49. Do 3 Things That I’ve Never Done Before

I actually nearly changed this task as it seemed a bit wooly but I think I can mark it as complete now thanks to the weekend at the Ice Hotel.

1)  Snowmobiling

I went snowmobiling which was a lot of fun, little bit cold but thankfully we had all of the clothes that the hotel provided so not too bad.  We stopped half way and had dinner in a little cabin in the woods.

2)  Ice Sculpting

Ian had arranged for us to try ice sculpting which I was not really hopeful for as I'm the least artist person that I know but I was willing to give it a try.  I was suprised how easy it was and I really quite enjoyed it.  

Ian decided to make a diamond and I attempted to make a heart as it was Valentines Day the next day.

3) Dog Sleighing

Instead of taking the bus from the hotel back to the airport in Kiruna, Ian had arranged for us to take a dog sleigh ride.  There were a couple of hair raising moments as the snow was so deep due to the snow fall overnight that the dogs couldn't find the track so we got stuck.  Once the sleigh tipped over and we fell off into really deep snow, about 60-70 cm, and had to walk to catch the dog sleigh.  The huskies were very pretty but a little bit smelly....

17. See The Northern Lights

I've always wanted to see the Northern Lights or Aurora Borealis to give it it's posh name. 

I hoped that we would be able to see them on our trip to the Ice Hotel but it didn't look to good.  The first night there we went out on snowmobiles for a couple of hours but there was too much cloud cover to see anything. 

One the second night it wasn't so cloudy and we could see some stars but nothing seemed to be happening so we went for dinner.  During dinner the restaurant staff annouced that the lights had appeared and everyone went outside to look at them.  It was to difficult to take a photo of them without a tripod so we had to make do with just watching them. 

I was so busy looking that I started to walk along what I thought was a path but as soon as I stepped on it I was up to my knees in snow - it was a path of sorts, one made by a snowmobile.

We only saw the lights for a few moments but it was beautiful, maybe one day I'll see them again for longer.

73. Stay at the Ice Hotel

I used to spend a lot of time in Sweden with my last job, so much that I actually contemplated moving to Stockholm at one point but decided to move to America instead (stupid choice but that's another story).

People kept on telling me about a hotel that was built each year in the north of Sweden, made out of ice from the river.  After looking at the hotel's website I decided that I really wanted to go there at some point.  Most people that I mentioned it to didn't seem to keen on the idea of sleeping on a bed made of ice so I sort of put the idea on hold and would occasionally mention it.  I'd more or less given up on the idea of every going there when Ian surprised me by planning a trip for my 40th birthday last year.  As the hotel only exists for a few months each year we couldn't actually go when it was my birthday so Ian had booked everything for February.

It was a very hectic trip to get there and I don't think that we could have cut the timing of our connecting flights any finer.  We flew from Amsterdam to Copenhagen to Stockholm to Kiruna...

When we arrived at the Ice Hotel they kitted us out with snowsuits, boots, gloves & balaclavas so that we won't be cold.  They kept telling us that it was quite warm that weekend, it only got to about -12 outside.  Inside the Ice Hotel the temp is quite stable, between -5 and -8 and they provide you with big thermal sleeping bags which you can zip up until only your face is sticking out.

The staff give you a little talk about how to sleep cosily (how to survive really) - wear layers of thermals, gloves & a hat when you go to bed.  You have to prepare for bed in a warm dressing area then run outside in the snow in your thermal undies to get into the Ice Hotel and then find your room. 

Ian and I were suppose to be sleeping in a room called Abancio (which means fan in Spanish) but there was a problem with the lights so we switched to The Magical Life in the Far North which was themed on husky dogs.

The beds are made of ice and covered in reindeer skins for insulation.  It wasn't too bad to sleep in, we did actually manage to get some sleep but it wasn't fun when I had to get up to use the toilet in the night as I had to run from our room outside into the snow and then across to the warm dressing room area in my thermals.

There are lots more photos on our website

43. Go 30 Days Without Eating Take-Away

As all we seemed to do when we were on safari was eat, I decided that this would be a good task to work on when we came back from South Africa.

We don't actually eat many take-aways anyway, maybe once a week but I think that before Christmas the number was creeping up as we were both very busy with work.  It's so easy to just think 'stuff it, can't be bothered to cook' order something.  Especially now that you can paid by card, I don't even need to think about if I have cash or not.  And I can order over the internet so no problems with them not understanding my limited Dutch.

Yesterday was our last day of the 30 days and it really wasn't a problem to not have take-away.  As long as we were organised and actually thought about dinner before dinner time.

So I think that we'll celebrate completing this task by ordering sushi for dinner tonight!  The only thing I've missed having is sushi - we could make our own but I'm never organised enough to go to the proper fishmonger for very fresh fish so it's much easier to order.