Arctic Circle and Beyond

20th July 2006

Before I left India, I checked with one of my colleague on the tourist attractions near by Sweden, especially the northern part of Scandinavia. He suggested that I should visit Norway, especially the northern part of Norway, beyond the Arctic Circle. Sounded exciting, and I immediately started searching for information. After lots of effort, I managed to find some information about a small town called Narvik in Norway. So I set about planning for the Narvik trip. There were two ways of reaching Narvik. From Goteborg, I could go to Oslo and from there to Narvik. Other option I had was to go to Luleå or Boden, and take a train from there to Narvik. I decided to try both. As in go via Luleå and come back by Oslo. Meanwhile I kept searching for information on what to do in Narvik. Fine, its beyond the arctic circle. But what does it hold for a visitor? Unfortunately I couldn’t find much information, except that it was bombed during the Second World War and it was an important junction for iron ore transportation. Finally, somewhere someone had mentioned that 4 hours from Narvik, there was a city called Tromso. God bless him/her. Tromso, the eight largest city in Norway, was also called as the Paris of the north. Good. Something definitely to look forward.

The D-Day arrived. Left office by afternoon and rushed to the Goteborg central station. Boarded the X2000 train for Stockholm. Traveling by train was the best option I had. Moreover, I wanted to travel by the famous and scenic Boden-Narvik route. Boden is pretty close to Lulea, which is accessible by air. But then, the flight timings did not match the train timings. The train from Boden, was at 7 in the morning. No way could I reach Boden so early in the morning by flight. Instead of spending the night at Lulea, I decided to spend it on the train Worked out cheaper as well. The X2000 train was amazing.

The train travels pretty fast and covers a distance of 500 kms in just less than 3 hours. And some people also call X2000 as the tilting train. When the train travels at high speeds, it tilts a little bit. You get a feeling you are in a roller coaster or something. But it’s good, with spacious seats and free internet on board all through the journey. And if this was not enough, there were 3 radio channels with some good country music and jazz. Oh yes, all this comes at a price. Better book in advance if you are traveling by X2000 in Sweden.

The train reached Stockholm at 15.45. Though my train to Narvik was only at 17.00, I didn’t feel like venturing out of the station. I was looking at different types of trains like the double Decker one. It actually looked like a toy train. By this time I realized that I hadn’t eaten anything for a long time. Got a vegetarian meal from Burger king for 50 SEK. Bit costly than Goteborg. There, I met one Mr Dag Werle. He was very friendly, and I was surprised to note that he was a part of Iskcon. He was a stage artist, and acted in plays praising Lord Krishna. We were talking about Vrindavan and Mathura for a while.

By this time, our train arrived. Promising to keep in touch, we bid each other good bye. The train wasnt as cozy as a X2000 but good enough for a 15 hour journey. This train starts from Stockholm, and goes all the way north till Narvik. For the journey till Boden, I booked a berth in the couchette compartment. A glorified sleeper class of Indian Railways. And from Boden, I had booked a normal seat similar to our chair car till Narvik. The main reason being, I got a window seat only from Boden. There were 3 others apart from me in my coupe. A belgian couple visiting Kiruna, and a Swede going towards jörn. The swedish guy, translated the announcements on board and kept us well informed. By the way Kiruna is a tourist destination in itself. It’s pretty close to the famous Ice hotel.

By around 9 PM the train reached Sundsvall, in eastern Sweden. It’s a coastal town and is pretty close to the sea. The setting was picture perfect. Neat place. I went to the restaurant. The restaurant looks pretty good. And you can spend some good time there.By this time, the excitement for the trip had really set in. Not just for me, but for other people in my coupe as well. We started playing cards, and it went on till 12 in the night. It was very tough to get sleep, considering the fact that am going to cross the arctic circle. I was worried if I will oversleep and miss it With these thoughts in mind, and yesudas singing ‘Thoongadha Vizhigal reNdu’ I slept.

21st July 2006
In the morning I met another gentleman from Sweden. He was doing Glacier research in his young days, and had retired. He told me some interesting facts about Kiruna. The mine there was 1 km below the ground. Tourists taken by lift till 750 m below the ground, and many other interesting facts.
The train reached Boden at 06.39. And stopped there for a while till 07.07. I quickly shifted to my place in the other compartment I had earlier mentioned.

The train reaches Murjek(pronounced meuwrek) at 08.32. This is the Station closest to arctic circle. At 08.40 train crossed the arctic circle. There was an announcement in the train, that we are crossing the arctic circle. It looked so damn simple. Ofcourse, it is a virtual line. But I wanted to stop there for a while. There was no scheduled stop there. Luckily for us, there was a passing train and the train stopped at Arctic Circle for 2 to 3 minutes.

So clicked as much pictures as possible. The conductor was telling me that, they were planning to build a special attraction kind of thing there. And sometime during winter, they pop open a champagne bottle when the train crosses the arctic circle. Ofcourse for night trains. No way they will open a champagne bottle at 08.40 in the morning for day trains

The moment the train crossed Arctic Circle, the scenery started getting better and better. By around 9 the train reached a place called Gällivare. Here you get to see so many lakes and other water bodies with crystal clear water. You can actually see the reflection of the sky on water. Just like a mirror. Try to be on the left side of the train, while going from boden for this stretch. Please click on the last picture in the previous row, to see reflection of sky on water

Reached Kiruna by around 10.45 AM. In this station, they have a statue of some workers. It seems many workers died while constructing the rail route. And hence this statue, in memory of them. Right opposite the Kiruna station, you can see the mine and a lake adjoining it. Kiruna to Narvik rail route is called as one of the best train routes in the world.

I befriended a conductor and she mentioned that, I should move towards the right side of the train, since that’s where some amazing scenery would start appearing. The route from Kiruna to Abisko, looks like water paint on canvas.

Amazing picnic spot frequented by many people. Its an excellent place for trekking etc. Lovely mountains, with reflection on water. And houses you get to see in picture postcards. In many carriages the windows can be pulled down in summer. Be prepare for the chill wind though.

That’s not all. After Abisko, the train reaches the border of Sweden and Norway. Last 45 minutes is via fjords, tunnels and snow capped mountains. Train reaches Narvik by 13.31. By the time you reach Narvik, you feel as if you had a well cooked, sumptuous meal. If this whole journey was a lovely meal, then the last stretch is a delicious dessert. Perfect icing on the cake.

I really salute the workers who have braved the extreme weather conditions, dangerous landscapes etc to build a rail route through such an amazing piece of nature. If not for them, how can someone like me enjoy such marvellous landscapes, sitting comfortably in a train?

The entire set of pictures can be found here. And yes, please click on each photo for a better resolution.