“I wonder if the snow loves the trees and fields, that it kisses them so gently? And then it covers them up snug, you know, with a white quilt; and perhaps it says, “Go to sleep, darlings, till the summer comes again.” — Lewis Carroll
Over the weekend, my program went on a trip Björkliden, a town located 155 miles north of the Arctic Circle, in the Swedish Lapland area. We had the chance to engage in unique arctic activities such as dog-sledding and snow-shoeing, explore the beautiful landscape, and learn about the indigenous Sámi communities.
Friday / A Night Train
The trip began with a 17-hour night train ride from T-Centralen, which was long, but not as bad as it sounds. Six people shared a room in a train car, and I was impressed by the efficient design, as spacious couches during the day turned into six cramped couch beds at night. The train also had a cozy café car with interesting pastry such as reindeer meat sandwich, various chocolates from the famous Swedish brand Marabou, and nice hot drinks for the northbound journey. I was pretty tired so I fell asleep almost instantly on my middle bunk bed. One of my roommates said that it felt as if we were infants again, being rocked to sleep by the train.
Saturday / Arrival in Björkliden, Tacos, and Sauna
We arrived around lunchtime on Saturday at our lodging, Kåppas Cabin Village in Björkliden Fjällby. We headed to the hotel restaurant for a lunch buffet, and the view from the window was a feast for the eyes, as we admired scenic snow-capped mountains and the vast field of white snow. The warmth from the brightly shining sun felt like a paradox and I was surprised that everything remained frozen despite such good weather.
We had some free time so my friends and I went for a walk around the area, observed people skiing and snowmobiling, then rented two sleds to sled down two hills. We came back to the hotel for a taco dinner buffet. One fun fact that I learned in Sweden is that the Swedes really love tacos! In fact, we even call it Taco Fredag or Taco Friday. At home, I usually have at least one taco nights per week with my host family.
After dinner, I went to a sauna and relaxed. The temperature was just right, and although the steam was a little stifling at first, my body eventually got used to it. There is a big sauna culture in Scandinavian countries. This is my third sauna; the first was in Sandhamn during orientation, and the second was in my home since my host family has a little sauna in the bathroom. In the sauna, you pour water over hot rocks to create hot steam, which makes your body sweat.
Sunday / Survival, Snowshoeing, and Sledding
Sunday was our big activity day! We started by learning an important wilderness survival skill — building a fire using just logs and a sharp knife. It took at least half an hour to get the fire started, since we were creating sparks by scraping the back of the sharp metal knife against a metal stick. Eventually, our log caught the spark and began a little fire. We fed it more birch tree scraps and blew oxygen into it once in a while so that it wouldn’t die out.
After, we went snowshoeing in the hills. The whole world was white! You almost couldn’t tell where the horizon started, since the ground was white with powder snow and the skies were white as well. I’ve never seen anything like this, and I hoped that I would be able to return with my family later in life. Hopefully, global warming doesn’t destroy this gorgeous nature.
Dog-sledding was probably the highlight of my day. The dogs were so friendly, and they yipped with excitement when they saw us. Each sled had three to four people and an experience sled driver, and we were pulled by around 14 dogs, who were in rows of two. I was amazed that such power could come from such small and cute bodies!
It was a long day, and I was excited to return to the hotel, drink lingonberry juice (another Swedish local cuisine), eat meatballs, and go to the sauna again. Unfortunately, because of the clouds, I couldn’t see the Northern Lights, which was one of the parts I was looking forward to the most during this trip!
Monday / Sámi Village and Ice Hotel
On our last day, we took a bus to Kiruna where we visited a Sámi village. The Sámi are Arctic indigenous people, who are divided amongst Russia, Finland, Sweden, and Norway, and their region is called Sápmi. Traditionally, they are nomadic, as they followed the tracks of the reindeer, but nowadays, they are mostly settled down. Not only is moving every year difficult, but they are also subject to obligations such as paying taxes and education, so it makes it difficult for them to keep their traditional lifestyle. Our Sámi guide was a friendly and funny woman in her twenties, who told us about her experience of crying on the beach in LA because it was so hot and her skin wasn’t used to the sun after seven months of snow.
Reindeer herding is one of the most important industries of the Sámi people, and we got to visit their reindeer farm. Because of climate change, it is now difficult for reindeers to survive entirely on their own in the wild, so in the wintertime, Sámis help feed and take care of them. Our guide told us about reindeers’ development of antlers, and how the male antlers fall off after mating. She jokingly said that the reindeers we hear about in Santa stories would be either castrated males or pregnant females, since they have antlers! Apparently, reindeers are vegetarians, and I got a chance to feed lichen moss to one of them.
Following the Sámi village, we headed to the Kiruna Ice Hotel, where hotel rooms and the bar were built of ice. Even the cup, glass, chandelier, and bed are made of ice! There are reindeer skins on top of the ice bed to keep it warm, but a downside is that reindeer skin stinks a little.
There were stunning ice sculptures, and some rooms were thematic. My most memorable rooms were Santorini (which was an ice version of the touristy Greek city), the lion/jaguar room, and the jellyfish room. I researched later when I got home, and apparently, prices start at around $200/night to stay at this hotel.
This concluded our Arctic Circle journey, and we took a 2-hr flight from Kiruna to Arlanda Airport! It was a very exciting weekend, but I was glad to be home again in Stockholm.
