Journey north: the aurora journey across the Arctic Circle
Metro Stockholm
Kiruna ice hotel black pine forest dog sled
3 abiscu National Park
There is no itinerary for day 5~
7 Stockholm City Hall Stockholm harbour Stockholm Museum
8 sigtuna
9 open air museum of Skansen Park
394 summary
Show all 8 days away
Day 1
2013-12-25
On December 25, 2013, Christmas night, the author set out from Stockholm, all the way north, across the Arctic Circle, to Kiruna, the aurora Town, and then to abiscu, the northernmost National Park in Sweden. Yu Youji Author: TJ Zhouchen (Sina Weibo)
The author's itinerary from Stockholm
1. Departure: Stockholm Scandinavia is one of the best places in the world to watch the aurora borealis. Norway, Sweden and Finland, which are located in the peninsula, are close to the Arctic circle. It is said that they are most likely to see the most spectacular aurora borealis. In the Christmas holiday of 2013, I met my little friend in Stockholm, Sweden, and started our journey of exploring the northern lights all the way north. The author starts from Budapest and transfers at Riga airport, the capital of Latvian, and arrives in Stockholm on Christmas Eve. As it is a Christmas holiday, there are only 5 passengers on the whole flight; The Christmas Eve here is just like the new year's Eve in China. All the shops on the streets are closed, and even KFC and McDonald's in the railway station are closed. Walking alone on the main road of sking (Chinese people like to use the word "Jing" to name the city, Stockholm is also referred to as "sking" by a group of international students). Hungry, there is no one in the street. The author has to open the mobile phone navigation to find the way to the reserved youth hotel. Arriving at the hotel, I found that it was full of poor Backpackers like me. After inquiry, I learned that the purpose of traveling to Sweden during this period is nothing more than the aurora in the Arctic Circle! On such a Christmas Eve, which is supposed to be reunited with family members, backpackers who can't buy any food or drink can only chew their own bread and instant noodles and swallow the tap water (the tap water in many European countries has reached the standard of direct drinking water).
Panoramic view of the old city of Stockholm, rainy weather will make people feel the desolation and vigor of northern Europe!
Christmas day when the sky no one in Stockholm old city, I live in the hotel Gamla Stan is around here.
On Christmas day, because I have to wait for my late friends, I choose to go out alone to find out what's going on. In winter, the sunshine time in sking is very short, and it is usually dark at three or four o'clock in the afternoon; And most of the time is rainy days, a few days without sunshine is common. The difference between sking and many European cities is that the old city area of the city is very small, and outside the old city area are new modern buildings. Although there has been no war in Sweden in the past 200 years, the historical buildings are well preserved; However, in the period of industrial revolution, sking was eager to seek innovation and change, which destroyed a large number of historical blocks, and now the old city is only a small one. Now the Swedes have realized the significance of the old city in shaping the urban landscape and tourism development, so they have taken strict measures to protect the remaining holy land. Walking in the old city on a rainy day, I feel like meeting the northern European version of the rain lane, which is so long, sad and hesitating. Some people say that Stockholm is the Venice of northern Europe. I don't think it is as euphemistic and charming as Venice, but the grandeur and desolation of the north.
The rain lane in the old city, a corner, casual moment can bring you a lot of moving.
(meeting the northern European version of the rain lane, holding an oil paper umbrella, wandering alone in the long, long and lonely rain lane Dai Wangshu)
The grand meeting at the top of the old city cathedral is very popular in the United States
In the harbor of the old city, if there are more than one woman holding an umbrella in the picture, the artistic conception will be more profound!
The hero monument on the side of the old city's Imperial Palace and the palaces around the world may have their own beauty, but the hero monuments around the world are all of the same temperament.
The streets of the old city are decorated with monster patterns, which are closely related to fairy tales and the story of St. George's Dragon slaughtering.
The sculpture at the entrance of the king's garden in the old city, although I don't know who this person is, since it is called King's garden, maybe he should be a king worthy of people's love in Sweden.
The famous King's garden in the old city and the extremely cold winter in northern Europe can be seen everywhere. This kind of green grassland can really brighten people's eyes!
On the street of Stockholm, ahead is the city hall. I like the winding roads full of trams and tracks in Europe. The corner is often a building facing the scenery. Perhaps this is the subtlety of European urban design!
Stockholm street after the rain, the washed road after the rain reflects the neon in the distance.
The unique subway station is a highlight of Stockholm tour!
Waiting at such a subway station, I don't think you will feel tired and tired.
Stockholm metro station with ocean design style, with the sound effect of Shanghai waves, has excellent sensory effect! And we're like plankton in the ocean.
Day 2
2013-12-26
2. Crossing the Arctic Circle: at 6 p.m. on Christmas day, after meeting with our friends, we got on the train crossing the Arctic Circle to Kiruna, the aurora town. In addition to the opportunity to see the aurora here, the more important reason for choosing Kiruna is that we want to visit the famous ice hotel and experience the dog sled project here. The train journey lasted 17 hours. In order to save money, we reserved the cheapest tickets. The train arrived in Kiruna at 11 noon. Just after getting off the train, the snow came into our eyes. I remember when I left sking, it was still raining and there was no sign of snow; Here, the thickness of the snow can be buried in our thighs. Kiruna, one of the world's largest iron ore centers, is also Sweden's famous space city. The European Space Center here is the pride of the people of Kiruna. This time we found a family hotel run by local people. Maybe the landlady was annoyed by the tourists who came to watch the aurora, but she was not willing to give up the extra money. So she constantly told us that no matter what time we went back to our room, we must whisper to ensure that we could not bring any snow to our room. After everything was cleared up, it was about 2 p.m., so we decided to take a stroll in the urban area first (that is, the urban area is very small, and it's only about half an hour to walk from this end of the city to the other end of the city with heavy steps in the snow), get familiar with the surrounding environment, and buy some dry food by the way. Because the more you go north, the less you can buy and the less likely you are to use money.
Kiruna railway station, 17 hours by train, arrived here at 11 noon. And the sky here is just dimly bright.
The time to arrive at Kiruna railway station is 11 noon. It's just dawn. The sunshine here is only about three hours a day. At 3 p.m., night falls in Kiruna. At this time, we are very lucky to see the burning clouds in the Arctic circle. The red sky also reflects the snow red.
Kiruna B & B, that's where we live, Timmy's Home。
I feel that the colors of the houses here are inspired by the colors of the fire clouds.
In the evening, we met with another group of friends at the ice hotel. Located on the Bank of Lake yukasiervi, the ice hotel is about 18 kilometers away from the center of Kiruna. It is the largest ice structure in the world. Every room here is a work of art. The hotel has a full range of functions, including bed sheets and sleeping bags made of reindeer skin, saunas and bars, and churches built of ice. The ice hotel only opens in winter every year. The idea and creativity are very good, but the price is high. It's windy and chilly in the hotel. I don't know who will want to stay? Maybe you have to be like Yang Guo and Xiao Longnu, and have the mood of cultivating the jade girl's Heart Sutra before you come to experience it? In the Arctic Circle, the most important thing every night is to wait for the aurora, but this extreme astronomical phenomenon does not happen every day, largely depends on your arrival time and luck. The first day of searching for the aurora ended in failure, but it was a thrilling experience! Originally, we used Google navigation to stay away from urban light pollution and go deep into the mountains to find a commanding height. Results after entering the forest, the mobile navigation lost its signal and could not locate. Originally, we knew that there was a lake in the forest. For the sake of safety, we planned to avoid the lake. As a result, we walked to an open flat land. There were no trees around, surrounded by mountains. Our friends excitedly said that we should wait for the aurora here. But according to my professional intuition, I found that we were on a downhill road just now. We can infer that the flat land we are in should be the center of the lake! As a result, the ice pit nearby confirmed my idea, and we decided to evacuate immediately.
Is there a sense of Nordic mythology in the largest kirunam Church in Sweden?
On the streets of Kiruna in the middle of the night, you can see the thickness of the snow on both sides, but you should know that this is in the center of the city, and the thickness of the snow on the outside is deeper.
Back on the road, we walked into a black pine forest and decided to observe the aurora. At first, the sky was still full of stars. After a while, it was covered with dark clouds. The black pine forest was blown by the wind, and even no stars could be seen in the sky. We could see that the snowstorm was coming! We decided to evacuate again. The snow on the return road is too deep and it's hard to walk. We can even sink our whole legs into the snow pit when we go forward, and we can hear the gurgling water nearby. The problem is that it's past midnight and there's no light around. We can only find our way back by intuition. The Arctic Circle in winter is full of novelty, excitement and danger. Therefore, it is suggested that tourists should bring their equipment when traveling, and do not travel alone.
Kiruna B & B in sunset.
Kiruna homestay under the sunset, the earth is set off by the sky into the same color.
The spectacular sunset in the Arctic Circle, if not for the blue sky, it is really difficult to distinguish the boundary between the sky and the earth.
Back to the hotel path, now see this picture, full of pink memories.
Everything is purplish red under the sunset. I like the blue under this color.
In the streets of Kiruna, the red color gradually faded, and the artistic conception in Anita Mui's song of the setting sun gradually appeared: the setting sun is infinite, but it's just a moment of brilliance
Steel sculptures on the streets of Kiruna.
In the corner of kirunam church, you can find the feeling of Nordic fairy tales again.
On the way to the ice hotel, I found it hard to stop a car to get there.
After midnight, the streets of Kiruna failed to wait for the aurora for the first time, but it was more or less comforting to see the warm street lights.
Ice hotel rooms, room charges are quite expensive, but this kind of decoration and experience also has its expensive reasons.
Ice church, there should be music here, Deng Deng Deng, Deng Deng Deng, what is this《 Wedding march! Yes，I do！
Ice hotel bar, such a bar is also drunk.
The love ice sculptures on the wall of the ice hotel are full of romantic feet
In the corridor space of the ice hotel, only the scene of a couple walking slowly forward is missing in the picture. The bride's wedding dress is dragging on the snow for a long time
Ice hotel room decorations, I do not know in the room to design a, what is the purpose of this? Well, I'm evil, ha ha.
Show love husky dog, don't be too cute, OK.
The world in the tent, a pot of hot coffee, a cup of hot milk, a few pieces of dry toast, let you feel the most Nordic lifestyle.
Tents in the black pine forest.
Husky dog team, so many dogs pulling a sled, using so much labor, no wonder the ticket price of this activity will be so high!
Using mobile phones to "write" in the black pine forest. This is love!
Day 3
2013-12-27
3. Heading: northernmost Sweden leaves Kiruna and gets on the train again. It takes one hour to reach abiscu National Park, the northernmost part of Sweden. The park was built in 1909 to preserve a pristine area in Northern Northern Europe as a scientific research base. After a century of conservation, the tranquility, solemnity and primitive natural features have created a unique polar tundra landscape here. From May 27 to July 18 every year, there is a magical midnight sun landscape in abiscu; From the end of December to the end of January, tourists will come here to watch the aurora. Far from the city, it is known as one of the best Aurora Observation places in the world. Here, the customary greeting is not "hello", but "do you see the aurora?". On our first night in abiscu, we saw the extremely faint aurora. To be exact, our camera saw the aurora, because we all thought that the flickering glow was caused by light pollution. Only when we took out the camera and took a symbolic picture, we found that the light was green, which was the aurora transmitted by the Internet. We can't help feeling, is the legendary Aurora like this? When we went back that night, we adjusted the saturation of the photos to full, uploaded them to social networking sites, and made up for our reluctance with the overwhelming admiration and envy of our friends. On the last night in abiscu, we finally got a strong aurora. What we can see with the naked eye is the bright and dim glow in the sky. Only when we expose it for a long time with the camera, can we see the same scene as in the brochure.
Polar tundra landscape, summer here is the gurgling water.
Abiscu National Park is the only residential area in abiscu National Park. The human activity area indicated by the stars is in sharp contrast with the surrounding original area.
The life of counting stars in such a house is also drunk.
Faint Aurora Borealis, this is Sun Yanzi's mouth of the green light, Zhang Shaohan's song aurora.
But according to local people, when the aurora is really strong, you can see the gorgeous aurora on the brochure with your naked eye. It can be said that we left the Arctic Circle with a little regret; When and when can we really see the "Aurora" in Zhang Shaohan's words and the "green light" in Sun Yanzi's songs with our naked eyes? We don't know, but this may be the best excuse for our friends to get together in the Arctic circle next time! Will you be able to see the aurora when you come to northern Europe? No one can guarantee that we will meet many tourists who have not seen the aurora for many nights. We thought that when we came to this polar night area, we could have a good sleep and enjoy the night in the Arctic circle. But here I found that you did not dare or reluctant to go to bed. Because you are not sure when the aurora will appear, you may miss the most intense and spectacular Aurora at the moment you sleep. So as long as it's night, you need to wait for the aurora. This has also created a unique phenomenon of making friends in the Arctic Circle: people have formed teams with strangers to wait for the aurora in shifts; When the aurora appears, many people who take photos with you are just passers-by.
The old man walking on the king's trail is full of snow and wind in front of him, while the old man is accompanied by dogs and the unknown road ahead. Perhaps, another fairy tale is born!
(walking through the "King's footprints" of abiscu, walking to the snowy sky)
Night base tundra, gurgling streams, only stars accompany, a person to take such a picture or slightly scary.
Waiting for the aurora by the lake.
The trees by the lake are as lonely as the people waiting for the aurora.
If it wasn't for the black color depicted by the vegetation in that area, the sky and the earth could really be connected.
The residential area beside the lake is just a few houses, surrounded by original ecology!
The endless tundra, feel the feel of Tianshui and the fusion of heaven and earth
Nightfall accommodation, polar lighting is the most gratifying and safe thing, because it indicates the existence of human beings.
As lonely as we are, this picture reminds me of the song "Moonlight" The MV of shadow and the mood of the song.
The aurora in the sky, the beauty of rhythm.
At the entrance of the king's trail, friends who have played crow forest mystery 2 don't know if they are familiar with the gate of that scenic spot? The moment I stepped into the gate reminds me of the scene in the game and the story after that.
As night falls, the light is where people are.
Several tall and straight small trees on the wasteland are often the most wonderful composition elements on the tundra.
Day 5
2013-12-29
(long exposure shot combined polar orbit)
Day 7
2013-12-31
4. End point: after the Spring Festival, the shops on the street are open one after another. As an international metropolis, the prosperity and bustle of the city are restored. The rare appearance of the sun not only sweeps away the depression and haze caused by the failure to see the strong aurora for many days, but also makes us appreciate the real beauty of skein. To be honest, the first impression of sking is really bad. Not only is the old city small, but the weather is even worse. However, when the sun appears over the city, we know that this is the most beautiful time of sking.
This kind of light shadow relationship is actually the most popular.
Colonnade of Stockholm City Hall
The square in front of the city hall and the harbor are far away from the old city.
In the inner space of the city hall, the solemnity created by the red brick wall makes people feel very comfortable, not so rigid.
Inside the city hall, inside the wall on the second floor, is where the Nobel Prize was announced.
City Hall and Harbour
The church in the center of Stockholm, one of the few old buildings in the city.
A high tower in the corner of the city hall.
I don't know how many Nobel prizes have been announced in the Nobel prize awarding hall in the city hall.
In the city hall, the rostrum of the Nobel prize awarding hall, Sweden and Norway host the Nobel prize awarding ceremony in turn, and Sweden's place of awarding is here.
On the front of the rostrum, many Nobel prizes are announced here.
The most important golden room in the town hall, where you can learn the historical story of Sweden and the character of Swedes.
Post change in front of the palace
(post changing ceremony in front of Stockholm Palace)
The tranquility of the evening, the blue sea against the light green, fishing fire little feeling.
Blue is the main color here
On the front of the Stockholm Museum, I feel that this area is similar to the Museum Island in Berlin. Many national museums in Sweden are concentrated in this area.
Swedish style clock tower in the museum area. This is the basic element of Swedish fairy tales.
Stockholm's famous shipwreck museum is three or four stories high. Can not help but remind people of the game "the age of great navigation" in the scene.
The origin of the shipwreck is sad enough, which is the result of the maritime competition between Sweden and Denmark. In order to suppress Denmark, Sweden forcibly exceeded the design standard at that time and designed this heavy artillery ship. As a result, the ship just left the port and sank before it could go to war. It took hundreds of years to be salvaged and displayed in front of the world.
The most famous Dragon slaughtering statue of St. George in the old city church is related to many Swedish legends.
Day 8
2014-01-01
The last climax of our trip to northern Europe is to welcome the new year's Day celebration. As the celebration day is still one day away, we choose to go to sigtuna, which is located in the northwest of sking, on the Bank of merlaren lake, one of Sweden's three major lakes, and is known as Sweden's most beautiful town. The reason for visiting is very simple, because it was once the capital of Sweden and the place where Sweden's first coin was born. December 31, the last day in Sweden, is destined to usher in the climax of this trip to northern Europe. The annual celebration is held in Skansen Park in the center of Stockholm. The atmosphere of the festival is the same as our lunar new year. Although the whole celebration was held outdoors, it was similar to our Spring Festival Gala. Famous Swedish singers and movie stars came to the scene one after another. The scene was full of climax and excitement. National Radio will broadcast the whole celebration live. As the audience, we stood in the first row and watched it twice in a row. The first time was the rehearsal trial broadcast, and the second time was officially broadcast. For the first time, I missed the Spring Festival at home, and for the first time I experienced the new year abroad. Too many of the first times made this trip to Sweden extraordinary and amazing.
Situna, as gorgeous as oil painting, is my favorite destination in Sweden.
It's no exaggeration to say that siegtuna is a place to pick up a camera and take a picture. It's a postcard.
Sunset on the shores of Lake Melan, sigtuna.
China has the spring river duck prophet, but in the cold northern Europe, the ducks here can still dance with the setting sun.
Setting sun, withered tree, Nordic version of withered vine, old tree, faint crow.
At the entrance of sigtuna Town, you can see the green lawn in the cold winter again.
The ruins and tombs at the entrance of the town stand there quietly, telling visitors the history of the town.
The lakeside is a modern residential area. Although the house is modern, it is not abrupt. It is so perfect to match with the merlaren lake. It is said that a real estate development in Shanghai is imitated here.
The landscape by lake melalun is a landscape made of stones.
The landscape design of Lake melalun is really wonderful!
The design of tables and chairs extending to the lake, the unity of man and nature, this design is really amazing!
Day 9
2014-01-02
The annual celebration is held in Skansen Park in the center of Stockholm. The atmosphere of the festival is the same as our lunar new year.
Who's this guy? The local people told me it was famous, but I didn't know it.
The woman who sings opera has the most temperament!
Although the whole celebration was held outdoors, it was similar to our Spring Festival Gala. Famous Swedish singers and movie stars came to the scene one after another. The scene was full of climax and excitement.
Swedish film tycoon class figures, this aura is not really built, speaking like a politician's preaching!
National Radio will broadcast the whole celebration live. As the audience, we stood in the first row and watched it twice in a row. The first time was the rehearsal trial broadcast, and the second time was officially broadcast.
It's so cold to celebrate the new year's Eve in Skansen park. It's hard for this guy to fight naked!
Stockholm, past midnight
Day 394
2015-01-22
Accommodation: 1 European accommodation booking one month in advance can usually get a lower price. two During Christmas, the youth hostel I reserved in Stockholm is hotel Gamla Stan, located in the old city, has a good location, about 20 minutes' walk from the railway station. The price of a bed in a multi room mixed with other passengers for one night is 21 euro. three Stay in Kiruna, family hotel name Tommy's House, the price for a three person night is 40 Euro. four Stay in abiscu, youth hostel name Abisko Tourist Station， The price of a bed for six people a night is 31 euro.
Transportation: 1 Swedish railway official website http://www.sj.se/ The train ticket from Stockholm to Kiruna on Christmas Day is 59 euro. It starts at 17:55 p.m. and arrives at 11:06 p.m. on the second day, which takes 17 hours and 11 minutes (there is an airport in the suburb of Kiruna, you can choose to go by air, but there are fewer flights and the ticket price is expensive). two The train ticket from Kiruna to abiscu National Park is about 10 euro. We started at 3:15 p.m. and arrived at 4:15 p.m., which lasted for one hour. three The ticket price of the train from abiscu to Stockholm is about 85 euro. We started at 12:30 noon and arrived at daskin at 6:30 the next morning. It took 18 hours.
Project: 1 The admission fee of ice hotel is about 14 euro, and the price of one night's stay starts from 300 euro. Ice hotel is far away from the urban area, and there are few shuttle buses. It will be closed during Christmas. It is recommended to charter a car with other tourists (5-6 people in a car). two The dog sled event is very popular in winter. It's often hard to get a ticket. Please make sure to book online in advance (another group of my friends missed this extremely novel experience because they didn't book in advance). The price is about 115 euro per person. three Whether you can see the aurora depends largely on your luck, but paying attention to website predictions in advance can increase your chances of seeing the aurora. Forecast website address http://gi.alaska.edu/AuroraForecast/3
Remarks: 1 Compared with other European countries, the price in Sweden is on the high side, and the average food and beverage is about 10 euro. Sweden's local currency is SEK, which is about 9.4% against the euro ： 1。 two In the abiscu National Park, there is basically no place to consume. The nearest supermarket has to walk for more than an hour to get there. If you go there, you must bring enough food*（ Thank you for your travel information.)
The original "tracking the aurora borealis from Stockholm to the Arctic Circle" was published in the first issue of travel world in 2015. This is the draft of the original. Please pay attention to the original magazine.
Author: Zhou Xiang, net name Yan Lanyi, graduate student of landscape science department, School of architecture and urban planning, Tongji University. In 2013, it was fully funded by the Erasmus project of the European Union and spent one year of exchange study in Europe at public expense. During the visit, he visited 23 countries and 82 towns in Europe.
