Anyway got a car, then realised we didn't have a plan of action for the day. Drove around the block, then retired to our hotel room to sort out a plan. Decided to walk to the tourist information centre to get some ideas. The day was sunny but cold (around -4 degrees). Finally found the information office- they were closed for lunch (11:15 am to 12 noon), so we had to wait 25 minutes. Signed up for an underfround iron mine tour (needed 12, with us 4 there was 7!). Told a decision would be made at 1 pm, so we walked around in the cold and snow looking for a cafe. Finally found one in a little mall (very little), think half of Kiruna was there for lunch or coffee.
Returned at 1 pm- no tour (snag 3?). Decided to drive out to where the Ice hotel is built every year (thought of Rodger Thompson, who I think built a suite a few yeads ago). The hotel is in a small village- Jukkasjarvi ( about 20 km south of Kiruna). While there visited a church that was built in the 16 Century and was used by protestant priests to convert the Sammi or Lapplanders. The interior was wery interesting as were the murals inside (see photo below)
We then decided to drive 90 kms to Abisko, totry and see the Northern lights when it got dark (this is the place to see them in Sweden- the information person said the weather conditions were right and we had a 90% chance of seeing them- Yea right. Waited up there until around 7 pm. By then it was beginning to snow, the temp was down to -4 with a wind chill of at least -10. Regaan checked the lights predictor and saw that tonight the likelyhood of there being any activity was either low or non existant (the predictions are updated every 2 hours). Decided to head back to Kiruna as the sky looked very clear. Then we hit another snag- a full moon, the light of which makes it hard to see the lights. We stopped once for about 20 minutes. Regan thought he saw an indication, so we froze our buns off - to no avail.
So here we are in the hotel (at 10:20 pm) waiting to see if the next activity prediction gives us a reason to go out into the cold again. Karla has given up and gone to bed. Evan and Regan are kean as to go out to the local skifield if the conditionds are right. As for me, well I think I will follow Karla's lead.
Random photos from today
Regan and Evan drove out of town looking for the northern lights. It was clear around Kiruna but cloudy to the north and west. Had no luck and returned around midnight.
Day 2 - the penultimate day in Sweden.
After breakfast, which by the way was very busy with an extra large group staying in the hostel part of this establishment. The manager was very generous to Karla and allowed her to stay tonight in her hotel room at hostel prices (still making amends for Fridays cockup). Went for brief stroll to the ICA market for car supplies then headed south -east to to a small town of Vittangi that has a Moose farm on the off chance it may be open (yea right). Anyway got there around 1:30 so had lunch (at the only place open). Got talking to the guy making the pizzas, he was saying that the village had full employment as there is an iron ore mine located near by. He was saying they work one week on and one week off (and very long hours). Apparently an Australian rents the rooms above the pizza palour.
The trip out to Vittangi was really a long boring drive through the boreal forest (conifers), remind me very much of driving the Alaska highway, but with snow this time of the year.
The pizza man said it was nothing but forest to either Pajala or Karesuando (both on the border with Finland, so we decided not to carry one. Evan was on a campaign to drive to Narvik in Norway, which is about 4 hours away (plus we needed to pay an extra 200 SEK for insurance coverage. Hard to please everbody all the time (the 80:20 principle applies here. We weren't sure as the road can be dangerous due to blizzards (Evan then informed us it was snowing up at Abisko).
Drove back to the hotel for a break before venturing out tonight in search of those elusive northern lights (don't like our chances). Pictures below are from that Vittangi village we stopped at.
Should mention while there we ventured down to the river, where i tried walking on the frozen part of the river- you guessed it, the ice cracked but thankfully I didn't fall in.
Footnote: Price of 95 petrol here is 14.6 crowns (SEK) per litre. Which makes it around NZ$3 per litre.
10:30 pm- saw the northern lights. It was weak but could be seen by the naked eye. Had to drive about 60 km north of Kiruna (-8 degrees). Evan has some good shots on his SLR using along exposure. Tomorrow morning ( early) we fly back to Stockholm then on to Bangkok. Evan travels to Uppsala ( to continue at uni) and Karla flies to Finland to visit her host parents for a few days. She will be back in NZ in late November to begin work at Victoria University.
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