Cars and Trains to Bjorkliden August 14, 2006

We left Jokkmokk at 9AM so that we would have plenty of time to turn in the car and get to the train station for the 3:25PM train at Kiruna. The drive was uneventful except for when we gassed up in Kiruna and the total was US$65 and this was on top of US$75 we had put in the tank in Storuman. We had driven about 900 kilometers or 460 miles. Gas in Sweden is around US$7 per gallon. They must love to drive here. The other point of interest around Kiruna is that the famous Ice Hotel is built every winter about 18 km east of here in Jukkasjarvi.

We turned in the car and made our way back to the train station. There’s no ticket agent at the station in Kiruna so you just board the train and get your ticket from the attendant there. This is a small train as we are reaching the far end of this line and there were plenty of seats available. We are now in extreme Northwest Sweden nearing the Norwegian border and the countryside is mountainous. The Hotel Fjallet where we are staying tonight is situated on the slopes of Mount Kappastjarro and overlooking Lake Tornetrask. The hotel is about 1600 feet above sea level. The mountains here top out around 6500 feet and are bare from the level of the hotel up except for lichens and moss covering the rocks. Lake Tornetrask is about 60 miles long and 7-8 miles across at its widest point. Our room has a great view of the lake as well as a mountain called Lapporten which is a huge saddle shaped formation that is quite distinctive. The hotel is also the sight of the Bjorkliden Golf club which according to the Lonely Planet travel guide is the world’s most northerly course.