Sverige!! (Sweden) - Monday May 16

Today we headed to Sweden. We looked at the trip books before we left for anything noteworthy to do in Sweden near that we could easily reach. Nothing. So, maybe it was a bit of a boondoggle, but I couldn’t be within a couple hours’ drive and NOT go, could I? So, I did a search and found the nearest IKEA in Sweden. There was one only a few hours away, and we had nothing else pressing, so, off we went to Tornio, Finland, to cross the border into Haparanda, Sweden. 

Rear View Reindeer

We took our rented Volvo home (to Sweden, of course). Less than ½ mile over the border, there was the huge store. We drove in our Swedish car, had Swedish Meatballs, in a Swedish store.  Actually, we were amazed at the prices! Everything has been SO expensive in Finland, and things were really cheap in Sweden. My meal was about $9, included coffee AND a “drink” of juice, soda, or beer. I think the beer might have been NA, but I can’t complain. I also had a glass of lingonberry juice.

The drive down and back were pretty nice, except that it rained lightly the whole way back. But, we saw a few more reindeer, including one that walked back into the road to look at us.

On the way down, we saw a sign for “Snow Village”. We had no idea what it was, but took the turn, anyway. After all, we’re on vacation!! Well, it was 5 km down the “road” which was a collection of potholes and ruts. When we got there, we found an empty parking lot, and a mound of white. Let’s check it out! It was a “snow hotel” much like the more famous “Ice Hotel” in Jukkasjarvi, Sweden. But, instead of building walls with ice, they packed snow. Apparently.

 See no one was there, and the whole structure was melting away. But since this is Europe (not US), there are no signs or ropes or “No Trespassing” signs, so, in we went. It was actually very cool (both literally and figuratively)! We saw several rooms, with the ice boxes for the beds remaining. Some had ice sculptures, and the hallways and galleries were still in place. Much of the roofs were melted away, so there was ample light, and by standing tall, in a few places I could see the layout.

It was definitely worth the diversion!

Snow Forms (with our car)

Into Sweden and out of Finland (in their own languages)

Theresa's Lunch!  (On sale!)

Five Flags (L to R) Lapland/Sapmi, Norway/Norge, Sweden/Sverige, Finland/Suomi, Russia/Pyccna



"Typical" local barn or shed (note the angled sides)



Along the way, we saw a lot of these interesting buildings (like sheds), where the walls all angled out as they went up.  They were almost always square, but wider at the top.  We saw them old and decrepit, all the way to brand new.  So, there must be some reason they make them that way.  Some had almost no walls, and looked like a roof on the ground.



Guess where we were?

On the way home, we made a fuel stop. We have so far driven 775 (or so) kilometers. But, it is a diesel (about 30 cents less than gasoline), and the tank only took just under 40 liters (10 gallons), so it was a lot cheaper than we expected. Actually, our car at home is about 6 miles per $ (at the current price of fuel), and the rental was about 5.5. So, I am happy about that!