Tim and Gem's Honeymoon Adventure: January 2014

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.