Happee Monkee

One of the sights Mr. G and I were fortunate enough to visit while we were in Sweden was to Jukkasjärvi, Kiruna. Our main objective couldn’t be more obvious than to stay at the ICEHOTEL.

It’s a childhood fantasy of mine to see this incredible monument of human imagination. Dreams frozen into ice. The train ride, although, 18 hours long from Stockholm, enabled us to meet other travelers and see the Swedish winter landscape. For hundreds of miles we passed mountains, little towns, trees ladened by a thick coat of snow – illuminated by the ghostly glow of the moon. It was the most romantic and mysterious rail travel I’ve ever experienced.

The ICEHOTEL surpassed our expectations. Everything – E.V.E.R.Y.T.H.I.N.G – from the top to the ground was a spectacular sight. I was in constant amazement, as though walking in and out of a dream. The sculptures were brilliantly worked on by artists all over the world. Only 50 artists are selected to create the ICEHOTEL so it’s needless to say only the best ideas suffice.

Every year 3 000 tonnes of ice is harvested from the Torne River, only 30% of it is used to build the ICEHOTEL. The rest will go to creating one million ice glasses for ICEBARs around the world and ice events held internationally.

Construction often starts in mid-November and takes place in six phases. The first phase is completed in the first weekend of December and by early January, the entire construction is completed. The ICEHOTEL then stays till mid-April before everything is returned to the river leaving space for the new ICEHOTEL.

My favourite building was the Ice Chapel. With ice sculpted antlers’ horns as pillars and a simple setting indoors, the room was cosy enough to fit at least 40 people. Doors around the Ice Hotel is unique to the world but possibly an old design from the Sami tribe.

Being located 145 kilometres north of the Arctic Circle, Kiruna has a Sub-Arctic climate with short, cool summers and long, cold winters. Snow generally lasts from mid-October to mid-May, but snowfall can occur year-round. The sun doesn’t rise between early December to early January. In this time of the year, a few hours of twilight are the only daylight available.

One of the most memorable activities we did was a snowmobile excursion. We had a local guide – Matti with his big green eyes, a toothy grin – to show us the wildlife and patiently explaining to us about the town, terrains, culture of the Kiruna life.

And after spending an exhilarating and exhausting morning spotting reindeers, moose and a arctic hare in -33ºC conditions, we were served a hot hearty rustic meal back at Matti’s place. We were privileged to meet travelers, Chris and Jeremy, mother and son duo from NZ, and had a ball chatting over lunch. It felt warm, comforting, friendly and familiar being in their company and I can not ask for better on this tour.

The town of Kiruna comes from the Sami language Giron and means ptarmigan, a white bird native to northern areas.

This bird is also depicted on the city arms, together with the sign for Iron. Iron symbolizes the mining industry which has been of great importance for the town.

That evening when we got back to the ICEHOTEL, we were briefed on how to survive a night in the ice rooms. The idea that we had to briefed was a little amusing but of course it didn’t hit me that the temperature in these rooms are -5ºC. Not very funny if you didn’t know where to grab a special ICEHOTEL sleeping bag, or that you weren’t suppose to wear anything else but your thermal and long johns (otherwise you’d freeze).

Even so, after turning out the lights and snuggling in our sleeping bags, I must admit it was still an uncomfortable night. I am not accustomed to sleeping in a meat freezer if you know what I mean. Nevertheless, it is an exceptional, once-in-a-lifetime (indeed, just ONCE is enough thank you very much) experience that I definitely recommend.

Men can achieve anything they set their hearts on. The ICEHOTEL started out as an idea, fed by faith and ridiculed by many. But the fact that it is in it’s 19th year shows that sometimes, the best thing and only thing we can do for ourselves is to believe in our dreams.

Think. Dream. Manifest.

My art sculpture: Goes to show that I’m always thinking about food