We awoke to a guy serving us a hot cup of Lingonberry juice at quarter to eight in the morning. The juice was yummy, but the guy was pretty stingy with it and we would have loved for it to be hotter. However, we did have a full day ahead of us, so we went ahead and got up, braved the cold to get inside, took a shower and got ready for the day. We went across the street to have a breakfast buffet that was pretty good. Then we checked out of our cold room and got ready for some dog sledding.
A guy drove us to the kennel with six other people to do some sledding. On our trip we had Gavin and Luigi, two guys from Chicago that had flown in just for the weekend and managed to get the exact same schedule as we did (we flew in on the same flight from Stockholm, ate supper at about the same time, scheduled all of the same activities, etc.), so we had seen them around and had started talking with them already. The other four were two mother/daughter groups from Edinburgh. The girls from Scotland had booked to drive two sleds themselves, while the rest of us were just going for a ride. We ended up on a sled with Gavin and Luigi pulled by 12 huskies. The dogs were very eager to go... barking like crazy and one kept jumping trying to get the sled started.
When we did finally start, the mother right in front of us was riding the brakes and going pretty slow, but our dogs were having none of that, so we took a turn badly and the sled tipped over. Of course, only Tami and me fell off since we were in the front. However, we got back on fairly quickly and went on. I tried to record some with the video camera, but it was very cold and wasn't long before my hand started to feel numb. We rode on the sleds (which could be very stinky at times) for over an hour and a half through frozen lakes and rivers, and picturesque forests filled with snow covered trees until we got to a cabin. The cabin is where we stopped for lunch, but not before we saw a herd of wild reindeer roaming the countryside. We all piled inside and got close to the fire to start to dethaw while the sled drivers made lunch. We started out with flatbread and mushroom soup, then had some moose stew with mashed potatoes (which sounds horrible, but was very tasty... it basically tastes like beef), then we had some coffee and tea. After sitting around talking for a bit, we bundled back up and went back out to the sleds for an equally long journey back to the kennels.
This part of the trip had several hills that we had to go up, and we felt bad for the dogs because they struggled to pull all five of us at times. We really wanted to get out and help them, but weren't allowed to. We did have a little excitement since one of the dogs had to be pulled off and put on one of the sleds because of problems with a prior injury. We also had to stop at one point for them to rearrange some dogs because some males just realized that one of the females was in heat. We did make it back eventually and were able to go see the racing dogs and pups. Our guides did both tour guides and actual dog sled races. They were in fact training that night by taking some of their racing dogs out for a 100K run (we only did 28K total that day, so they have a long day ahead of them). We even got to play with two of the pups who were going to be trained to pull sleds. They were so cute, only 8 months old, but very scared. After a bit we put them back with their moms and we headed back to the Ice Hotel.
When we got back we checked into the Ice Hotel warm rooms and did a bit of souvenir shopping, got a snack and hot chocolate, and then headed back to our warm room to take a quick nap. We knew we were going to be out late on the snowmobiles so thought we should rest up. When we got up and ready we went and met the rest of the group going, there were a total of about 40-45 people. We had to split up into 3 groups and we luckily were able to get up with Gavin, Luigi, and the moms and daughters again. We had had such a fun time that we all thought we should continue our day together.
They started out by getting us all helmets, showing us the snowmobiles, and then getting them started and ready to go. It didn't take too long and we were off. Both of us wanted to drive so we had to take turns, Tami started off as the driver and immediately we were having fun. We drove for quite a while, maybe 30 minutes before our driver stopped us. We didn't really understand why at the time but he stopped us in the middle of a frozen lake and told us to cut our engines. When all of the snowmobile lights went out it was pitch black dark outside except for the thousands of stars and a green light in the shape of arc to our left. He told us that that was the northern lights. It was very pretty but not really what we had expected. We all ran around and did jumping jacks for about 15 minutes to warm up a bit, while admiring the lights and the stars. We have never seen so many stars before ever. Tami even said it looked like being in a planetarium. We got back on our snowmobiles and Greg took over as the driver and we drove for about another hour or so. We took turns and every so often we would stop so our guide could check us for frostbite and give us a few minutes to warm up. After over 2 hours out on the snowmobile we made to our wilderness camp.
In case you are curious, during the day the temperature was about -22, so at night on the snowmobile going 35-45 mph you can imagine that it is nearly -40 or so. We wore 3-4 layers of clothing, that included thermals, jeans, pants, ski pants, sweaters, sweatshirts, snow jackets, several layers of socks, mitten and feet warmers, a couple hats, and a balaclava, and yet we still were freezing. It was so cold that there would be ice forming on your eyelashes and eyebrows, your balaclava and other outer gear would be covered in ice and snow. We were so happy to be taking a break inside a small round cabin that had a fire in the middle. Here we were given salmon sandwiches, cheese rolls, moose soup, lingonberry juice, and lingonberry cake, with coffee or tea. We sat around in the wilderness camp for well over an hour before our guide started to clean up. During which he told us numerous stories about things he had seen and done and what he really loves about his job. While he was taking a load out to the trailer he saw more northern lights and told us all to come out, after all that was what this trip was about.
We all ran out side and watched the green lights appear again. We managed to walk down the hill to the frozen lake we were at to get a better view and then the real show began. The lights started moving across the sky, becoming more and more vibrant, changing shapes, and then the dancing began. It was amazing, the most beautiful and wondrous thing we have ever seen. We all tried to take pictures and videos, but nothing would capture the moment. It is just something that will ever be ingrained in our memories, but no actual photographs. Our guide told us that they had not had any lights like that in a long time, and definitely not this past season. We were so lucky to have seen it. We spent nearly 30 minutes in awe, watching the sky and the ever changing shapes and colors. I really wish we could share it with everyone.
Eventually the lights began to fade and everyone was very cold again, so we got back on the snowmobiles for the journey back to the ice hotel. It only took about 20-25 minutes and we were there, but those were the coldest moments we had to endure. When we got back, the 8 of us weren't really ready to say goodbye and goodnight so we hit the Ice Bar one last time. All of them got a warm drink while Greg & Tami got ice drinks, this was after all the last time in the Ice Bar. We then headed across the street to the N'ice Bar at the restaurant where we all had another round. We sat around chatting for a while and the bar was getting ready to close up, so they asked if we wanted last round. One of the moms suggested we do a shot.
So, Tami went up and ordered a round of shots and we took them back to the table. It was a Swedish drink that was strong but nice. We all said cheers and Greg, Tami, Luigi & Gavin downed it, (the two daughters had to share one since they were underage) and the moms were sipping. They were shocked that we were all done, and we convinced them to do what you were supposed to do with a shot, and they obliged. It was great fun and we chatted some more until we all decided it was time to head to bed. On the way out Tami decided that she wanted to make a snow angel, so she did, right in front of the restaurant. The snow here is perfect for it.
On Sunday we woke up and got ready and went to breakfast before checking out and heading to the airport. We were on the same bus and same plane as Luigi & Gavin so we were able to chat with them a bit more, exchange info, and say our final goodbye's to them.
By far this was the most memorable experience we have had and would recommend it to anyone.
2 comments:
So glad you guys had such a great time!
Yeah, we had a blast. You are absolutely right, most memorable trip so far!
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