Wedding Day

Monday March 19th 2012

As soon as they woke up in the morning the boys were dressed and out the front door to play in their snow pile. Connor was busy stockpiling snow balls and preparing avalanches to hit his unsuspecting enemies and digging for buried ice glasses. While Ryan was building a snow penguin.

After our buffet breakfast we checked out of our warm room and took our luggage to the Dressing room and stored it in our locker in preparation for our stay in the Ice Hotel tonight. We were extremely pleased to find we had definitely been given And Yet She Moves as our room.

It was then time for another snow ball fight - read as war without rules. Team alliances went out the window pretty quickly. We also attempted to build a family snow man but the snow was just so soft that we couldn't compact it enough for it to stay in any recognisable shape. David did enjoy being a snow angel and getting buried in the snow.

We then had a little bit of time to relax in the Ice Hotel Warm Reception area. David and the boys went and had a sauna. They loved it. All that was left was time for a quick lunch and then to get ready for the wedding vows.

At 4.30pm the Wedding Coordinator and the Priest met us in the Warm Reception area. We walked over to the Chapel with the Priest. She opened the doors and led us into the Chapel singing a hymn in Swedish. Connor and Ryan walked down the aisle side by side with Ryan carrying my eternity ring. David and I followed behind them holding hands. When we reached the end of the aisle the boys each sat on one of the ice pews while we moved forward and stood on a reindeer skin at the altar. 

The Priest welcomed us to the Chapel and spoke briefly about marriage. Connor then stepped forward and read two bible readings including one from our wedding 17 years ago - Corinthians 13. Connor also wanted to say some words himself. He did a wonderful job. He spoke beautifully and his own words were very special. Once Connor had said his words Ryan also stepped up to the altar and said something - he had decided at the last moment that he too had something to share. His words were also lovely and special. It was incredibly special that both our beautiful boys were not only present but were able to be such an important part of our day.

Next after we consented to our vows, Ryan brought the ring forward to be blessed and we exchanged simple vows. This was followed by a declaration, prayer, the Lord's Prayer and finally a blessing. Our ceremony was completed with a beautiful song called "Warmth" sung in Swedish.

After the ceremony we spent a long time having photos taken by our photographer in the Ice Chapel, outside the Ice Hotel as the sun set and then inside the Ice Hotel. We will receive the photos in the next few weeks. It will be great to have some high quality photos to remember not only this moment and day but our stay at the Ice Hotel.

When the photos were finished we had some down time before walking to the Old Homestead for dinner. When we arrived we found that they had decorated our table and that we had a small gift from the Ice Hotel - a copy of a book about the hotel and its designs.

We had a lovely meal and then walked very briskly back to the Ice Hotel and collected our sleeping bags. We changed out of our clothes and made our way into our room only wearing our thermals and snow boots - a funny but not a pretty sight I'm sure.

Our room was beautiful and peaceful. We all jumped into our sleeping bags and snuggled down for the night.

From Dogs to Reindeers

Sunday March 18th 2012

This morning we got up early to enjoy the scenery and to spend some time with the dogs before breakfast. They say nothing goes together better than a boy and a dog. Well Ryan certainly showed this. After the first day of dog sledding he had commented that his favourite dog on his team was a shy dog which didn't bark or howl a lot. We would later find out that her name is Hannelore - she is also Jan's favourite dog. To say Ryan fell in love with her would be the understatement of the decade. He spent every moment with her and had to be prised away to get him to come to breakfast. Each time we turned around and couldn't find Ryan we knew exactly where to look. He was very upset he couldn't take her home. Connor also loved spending time with the dogs.

We also took some time to have photos with our lead dogs and for the boys to have a chance to try out standing on the sled runners. Connor is especially keen to have a go at mushing when he is old enough.

After breakfast it was time to get back into our snow suits and prepare to leave. Connor and Ryan had been a little cold yesterday so we also made sure we added extra layers of clothes and an extra balaclava for each of them - it also helped that we showed Ryan how to wear a balaclava so it would protect his face and keep him warm.

It was soon time to load up our sled's and to harness the dogs. The howling began as the dogs were eager with anticipation. David and Ed helped Jan to harness each of the dogs and to attach them to their correct sleds. There is quite an art in putting together a team of dogs that will work well together so it was important that they recreated the same team's as yesterday.

Once all of the teams were ready it was time to get moving. Just as they had yesterday the dogs went silent and then took off like rockets. There was no holding them back. Coming out of camp David even got some air time!!! This time it was poor Ed who got thrown from his sled and his dogs took off without him and unfortunately their lines become tangled in Pia's. It seems that if you can hold on for the first few crazy moments it's all a piece of cake from there. The return journey to the kennels was wonderful again albeit the time seemed to pass far too quickly.

Back at the kennels Jan took us to see the new one month old puppies. This only added further to our problems as Ryan wanted to take all of them home. They were beautiful.

Finally it was time to go back to say goodbye to Jan and our dogs and to get taken back to the Ice Hotel. we were all very sorry to see this amazing adventure come to an end.


We checked back into the Ice Hotel into warm accommodation. This time we got Nordic Chalet #25. This was a dream come true for the boys because it was right next to a giant snow mound. Needless to say where they spent most of their time - making snow balls, a slide, a snow penguin and of course avalanches. After collecting our luggage we went and filled up on yet another fantastic buffet lunch. There was time for a brief rest (or if you were under 12 more snow play) before we needed to meet for our next adventure. Learning about reindeers and Sami culture. 

Our guide met us at the Ice Hotel (with her husky…you know where this is going don't you???) and transported us and the others on the tour in a sled pulled behind a snow mobile. As there was a relatively large group one passenger even had to drive  second snow mobile pulling a sled. This was another new and fun experience - although it was absolutely freezing especially when the snow flies up and hits you in the face.

We arrived at the Sami camp and were immediately led into a paddock of smaller reindeer. They were very timid and hard to get close enough to touch. We then moved on to another paddock with much bigger reindeers. The biggest and oldest was 40 years old. Our guide explained and demonstrated how to lasso a reindeer before she volunteered myself and an English woman to be the first to have a go at it. Needless to say I didn't find it as easy as it looked - I missed. Connor stepped up and went next and having the great hand eye coordination and sight that he does, he of course got it first try. David and Ryan also had a a go with much more success than me. It was a lot of fun.

After trying our hand at lassoing next it was time to try driving a reindeer sled. David went off with Connor. Initially their speed was pretty good but the further they travelled the slower their reindeer became. I went solo and my reindeer took off fast but also slowed dramatically - I had the same one as David and Connor. Coming into the home turn he didn't want to go back into the paddock though and tried to take off. David then took Ryan out on a new reindeer. They took off the fastest of all but in the home turn their reindeer went from smoking' it to dead still and David had real trouble getting him started again. They did eventually make it across the finish line with a flurry - again not wanting to go back into the paddock.

Next we went into a Lavo (tipee) and heard some information about traditional Sami culture while having a reindeer meat sandwich and warm lingonberry juice, tea and coffee. The boys both gravitated to the husky who obviously liked them too laying with her head on Ryan's leg. After this it was time to feed the reindeers which both the boys jumped at.

Finally we hopped back on board the sled for a trip to the Sami Museum. As Ryan jumped in his new friend the husky jumped in and insisted on sitting in his lap in the middle of all the people. You can imagine how happy one little 8 year old boy was!!!! The Sami Museum brought the days adventures to a close before we, accompanied by Ryan's husky friend, were taken back to the hotel by sled. For dinner we went to the Old Homestead Restaurant. This is about a 1km walk from the hotel but it was well worth it. This beautiful 200+ year old converted wooden school house was just our style - old, rustic, just what we had imagined. So much so we have cancelled our reservation for the Ice Hotel restaurant tomorrow night and decided to have our wedding vow renewal celebratory dinner here too. Another exhausting but phenomenal day in Sweden.

Time to Mush

Saturday March 17th 2012

This morning we were greeted with a fabulous buffet breakfast. After breakfast we had to find out from the Activity Desk where we could store our luggage while we went on the overnight dog sledding tour. We then went back to our cabin to pack all of our things in preparation to drop our luggage off in the Ice Hotel warm Dressing Room lockers. Luckily as many people were checking out David was able to get smaller snow suits that fit the boys much better.

Once we had checked out of our warm room and dropped off our luggage we went for a walk around the grounds and had the long awaited snow ball fight. I am not sure who came out of this triumphant but everyone sure had a lot of fun.

After listening briefly to how they harvest the ice for the Ice Hotel we went for a walk across the frozen Torne River to a very old small wooden church on the other side of the river. The boys had a great time on this adventure and especially enjoyed tackling each other to the ground.

On our return to the hotel Ryan found a group of dog sleds and wanted to have a picture and both boys admired one of the outside pieces of ice art. There was also some time for sledding and another quick look in the Ice Hotel before it was time for another round of food. You guessed it, buffet lunch - another impressive spread. I am sure we are gaining weight.

At 3.30pm we were met by a representative of the dog sledding company who drove us and the only other people on the tour - a couple, Ed and Pia, from the Netherlands - to the kennels. Here we were introduced to our guide, Jan. Jan explained the basics of dog sled mushing. It was made clear very early on that the dogs are in control - you can't steer. They will go where they want to go and all you can do is hold on, and use your soft brake or hard break to try to slow them down. It was recommended that we don't allow them to get up to full speed.

We were each assigned a sled with a team of 4 dogs. Connor and Ryan did not have to choose which parent they trusted not to get them lost in the Swedish wilderness as they were to ride up front on Jan's sled pulled by a team of 8 dogs. I must say this made me feel a little more at ease. David was really keen. After the explanation I was somewhat reluctant, especially when Jan explained that when the dogs first take off they want to go fast and are hard to hold back. Also, within seconds of take off we had to hold on for a very steep descent straight down a hill with a sudden turn to the right. He explained how to lean and how important it is to hold on. Apparently no one this season has been unable to do it and if we could survive the first 200 metres we would be fine.

Despite my reservations I hopped on my sled and prepared to leave as the first sled behind Jan and the boys. David was immediately behind me. The dogs get so excited just before leaving and after Jan released the anchor we needed to stand on our hard brake with both feet just to hold them. The dogs howl with excitement. Once everyone is on their sleds ready to go the dogs go quiet in anticipation. Jan was right. When the dogs took off boy did they take off. There was no holding them back and as we hit the crest of the hill there was no turning back. It was just a matter to trying to hold on and survive the first 200 metres.

Although the right hand turn at the bottom of the hill was a close call we survived and made our way into the twists and turns of the forrest. That was when we heard a scream of STOP STOP. Pia, who was at the back, had fallen off her sled on the turn into the forrest and the dogs had run off, sled and all, without her. They came to a sudden stop near a tree and David's dogs. Once we got Pia reunited with her dogs it was time to keep moving through the forrest.

On our trip to a wilderness camp we traveled through forests, open plains, and across lakes. We even saw some wild reindeer. The camp truly was in the middle of nowhere and was like something out of a movie. There were rows of tiny wooden kennels for the dogs. A main wooden cabin for meals. 6 cabins for guests, a toilet hut and a sauna. The main cabin was very rustic and decorated with black and white pictures and animals hides.

We ate the most amazing dinner of home made mushroom soup and bread, reindeer stew and mashed potato, and chocolate mousse by candlelight and next to a beautifully warm wood fire. Ed and Pia were really lovely people. We enjoyed sharing this experience with them and were able to sit and talk easily for hours. Our conversation was only interrupted by dashes outside to watch the stunning Northern Lights. It was freezing outside but no one wanted to go inside and miss this fantastic sight. Eventually it was time to call it a night and to retreat to our individual cabins.

It does not happen often but there are truly no words to describe the experience. David and I both agree that people can well and truly keep their snow mobiles. The only way to travel is by dog. Mushing the dogs so many adjectives come to mind - amazing, wonderful, fantastic, incredible, exciting, exhilarating, relaxing, calm, peaceful, tranquil, freedom. It as if time stops and you are completely on your own making your way through the most spectacular landscape and scenery. The silence is only broken by the sound of the dogs paws and the sled runners cutting a path through the fresh snow. It is one of the moments in life that you can't really describe to someone. They need to try it for themselves.