Exploring the Arctic Circle

It was getting towards the end of November and the days were getting shorter. If we wanted to see Lappland, it would have to be soon or else it'd be too dark to do much up North.

We decided it was now or never and so together with Thomas, Ryan and Casen we booked our 16-hour train trip up north past the Arctic circle to see what lay in store. The plan was to go all the way to Abisko (Sweden's northernmost settlement of any significance) and if we were lucky, see the northern lights!


Casen, Ryan, Thomas and Candice on the nattåg (night train) from Uppsala to Abisko


The trip in "cattle class" took its toll on us


Towns were blanketed in snow as we whizzed by

The train ride was very long and we were inexplicably delayed at various stations through the night. Finally as day broke, we saw the stunning view of the sub-Arctic tundras. We passed Kiruna, Sweden's northernmost city and prepared to get off at Abisko.

Unfortunately for us, Abisko has two train stations. Originally, we got off at the right stop (in town) but due to a communication error, we thought we had disembarked too early and so we hurriedly got back onto the train only to find we had been right all along!

This meant we had to get off at the secluded Abisko Turist-station stop, which though stunningly beautiful, was a 30-40 minute walk back to where we were supposed to be - and was closed anyway. It was around midday and the sun was in the sky, so we decided a little walk through the snow couldn't hurt us!


The train as it drops us off at the wrong station

This was our view as we got off

We were suprised to find that Connex had its fingers in this pie too! All the way up here in the Arctic Circle!

Candice all rugged up like a pig

View of the mountains and the lake

The boys taking it all in

The light was getting low and Casen's feet were beginning to freeze so we had to make tracks and find our way back to Abisko village.

Trekking back to Abisko village.

Abisko

Abisko has a population of about 170, one supermarket, one restaurant, a bunch of houses, and a whole lot of amazing scenery. Situated as far north as you can possibly go and still be within the borders of Sweden, it was the perfect place to experience life in the world's northernmost extremes.

East Abisko station

At this time of the year, the sun rises at about 10am and sets about 1.30pm. With barely enough daylight to work up a sweat, the days were precious. The darkest day of the year is usually the 21st of December where the sun doesn't even rise!

View from our hostel room

We stayed at the Abisko Fjällturer hostel, owned by an eccentric old Swede and his two sons. It was more like a house than a hostel - everything was done ad hoc. The people we met were all really fun and the fact that we didn't have a television, mobile phone reception or the internet added to the isolation and need to socialise.

The sauna is very popular in Nordic countries - and as it is customary to take a sauna naked, usually males and females are seperated in public or communal saunas. Not here! The old Swedish owner (dubbed "Naked Man" by us) was adament that everyone should be in the sauna together naked! We weren't so keen and so only Candice ended up trying it out (with other girls of course) after they begged Naked Man to let them go in alone.

Having a sauna involves, running out naked into the snow and rolling around before coming back in for more sauna action. It's apparently very healthy.

Glögg, traditional Swedish Christmas wine

Julmust, Swedish Christmas softdrink - it tastes like spicy coke

Thomas in the kitchen where he belongs

One of the most amazing things about being north of the Arctic Circle is experiencing the Northern Lights (Aurora Borealis). These are naturally occuring lights in the sky (usually at night) which can be observed in the polar regions of the world (the Southern Lights of Antarctica are called Aurora Australis).

The first night was clear and we were lucky enough to actually see the Northern Lights in action! Unfortunately it was too dark (and our cameras too crappy) to get a decent picture to show you what we saw, but it was beautiful.

Warming ourselves by a fire while we wait for the lights to appear

The next day we decided to go cross-country skiing around the area. In heavy snow, skiing is the best way to get around fast and explore.

Candice ready to go

We had to make the most of the weak daylight

We decided to take a route suggested by Naked Man which loosely followed the railway line back to the tourist station at which we had been marooned the day before and then cut off towards the water.

Snow coming off the mountains


The road

I got so hot skiing that I had to take off my headgear

Pigs at the Arctic Circle

A frozen river gorge

When we arrived at the water's edge, we "made camp" and drank some hot tea from our thermos. The tea was cold within about a minute and would freeze in about five.

On the expanse of frozen nothingness

Candice

The lake was full of floating ice

As it would soon be dark, we decided to make our way back.

Abisko

Hanging out at night with the hostel crew

Early the next morning (well, 9am but it was dark and it seemed like 5am) we set about preparing for our dog-sled trip.

Thomas and Ryan get close and personal with their vehicles

We were taught how to "saddle" the dogs and fasten them to our sleds. After a crash-course in braking and steering, we were off!

Candice's view from her sled

To be honest, if you had asked me a year ago if I ever thought I would go dog-sledding I would have said "probably not". I guess it's one of those cool things that you'd do if you got the chance but that you probably wouldn't go out of your way to make happen. It was very surreal to be actually flying through the air on a wooden contraption pulled by huskies!

My team and I

Candice during one of our breaks

The dogs would howl alot and were dear things

Whenever we left tree cover, the icy wind would whip our faces so much that one of my cheeks was numb.

View of Casen as he struggles in the snow storm

This is how beautiful Lappland is:-

We left Abisko with a heavy heart, knowing we would probably never be back. Our original plan was to go to Narvik in Norway to see the fjörds, but due to train delays, we decided to go a little south to Kiruna.

Kiruna

Kiruna is Sweden's northernmost city and is the capital of the district of Kiruna, in which Abisko is situated. A mining town of 25,000 people, over the next 10 years it is actually going to be moved about 20km to counter mining-related subsidence.

Kiruna is world famous for the Ice Hotel. Unfortunately, we were a bit early and they had just begun buidling it.

The mines of Kiruna

The hazard of snow on public benches

Walking around Kiruna reminded us of a ski-resort town.

The streets of Kiruna were completely snowed-over

The wooden Kiruna Church, built in 1912 was voted Sweden's most beautiful building

The interior of the church and the organ - simple yet beautiful

It was only 2pm but it seemed like late night. We made our way back to Uppsala, catching the night train at 6.30pm - we were so tired that we slept almost all the way!