Travelling Diaries
2018 Swedish Lapland / Day 5 - Travel to Kiruna
Previous and next: Day 4 - Luleå / Day 6 - Kiruna
6th February 2018
Cheerio to Luleå
Today we were leaving Luleå (pronounced Loo-lee-oh) and getting a train to Kiruna (pronounced keer-en-ah) in northern Sweden.
After packing we had breakfast and prepared for our journey ahead.
The train was due to leave Luleå at 10:42 so we set off early to make sure we didn't miss it.
No hosanna for Kiruna
Our last train trip to Kiruna was back in 2015. On that occasion we were travelling east from Narvik in Norway on our previous trip to see the Northern Lights.
The night before we were due to leave Narvik in 2015, there had been a massive storm which had dropped a metre of snow on the train track. As the railway line is part managed by Norway and part Sweden, each then had to do their bit to clear the line.
When we got to the station in Narvik the next morning we were told that this ongoing clearance put a short delay on our departure.
The Norwegians in Narvik said that although they had cleared their side quite quickly, the Swedish side was taking a bit longer.
Anyway, a delay of minutes turned into hours. However, even then, the train company still told us that we were probably ok to go in the afternoon.
This turned into the evening.
Then they told us that another storm was due so the train wouldn't go that day. This meant we needed to stay an extra night in Narvik.
Back in 2015 we had planned to go dog sledding in Kiruna, so a days delay made this look unlikely.
The storm that night was mighty, and the aftermath caused further delay to the train plans the next day.
In the end, we didn't leave Narvik until the following evening.
Dog sledding was out. In fact our two day stay in Kiruna was reduced to about 10 hours.
That was then, this is now
Roll forward three years and here we are waiting for a train to Kiruna.
As our departure time of 10.42 drew close, it was announced that there was going to be a short delay of 30 minutes.
This soon became 50 minutes and then 1 hour and 20 minutes.
Karen and I felt twinges of deja vu.
Rather than wait in the railway station, Karen and I wandered out on to the platform to take in the cold air and watch the JCBs clearing the tracks.
It was chilly, but not as frosty as the previous day.
Yesterday, when we had been on the icebreaker we had made sure we were fully covered up with many layers of clothing as the temperature dropped down to -28ºC. However, at one point on the boat as I was breathing air out through my scarf, my glasses steamed up. Almost immediately the steam turned into frost on the lenses making it impossible to see anything.
This wasn't happening today as the temperature was a balmy -20ºC!
No cause for alarm
To our relief, the train finally arrived and we left just after midday, a mere 100 minutes late.
The sunny weather continued as we passed over the border into the Arctic Circle.
However, it slowly turned to mist as we got closer to Kiruna. Looks like the northern lights were going to be a challenge tonight.
Karen and I had a giggle when we overheard one of the Tourettes excitedly ask someone whether they were going dogging the next day. Knowing our itinerary, we guessed they meant dog sledding. Although the former was probably not a pleasant option in this climate.
Half way to Kiruna, my tinnitus started playing up really badly. Then I realised that, in fact, the train fire alarm had gone off!
The alarm rang really loudly for about 5 minutes before the train ground to a halt. Karen and I thought that this was the curse of Kiruna.
After a further frantic 15 minutes, the train guard finally got the bell switched off and we were back on our way.
The cause, we were told, was probably the cold weather! However, I did notice one of the Tourettes coming out of the train toilet when it happened with a sheepish look (or was that doggish?).
The rest of the train journey went smoothly.
We had a short stop at one of the stations to stretch our legs.
On arrival in Kiruna we we were taken to our wooden cabins which would be our homes for the next two days.
Back at reception we were then shown a short movie someone had taken of the Northern Lights. On this cloudy evening, we guessed it was just shown to taunt us.
Our evening meal of Arctic Char, Moose and Reindeer went
down a treat and we returned back to our cosy cabins to rest in preparation
for our morning of dogging
dog sledding tomorrow.
As Karen was getting ready for bed I asked her, "Which character from the original Star Trek TV show was named after the Northern Lights?"
"That must be Lieutenant Aurora", she didn't reply.
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