More Arctic Adventure Pics

Here are some new photos from the Arctic Adventure for your viewing pleasure! They all come from either the Ice Hotel, or Gällivare (where we were staying).

Arctic Adventure

This is a room inside the ice hotel, complete with deerskin on the beds and an ice picture above




Torch Ceremony at Winter Market in Jökkmokk

Hello everyone. I hope you enjoy these wonderful pictures from the Arctic Circle. I have spent the past four days up here in the cold with my friends Nick, Tiff, and Kate. You may remember Nick and Tiff from my earlier holiday adventures. Kate is the new addition this time.

Temperatures have remained in the single digits for most of the time. There is snow everywhere - feet of it - and it comes up to my waist in certain parts. Luckily we have a warm hostel/house to stay in. We have had the whole place to ourselves for the weekend, and that includes a kitchen and living room. We rented a car on Friday to have for the weekend. It actually came out to be much cheaper than taking the train and gave us the freedom to do what we wanted. On Friday we pittled around the town of Gällivare, where we are staying. Unfortunetaly my boots have no tread so I fell a couple of times in the icey conditions but I'm ok. Saturday we traveled to Kiruna to see the winter festival there. Not much was going on so we just walked around and saw some of the historic structures like the town church. Before we went into the town, however, we made a stop by the Ice Hotel in Jukkasjärvi. It was quite an experience, complete with Ice Bar and Art galleries / bedrooms. See the pictures attached. I don't think I would actually want to stay here, aside from the fact that it is expensive, you have a great chance of getting sick (as we've heard from various people). On Sunday we traveled into Jökkmokk for the winter market. On the way we stopped by a nature preserve and hiked around in the snow. We got to participate in the torch bearing ceremony in the town on Sunday evening to commemorate the opening of the market (a tradition that dates back to 1602). It was so cold, though, so we didn't stick around for too long. This is the first, and probably the only year, where not only did I not watch the Super Bowl, but I actually forgot that it was on TV! It looked like a great game and I wish I could have seen it (but it's not that big of a deal up here...).


Getting on the train near Karlskrona. It was 20 hours in all. 5 hours to Stockholm. 14 hours more to Gällivare, on a sleeper train.













Travelmates at Muddus National Park










Nick and I in the snowey wilderness outside Jökkmokk

































Ice Hotel from outside






The Ice Bar inside the Hotel














Dog show in Kiruna




















Main hallway in Ice Hotel


















Me playing on a jungle gym in Gällivare, the town where we stayed

Holiday!

lavinia and me

Happy New Year everyone! I hope that the blog finds you in good health and good spirits early in this year, and that you enjoy this installment of my blog in Europe.

I am currently on a train to Leige, Belgium with my friends Nick and Tiff. I have spent the past two days in a cabin in Bomighausen, Germany. It is a small town in the northwest portion of the country. There were some fun spots nearby though. Yesterday we traveled to a nearby town (Willengham) and ate some mexican food. Furthermore we attended a waterpark that included large slides, saunas, and a steam room (all inside of course). It was true to the European custom as well, in the sense that clothing was optional in certain parts of the waterpark. It was a bit strange for us Americans, but its the experience that counts!

Further back, I spent from December 20 - December 26 with my friend Lavinia Warnars in Nymegen, Netherlands. It was a relaxing time staying in a student housing complex at her university. We traveled to Amsterdam last Sunday and met up with some friends named Tim and Claudia there. You can see some of the pictures taken in this city. I liked it a lot, and the vibe was very agreeing. I have also experienced some traditional Dutch food in the last week. Some of which include Poffertjes (pastry things) and Dutch pancakes.
Going further back, it was a busy period before the start of my holiday. We have had two projects in which we work with outside companies. I have also formed a group for my thesis project, which begins midway through January.

And now I am updating the previous portion (after getting back to Karlskrona). I wrote the previous section a couple of weeks ago on the train.

We had a lot of fun in Leige, Belgium. There was a Christmas market there with lots of little shops, and a ferris Wheel. It is an old town of an enjoyable size.

From Leige we traveled to Den Haag, the Netherlands. This is the site of the Dutch government (even though Amsterdam is the capital, the government actually convenes in The Hague). It was a beautiful city and we had a giant Chinese food dinner here. We were in this city for one night, before traveling on to Haarlem.

Haarlem is a town about fifteen minutes outside of Amsterdam. The Hostels were booked in the big city for New Year's, so we opted to stay in this quaint little town instead. It was very pleasant. However, on New Year's Day the only restaurant open was McDonald's (much to the chagrin of my travel-mates). I enjoyed a hearty New Year's Day meal, however, and walked around the city the day after all the fireworks and craziness. It was quite a unique experience to bring in the new year outside of America. Unfortunately we were not able to go into Amsterdam on New Year's Eve, but there was a cool bar/night club near our hotel that we were able to party at!

I was able to take my travel-mates around Amsterdam the next day, having already been there. It was fun being the tour-guide, and I kind of felt like a local. It is a beautiful city with a lot of history. The people are very laid back and it has a nice feel about it. There are a number of trams and bikers, however, that you have to constantly watch out for as you are crossing streets. There are almost no cars in the city centrum.

The day after Amsterdam we took the train back to Karlskrona, Sweden. It was back-to-business as soon as I returned, and just today I have had some time to work on the blog. We had our presentations this week related to the consulting we did with outside companies (my company was Google). Excitingly, Google is interested in further contact, and wants us to make a presentation to a board of managers. Should be exciting!

The following pictures are of my vacation. I hope you enjoy!

4 different currencies I was counting on the train Christmas time in Amsterdam

My friend Poffertjes, a friendly little lion. Enjoying a delicious Oliebollen in Amsterdam!

Me, Lavinia, Claudia, Tim at the airport in Amsterdam Nick, Me, Tiff on New Year's

A windy road in Liege. The Christmas Market in Liege.