Kiruna - Sweden's most northern city

Sweden is a very long country, starting way above the Arctic Circle and going all the way down to Europe, where it meets Denmark. So, naturally, Sweden has lots of different landscapes to offer, from snowy winter wonderlands to cute coastal towns composed of colourful houses. But it is undeniable that Sweden is mostly famous for being a winter-country - with everything that it entails.

When I moved to Sweden in 2016, I expected it to be cold. But I didn't know just how extreme temperatures I would experience. After spending a very cold winter in Stockholm and experiencing a snow-record (Stockholm had its snowiest November day in 111 years) , I was ready to go on an even more extreme adventure. That's when, together with two friends, I decided to explore Lappland - Sweden's most northern region.

Still during winter, in the beginning of March, we flew to Kiruna - the most northern city in Sweden. It is located 145 km above the artic circle and has a really interesting story: the city is being moved, due to mining activity which threatens the stability of the ground where the city stands. Luckily we managed to visit before the official relocation process began, in 2018, which was actually one of the several reasons why we didn't want to miss out on the chance to go to that special place.

Flying over wintery Sweden

Taking a plane from Stockholm to Kiruna was interesting in itself, as we were able to see just how empty the North of Sweden really is. From the plane window, all we could see was snowy forests and the occasional town. Halfways between Stockholm in Kiruna, we landed in the small airport of Umeå to pick up some more passengers. After 5 or 6 people came into the plane, we took off again and a few hours later we landed in what felt like the end of the World.

That is, still to this day, one of the strongest memories I have of my time in Sweden. As soon as we landed at Kiruna Airport, we could understand just how off we really were. It felt like we really were in the middle of nowhere, which was actually quite accurate. The Airport felt more like a bus station and it was darker than I had ever experienced. Everything was obviously covered in snow and while walking to our hotel we could see huge piles of snow on both sides of the road, making it obvious how much work it actually takes to fight the elements when you live so high above the Arctic Circle. But the thing that shocked me the most was the silence and the emptiness we felt. It really did feel like we had arrived at a ghost town of some sort, and that was both spooky and fascinating.

After spending one night at a small hotel in the city, it was time for the real adventure we had been looking forward to. We put on all our winter gear and off we went, into the swedish wilderness. What started as a drive around the city, soon became a stop at a dead-end road facing the woods. Our amazing guides explained just how extreme the temperatures would get, which is why we should put on special gear that they loaned to their visitors. I'm glad that was an option, because as it turns out, my gear wouldn't have been quite enough for such extreme cold.

After we put on all winter clothes imaginable, off we went on snowmobiles, towards the winter wonderland we had been dreaming off.

The combination of the perfectly blue sky and the pristine white snow covering everything around us was the absolute best we could ever hope for. It was so cold that it felt like the wind was cutting our skin, but it was all worth it in order to admire the gorgeous winter landscape around us while we looked for the wild animals that sometimes show up in such remote areas.

Unfortunately we didn't manage to see any reindeers or moose, but after around 15 minutes of that unforgettable snowmobile ride we arrived at our weekend retreat. Without running water or electricity, we were all set for a truly off-grid winter experience in the middle of the woods of Lappland.

As soon as we arrived, we were welcomed by a cute collection of wooden houses that would be our home for the next few days. Some of those cabins were used as bedrooms for us visitors, another cabin was used as the eating area where we shared our meals with the group of guests and there was even another cabin where we could enjoy a sauna. The whole thing had quite an overwhelming shire-feeling to it - only a wintery one.

Making snow-angels in a frozen lake in Lappland

We soon got confronted with what off-grid really entailed: no charging phones, no Internet, no flushing-toilet... of course. If we wanted an immersive experience, we sure got one. And it felt amazing. Suddenly you don't care about all the movies you are interesting in watching or whatever goes on in social media. Once you are confronted with such a beautiful and peaceful place, away from all the hustle, you really come down to Earth and start seeing your surroundings in a totally different way. Suddenly we were skiing, exploring the snowy forests around the cabins and gathering wood for the fires that would keep us warm for the next couple of days. Constantly fighting the elements wasn't easy though, as every single time we went in to do something there was a whole lot of undressing to be done - just to be forced to put it all on again when we were heading outside again. But it was all part of the charm.

One of the main things that attracted us to go on a trip to the swedish Lappland in wintertime was the possibility to see the Northern Lights. Being so high above the Arctic Circle gives you quite a good probability of spotting them, but your luck also depends on how clear the sky is.

As the evening approach on the first day of our stay there, we couldn't wait to try our luck at spotting the famous Aurora Borealis. As soon as the sky turned dark, we put on all our winter gear and stood outside looking up at the sky, waiting for the magic to begin. Enduring the freezing temperatures wasn't easy, so we decided to take shifts at going in and warming up, while others stayed outside and looked out for the show to hopefully begin.

Unfortunately, we went to sleep that night without seeing even the slightest sign of the Northern Lights. The sky wasn't very cloudy but we simply weren't lucky. It wasn't until the second night that we finally spotted it. Suddenly, there it was: the sky was turning green. At first we didn't really understand if what we were seeing was, in fact, Aurora Borealis, because the sky just seemed a bit weird. But when a clear green stripe formed across the whole sky, we knew that it was finally happening - and it was amazing.

We decided to take a walk on the frozen lake, under that magical spectacle, and it is one of the best memories I have from the whole trip. Going down from the cabins in the evening, into the wilderness that surrounded us, to see the Northern Lights dancing above us was a once-in-a-lifetime experience. The frozen lake seemed infinite in all its darkness and everything that surrounded us was so devoided of life but somehow so beautiful nonetheless. My legs felt frozen and then numb, but I just kept on walking on the path created in the lake, towards the dark woods ahead. I was completely fascinated by all the emptiness that surrounded us, and at the same time I couldn't help but thinking about how much beauty there was in that place that was so far away from anywhere else in the World. I understood already then that it was one of the weirdest, most beautiful experiences I would ever experience in my life.