Swedish Lapland, February 2022
Sunset at 2 p.m., a temperature of up to -30 degrees in February and lots and lots of snow. I didn't know Swedish Lapland existed until I decided to organise a trip to the North. It is not the land of Santa Claus but it is a land full of magic. Although I spent a good five days and therefore, four nights there, I was not lucky enough to see those colourful northen lights dancing in the sky. One can be disappointed it is true, but in the end it is just one more reason to return to that place that gave me a lot of emotions.
Landing on a snow-covered runway at Kiruna airport is the first memory of this incredible trip. It was midday, it was -10 degrees and the sun was going down: I had never been this far North in the world. The landscape that welcomed us consisted of colourful houses with snow-covered roofs, immense snow-covered pine forests, reindeer and vast frozen lakes to cross on a snowmobile. And it is here, in Jukkasjärvi, that one can be amazed by an incredible work of art: the Ice Hotel, a hotel built with ice taken from the adjacent river every October. Every year, artists from all over the world are called in to create themed bedrooms with incredible ice statues.
Given the very cold temperatures and the amount of snow present, it is very difficult not to rely on companies that organise activities at any time of the day.
On the last evening with a group of six people and three snowmobiles, we went into those very dense forests with snow-covered paths. It was 8pm and it seemed like the middle of the night. I knew that our destination was a tent in the forest but I did not expect to find myself around a fire while our guide prepared us a delicious reindeer soup enriched with Lapland stories. The temperature was hovering around -23, and it wasn't long before an ingredient was frozen. We were six people from different countries, and as we savoured new flavours, we shared thoughts and feelings about the very cold land that had welcomed us in the best of ways. I felt I was in the perfect place at the right time, and I look forward to sitting around a fire with strangers on the next adventure.
Sunset at 2pm
Colored houses and lots of snow
White
A tent in the forest
Around a fire
Reindeer soup
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