France-tastic

*Photographical evidence of the following stories will be forthcoming. Camera cable remains to be found. Photographical evidence is now here!

The week before Christmas, Alex and I took a side trip to the far north of Sweden, landing in Kiruna, the northern-most airport in Sweden, 200 km inside the arctic circle, and rather chilly this time of the year! We were there the shortest day of the year, when the sun doesn't actually rise at all- that's a non-existent day! A little train trip took us to Abisko, a town of around 160 people, just a stone's throw from the nowegian border, and almost as far north as you can go in Sweden. It is on the edge of the Abisko National Park, and the Torne Träsk, one of the largest lakes in Sweden.

Arriving just as it was getting dark, at about 1.30 pm, Alex and I took advantage of the remaining dusk to take a bit of a skiing tour, borrowing a couple of sets of slightly rusty cross-country skis from the hostel. Quite a few falls ensued, the worst of which came after a downhill race, when I discovered I couldn't stop and was heading for a road, and basically had to throw myself at the ground. Ouch! Never-the-less, we explored the area as well as we could in the rapidly dwindling light, including throwing rocks at the lake to check the strength of the ice (not strong enough, we decided) and scaring local dogs with the antics of crazy tourists who willingly spend the day outside skiing! You would think that dinner of fried smoked reindeer (really yum!) washed down with a couple of beers would improve the skiing capabilities, but alas, it was not so, and many more falls were had on the way home.

At the hostel, we found a German couple and a Mexican couple, both of who were or had been living in Sweden, as well as the owner of the place, Örjan, who explained to us that there was not so much hot water, so it was best to shower in the sauna with a bucket of water, so grab your soap, and lets go for the communal wash. The sauna was fantastic, a wood-fired thing in a little hut, with water brought in drums from the house. Örjan didn't really join us for the sauna, but he explained that he usually takes his nightly shower there. So after the washing rituals were completed, just as we were getting hot and steamy (literally, not figuratively), and relaxed, and our bruises starting to tenderise, Fabian-the-German mentioned that the Mexicans had gone for a mid-sauna-snow-roll the previous night. So out we went. Woo-hoo, what a heart-starter! I don't think this is a move that should be attempted by any senior sauna suspects- Could end very badly and coldly indeed!

Luckily we were all strong of heart, and just as we were defrosting back in the sauna, Fabian's girlfriend, who had abstained from the sauna, came and banged on the door with the shout "Northern lights!" So out into the snow we went again. After 10 minutes or so, the towel and the lack of shoes started to be felt, so we jimmied into our long-johns, jackets and shoes, and lined up our front-row seats for the evening's display. We were really lucky because it had been overcast all day, and snowing the night before (and ended up snowing the next day and night as well), but the sky cleared up beautifully this particular night. And as we barely noticed our hair freezing to ice, we watched, completely awestruck, as the sky danced with light all around us. It wasn't as bright or as colourful as some of the auroras you sometimes see in photos, but it was still absolutely amazing. This is a picture I found on the internet that most closely matches the colour and intensity of what we saw. We did take photos, but they didn't turn out (I think you definitely need better equipment to photograph this sort of thing).



Hmm, I think I'll continue a bit later, there are lots more things to tell, and I'm getting hungry for lunch!