Kiruna

The views from above the artic circle
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We arrived in Kiruna after a very relaxing sleep on a sleeper train. On the train we meet a really nice Swedish girl who came from Kiruna who gave us some great tips on what to see and do while in her town (Luckly she gave us tips because the tourist office up there was the worst we came across).

We thought once we got over the artic circle (which Kiruna is) it would a wonderful winter wonderland with snow everywhere, however Kiruna was just an ordinary town. Because we came inbetween seasons (summer and winter) we missed all the major attraction of being above the arctic cicle including the snow, the midnight sun, and the northern lights (which was the major reason we went up there). However there is something very special about being above the artic circle. the lakes were already beginning to freeze up, there was frost everywhere and snowcapped mountains surrounding the town. The temperature averaged 1 degree as well.

A hiking trip through the bush
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On our second day we went for an amazing walk in the national park surrounding the town. and we saw the best river and gorge we had ever seen, (we are pretty sure if you went rafting on it you would die). In the winter season this area is a great skiing mountain and a perfect veiw point for the nothern lights. We had a great time here still nobody was around so we started a hike up a mountian side admitting defeat after about 3/4 of the way up.

The rest of the time was spent exploring the town and trying to catch a glimpse of the northern lights (we couldnt stay outside too much, we were just too cold). It was a very nice spot even though there was no snow at the time and we missed the nothern lights.