Kiruna

A week ago, I was boarding the train in Malmö to spend the next 20 hours traveling to the northernmost city in Sweden. Kiruna. The whole travel schedule consisted of a few hours on a train to Stockholm, after which we would immediately board the next train that we would spend the remaining 16 hours on. Normally I would hate being stuck on a train for that long, but when you’re surrounded by 15 other exchange students, you can find ways to keep entertained, much to the dislike of the other train passengers. We stayed up talking and playing cards in the dining area and later all retired to our rooms. I was in a room with one other exchange student and four women also heading up to Kiruna so it was crowded, but I was able to sleep. The next morning we all packed up, ate breakfast, and prepared for the cold that would hit us once we stepped off the train. When we finally got to Kiruna, we were greeted by our tour guides, three students from the highschool in Kiruna. In Sweden you can choose a course of study that directly correlates to what you want to work as once you graduate and these students were studying tourism. Their job, which they would later be graded on, was to give us a fun and safe week. This school had been putting together the Kiruna trip for several years so you could imagine the pressure that they were under to make it fun. I would say without a doubt that they were entirely successful. Each day was packed with amazing activities that none of us will forget any time soon.

Monday, Day 1- After getting off the train, we were all driven to the hostel that we would be staying at, and then we chose our rooms. At that point only about half of us had arrived so we had to choose carefully which rooms we would be in. Over the next few hours the other students began to arrive in Kiruna by plane. There were many introductions as many of us hadn’t met before but had only heard of each other. For those that had met, many hugs were exchanged. We then had to find our own lunch before heading out for a walking tour of the town. Because the hostel had kitchens, a few other people and myself bought instant ramen and enjoyed that while everyone else went to a nearby Thai restaurant. After lunch, we all met up outside our hostel and began our tour of the city. As we walked over the snow and ice, we were shown the city hall, gymnasium (highschool), and a few historical sites. To top it off, on the walk back home we just happened to pass a playground made entirely of ice. It would be impossible for thirty teenagers to not stop and we spent a good twenty minutes avoiding concussions going down ice slides and having a blast. Afterwards we had a few hours of free time and then we walked to the ski slopes for dinner. We didn’t quite know what to expect for the end of the day, but we knew it would be fun. The walk to the slopes was much longer and colder than anticipated, but it gave me time to catch up with some of my friends from farther up north in Sweden. When we arrived, we were shown into a dining room lodge and served a dinner of chili with bread and salad. After eating, we were all given helmets and marched back out into the cold again. After a safety demonstration from the leaders, they started one of the small lifts on the ski slope and we all took turns riding on snow racers down the slopes. I’ll admit I was not properly prepared for this as my hands froze half off when gripping onto the lift on the way up, but it was worth it to be able to watch the northern lights dance above us while taking the lift up. The way down was a little less serene as I was screaming my head off and pushing the breaks as hard as possible with little avail. When I got to the bottom I swore I would never set foot on a snowracer again, but when they told us we only had ten minutes left for another go, I decided, “What the heck, when will I get this opportunity again?” So up I went right up the mountain again for another, hopefully less terrifying ride down the slope. After our amazing night we all walked back to the hostel to prepare for our next day.

Tuesday, Day 2- On our second day in Kiruna we all loaded into the bus and went to a traditional Sami village to start the day. We got to see a Sami church, one of the teepee houses they would've stayed in, and the traditional clothing. That was all very interesting but I’m pretty sure everyone’s favorite part was the reindeer. We all enjoyed feeding, petting, and admiring them as they pranced around us. I was surprised by how forward they were with us and how they didn’t seem to fear us at all. One of my friends mentioned that they were just like large, slightly more scary puppies. After petting the reindeer, it was time for lunch. It was a little weird eating reindeer meat when ten minutes before we were petting their friends, but this is how the Sami people lived for thousands of years, so I was happy to be able to experience their culture. Along with the reindeer meat was Swedish coffee and a homemade blueberry muffin. When I tasted the muffin it reminded me of home and wild blueberries. After lunch, we all checked out the nice (but very expensive) gift shop and then walked to the famous Swedish ice hotel. As we neared the hotel, all of our jaws dropped. Along the path to the front entrance were giant, clear pillars of ice. These were simply amazing, so you can imagine how cool it was to get to the actual building. Before we were allowed inside we were given a brief history lesson on the hotel and how much work it takes to make it every single year. Because it would be impossible to keep it from melting, the hotel has to be rebuilt every year from scratch using the ice from the river right beside it. The river Torne is one of the clearest rivers in Sweden which produces perfect ice for the builders and artists to create breathtaking displays and rooms every year. When we were finally allowed to go inside the hotel, the first thing that everyone did was take pictures. It took us five minutes just to get through the front entrance because no one wanted to miss any detail of this incredible piece of art. Then we split off into smaller groups to explore the rooms, each designed by a different artist. The rooms started off simple enough, with cool designs carved into the walls and ceilings, but they got more intricate and creative as we moved along. Each room had a large bed covered in reindeer pelts, but besides the few generic rooms, those were all that they had in common. My favorite room was called “Ground Rules,” and features giant ice snails climbing the walls and surrounding the bed which was encased in a giant, frozen shell. A few other amazing rooms that I thought deserved mention included a giant head with hands encircling the bed, a room with larger than life mermaid body builders, and one that I thought was interesting was designed to look like the inside of a designer bag. We were given a short timeline to see the entire hotel before we were supposed to all meet up at the ice bar, so we had to scurry from room to room while being careful not to slip. After taking an insane amount of photos, we all met up at the front to take the bus back to the hostel where we would have a few more hours of free time before dinner. Many of us thought that this would be a good time to pull out our country flags and get them signed by the other exchange students. Because I didn’t have a Swedish flag for people to sign, and my Alaska flag was too dark to be written on, I used the back side of the poster I bought at the ice hotel. We all crammed into one room and spent the time chatting, sharing memories, and writing personal notes to everyone on their own flags. When it was time for dinner, we all put our snow clothes back on and marched to the school where we would be eating. For dinner, we had pizza and soda while we waited for instructions on what to do. Because no instructions came, we had to make our own fun and a group of us started the game ninja, where everyone stands in a circle and tries to hit other people’s hands with a singular motion. Pretty soon the entire group was playing, and after a few rounds of that, we stopped to take yet again more pictures. Around 9 p.m., we all walked back to the house.

Wednesday- Day 2 Our last full day in Kiruna was incredible. This was the day that we would go dogledding! We all took the bus out to the giant frozen river where we would await our hairy chariots to take us to the camp site where we would spend the day. When we got to the river, there were already two dog sleds waiting for us which took two groups out. The rest of us had to wait about half an hour for the other sleds to show up. When my group finally got on a sled, we had to squeeze to fit everyone on. I was told to sit at the very front so I can assume I had the most comfortable spot. The ride was slightly slower than expected, but that was probably because there were about seven people the dogs were pulling. Besides the leisurely pace, it was exciting to be doing something so foreign to me. Despite growing up in Alaska, I have never gone dog sledding. The ride took about fifteen minutes, and however gross it was, it was kind of funny to see the dogs run and poop at the same time. My group was the last one to pull up to the camp so everyone was already assembled at the stations when we arrived. After unloading from our sled we were shown to an area on the river where my group would be ice fishing. There would be three activities during the day and this was our first one. Watching our leader put the hole in the ice made it seem easy, but when I tried the drill, I was once again reminded of my noodle arms and someone had to take over for me. After the holes were drilled we cleared out the slush and lowered our lines. No one caught anything, but it was still fun. After fishing, it was time for lunch. We were given a reindeer and vegetable stew with bread and once again coffee and tea with more blueberry muffins. I was not complaining about the muffins because those were fantastic. Because we were eating inside heated cabins, we all got a little sleepy and a couple of my friends took naps sitting up because of how exhausted they were. After we all woke up, we went outside to try the rest of the plans prepared for us. There was snowmobiling, where we took turns gripping on for dear life as we rode with one of the leaders through the woods and on the river. Then there was also sledding, with tiny butt sleds and larger mats. Because the sun decided to show up, I saw a group of people opt for the more relaxing option and lay on reindeer pelts in the sun instead. Either way, we were all pretty tired by the end of the day. When it was time to go, we went in two groups and loaded up into the attachments at the back of the snowmobiles to go home. One had ten seats, and the other four. That was actually one of the most thrilling parts of the day as fourteen teenagers raced across the frozen river screaming like never heard before.

Wednesday Night After the giant crazy day outside, we all had to clean up and get ready for dinner. On our schedule all it said was “three course meal” so we were expected to dress nice, or at least as nice as you can get when all you have are sweaters and thermal pants. The dinner was at the school, but not just the cafeteria. The restaurant program had their very own dining space with enough space for all of us. The ambiance was very fancy as we all came in, but we quickly broke that with our loud, happy voices. When dinner was served we all hushed and gratefully ate. The main course was a reindeer burger, but I opted for a vegetarian black bean burger after I had eaten my fair share of reindeer over the week. As dessert was being brought out, a band and two singers started setting up in the front of the room. They were also students of the school as part of the music program and performed some very nice music. About half way through, one of the exchange students made a plan for all of us to dance during the next song and it worked! The finale was Mama Mia, by ABBA and everyone danced. Even the leaders got up to get down with us. We had so much fun during the last song that we begged for just one more song, but because the band had no more songs prepared, they replayed Mama Mia, and we danced even harder. When the band had packed up and left to yet another round of applause, and the food was all eaten, we were all instructed to head out to the main cafeteria room and start preparing to perform our national anthems. This was new news to us and took us all by surprise. USA went first and all fifteen-something of us went up to the front to perform. Everyone knows that the USA's anthem is already difficult with all of its ups and downs, but when a large, unrehearsed group of laughing teenagers try to perform it, it comes out a little worse than you would think possible. We were applauded with laughs while we ourselves were also dying laughing. The next group was Canada, which sang much better than we ever could have hoped for as they switched between English and French. The other countries were Brazil, South Korea, Japan, Spain, Mexico, Switzerland and France. It was a totally new experience hearing my friends sing in their native languages songs that I had never heard before, but I loved it. After everyone sang their anthems, we stuck around the school for a little bit longer before heading back to the hostel for the night.

Thursday- Day 3 Thursday morning was packing, cleaning, and desperately trying to wake up. No one got very much sleep the night before so we we basically a hoard of cleaning zombies. After all of our stuff was loaded onto trucks and all the rooms were clean, we went outside to wait for our bus which would take us to the Kiruna mine, our final activity of the week. We were all obviously a little emotional because this was the last time many of us would see each other for the rest of our exchanges so we used our time outside hugging, saying goodbyes, and crying. A few people had a plane to catch earlier than everyone else so they had to miss the mine trip and we had to say goodbye to them early. I am a very susceptible person and cry whenever I see anyone else crying, so obviously at the first sign of tears, I started sobbing, and when I started crying, half of the group did as well. We stood in the cold hoping our tears wouldn’t freeze and promising each other that we would visit each other in their home countries until the bus came. All of us except those leaving early once more got on the bus. We had to switch from our bus to the mine tour bus which would actually drive us into the mine. It was really cool but also creepy to only see a hole in the ground that gradually went down which we were to follow. No lights were built in the tunnel so oncoming traffic could easily see each other, and besides the light from our bus, it was dark. It reminded me of when my brother and I were younger and would make up stories of going into the belly of the octopus whenever we drove out the road in Sitka past all the city lights to watch the northern lights. We drove all the way to the museum several thousand feet underground and went on a tour showing us the history of Kiruna and the mine. It was all very interesting, but I was a little busy thinking about how deep I was in the earth and what would happen if an earthquake just happened to strike. Luckily we weren’t in the mine for too long and drove back up with no complications. From there we were all distributed by our mode of transportation back to reality and to our Swedish homes below the arctic circle. My few days in Kiruna with whom I can now call family was without a doubt, the best week of my life. I’ve never loved a group of people more than I do the other exchange students, and saying goodbye to them at the train station was something I will always hate doing. For all of those people that think tropical destinations are the only place you would ever consider spending your vacation time, I beg you to reconsider, grab some friends, and visit Kiruna.

Words of the Week

Dog sled- Hundspann Northern Lights- Norrsken Fishing- Fiske I am so cold!- Jag är så kallt!

I know this blog was quite a bit longer than usual, but I just had so much to write about!