Baby its cold inside...and out!

Ice Hotel
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Ah!  The reason for visiting Sweden in the winter was the Ice Hotel.  It has always been a dream of mine to see this masterpiece and we decided to finally do it.

The experience was a once in a lifetime experience.  When we first arrived we had to exit the plane on the runway and I got very nervous about the cold.  I was pleasantly surprised when I didn't feel the cold on my bones immediately.  It was probably -13 to -18 degrees celsius, which although cold is way better than I was expecting.

it looked like a scene from the Chronicles of Narnia

Ice Hotel
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We collected our luggage and boarded a bus that was taking us to the hotel.  I almost bounced the whole way to the bus.  I just couldn't keep my excitement inside, yet when we pulled up to the hotel is all evaporated and I was so disappointed.  The first thing I thought was 'that's it! A stupid igloo and not even a glamorus looking igloo!'  Boy am I glad that I was wrong.  After we checked into our room we put on our ski suits and when to check out the hotel - and WOW!  So incredible.  This was a real case of don't judge a book by its cover.

Jukkasjarvi
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The hallway and lobby of the hotel took my breath away.  When we finally got to touring the rooms I felt so awe-inspired that I was a bit dizzy.  The ice carvings were so detailed and so different from what I imagined.  We went through all the rooms giggling and trying to find our favourite, and as soon as we found it we would enter the next room.  From dragons to chess boards to couches and tables made of ice, the whole thing was a senses overload.

Because we weren't staying in the Ice Hotel that night we had to leave while they prepared the rooms for guests, so we took the push sleds that are available to all guests and went through Jukkasjarvi.  It's a tiny little town that is basically the Ice Hotel, a few restaurants and three streets.  But gliding through town on our push sleds was really fun.  Who would have thought a couple of 28 year olds could enjoy a day in the snow so much.

Checkmate!
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For dinner that first evening we went to an old homestead where Patrick had reindeer (ewe!) and I had a lovely fish dish.  We were lucky enough to have a window seat where I kept my eye out for the Northern Lights.  Sadly we didn't get to see them, but I will never forget that meal.  The food was delicious and the building was so quaint and exactly what you would imagine the natives of the area living in hundreds of years ago.

After dinner we went back to the hotel to check out the Ice Bar and have an original Ice Bar Cocktail in the ice glass.  The drinks were tasty, but massively expensive, so after one we decided to turn in.

Ice bar
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The next morning when we woke up it was glorious and sunny, not a cloud in the sky.  Gulp!  That meant it was freezing.  For those of you from warm climates, the cloud cover acts as an insulator.

On our walk to breakfast we were taking bets on how cold it actually was.  And the answer -28 celsius and continuing to drop.  That morning we had a snowshoe tour booked, and I will admit I was nervous.  Having been in that cold before I wasn't sure how long I would be able to stand it.  But when our transfer to the mountain arrived we both jumped in and were looking forward to this unique experience.  And it was so worth it.  It was beautiful and although we weren't that far from a village, the snow was fresh and it looked like a scene from the Chronicles of Narnia - just beautiful and white and virgin.  The snowshoeing took about 30 minutes to get to the look out and as we got there the sun was peeking over the horizon for the first time since November.  It was breathtaking!

Snowshoeing
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Upon return to the hotel we went straight inside for a bite to eat and warm up.  Afterall, we had only a few hours before we were scheduled to go dog sledding.

Dog sledding was a life changing experience.  When we got to our team of dogs we were told that we would have to share with another couple and when Patrick jumped on first, I was really upset with him.  I wanted to sit in the front!  But thank god he did it that way.  The air temperature had dropped to -32 and with the wind created from the dogs running we all suffered some form of frost bite.  The poor girl in the front was so frozen when we got to our camp fire that she begged not to have to sit in the front again on the way back.  I started to sweat it that I would have to, but Patrick, my hero, offered to do it.  Poor him!  When we got back to the hotel after another 40 minute journey, he was frozen to the core - I don't actually think he could blink even if he wanted to.  It was straight to the sauna for us, and it was the best thing ever.  My skin felt like it was on fire the minute I got in there, but as it warmed up it was the nicest feeling ever.

Sweet Chariot - Our Bed
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Once we were finally warm enough to head back off into the elements we had to go and find our room.  Our room was called The Source and it was a bed of ice carved into three horses pulling a sled.  It was so beautiful and since it was our room, it became our favourite.

That night we again went to the Ice Bar and had a few drinks, but because we were so excited to sleep in the Ice Hotel, we again turned in relatively early.  Patrick elected to get a double sleeping bag.  This was the worst idea ever.  He had a wonderful sleep with 80% of the sleeping bag, whereas I hardly slept a wink and again had to worry about frost bite.

View at the top of our snowshoeing
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The temperature in the room is between -5 and -8.  I would high recommend that anyone going get their own sleeping bag and you will sleep just fine.  The reindeer skin is not too terribly uncomfortable and you would manage to get sleep, if not for the cold. In the morning when the wake-up call came I had just fallen asleep and even the hot lingonberry juice did nothing to impress me.

Sadly after a quick sauna and a bit of a wander around Jukkasjarvi, we had to head back to the airport and Stockholm.  This was a once in a lifetime holiday and the best trip either of us have ever done.  It was life changing and eye opening.  It may have been financially crippling, but I highly recommend doing it - once in a lifetime.