About the Polar Prize, heading further south

We continue eastwards towards the Norwegian-Swedish border with the good feeling that we made the right decision. Only a few hundred kilometers north of the journey. The landscape is completely different, but just as beautiful.

We pass ski resorts and huge lakes. We are now in Lapland. The land of the Sámi people and reindeer. From the E10 road and at a glance, it doesn't appear to be rich in scenic highlights. So we cover some distance. Henry seemed to have seen it that way too, as he slept for 3 hours straight.

In the afternoon, we arrive in Kiruna. It is the northernmost city in Sweden and mainly depends on industrial mining. That's how it looks there.

Spontaneously, we decided to treat ourselves and took a room for one night. With a proper bed and a private bathroom. What a luxury!

We spent the first 2 hours hanging out on the bed and letting Henry run around the room. Then we quickly checked out the playground, had dinner, and went to bed.

Breakfast was included with the room. We were excited to fill our bellies and not have to do the dishes afterward. The food was only okay, though. But we still saved ourselves from washing dishes. It felt good 😄

With renewed energy, we continue on the E10 through Lapland. At noon, we stopped at a snack bar and had reindeer for the first time. It wasn't as special as expected, but it was tasty.

During the rest of the drive, we stopped at an elk park.

It turned out to be a small family business. There was only one more family of 3 as guests. Henry immediately found a playmate. We refreshed ourselves with coffee and tea and chatted with the people. The other guests were British, who have been living here for several years and offer tours with their sled dogs. The owner of the elk farm also sat with us the entire time and told stories. It's always nice to have contact with locals. And of course, we also went to see the elk. What amazing animals! Did you know that elk can run as fast as 70 km/h? Calves were born there in April. They weighed 7 kg at birth. By the end of autumn, they will weigh 100 kg already. And so on...

We say goodbye to everyone and who knows, maybe we'll visit the sled dog farm tomorrow.

We're staying in Överkalix for one night. We found a nice campsite here and are currently enjoying the evening sun (10 PM).

The next day, we wake up and decide to have breakfast at the Jockfall Waterfall. After extensive relaxation and watching salmon jumping out of the river, we decide to visit our new friends.

Half an hour later, we arrive at the sled dog farm. Henry could play with his friend William, and we received a crash course in sled dogs. Mel is responsible for 61 dogs. They are like family members, with names and individual characteristics. When we went to the kennels, there was a lot of noise. Henry was a bit scared, but just as fascinated as Annika and I.

We spent the afternoon by the pool. Henry kept pretending to want to go into the water but then changed his mind, it was probably still too cold.

Ole