On the 19th of this lovely month, my friend Megan (from California) and I hopped on a plane bound for Kiruna, a small city located in the northernmost reaches of Sweden.
We landed around 10 or 11 PM and found there were no longer any buses shuttling people between the airport and the city center. The cab company line was busy every time we tried to call and anyone who got through was told they'd have to wait 45 min - 1 hour. We wandered in and out of the door a few times and settled in to wait for the next available cab, but luckily (and we got SO lucky this whole trip except when it came to the northern lights...but you can't win 'em all I guess) the young woman who worked at the EuroCar rental desk who we asked earlier for hostel/hotel numbers walked out and saw us waiting around.
As she walked with us out the airport door, we tried to run into a cab that was filling up, but didn't make it before the seats were all taken. So then we turned to her and asked how she and her coworker were getting back and she said they'd drive. Looking at the pained expression on our faces, she said she lived in the opposite direction of the city center but that she'd drive us for 100 kr. Sweet deal. It only cost us 50 SEK each (about 7 USD) and we got to the city without having to wait an hour!
We learned that she wasn't from Kiruna, but that she'd moved there for school. Then she met a Sami (the indigenous people there-- they have characteristically dark eyes and hair as well as super high cheekbones) and they fell in love and she's stayed in Kiruna ever since. Romantic, no? Megan was super jealous of the woman's life in Kiruna and especially the Sami boyfriend, hahaha.
We got dropped off at the hotel we'd made a rush reservation at, Hotel Kebne, and after checking in and speaking to the super friendly receptionist who was remarkably amicable for being awake at 11 PM, realized that we'd have to leave on the morning train to Abisko at 7:00, and as a result miss breakfast. Not cool. But again we are saved by the awesome people of northern Sweden. Maria kindly makes two sandwiches and packs them in a plastic bag with two bananas, two oranges, and two juice boxes for us. Yay for awesome people living in Northern Swedennn!
Our hotel room:
Now although Kiruna is quite a small city (seems to be more of a town than anything actually...though coming from NYC, loads of cities feel like towns lol) we had trouble finding the train station the next morning and ended up missing our 7 AM train by a few minutes. Sad story :( But then the next train which was supposed to leave around 9 AM was delayed for another hour and a half, so we were waiting around in the station for basically the entire morning. Not a bad time though since we had the station to ourselves for like 3 hours.
A very tired Audrey and extremely sleepy Megan:
Eventually the train came (late even for the stated time of departure) and we settled into our warm seats, staring out the window, watching kilometers of mountains and snow fly by the window, defrosting our feet on the heaters...zz..z...z...
Beautiful Lappland.Once we arrived in Björkliden, we once again got lucky and hitched a ride with a hotel employee up the mountain to the ski lodge where she worked. There, we warmed up with some hot coffee and waited for the musher to come get us. At around 1 PM, the other group of 4 hadn't shown up so we headed down to the lodge ourselves and met Morgan, the musher who would be teaching Megan and I, as well as driving the 4 person sled with the Chinese tourists on it.
We bundled up in borrowed boots, gloves, and giant snowsuit and hiked up to where the dogs were lined up. Megan and I each had our own 4 dogs and a small sled. Each dog was about 20 kg (approx. 44 lbs- so not as large as you'd think) and could pull twice its weight. I weigh something between 50 and 55 kg I think, and my dogs had a total pulling power of 160 kg. Suffice it to say I had to keep my feet on the brakes nearly the entire time.
My lead dogs:
Driving the dogs along the trail, feeling the cold wind whipping against my face, and basking in the beauty of Björkliden's untouched snowy peaks was nothing like I've ever felt before. In a place like this, all you can feel is awe and wonder. All the discomfort of frozen cheeks, cold toes, and dripping nose simply melts away in the face of these sheets of ice and rock. Along this trail, I couldn't help but feel so honored, because I felt like I was one of a select few who were allowed to see such beauty. It's not that I was capable of doing this-- many people are capable of doing it-- but I felt like I was permitted to do so. By whom? Hell if I know, but that's how it felt. And it was an honor.
My pictures don't do the land justice, but please, if you're reading this then here is a place you must go at least once in your life. This is something you should do if you are capable of doing it. We each only have one shot at living (and by living I mean enjoying the youth and strength of your body the way it should be enjoyed) so why not do this as soon as possible?
Bring a good camera too and keep extra batteries in your gloves. They don't work very well when the air is a chilly -25 or -30 C.
It was an incredible experience and the dogs were absolutely wonderful. Traveling in Europe has given me a few more goals to add to my Bucket List. This includes "own my own patisserie" and "set up a dog sledding lodge with my own dogs." Thank you so much, Morgan!
Following this adventure, we made our way back to the ski lodge to grab our bags and hiked back down the mountain to catch the 4:30 PM train to Abisko where we would be staying the night. As I was buying my Björkliden patch, which I have carefully sewn onto my backpack and wear proudly for the world to see, and a post card, Megan remembered she'd left her purse in the luggage room back at the top of the mountain. Up we went again to fetch her stuff and ended up sitting in the bar/restaurant area in the lodge, listening to a rather cute Swedish man sing a medley of Swedish and American songs and giggling at the wide smiles he shot in our direction.
I actually thought his biceps looked funny, but Megan asserts that it was because his shirt was too tight around the arms.
Around 7:30 or so we caught the last train to Abisko and found our hostel. Megan spent the evening reading the ridiculous biochem textbook she lugged around in her bag and I played games with the 2309840912375892734982398 Chinese people who also happened to be staying there as well. There were actually only like 12 or so. 2309840912375892734982398 was a mild exaggeration. All the games they came up with were really cute and super fun (except the one with numbers...because unlike the other Asians there, I am incapable of doing the 7 times table in my head beyond 7 x 13).
We all kept a lookout for the aurora the entire evening, but unfortunately didn't see anything. The evening before we arrived there was apparently a really beautiful showing of the green curtains dancing around in the sky, but we were just unlucky. SIGH.
The next day we headed out with some x-country skis and slowly (I say slowly because being a first timer, there was a lot more shuffling, walking, and falling than there was skiing) made our way to Abisko national park. We skiied/hiked around the canyon where there was also ice climbing going on, but to be honest I wasn't too impressed with it. After all, at Cornell we're surrounded by gorges and walk over bridges to get to class, so it wasn't terribly exciting. This gorge was quite shallow, I'd guess around 30-40 ft deep, max. and not what I was expecting. It was cute though and the icy waterfalls were pretty.
Following the trail under the bridge and to the other side of the street, I decided to start on one of the ski trails in the park. Megan, of California, was cold so she headed back to the hostel while I spent the next few hours skiing around. Unfortunately I didn't have time to go on the King's Trail after the day's activities, but it's all cool with me because I got to see this:
I had to unsnap my skis to get to the edge of the water and I recall cursing the little snow bunnies and their wide feet as I plunged thigh deep into the snow at each step I took. Well worth the effort though! <3 style="font-weight: normal;">After I finished that trail, I then took off towards the tourist station again, leaving my skis against the wall and hiked up to the bottom of the mountain where there was a lift up to the top. The ski tracks hadn't opened yet, so the lift was fairly empty and I could enjoy a cold, quiet, and breathtaking ride up the mountain for a mere 155 SEK (about 21 USD). It was -20 C at the top, but with windchill, it was about -27 C, so I ended up borrowing a massive parka and some boots from the lower station before heading up. The park staffer also laid a fleecy blanket on the seat for me and then another across my lap so I wouldn't get cold :)
On the way up:
The view was again, absolutely amazing. Words elude me, which I find particularly frustrating, but I suppose that's what pictures are for. Although admittedly, these photos don't convey half the intensity I wish they could.
Lapporten: Valley of the Samis
At the top I met a young Swede named Emil who was 21 and working for the National Park. Another example of the great system where students aren't pressured to enter college right after high school and are encouraged to travel, work, and (apologies for the cliche) otherwise expand their horizons.
For all the single ladies (he's taken though-- this is just eye candy) hahaha :)
After a very warm hot chocolate and a nice conversation with Emil, I made the cold ride back down the mountain and skied back to the hostel.
Upon my return, Megan greeted me in her PJs and a very relieved, "You're ALIVE!!"
Apparently, had I not returned when I did, she and the hostel manager were going to go out looking for me in the car. Thank goodness it didn't come to that, hahaha.
next days- to be continued...
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