Heaven on Earth

May 05, 2015

Heaven on Earth

Last weekend was another reminder as to why I'm so fortunate to have been placed up in the north of Sweden. While I was excited from the moment I heard that I would be heading to the small town of Piteå, I don't believe I ever truly realised how exciting that was until arriving and experiencing it all for myself. This includes my most recent experience up in the mountains - fjällen - as the Swedes would call it.

We went to a place known as Vuoggatjolme - nope, i don't have a clue how you pronounce it either -located approximately 5 miles away from the Norwegian border. My friend, Julia, and her family have a cute little cabin there which they visit, and chose to invite me along on one of their trips. I'm so glad they did! It was about a 3 hour drive there, and we were greeted by a massive bonfire that was in celebration of the beginning of Spring. This is a tradition which occurs throughout all of Sweden at public gatherings known as Valborg. We then headed off to their cabin to unpack and settle in. They also had their caravan somewhat connected to the house as a bit of an extension, and I'm still in awe of how they could have possibly managed to manouver the caravan in such a way that would get the vehicle so close to the house without crashing into it! There was then a door between the two spaces making it easy to access either section.

During our time there, we travelled through the mountain ranges each morning with another family using snowmobiles as transportation. Julia is old enough to have her own licence so I was driven around by her, taken through all sorts of tracks ranging from bumpy rides, dodging tree branches and open fields of ploughed snow. Wherever we were though, the scenery was gorgeous! With everything completely covered in a dusting of snow, the land seemed to glitter while the sun shone down on it. Seeing so much free land to discover is so exciting when you are used to living in a city where every inch of land has been trekked. Here, it felt like you could spend months wandering to areas never seen by anyone else ever before. I also got to try being pulled by the snowmobile while on something I can only describe as a sled. I'm not quite sure if there is a proper term for it, so just click here to see a picture of what I mean if you are curious. This was so much fun and a bit of a thrill to try out!

Once we arrived at our destination each morning, we would set up the site by carving a couch out of the snow to relax on, and then digging holes through the snow and ice for pimpla (ice fishing). I also learnt that between the snow and ice is a layer of water. This allowed the kids to dig through the snow and create the perfect mini aquarium for the fish we caught to be stored in until the end of the day. I tried out ice fishing while there, but was reminded that my patience has never been so great when it comes to fishing, and unfortunately I didn't manage to catch any fish during the few minutes I attempted. The adults had a bit more luck though, catching some massive ones particularly on the second day. With ice fishing they also use a much smaller rod from what I am used to. I'm assuming this is because a smaller rod is both more practical to carry with you and the actual fishing line only needed to travel immediately downwards, rather than be thrown out away from you. Hopefully this reasoning seems logical to all my readers as well...

We were also able to keep ourselves very busy with other activities in the snow as well! This included the greatest snowman of all time - well, I think it was at least. The snow was perfect building material, kramsnö, as I think it would be spelt. This directly translates to 'hug snow' as this is the type of snow which is neither too icy or powdery, but the perfect medium, allowing it to stick together nicely. Making this snowman was a lot of hard work, and by the time we were finished rolling parts of the body, it was almost impossible to move a section by oneself. The body and head were so big that all 5 of us kids/teenagers weren't able to lift them properly, and so we had to build a ramp in order to get them on top of each other. I would say it was completely worth it, and Olaf 2.0 - as named by Johan - looked spectacular! We also used up some of the time for sledding down the surrounding hills. However, walking up those hills is seriously tiring work, so Julia and I cheated one time with her taking me to the top of the hill via snowmobile and then I sledded down. Fun stuff! On the last day, the parents also joined in the sliding down the hill after venturing up a mountain. The ride was completely fun, and so worth the walk. Julia and I also had a snowball throwing competition. She MIGHT have beaten me...but I say that's only because she has had more practice than me. We'll see who wins when we have a boomerang throwing competition!

One of the more surprising things during my stay in the mountains was the warmth throughout the day. With the sun glaring down, and then being reflected by the snow, it almost felt like a Summer's day! No, I'm not just getting used to the climate up here - it was actually warm. I used this opportunity to grab a fun photo in the scenery, bikinis on and sitting on a snowmobile. By the end of this trip, most people will also leave the mountains with a well-known raccoon tan. This is where you look like a receverse raccoon as your whole face is red with the exception of your eyes where your sunglasses were covering that section of your skin the whole time.

These sorts of experiences are what make exchange spectacular! The weekend was so much fun and I am so thankful for Julia and her family for inviting me along. It was an absolute blast filled with memories I will never forget. Sweden just keeps surprising me with what it has to offer.