Travel: Abisko, Sweden

Published on Wednesday 9 March 2011 17:02

There are holidays and then there are things you simply have to do before you die. Along with many other people, I have dreamed of seeing the Northern Lights.

There are holidays and then there are things you simply have to do before you die. Along with many other people, I have dreamed of seeing the Northern Lights.

I have glimpsed a green tracer through the passenger window during flights to America and thought what must it be like to see the Aurora Borealis from the ground?

How eerie and elemental to watch those weird patterns in the sky. This is the time to see them: the solar flares reported the other week were a sign of things to come. The sun is entering a phase of enhanced activity. The Northern Lights are going to be glorious.

They are not, however, conveniently placed. You need to get to the Arctic Circle if you want more than a squib.

I looked up routes and flights - crossing Sweden alone would take up most of the weekend. Fortunately there are flights from the UK to the northern town of Kiruna.

From there you are whisked by coach past frozen lakes and mountains to the Abisko Sky Station, where you are likely to get the best view in the world of the Aurora Borealis.

Because this trip was intended as an epiphany rather than a holiday, the party was in a mood of anxious excitement. There were honeymooners and couples celebrating significant anniversaries.

We were admirers of National Geographic and the Discovery channel. So you could understand why the guides were squinting uneasily at the overcast sky and trying to manage our soaring expectations.

Our hotel at Abisko was a hostel/outdoor centre with slightly bossy rules about stripping the bed before departure and a wholesome but unglamorous canteen. My husband was immediately transported back to school field trips and adored it.

We hurried through our reindeer steaks and assembled in reception ready to take the chairlifts up to the Sky Station.

Since we had all studied the cause and effect of the lights, we knew that the stubbornly cloudy sky was a bad thing. But somehow hope prevailed. The lights tend to be strongest after 9pm.

We wriggled into heavy ski suits and boots and ascended the chairlift and waited. At about 10:30pm I whispered to my husband that my spirits had gone and my toes were freezing in minus 25C temperatures. We appealed to the guide and he conceded that it wasn't looking good.

Part two of the tour was two nights at the famous Icehotel in Jukkasjrvi. The hotel is divided into warm and cold parts. Within the ice construction, artists design hotel rooms each year with fabulous ice sculptures.

This year I knew there would be ice polar bears and cars and Anish Kapoor-style abstractions. During the journey from Abisko, we passed snow-covered mountains, moose and reindeer.

Despite all this, we could not quite shake off our disappointment. We had had the best shot at the lights, and had been unlucky. This scenery was lovely and unfamiliar but it was not the purpose of the trip.

Whatever you have read about the Icehotel cannot do justice to the feat of imagination and execution; igloo hotel rooms with ice beds and chairs, and a main corridor of ice pillars.

There are of course awkward practicalities to sleeping in an ice room. You have to store your luggage, clothes and sleeping bags in a locker and use a communal shower room before bed.

Before we settled in for the night, we went for an evening trip into the forest on snowmobiles. The temperature was now minus 38C and we were warned of frostbite. We took grateful refuge in a cabin in which a fire had been lit.

At about 9pm, one of the guides beckoned us outside. We slid down the icy slope to look up at the great Arctic sky. There was a rainbow arc of vibrant green which miraculously changed shape. There were emerald searchlights and blocks of light and sinuous patterns. I experienced pure delight. Then the lights faded and vanished.

After a surprisingly snug night in our double sleeping bag in our ice room, we walked across the frozen lake to a little church. You feel like Captain Oates out there and the expanse of dazzling snow is exhilarating.

For our last evening, we crossed a forest on horseback. The moon was so bright against the snow that every twig was visible. Great for Narnia fantasies, although bad for Aurora Borealis. No matter, I had seen it and would never forget.

As we retired to our chalet room, I glanced up. It looked like a rock concert in the sky. And now the green, roaming lights became a great white sea creature, tinged with pinks and blues, spinning and dancing.

Three nights, two sets of lights - the second astonishing beyond dreams - and a swift flight home. It had been a terrific experience but I was relieved to be back in a soft and comfortable bed.

THE FACTS Discover the World has three nights from 1,208pp B&B including flights, one night at Abisko, two nights at the Icehotel and an excursion to the Sky Station. For more info visit discover-the-world.co.uk

Visit www.holidays.scotsman.com for more UK holidays

This article was first published in The Scotsman, 19 March, 2011