I am not sure what I was thinking travelling to lappland in my red lambskin ankle boots and a leather blazer but I blame it on the hangover. When I met my friends in their Canada goose jackets and sorrel boots at arlanda I figured it was time to fish up those awful moonboots and warm jacket from the suitcase.
Only one airline flies up to vilhemina, probably a good indicator of the popularity and population of the place. The airplanes operating are more like small private jets, but why them make the ceiling so low will remain a mystery. The top of my head nicely cleaned the ceiling all the way down the plane.
Once the plance had landed, gracefully gliding on the ice covered landing strip like bambi on ice, the doors of the plane were opened and a cold breeze rushed through the plane, the reason for warm clothing become obvious. I, however, madly in love with snow and the idea of a calm weekend in front of the fireplace, was not worried.
The next thing that took me by surprise, was what I saw once I got out of the plane, the so called airport. As many times as id flown private or been to small islands with hardly an airport, this was another level. One little hut, departures and arrivals separated by a thin wall, a band for the luggage and a info desk, dealing with immigration, enquiries and car rental. Two minutes and all done. Awesome.
The drive to Gaemo was 1,5 hour in the dark, with snow slapping the car and a road that never seemed to end. Even though one couldn’t see anything, the fresh, crisp air and brightness of the stars didn’t leave any doubt that we were somewhere far north in the middle of nowhere.
The car came to a halt and parked on the street where for the first time in a 100 miles we saw a car. Apperently the arrival of us to the house is as exciting as things get up here and by the next morning half the village had had time to stop by and welcome back our hosts, peaking inside if they had brought any celebrities with them this time. Last time princess Madeleine of Sweden had visited, it was the front page of the local paper for a few months running.
Snowscooters picked us and the luggage up and drove us up a little road through the forest to the house. Pitch dark as it was, I had never expected to wake up in winter wonderland. Snow and forest as far as the eye could see except for straight ahead of me, a large lake, like a mirror reflecting the snow covered trees and mountain tops. As cold as the morning air was, minus 15 showed the
My 3 days in lappland consisted of long walks in the snow, following moose prints in the snow, waiting to see the lynx family living in the garden or the bear sleeping under the bridge on the estate, sweating in a finish sauna with a cold lapin kulta in my hand, eating a lot of cheese (my biggest addiction) and drinking a lot of coffee(as we Swedes do), sledging down the mountain like a child head first and lying on the couch in front the fireplace, watching tv with a cigarette and a glass of red wine. It is the first time in a long time I got to actually get to know my friends a bit better, to actually spend some quality time.
Got to indulge in some amazing, yes amazing, swedish food such as skagen toast, home made swedish meatballs and venison... all recipes coming up next!
Cannot wait to come back in February!
