Scandinavia Tour<\/a>, with more info =)<\/p>\nIt's beautifully wintery cold, dark, and white outside. Since they told us in Iceland that you can only see the Northern Lights in complete darkness, I walk further out of town for the first 3 evenings. After about a 40-minute walk, I find myself in the countryside, just outside Kiruna. Here I set up my camera and wait... and wait... and wait... and wait... and wait... and nothing is to be seen. Just a black sky, the moon, and a few snowflakes in between. This isn't going to work for watching the Northern Lights. As it turns out later, you could have seen the Northern Lights even in the city center with the lights on. There was simply no activity in the sky at the time. But more on that later.<\/p>\n
Jukkasj\u00e4rvi and the Ice Hotel<\/h1>\n
Disappointed that I didn't see the Northern Lights, but totally thrilled with Kiruna and its surroundings, I'm making my way to Bj\u00f6rkliden. I've booked a room at a youth hostel here. I'll be staying for the next 8 days. On the way there, I'm taking a small detour and stopping in Jukkasj\u00e4rvi. The Ice Hotel is located there, and it's rebuilt every year. I'm participating in a guided tour and having everything explained in detail. It's fantastic how the ice is produced and how the hotel is designed and built by numerous different architects and designers from all over the world.<\/p>\n
But now we are continuing to Bj\u00f6rkliden, which is about 1.5 hours and 120 km away. It's absolutely cool to drive on the snow-covered highway with studs yihhaaaa *g*<\/p>\n
Bj\u00f6rkliden and Abisko<\/h1>\n
These two places are the outdoor mecca of northern Sweden. There's nothing you couldn't do here. But first, I'll look for the youth hostel. It's already 4 PM and completely dark, of course, at this time of day in December. According to the GPS, I've already driven past the youth hostel twice. And indeed, slightly set back, I finally find it. I learn why everything here is locked up and dark after calling the operator. I am the only guest here and have the entire property to myself. Uhhh... that wasn't the plan. Since there isn't even a reception, I decide to move to the only hotel in Bj\u00f6rkliden. At the Hotel Fj\u00e4llet, I get a single room with a lavish breakfast buffet for the next 8 days. This feels much better than the dark and cold youth hostel.<\/p>\n
Nevertheless, I find peace here, as there are no more than a handful of guests in the hotel either. I will spend the next few days relaxing, reading, and doing nothing. At least, that's the plan. On the second day, I set off for Norway and visited Narvik, which is located right on the sea. There isn't much to see here, and it's also rather gray and wet here instead of dark and white. Therefore, I drove back and booked a dog sledding tour for the next day.<\/p>\n
This was an absolute highlight of my tour. I was picked up at my hotel in the morning and taken to the \u201edog farm\u201c \ud83d\ude42 There, we were first allowed to keep the animals happy and then harness them to our sled. The dogs are quite nervous. You absolutely cannot let them off the leash, as they would otherwise chase after other dogs, for example, those dogs that are on the multi-day tours. That would be extremely inconvenient.<\/p>\n
Sled dog tour in Lapland<\/h1>\n
The tour itself was awesome. It gets pretty bumpy through the Abisko National Park<\/a>. After about an hour, we stopped at a cozy tipi tent and made a fire. We drank tea and ate a snack. While doing so, I told the Indian couple who were with us that we have an Indian Summer in Switzerland. However, they somehow misunderstood and kept talking about it being humid and hot. Anyway, the dogs brought us back to the farm safely, and I was taken back to my hotel. I then spent the afternoon reading by the fire. Very romantic \ud83d\ude09<\/p>\nNorthern Lights, Polar Lights, Aurora Borealis<\/h1>\n
After countless nights spent outside with my camera at -20 degrees Celsius, I finally had the opportunity to see the Northern Lights. In Abisko, there's an Aurora Sky Station called the Abisko Aurora Sky Station \ud83d\ude42 You can take a chairlift up for a mere 30 EUR and view the Aurora Borealis. Since the activity is predicted to be quite high for the next few days, I paid the money and let them take me up the mountain. Sitting next to me is an Asian man who tells me he's incredibly afraid of the lift. JACKPOT!!<\/p>\n
It's freezing... cold up here. I was advised beforehand not to shower or visit a sauna. Also, no moisturizers with water on my face, as that can cause frostbite. I followed all the instructions, yet I'm still freezing my butt off up there. The problem wasn't the cold itself, but the whipping wind, which then made it feel so cold \ud83d\ude09<\/p>\n
Thank goodness there's a restaurant up here. There are cookies and tea and coffee again. Yummy. But you're rewarded later too. The sky opens up a little and you have a clear view of the Northern Lights.<\/p>\n
A day later, however, the visibility is much better. I hike up the ski slope in Bj\u00f6rkliden and spend the evening in a small spot where you really have a good view. And it's fantastic when the sky glows green and purple and even a little red, which is rather rare. I am enjoying my first truly intense Northern Lights (see gallery below). Fortunately, there is also a small cabin up here, which is even heated. No one is here and I can spread out and have a cozy dinner.<\/p>\n
Departure and Conclusion<\/h1>\n
After 10 days, I'm going back to Kiruna, and on the way, I'll visit a small Sami village. For me, time usually passes slowly on my vacations, especially when a lot is planned. But up here in the north, time has really passed very slowly. It was absolutely beautiful, relaxing, but also adventurous. You can have a really wonderful vacation in Lapland, especially if you love nature.<\/p>\n