Kiruna

We had a lovely breakfast in the dining room with that incredible view as we listened to the music of Elton John and Michael Buble'. It's nice to have the UK and Canada represented.

 

There was a cute little crackling fire going in the lobby and it smelled yummy, cozy. This may be our last day for jeans and sweatshirts as we fly to Stockholm tomorrow.

We left the hotel and climbed higher through the mountains with steep rocks on one side and the lake on the other and the sun sparkling through the gray as the clouds broke. There was a sign that was also written in English at the bottom that warned it was an avalanche zone and you can see why.

We entered the Abisko National Park and we drove in and stopped to see one more waterfall. There were men working up the river from us making a wooden walkway.

There were hiking paths everywhere with young couples out backpacking as well as older people Alpine Hiking with poles.

Back on the highway we passed areas of brightly colored flexible posts so road maintenance can tell where the road and bridges are in heavy snow. In parking lots you also see metal boxes on stands that reminded me of the old speakers at Drive In Movies. They are electrical outlets to plug your engine block heater into so your car will start easier in the very cold weather.

We stopped and hiked a trail to the lake. I am pleased to report we saw moose droppings, so they must be here some place.

 

We saw a group of little metal shacks all in a row on the beach and wondered if it was a campground, but no one was there. Back in the car, on the way down the road, we spotted another row of those shacks and all of a sudden Bob realized they were ice fishing shanties stored on the beach for the summer. It must look like a little shanty town in the winter. Bob thinks it would really be fun to be on that crystal clear lake, in a cozy shanty, fishing for Sweden's famous Northern Pike. I think it would be cold.

Bob keeps talking about how amazed he is with the number of streams and huge lakes that go on forever. He says there is no way with this small of a population that they can even make a dent in the number of fish. He was really itching to try.

Finding a restroom/toilet has been pretty easy on this trip. Along highways, you see blue signs with a small  "i" for information and a WC for water closet or toilet. There are many blue "P" signs for pullover areas to park or rest. We used them to take scenic pictures or just to get out and stretch. However, you see many men just step into the grass, with their back to traffic, unbuckle and relieve themselves. No one thinks anything of it. Lucky ducks! I guess the ladies have to wait or go into the woods.

As we come into Kiruna, the land is flatter with scrub trees. It is an iron mining town and quite industrial. There are 400 miles of underground mining tunnels under the town and they are planning to move Kiruna as they are afraid it will eventually collapse. That makes me feel real safe!

The town goes up the side of the hill with industrial, rectangular, bleak looking buildings of brick and metal. There is nothing quaint here. The roads were tight with many one way streets and we turned into dead end parking places a few times. It was most hard to find our way but finally did as I'm sure we broke a few traffic laws. We were just glad to stop. Our hotel was the same fee as we paid last night and is a hotel and youth hostel. It looked a little seedy, but was clean enough when we went in. I hope I can sleep. We are spoiled.

We did not want to spend time wandering around Kiruna, but there was a nice church and park I wanted to see later. Meanwhile we had time and spur of the moment we decided to drive to the Finland border so we could say we were in Finland too and we might see some wildlife.

We started out of town and saw signs advertising the famous Ice Hotel so we turned off. It was in a nice area by a big lake with pretty cottages. It was not the season for the hotel, but they had pictures and a big block of ice to show how it's all done.

It was interesting. They were also doing lots of road work and clearing and we wondered if this was to be the new sight for Kiruna. It could be a beautiful spot on the shores of a lake. The current Kiruna city center, with it's plain, factory looking buildings, needs to be torn down!

On the road to Finland, we drove through miles of wilderness with the occasional tiny settlement. 

Then we hit a stretch of construction for seven miles of very dusty bumpy roads with lots of heavy machinery about. We felt bad for the travel trailer ahead of us as it bounced over the road.

It occurred to us that we would eventually have to come back this way. This was surely not our best travel day. Our once black Volvo was now gray!

This land is so remote with so few houses and still no wildlife. There were lots of Sami pens for herding reindeer, but not a reindeer in sight. We finally stopped for gas and some crackers and cheese to keep us going. The attendant was not at all friendly or interested in chatting with us. We felt like we had bothered him but we were glad to not have to worry about gas and to have some snacks. There were no cafe's out here.

We got to the border and passed into Finland. It was not that impressive. We went into a gift shop and then the café to get a coffee. The words were all crazy long and we were lost. No one was very friendly, so we went right back into Sweden. This was a long trip for not that much of a reward. 

And then, Ta Da! We spotted three reindeer grazing in the field. We turned around and went back and got pictures. Yay! They were fuzzy and cute.
  
          
                                                                               

Farther down the road we saw the remains of a moose that was killed on the highway. Bob let me out to get pictures and turned around to come back and pick me up as there was not a good place to stop. I wanted more proof than poop that there really are moose here.

We passed back through the dusty construction and found our way back to the hotel. The town didn't look quite so bad with the sun out and we put on our winter coats to walk and find some dinner. There was a festival going on in the square with carnival rides and a rock band that was pretty good and they spoke in English. We had fun standing in the crowd bouncing to the rhythm for a while. 

We checked out the two open, near by, restaurants, but one was full and one was too expensive. The carnival had plenty of food to offer, but listen to what smart American travelers we are. We forgot to get more Swedish money, the banks were closed and the ATM machines wanted cards with a chip which we didn't have. So, we had to wait till morning to get money. Oh well, it was late and we still had plenty of Wasa Bread and cheese. Live and learn, again! Now to sleep and we'll load up at breakfast...I hope!