We booked the trip through some sort of a travelling agency for students. The trip there would consist of an 18 hour bus ride through the night, not exactly comforting! We had to pick some people up in Uppsala (north from Stockholm) as well. When we arrived there, it was revealed that of the 45 students that were participating, there were 14 Dutch people! Not exactly what I expected, especially considering I knew none of them beforehand. On the bus ride we watched some movies, ate at a crappy burger place (what do you expect on a road trip?) and in the morning around 8:00 the day after we arrived in Kiruna!
The first activity planned was the combi tour of dog sledding and snow-mobiling! When we arrived we got special clothing for the cold, and then we were ready to go on a sled! While we were sledding in a surprisingly fast pace, I was amazed by the pure beauty of the landscapes that Lapland has to offer. Pure White Mountains surface in the background while you glide gently through the untouched snow, and everything looks like it has been untouched for years. After this fun ride of about 45 minutes we got to warm up a bit in a tent with some coffee and some cake. Then it was time for the snow mobiles! Normally people went with 2 on the same snow mobile, but because there were two left, Urban and I both got one of our own! These things are freaking awesome! Going over little hills has you up in the air in no-time, and going around 45km/h was definitely no exception. The instructor did come in the end to give us a speech on responsibility, but that didn’t spoil the fun!
The day after we had to travel further to the next village we were staying, even more to the north. In between we visited the famous ice hotel. It is incredible to see what they build out of only ice! It is completely build from scratch every year, and it is very impressive to see what creativities the artists show in the different rooms. I must admit that it surprises me that so many people actually want to sleep a night in such a ridiculously cold place; it was an imposing sight indeed!
After this it was time to visit a Sami family, who had their own reindeer herd. We first went to a tent where we got to taste some reindeer meat on toast (delicious!) and some reindeer soup (less delicious!), while listening to the stories of the traditional Sami life. After this we got to go into the place where the reindeers herd, to feed and pet them. The man of the Sami family was happily telling us that two of them killed each other a week before because they got stuck with their horns. Fascinating topics while you are standing in the middle of the herd!
We also went to the Norwegian part of Lapland on one day. On the way there we were able to see some beautiful fjords! These massive parts of ice and land are truly impressive, and a must see for everyone who ever goes to Norway! Furthermore the town we went to was not that thrilling. It is impressive that there are actually people living normal lives in a place where the average temperature is way below zero and the amount of daylight in winter is less than 3 hours, but apart from that there is not too much to consider while walking around there.
That evening we went back to the hostel, and Urban and I were just relaxing at a fireplace. When we walked back to the hostel, we saw a little stream of light. Could it be?! Finally, we got a glimpse of some northern lights! The light got stronger and stronger, and eventually the complete sky was filled with green light streams. It is an unnatural experience, and there’s nothing quite like it! The pictures do not really give it the credit it deserves, as it is an alienating experience, and very beautiful! Apparently it was quite rare to see it as clearly as we have seen it, so we’re very lucky bastards!
They saved the best for last; ice-climbing! First we got the equipment, which consisted of special shoes with spikes on the front, a body armor to clip ropes and delaying devices on and a helmet. After this we drove to the destination, which was a frozen waterfall! The setting was perfect; the beautiful frozen waterfall was opposed by a huge lake, and the weather was really cold (-23) and stormy. So while in the background waves were crashing down on the ice and snow at the shores, we were doing our best to master the frozen waterfall. Lastly, we got two pickaxes and the instructor taught us how to attempt to climb it! It was awesome to do, and very exhausting as well! Definitely a crown on the travel to Lapland! As much as Lapland was a crown on my exchange in Sweden!
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