could pet them and they would try and lick your face and stuff, really cool. In the middle of talking around the fire, Tomas rolled up drunk on a snowmobile which was hilarious, he came in and started chatting. The dog sledders and Tomas were such great people, they loved being in the north and in the wilderness and showing people around, the trip wouldn't have been the same without their arctic hospitality; some of the friendliest people I've ever met. We began talking again but not for long, one of the guides told us we were in luck tonight and that the Northern lights were showing! (OBV because of our northern lights dance, haha) We all got up really quickly and went out to see them, they were showing in the distance and it was amazing. They weren't as vivid as in pictures/planet earth but you could definitely tell it was there. It was a greenish tinge on the horizon where the trees met the skyline, it was quite something. We then packed up and got ready to go back, with the stars still shining bright and the Northern lights out now it was going to be a sweet ride back. We got back on the sleds and headed back to the cabin.

We were riding on a dog sled in the arctic circle, surrounded by a clear night sky with a ridiculous amount of stars and the northern lights shining bright. It was storybook like, truly one of the greatest things I have ever experienced. Words cannot describe how unreal those moments were.

We got back to the cabin and like the night before made a fire, some hot chocolate, and another massive meal of spaghetti, meatballs, garlic bread and salad that even 9 of us couldn't come close to finishing. One thing we all realized after this weekend is how hard it must be to cook for a large family. We all over ate, and it was nice to have home cooked meals after eating fairly shitty meals since I've been here. After dinner we just had some drinks, chilled out, had another long sauna session (pretty much the rest of the night we were in and out of the saunas) and then hit the sack. Everyone was pretty tired from the long eventful day and we didn't have much time the next day to make breakfast, clean up, pack and such.

I got up early to shower and sauna and that was nice since I hadn't showered since the Thursday. I then came in and started making breakfast; others got up soon after and started helping with the breakfast. Again it was a massive meal, french toast, eggs, bacon, fruit, all the good stuff. Nothing left over this time though, breakfast food is too good to leave leftovers. We then had about an hour to clean up and pack, which we did quite easily with a group effort and soon enough the cabin we had turned into a home for 2 days was back to its original state and we were all set ready to go. We took a few last pictures and loaded our stuff into the van for Tomas to take us back to the train station. We had a bit of time so Tomas took us on a small tour of the town of Kiruna, they have massive wind turbines, a ski hill, the largest underground iron ore mine in the world (which is why the town is so big, about 18,000 people for the northern most town in Sweden) which is all centred around the mine; a lot of people are either employed by the mine or by businesses which are there because of the mind. We got to the train station and left for Boden around 12 noon on the sunday. We stopped in Boden for 2 hours and looked for a coffee shop, but it being Sweden just about everything was closed at 3 o'clock on a sunday. Kind of nice for the people that live here but not for tourists who are used to everything being open almost 24/7 back home. We got back on the train to Uppsala around 5pm and I slept most of the way back, I snagged a table section so it had 2 sets of seats facing opposite directions making it perfect to put your feet up and snooze; it was pretty comfortable actually; especially since I only had to share it with 1 other person; I think we both slept most of the way back.

We arrived back in Uppsala at 5:30am the next morning (Monday January 31st) and as quickly as the weekend came, it went. We all went back to our residences, luckily one of the girls lives right beside my building so I had some company on the early morning bus ride back. I had homework to do before class that day so I couldn't go to bed, got enough sleep on the train but it would have been nice to have the day off.

Well, that is it for the weekend. It worked out better than any of us could have hoped for. We discussed on the way up how we wanted the weekend to go and it was all of what we asked for and more. Again, words cannot describe the adventure we all got this weekend. I come home (back to Uppsala) having a greater appreciation of nature and it what it has to offer.

I met some new people over the weekend and came home with new friends. Everyone I was with on this trip made it what it was, everyone was there for the same reason, the trip wouldn't have been the same without everyone I was with. There isn't another group of people I would have preferred to take this trip with. hands down.

"No matter how rich or poor you are, nature is equal to and for everyone" this is a (rough) quote from our dog sledder that really puts things into perspective. It seems so simple when she said this to us sledding back to the cabin while under the stars and northern lights; I definitely felt a chill down my spine (not from the cold weather) but from how real and natural everything felt. I felt so privileged to have that experience and will never forget it.

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