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 HotelDog show in Kiruna
Main hallway in Ice Hotel
Me playing on a jungle gym in Gällivare, the town where we stayed
3 comments:
Matt,
It takes my breath away. All of that cold around you. How exciting though. I am so glad you got to make the trip. It seems you might need some new boots with tread if you get back up to the ice country. Hopefully, you did not have your Crocs on. smiling ~
Mimi said to tell you how much she enjoyed reading about your adventure and will respond when she gets out of the ice country she is currently living in (Paducah).
Love to you,
Mom
Mafflewww, Do you have any idea what effect your travels are having on our lives? Instead of hum drum jobs and daily chores, we have a son experiencing so many unique things in Sweden, the World! My goodness, I just want to tell you how fun it is going through your educational process. You will surely deserve all the best... and you can always say you, yourself, earned everything you ever get in life Son. I'm so proud of your interesting life that 4 of our 10 computers at our UPS office now have different Milam-Swedish wallpaper. Everyone, I mean everyone!...I talk to about your work is sooo enthused and supportive of you. Stay focused Matt, it'll all pay off real soon. And, I might add, our country needs you...I mean that. You are really a special guy!
By the way, Happy Valentines Day!(Saturday)!
Do they celebrate Valentines Day in Karlskrona? If so, what do the townspeople give to loved ones?
Looking forward to more great pictures!
Love you Bud, Dad
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