A leisurely morning with breakfast around 9:15 in the hotel. The breakfast bar was very extensive with so many different options – breads, fruit, juice, yogurt with various toppings, herring with the fixings, cheese and meats, eggs, bacon, sausage, potato patties, vegetables, pastries….

After breakfast we headed out and walked to the museum island. The weather wasn’t too cold (around minus 2) but it must have been colder while we were up north as the river had frozen in some sections. As we arrived at the island it started to snow as well. We went to the ABBA Museum first, which was entertaining with a lot of interactive exhibits, including recording booths, and a stage show! You scan your ticket at the various activities and it records your “performances” for future download.

After the ABBA Museum we went to the Spirit Museum and had lunch first. I had a beer and pork sausage with potatoes and sauerkraut. As we were eating a couple from our group, who was staying in Stockholm for a few days to visit their son, walked into the museum and the sat down with us – quite a coincidence.

We then toured around the museum devoted to alcohol, which was fairly entertaining with some interesting exhibits. Afterwards, we went for the tasting, which we had added on (regretfully). The four alcohols for the tasting included aquavit, a Swedish bitter orange snapps, a “punch” and another concoction called bäsk, which was a very disgusting spirit with an unpleasant taste. The “punch” was probably the most drinkable as it was weaker and quite sweet. After the museum we headed back towards the hotel.

On the way we walked by the Royal Palace and down a few of the streets in Gamla Stan, the historic island we are staying on. Stopped in the hotel for a quick rest and then headed out for dinner to Aifur, which was a viking themed restaurant. It looked like it was going to be a very cheesy experience but it actually wasn’t too bad and the food was quite good – I had some Swedish mead, venison with root vegetable potato cake and then some ice cream for dessert.

Managed to survive the night in the ice hotel and got my “diploma” from the front desk, along with some warm lingonberry juice. Had a sauna and shower and got ready. We then headed across the road to the restaurant and had breakfast – another good selection of food.

After breakfast we checked out the gift shop and then got our packing organized. We then headed for a quick walk down towards the frozen river to take few more photos.

We then checked out and headed up to the warm lounge for a final drink before our bus came to get us to take us to the airport. Definitely felt a bit cooler today. Managed to get some photos of the Ice Hotel uploaded before we left. On the way to the Kiruna airport we saw a few reindeer jump across the road and into the trees.

The 1.5 hour flight back to Stockholm was full – lots of tourists heading back from up north. Said a few goodbyes to the majority of the group, who were all carrying on back to the UK, apart from two who were heading back to Lithuania. Bags were super quick and I saw mine as I was walking up to the belt. Definitely a much better baggage experience than on the way in to Sweden!

Caught a taxi to the city; although ended up stuck in rush hour for quite some time and figured it may have been better to take the train and then a taxi from there to the hotel. Checked in and freshened up before heading out for some dinner. Walked by a place that served better than “damn good” margharitas and had to take a photo of the signboard. Then walked on and found a place a block or so from the hotel and had a nice herring appetizer with herring done three different ways. For the main I had some cod with shrimp with grated horseradish, a poached egg and potatoes. Was a lot of food as the herring had also come with boiled potatoes and a chunk of cheese. Was pretty tired after dinner so headed back to the hotel and relaxed before going to bed around 11 or so.

Another relaxing start with 8 am breakfast. Ate breakfast and then packed our bags before heading out for a final dog sled in the morning. Our one wild, young dog was swapped out for another as he had some “tummy” issues and could be quite messy. We got the dogs hooked up and headed out for our ride. We got a minute or two away from the lodge and there was a dog running towards us – it was the wild one with the tummy issues! I guess he did not want to stay behind in the kennel and had jumped the fence and ran after us.

A cooler morning today – around -27 I think. The wild dog got attached to one of the other sleds that only had 5 dogs but before they could get anywhere, it started fighting with the other dog. The guide had to remove the dog and let it run for a bit beside us. Then she attached it to ours and removed the older mother dog, who was allowed to run the rest of the way. Very blue sky today and some nice scenery with the snow and blue sky.

Headed back to the lodge to check out and get in the van to take us to the Sami reindeer farm, near the Ice Hotel, where we had lunch, which was a reindeer wrap. Lunch was in a smoke filled teepee type thing where they cooked the reindeer over a big fire in the middle. After our wrap we briefly (due to the cold) toured around the outdoor Sami museum and feed the reindeer some reindeer lichen. Thought there was only one in there but once I opened the bag of food a bunch came running from various areas and I was surrounded by 4 or 5 hungry reindeer, all trying to get the food! These were definitely a lot bigger than the deer in Nara and had horns so they were considerably more dangerous! Finished feeding the deer and headed back to the bus as my hands were freezing from the short stint outside.

Drove a minute back down the road to the Ice Hotel and checked in. Had some time to tour the 28th Ice Hotel, where our rooms were and then went over to the Ice Hotel 365, which houses the Icebar and ice rooms opens all year. Had some champagne in the Icebar out of an ice champagne flute! Then toured the rooms in the 365 building, some which looked very dangerous, particularly the one with the bed up a large flight of ice stairs! Wondered how many people crack their heads open going up and down the stairs. There were a few of the rooms closed and I suspected they had probably had accidents in the night and the staff still had to hose away the blood! 🙂

Then had another champagne in the icebar before heading to dinner. Had an early dinner reservation, which was kind of irritating as we only recently had lunch due to the snowshoeing in the morning. Walked the 950 m to the Old Homestead Restaurant, which was near the Sami museum. Had some parsnip soup and a reindeer burger, which was good but a lot of food too early. Also tried a local beer made with water from the Torne River, which flows (in summer) behind the Ice Hotel.

Headed back to the hotel and had a few different drinks in the Icebar. Was surprised at how empty it was. I would have thought it would have been packed after dinner but I guess some of the other guests either were wimps and didn’t want to spend any extra time in the cold or they wanted to maximize the time in their ice room and went to bed at 6 am!

As we were finishing up a drink, a staff member came over to tell us the Northern Lights were out!!! We ran down to the river and I tried snapping a photo with my point and shoot but it was no good so I ran back to the lockers and grabbed my DSLR, tripod and slipped into my snowsuit. Headed back out and managed to get a few shots. Not overly dramatic lights but they turned out more green in the photos. Then spent a bit of time taking some photos with the tripod around the hotel before heading in for the night.

Got changed for bed and grabbed our sleeping bags. The bed was a block of ice with a cushion mattress and some reindeer hides. The temperature was only minus 5 so it was pretty comfortable with the sleeping bag.

A relaxing this morning today with breakfast at 8. Lounged around after breakfast and then prepared for a walk around the lodge area.

Walked onto the river and took some photos and then back and onto the little pedestrian bridge near the lodge. The weather was warmer today- only about minus 17 or so. There was a bit of sun when we left and the hint of a rainbow after a tiny bit of snow. As we walked on the river it clouded over and it began to slow a bit, but not too heavy.

After the walk we had lunch in the lodge, which was cabbage and meat soup with bread. The soup was good and fairly filling.

After lunch had a relaxing afternoon and managed to get some blogs updated. Headed to the sauna before dinner – definitely getting used to a pre dinner sauna and will have difficulty adjusting at home!

For dinner we had a spicy and sweet salad with smoked reindeer followed by a moose bourguignon with potatoes. For dessert, there was a Bailey’s mousse. After dinner it was off to bed for our last night at the lodge. Tomorrow we’re off to the Ice Hotel!

Slept fairly well in the cabin and only had to make one trip to the bathroom during the night! The bathroom was a fancy outhouse with a heater in the main room and individual stalls. Took a few photos around camp and then went for breakfast in the main building, which had a very warm fire going. Had to take off a number of layers to eat breakfast!

We then packed up and prepared for some dogsledding. We had to harness up our dogs and attach them to the sled. We got our 6 harnessed pretty easily but as we were listening to the demo on attaching them to the sled one of our young dogs ate his harness! Fortunately, they had spare harnesses so we changed the harness and got them secured to the sled.

We took off for a 25 km or so tour around the area over frozen rivers and lakes and through the forests. There were two to a sled so we switched between driving and sitting halfway. The sitting was fun but a bit uncomfortable. Managed to take some photos while sitting though. The driving was surprisingly easy and was actually quite relaxing.

After we got back we had some chili for lunch and then went for a sauna before dinner.

For dinner we had a salad with feta and then pork with croquettes and vegetables. For dessert there was an orange parfait with fruit and blueberry sauce. Was exhausted after dinner but managed to get a few blogs updated before falling asleep.