Arctic Christmas Part I: Routes North

One thing I like about my family is that they are game for things.  We tested this by hosting Christmas 200 km north of the Arctic Circle, where it would get extremely cold, and where the sun wouldn’t appear at all.

This igloo is the Icehotel in Jukkasjärvi, Sweden, a truly bananas outpost which is rebuilt every winter from snow and ice.  First, though, we had to get there.

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Mom and dad arrived in Trondheim on December 18, and my first impression was that they were very well prepared for this experience. Having grown up in the midwest, they have more experience with the cold than their thin-skinned southerner children. They had heeded my warnings about the cold and brought lots of warm clothes, not just for themselves, but also for Andrew, who currently lives in south Florida and does not own a coat.

Gwen: prepared for the cold.

This early arrival meant that we could show them our adopted town for a few days. A highlight at this time of year is the Christmas Market, which sells wool garments, Christmas-themed crafts, and Norway’s finest only foods: meat, dairy, and breads.

Christmas market.

Reindeer burgers.

We decided to make the journey north part of the experience, and the first leg of the trip was a flight to Narvik, Norway. Narvik is a port town of 18,000 people, which ships iron ore from Sweden that is brought in by rail. We could fly direct from Trondheim to Narvik on Widerøe, an airline that serves Norway’s small airports and allows you to check skis for free.  The weather for our departure was portentious.

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hrHJTHAvMbM&w=560&h=315]

NB: Don’t put your coat in your checked bag while traveling in Norway

Narvik is only one hour north of Trondheim by plane, but the difference was remarkable. This was December 22, where the length of day in Trondheim was 4.5 hours; this is short enough, but Narvik will not see the sun at all until January 7, when it will rise for 33 minutes. Upon our arrival at 2:45pm, it was pitch black.

Afternoon in Narvik.

At this time of year, Narvik does get about four hours of indirect sunlight a day, and in that filtered light it is quite beautiful. We stayed the night and arrived at the train station the next morning at 10:30 am, just in time to see this stunning view of the fjord. If we’d had more time, I would have loved to go skiing on these slopes overlooking the harbor. It must be amazing to hike in this part of the world in the summer with the midnight sun.

The train station was appropriated decorated

There was no time for skiing in Narvik because we needed to get to Kiruna, Sweden to find Andrew. The train ride corresponded with the day’s four hours of twilight, so we got some stunning views of the mountains between Norway and Sweden.

I like this guy.

Andrew had not been able to depart quite as early as Mom and Dad, and so decided to meet us in northern Sweden. In his typical casual style, he arrived in the Arctic Circle in a t-shirt.

I like this guy too.

He put on more clothes.

I had expected Kiruna to feel like an outpost, but it is a bustling town of 20,000 that serves as a winter sports base for travelers from all over the world. There is not a lot to do in the town itself, so we played in the snow in the dark. We made it an early night so we’d be poised to get to the Icehotel the following morning; as you’ll see in our next post, we wouldn’t want to miss minute of our time there.

Up Next — Arctic Christmas Part II: Icehotel