ICE
HOTEL SWEDEN
2009
Testimonial
The Ice Hotel was the
BEST!!! The dog sled was outstanding and all of the guides were
wonderful. They suited us up and we headed out. As much as we read and
tried to prepare you just can not be ready for the Ice Hotel. We spent
hours going thru the rooms and admiring the ice sculpture. So many
things you learn from other visitors. Like after your last drink of the
night you throw your glass at the back wall and break it. It you save
your glass for a refill you get $3 off each drink. AND you can not get
a hangover no matter how much you drink if you stay in the cold of the
Ice Hotel! We took a global cell phone and my daughter and daughter in
law talked to us as they watched us on the webcam. The warm rooms were
too warm. We seemed to have alot of problems with getting things set
up, such as the transportation back to the
Kiruna
Airport. The air
tickets from Kiruna to
Stockholm were at the bottom of the
envelope and we left the envelope in
Stockholm. (Definitely take
no more than one small carry on to the Ice Hotel.) This caused me great
worry but the Ladies at the Ice Hotel Reception Desk fixed everything.
I suggest staying busy and sampling everything. We went snowmobiling
for 6 hours looking for moose and reindeer and yes we saw them. Then we
went back out again for 4 hours at night looking for the Northern Lights
which we did not see because it was so overcast. We had seen a small
display over the Ice Hotel the night before but we really didn't know
what it was. If you wan to know about the Northern Lights go see the
Bartender at the Ice Bar. We took a reindeer sleigh ride and had dinner
with the Sami. We took an Ice Sculpting class with
LENA! She did several rooms and the
Bar. Everyone was so nice and so willing to explain and share the Ice
Hotel. I would have liked to go to the dog kennels and learned more
about dog sledding. My son wanted to take another sculpting class and
at
Lena's encouragement he is already
working on a room submittal for next year! We walked to the
Homestead for dinner but I
would not recommend it unless some one is really bored with the Ice
Hotel. The restaurant across the street is excellent and there is a
sandwich shop in the
Reception
Center. The Church
was very pretty and the Sami museum would have been better in day light
and with a guide. People should be prepared for very little sunshine.
It seemed to be twilight most of the mornng and afternoon. We brought
ski pants and a winter coat. Really the arctic snowsuit provided with
the boots and gloves was more than enough. I did like having my own
pink hat and scarf, it stood out from the crowd! I can truly say that I
was never cold. Cameras are a big problem. Batteries do not last more
than 15 to 20 minutes and the cameras that I had would shut down when
they got too cold. I would recommend at least two inexpensive Kodak
cameras that you can keep next to your body for warmth and that you can
switch out as needed. There is way to much to capture on film to miss
it because of equipment problems. Between my son and I we took about
1200 pictures and we wish we had taken more. Oh everything is geared
for couples. And there were no single people to pair up with. If I had
no one to go with me it would stop me from going, but if there is any
way to do it as a group I think it would be helpful.
I have done some
traveling in my lifetime but my son and I were in withdrawal from the
Ice Hotel. We read articles and looked at pictures ion the way home.
As soon as we could get the Internet up we were watching the webcam.
The peace the silence the beauty just can not be described. It was
truly a once in a lifetime experience but I'm already hoping I have nine
lives!
Thank you Ulla for
helping us achieve this dream. Debbie and Ched
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Photo:
Lacey Johnson
Photo:
Lacey Johnson
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