Following on from an unforgettable trip to the Ice Hotel in the Summer I wanted to embark on this adventure again but exploring a whole new season. In winter the lakes are frozen, the ground is full of snow creating sparkles of glitter like wonder as far as the eyes can see. Sweden is beautiful country and offers masses of adventures, culture and friendly and enthusiastic residents, it is not hard to understand why this country comes within the top 10 best countries to live in in the world.
The Ice Hotel is a literal and meticulous work of art and understandably all the ice rooms are open to guests for viewing throughout the day acting as a museum for everyone to enjoy the beauty and accomplishments of this spectacular hotel. As I arrived at the resort early in the morning and had the ice room on my first night my room wasn’t private until 6pm, but this wasn’t an issue as I stored my belongings in the private allocated locker and headed off to start my Arctic adventure. I started off by exploring all the ice rooms, art suites and deluxe suites that the ice hotel offers, staring in awe at the beauty and design in all the rooms before heading off to the great outdoors to release my inner child where I then spent the remainder of the day before my Northern Lights snowmobile safari that evening.
I spent a good few hours wading through all the snow, sliding down massive mountain-like bundles of snice along with making snow chairs for when I felt like taking ten minutes to simply sit down and enjoy the stunning surroundings.
In the evening I met with other guests at the meeting point of the Ice Hotel where we were greeted by a very friendly and enthusiastic snowmobile guide, Julia. Julia lead the way to the snowmobile starting point where she prepared us with balaclavas and helmets before briefing us on how to successfully and safely drive the snowmobile through the Swedish open plains and tundra. All geared up and ready to go we headed off on the snowmobiles, whizzing across the Torne River into the Lappish Forest. In all honesty, it did take a little while to adjust to the motion and control of the snowmobile but after around 15 minutes I felt as though I had never not been on a snowmobile and enjoyed every second of it. We stopped at a wilderness cabin in the middle of the forest, parked our snowmobiles and headed into the cabin to enjoy a delicious and traditional candlelit dinner with an open fire. We all sat near the fire, sharing stories of our experiences and learning tonnes of knowledge about the Swedish culture and Sami way of life. After dinner, we stepped outside and were greeted by a beautiful display of Northern Lights which stretched and sparkled across the whole horizon with the sky glistening with an abundance of stars. It was amazing. We waited, watched and admired the Auroras before heading back to the Ice Hotel. Once we were back, the Northern Lights were still visible, so we decided to stay on the river away from any light population watching the sky and at the same time were lucky enough to see two shooting stars flying through the sky like fireworks.
After a fantastic evening on our snowmobile safari we headed to reception and collected our sleeping bags in preparation for a night in the ice room at the Ice Hotel. We clambered into our sleeping bags, zipped up and nodded of which I had a perfectly peasant and cosy sleep. We opted in to be woken up in the morning at 07:30am and greeted with hot berry juice prior to departing from the room and getting ready to indulge in a plentiful buffet breakfast.
After breakfast we had a scheduled husky sleigh safari which was driven by an experience guide. As the guide was steering the sleigh and mushing the team of twelve huskies all we needed to be aware of was how to correctly sit and not lean too much into corners, as this may cause the sleigh to tip over! I have previously mushed a team of huskies in Finland but this time I wanted to sit back, relax and take in all the surroundings. It was great riding along as a passenger, vigorously sliding through the thick mounds of snow, across the frozen lake and through the beautiful tundra of Swedish Lapland. Half way through the activity we stopped off and had ‘Fika’, a traditional coffee and sweet snack in a Kota (tipi) around an open fire. We again learnt more of the indigenous people of Sweden and spent time getting to know our fellow husky sleigh companions. Once Fika was over it was the perfect opportunity to meet all the dogs with their wagging tails and happy faces just waiting for love and attention, along with taking PLENTY of photos.
We had the rest of the day to spend at our leisure, so we headed off to the Ice Hotel restaurant for a spot of lunch. That evening we had a traditional 10 step sauna ritual, this is composed of several types of saunas, a hot bath heated by fire on the terrace followed by an ice plunge, yes that’s right I said ice plunge! In Sweden saunas are a massive part of their culture and way of life along with ice plunges or swims. They had cut a hole in the ice of the Torne River that runs parallel to the Ice Hotel and this is where I started my decent down the ladder into the ice-cold water below me. I thought this was going to be a horrific experience but on reflection, I would do it again. I can truthfully say I had never thought of doing anything like this previously, but I am glad that I did as it was so refreshing, and all my muscles and skin felt lovely afterwards. It’s amazing how temperatures at lows of -15 can feel warm after plunging into the abyss of the frozen Torne River.
After an evening of relaxation paired with a good night’s sleep in our cosy Kaamos Hotel Room we headed off in the morning to meet our guide for cross-country skiing in the Poikkijarvi Woods. Personally, I felt out of my comfort zone as I have never cross country skied before, but our guide was fantastic and so reassuring. Our guide Julia who was also our snowmobile guide on the first night was very patient and understanding of my legs re-enacting Bambi walking on ice for the first time and made sure she persistently gave me tips of how to better my cross-country skiing form. After about 15 minutes I managed to get into more of a rhythm and before I knew it I was almost the other side of the river and heading into the Poikkijarvi woods. We found a perfect location to stop and rest and so that we could make our sofa out of snow and reindeer skins before lighting a fire out of the forest surroundings. On the fire we prepared what is known locally as ‘cowboy coffee’ and this is not for the faint hearted. I could probably say cowboy coffee will be the strongest coffee anyone could ever drink, but ideal for giving you extra energy to continue skiing or engaging in any physically exerting activity. We also cooked a sausage on the fire which we wrapped in Tunnbröd which is a traditional Swedish flatbread.
Later in the afternoon we embarked on a short walk to Sami Siida, which is a local Sami Museum and Reindeer enclosure. We purchased Lichen, a favourite food of the reindeer which is full of vitamins and nutrients and headed into their enclosure to meet and hand feed the reindeer. As soon as you approach the gate the reindeer grow curious, but even more so once they hear the rustling of the bag, knowing that you are there to provide them with a tasty treat. We spent a few minutes petting the reindeer, taking photos, and trying to segregate the reindeer to ensure all of them had an equal amount of lichen.
Afterwards we took a wonder around the open outdoor Sami museum, learning about the Sami culture, way of life and peering inside all of the various structures that had been designed meticulously for various purposes such as storing food in the winter and to keep animals at bay, along with Kots and huts for sleeping and living in. These were all constructed using various local materials.
After seeing the reindeer indulging into their tasty treat, it built my own appetite, so we decided to go to the café onsite. This was a beautiful, cosy and homely café with a big open fireplace in the centre which is also used to cook your food. We chose Souvas, a traditional Sami lunch. This consisted of reindeer meat that had been smoked and salted, wrapped in a Tunnbröd with lashings of lingonberry mayonnaise – very tasty indeed!
One reason we opted for a lighter lunch was that we had booked a 12 course Veranda dinner that evening, which is not to be missed. Every course was delicious and ranged from King Crab, to Ptarmigan, Caviar, Moose, Reindeer and so on. I tried foods that I had never tasted before and that I have never thought of eating. The Veranda dinner provided a great relaxed, friendly and all round enjoyable experience. The dining area is designed around the kitchen so that you can watch the chef prepare each course, engage with him, learn about the elements of each dish and most importantly, pick up some cooking tips!
On the final morning of such a fabulous trip I had an ice sculpting activity booked. I have done this activity previously, so I knew what to expect, but I enjoyed it this time just as much as my trip in the summer. The hardest part of this activity is trying to decide on a design so that you can bring your creation to life. Once you have your tools in place and your start carving the chisels into the ice, time starts to fly and before you know it you have a beautiful creation on front of you that you can be proud of. Even a straightforward design is a great achievement.
This is the end of a chapter for now and I look forward sharing more of my future experiences with you in due course.
If you want to book a trip like mine or have one tailored made to suit your requirements, then do not hesitate to get in touch! Pick up the phone or drop me an email at sales@arcticdirect.co.uk
