Jukkasjärvi

Our arctic circle home base was Jukkasjärvi, just a short drive from Kiruna, Sweden and near the Abisko national park. We loved this area – the neighborhood where we stayed was walking distance to the main sights, and also to a grocery store and some lovely nature. We took a very remote and snowy drive from Jukkasjärvi to Paksuniemi, spotting reindeer along the way.

Kiruna

Kiruna itself wasn’t super exciting, but a few highlights included the church and the Stejk Street Food. The colored houses are also really charming.

ICEHOTEL

In 1989 the first ICEHOTEL was created and many people go to Jukkasjärvi during the winter to see it. To be honest, I wasn’t sure what to expect – I knew we wouldn’t be sleeping at the hotel itself (sleeping in a room made of ice on an ice slab isn’t really my thing), but what I didn’t realize is that the ICEHOTEL is really less hotel and more ice art gallery. We spent an afternoon and evening exploring all the different rooms and then trying out some frosty drinks at the ice bar. This was one of our favorite experiences, everyone loved it, and getting to see the sun set amidst this glowing art gallery was really something special.

Nutti Sámi Siida

One morning and afternnon we visited Nutti Sámi Siida in Sápmi to meet some reindeer and learn more about Sámi culture. Sápmi is the Sámi people’s own name of their land. It stretches over Norway, Sweden, Finland and Russia. There are approximately 80,000 Sámi people, about 20,000 live in Sweden, about 50-65,000 live in Norway, about 8,000 live in Finland, and about 2,000 live in Russia. The Sámi culture has a strong connection to reindeer herding and in Sweden only the Sámi are allowed to herd reindeer. In order to do so, they need to be a member of a sameby. A sameby is an association and a geographical area. There are 51 samebys in Sweden.

At Nutti Sámi Siida we fed and pet the reindeer, walked and learned through the open air museum, and had a warm and delicious lunch by an open fire in a tent. You can also book excursions, including reindeer sleigh rides, dog sled rides, and Sámi cultural experiences.

Northern Lights

Anytime you’re in the arctic circle in the winter, the hope of seeing the northern lights is just humming in the back of your head. And we really, really, REALLY wanted to see them! But of course the weather is not something you can just order up like a pizza. Luckily, we had clear skies and ended up with quite a show!

Jukkasjärvi Church & Kiruna Church

There are two lovely churches in the Kiruna area worth a visit. Jukkasjärvi Kyrka is the oldest church in Swedish Lapland, with the oldest part dating back to the early 1600s. The tall wooden clock tower were added in the mid-1700s. The triptych depicts a coming together of Christian and Sami traditions. The organ in the church is made from reindeer horn and birch and decorated with Sami cultural stories.

Kiruna Church is shaped like a Sami hut (lavvú), with a wide base and a tapered top. The lower windows are made of colored glass, and the altarpiece, called The Holy Grove, was painted in 1897 by Prince Eugen. On the roof of the church are 12 gilded sculptures, portraying indulgence, delight, despair, shyness, pride, piety, confidence, devotion, difficulty, sorrow, love and humility.

Getting There

There are a few ways to get to Kiruna – plane, or car, or train. From Copenhagen its a long trip, but the longest stretch is on an overnight sleeper train, which was something we wanted to try out. The ride from Stockholm to Kiruna is supposed to be one of the most beautiful in Europe. So that’s what we tried – unfortunately for us, the trip was unpredictable and we spent a lot of time waiting. In train stations, on broken down buses, on stopped trains. Many hours, and all in all we lost a day that we would have otherwise been enjoying the arctic circle.

It was, however, extremely beautiful, and we even saw moose! From the train! (But I wouldn’t do this train ride again, at least not both ways).