Above the Arctic Circle IV- Stockholm (12/30)

After 5 days of hoping and wishing to see the Northern Light (althought deep down inside, we knew that it was very unlikely because the temperature was not low enough), it was finally time for us to fly back to Stockholm to catch our flight back to Germany. I was kind of disappointed because I did not get to see the Northern Light when we were up north.

Nonetheless, all of us were glad to see the sun again when we reached Stockholm.

Klara Church

Stockholm Central Station

the blue blue sky

Stockholm City Hall

Strolling down the park near the river...

One of the many photos that Sean took for us

Riddarholm Church

The last photo that I took in Stockholm before my camera ran out of battery :(

Me at the Royal Palace -- what a contrast to the stern guard at the back

A tour around Stockholm in a cafe within a tram

Mr. and Mrs. Oh =p

It was dark before we knew it...

and time to say "Good bye, Sweden."

Above the Arctic Circle III (12/28-12/29)

Where is the place that I can only visit during winter? THE ICE HOTEL!!!

http://www.icehotel.com/

We drove to Kiruna the next day and then we went to the Icehotel in Jukkasjärvi, about half an hour away from Kiruna. We spent almost a day at the Icehotel. Built with the crystal clear ice from Torne River, the hotel was amazing. It is such a pity to think about how the hotel will just melt down and the water flow back to Torne River during summer.

Sean and I took a photo before we entered

The entrance

Shien and I outside the Ice Church

A pretty cool design for the church

Sean was trying to make a funny face behind the ice

Would you wanna have your wedding here? Later that night, we saw a couple having their wedding here. The bride was wearing a wedding gown with snow boots...which I thought was kind of funny...

Star and Moon - my favorite art suite at the hotel

Can you feel the heat from the sun (or the cold)?

Room temperature is around 0 degree Celcius

Tired? Time to indulge in a bath...

The Chrystal Hall lighten with 4 chandeliers

The sky- purple tinged grey

Every year, half a million of glasses made from the ice from here (Torne River) are exported to the rest of the icebar around the world

from the window...

The mother of all Absolut Icebar...

Absolut Icebar Jukkasjarvi

Trying to hold this heavy ice hat

Cheers!

My glass of Absolut Winter Mist

The lasting impression that my lips left on the ice glass

I could have kept the glass if I wanted but there's no point keeping it since it will just melt eventually. However, I did bought a very nice set of shot glasses.

Above the Arctic Circle II -dinner at Gällivare

The food in Northern Sweden was kinda different than those from the south. They use a lot of fish, reindeer and berries. I shared a five course dinner with Sean in a restaurant at Camp Ripan, Kiruna.

bread in a very nice pouch

1st dish: Salmon-cured with salt

2nd dish: Lamb and Snow Ptarmigan (a kind of bird)

Melon Shredded Ice that was given while we were waiting for our next dish.

3rd dish: Fried fish and carrot puree

4th dish: Reindeer with lingonberries

5th dish (dessert): Blueberry cheese cake and lingonberry cake

The food was great despite the long interval in between dishes. I really appreciate the way the restaurant prepare small dishes so that I could get a taste of everything. It was a great dinning experience.

I saw this table on my way out...a pretty creative way to make a table

We also saw an igloo near the restaurant...too bad I did not get a clear picture of it.

Above the Arctic Circle I (12/24-12/28)

During winter break, instead of going to somewhere warmer, I made a rather crazy decision to visit the Swedish Lappland which has a sub-arctic climate. I left AA on 12/22 and met with my high school friend, Shien in Mannheim, Germany on 12/23 morning. Luckily, I was not late for the Christmas market near Wasserturm.

warm Glühwein and macadamia from the Christmas market :)

leaving at 5.13am for Stockholm on 12/24

Our trip (Mannheim-Stockholm-Östersund-Gällivare-Kiruna-Stockholm-Mannheim)

We spent two nights at Shien's uncle's place. Uncle Lai and Tina were great host. We had a great Swedish mix Chinese dinner. While Tina was preparing dinner, we decided to take some pictures.

Emma, Shien and I (Shien was holding Julmust-a kind of traditional Christmas soft drink)

my favorite dish (I can't remember the name)

On Christmas day, almost all the shops were closed. We walked around the town, had a pleasant chat with Tina and had a lot of sleep before we started our journey to Northern Sweden.

My excitement disappeared at the beginning of our journey. I was trapped on a small bed in a 6 person dark compartment. I could not sleep and I dare not move because I did not want to wake the others. Staring blankly into the dark for the entire 8 hour trip was not fun at all. I tried every way to fall asleep but I could not. Was this worth it?

When the train finally arrived at Östersund, we waited for the bus to go Gällivare. The journey took another 11 hours. Comparing to the train ride, the bus ride was better since I could finally get some sleep.

finally, we arrived at Gällivare

Comparing to Stockholm, this is a land of nothingness except for snow and skiing resorts. The sun never rise at this time of the year. We could only see the sun behind the mountain from 10am to 3pm. The people here seldom go out of the house. I really could not imagine what can I do if I stay here permanently.

the sky at 2.30 pm

We rented a car and visited the Sámi (the native people in Scandinavia) the next day.

Sami camp

learning more about the culture and history from a Sámi

Lingondrinka tasted pretty good

Reindeer meat for dinner

On the same night, we met the owner of the youth hostel who is a very kind person. She brought us to her house so that her husband could change the language for our GPS from Swedish to English. We had coffee at her place too.

It was much easier for us after we successful changed the language to English. We did not have any difficulties finding for the place for dog sledding the next day.

I looked kind of weird in those ski pants

preparing for our 13.3 km dog sledding

Go! Go! Go!

coffee break

more snow

Although the dog sledding ride was not as fast as I expected (the speed was about 5.5km/hr), but it was a great experience. My legs was freezing half way through the journey, but it was worth it. The view was spectacular. I shall post the video later (if I am not lazy). However, I don't think I will try dog sledding again, because I think the dogs were very tired when they pull the sled. I felt pity for them.

What's after dog sledding? To be continued.