When we started planning our honeymoon, we
wrote down a list of the top 10 things we wanted to do and see. At the top of
both of our lists were dog sledding and the Northern Lights.
After countless hours of research we
decided that Abisko ticked all our boxes. A lot of sources say that Abisko is one
of the best place in the world to see the Northern Lights, so when we found out
that they also do dog sledding and ice fishing we were sold.
Abisko is a 17-hour train ride from
Stockholm and is located in the Artic Circle not far from Norway’s boarder. We
boarded the train in the afternoon, found our carriage and got comfy. We shared
our cabin with a Spanish couple and then an older Swedish man, it was fine but
the pillows did leave a little to be desired. 17 hours later, we arrived in the
tiny town of Abisko, a town with a whopping population of 75.
We stepped of the train and were slapped in
the face with frosty air and freshly falling snow. We could see our hostel
perched on a small hill not too far from the station so were quickly on our
way. We got to our room, checked the place out and headed to the supermarket to
stock on supplies for the next week.
The sun was setting by the time we had
checked in, so after our trip to the supermarket we just chilled around the
hostel and got chatting with some of the other guests.
We met Ally and she was telling us she
would be heading up to a lookout later that night with a group to try and see the
lights so we decided we’d go too. But our plans quickly unraveled around 5pm
when a snow-storm set in, so we all just got comfortable and spent the evening
chatting and swapping stories.
The following day the snow had finally
stopped and with no activities booked we decided to take the cross-country skis
(provided by the hostel) out for a spin. Me, Gem, Ally and Chloe suited up and
got skiing. After a hilarious and clumsy start we finally made our way on a 3km
ski towards the national park. (It was kind of like walking with skis attached
to your feet)
Enroute to the park the snow started
falling again, and the wind started blowing, but we soldiered on trying to make
the most of the four hours of daylight we had. It wasn’t until we saw the
ominous clouds rolling over the mountains that we decided to cut out loses and
turn around and head back before we got stuck in the storm. We were only 300m
from the park but by the time we made it back to our hostel the storm had set
in and it was nasty!
We were all sitting around the table that
afternoon and came to the decision that we would try see the lights that night.
The snow had stopped and it was pretty cold, so with any luck the clouds would
clear and we might get lucky.
At 830pm we loaded up our bags with cameras,
threw on some extra layers, heated up some mulled wine and headed for the lake
nearby, which was a great spot to see the lights.
We were about 200m from the lake and Gem shouted and pointed to a faint beam of
light cutting through the stars above. This got us all pretty excited and like
little kids on Christmas morning we were all screaming and laughing as we watched
the light twirl overhead. With a swift high-five with Gem (we were going to see
the Northern Lights!!) we picked up our pace through the knee-deep snow. When
we finally arrived at the lake we were greeted by a light show that we’ll never
forget.
At first we saw smaller, single beams snake
through the sky. They moved much faster than clouds and changed shape quickly,
spinning and dancing across the sky. They would fill the sky for 10-15 minutes
before fading, and after a short period of nothing they would light up again
and give us another show - this went on for hours. Each light was unique and fascinating.
There was something really magical about
seeing this beautiful wonder of nature. There is no guarantee you will see
them, and as we learnt there are no reliable forecasts with two websites saying
that there would be no activity that night, and here we were getting one
amazing show.
We sat there in the cold for nearly two
hours, but eventually the wind had reached our bones and we were just to cold
to stay any longer. With great hesitation we all got up and made our way back
to our hostel filled with excitement and buzzing from what we had just seen.
The following day we had to be up
semi-early as we had dog sledding booked. We had heard only good things about
sledding, so we were pumped! We walked from the hostel up to where all the dogs
were kept and started our briefing on how to drive a sled. This is how to go,
this is how to stop, this is how to help the dogs when it comes to a hill, and
don’t pass the sled in front of you… pretty straightforward.
Then came the organised-chaos of getting
the dogs and putting them onto the sleds. There were four dogs to a sled, and
we had 9 sleds, so that’s a fair few dogs to have to harness. The brothers who
ran the place would go to a cage and give you a dog and tell you where it had
to go, and then it was our job to take the dog and attach it to the correct sled
and position.
It was pretty easy to begin with, but as
more and more dogs came out, it got more chaotic and harder to do. The dogs get
so excited, so they are all howling and trying the pull the sleds. There were people running about everywhere
trying to attach the dogs to sled, it was crazy but fun! One dog howls and then
all 68 of them follow suit. All, the dogs that aren’t going for a run jump up
on their cage doors hoping they might get a start too (Pick me! Pick me!).
Eventually everyone’s sleds were ready and we are off and sledding.
As soon as we started the chaos and noise
of the dogs disappeared and it was silent and peaceful with just the sound of
the sled sliding over the fresh snow. The dogs knew exactly where to go, and wound
through the trees, up and down hills with ease and at a surprisingly quick
pace, it was really fun. And to add to the adventure, the scenery was stunning,
snow as far as the eye could see, rolling mountains in the distance and soft
sunrise painting the sky and mountains in a blush-pink.
It wasn’t always easy and relaxing though,
when it came to large hills you needed to give the dogs a bit of a hand, which
involved pushing the sled up the hill that were covered with ankle to knee deep
powder.
After an hour and a half of sledding fun,
our sledding adventure had finished and it had been amazing. None of our group
fell off, although the river-jump definitely made a few hearts skip a beat. Everyone
survived the few little hairy downhill sections, and I managed to stay upright
even when sledding one handed snapping photos (although there were some close
calls).
The fun hadn’t ended though we were able to
have a little more time with the huskies. We had to unhook each one from the
sled and put them back in their cages, and then got in their cages with them
and take off their harnesses. The dogs were so well behaved and they made this easy
for us, they’d stand still and even lift their paws up when you needed them to.
The dogs were just so placid and beautiful - we wanted to take them all home!
That night we went for another wander to
the lake to try out luck with the lights, but unfortunately there wasn’t much
love that night and the lights were very faint and covered by a lot of cloud.
Thursday we decided to make the most of the
few hours of daylight and wander up to the national park where there was a canyon
and frozen waterfall. We made the 3km walk from our hostel to the park and
around there for a couple of hours, trudging through some waist deep snow and
playing in the powder. Before we knew it the sun was setting (although it never
really rises, it never makes it above the mountains) and we had to make the
walk back home before it got too dark. We got another heavy snow-storm that
night and no one ventured out for the lights, except me. I had to try and see
them every night - just incase…But it was a waste of time and I ended up sitting
out in the cold snowy conditions for over an hour, with no pay off in the end.
Friday we had booked ice fishing, but
unfortunately the ice on the lake wasn’t thick enough to be classed as ‘safe’,
so unfortunately we couldn’t fish and instead we took a walk down to the lake
(as we hadn’t seen it in daylight yet) and had a very relaxing day. The day was
very cloudy and our hopes of seeing the lights again were looking grim. It had
been forecast that Friday was going to have some solid activity, but with the
dense clouds and unreliable forecasts we weren’t getting our hopes up.
The sun set at about 2pm and it looked like
there was a chance of the sky clearing, and by 330pm there were a few stars in
the sky. Our hopes were increasing and by 530pm, the sky was clear and it was
-15 (cold clear skies are ideal for seeing the lights) and we were now feeling
very excited.
The ideal time for viewing the lights is
between 8pm-2am, so we decided to kill some time and head to Abisko’s only bar,
and enjoy our first full strength drink since arriving in Abisko (all the beer
and wine in the supermarket is light strength). So we enjoyed a few Christmas
largers with our friends Tom and Geneva and before we knew it, it was 830 and
we had a good feeling about seeing something.
We were outside the bar and could see a
bright beam of light shooting across the sky overhead. Excited, we picked up
the pace and headed out to a park bench out on a little peninsular with a
great, uninterrupted view of the lake and the lights.
We sat down there for hours, drank warm
glogg and honey mead and watched the amazing light show. It was the perfect way
to spend our last night in Abisko.
Our final morning I was up early (Gem was
still fast asleep) and I headed out with the dog sleds again. This time I
wasn’t on a dog sled but sitting in the back of the snowmobile taking photos
for the guys who run the tour. It was another perfect morning with a cloudless
pastel-colored sky.
There were twice as many people as there
was on our tour, so getting the dogs and sleds organised was more chaotic then
ours. One puppy even got out and made a run for it, but didn’t get too far
luckily. Eventually the 15 sleds and 60 dogs were all ready to go.
This group’s tour didn’t go as smoothly as
ours, with some people scared to go faster then 3kmp/h, and many people fell
off their sleds including one girl who got scared on the last hill and just
threw her sled down the hill. It was still a great morning and sitting in the
back of the snowmobile hammering around the fresh snow was extremely fun.
After the tour was done, I headed back to
our hostel, packed our bags and got ready for the 17-hour train ride back to
Stockholm where we would catch our flight to the UK.
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Snow at the station |
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Cross country skiing time |
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We struggled but we got there in the end |
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Dog sledding |
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Dog sledding |
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Dog sledding |
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Dog sledding |
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Dog sledding |
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Sunrise Dog sledding |
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Pretty amazing scenery |
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Dog sledding |
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Amazing morning |
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Dog sledding |
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Dog sledding in Abisko |
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Dog sledding |
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Hanging with my new mates |
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Gem and some of her team |
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Dog sledding |
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Sunrise while dog sledding |
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Dog sledding |
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One hand on the camera, the other on the sled |
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Dog sledding |
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Cute huskies |
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Some of the sleds |
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Out and about in Abisko |
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Snow angels |
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Lazing around in Abisko |
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Abisko National Park and frozen waterfall |
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Snowy selfie |
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Playing in the powder |
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Abisko National Park |
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Abisko National Park |
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The first glimpse of the Northern lights! |
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First time seeing the Northern Lights |
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First time seeing the Northern Lights |
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First time seeing the Northern Lights |
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First time seeing the Northern Lights |
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The first attempt of seeing the lights definitely paid off |
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Out and about in Abisko |
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Snowy beanie |
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Out and about in Abisko |
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Playing with the snow |
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it got colder then that |
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Frozen lake |
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Out and about in Abisko |
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Big snow flakes |
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Snowing just a little |
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The second time trying to see the lights |
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Our second attempt of seeing the lights wasn't too good |
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Out and about in Abisko |
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Out and about in Abisko |
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Out and about in Abisko |
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Abisko town and the gateway to Lapland |
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Abisko Lake |
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Amazing show at the lake |
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It turned it on for us on the last night there |
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Last night in Abisko's Northern lights |
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Last night in Abisko's Northern lights |
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Good last night out |
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Northern lights over Abisko |
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Final night in Abisko |
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The last night of being in Abisko and we got a great show! |
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Lights on the last night at the hostel |
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Lights over the hostel |
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Ready to go |
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Dog sledding |
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One good pup, and another naughty one |
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Getting briefed |
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Cuddles |
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Dog sledding |
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Tomas and some sledding action |
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I want one of these fellas! |
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And the instructor takes a fall |
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Dog sledding |
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Amazing scenery |
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Husky pup |
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Dog sledding |
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Dog sledding |
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Dog sledding day out |
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Dog sledding |
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Dog sledding |
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Dog sledding |
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Dog sledding crash |
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Dog sledding |
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Dog sledding |
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Dog sledding |