Snow laughing matter - Abisko and Lapland

The trail takes us to the far north of Sweden and into Lapland. It all began from the commitment to a 24 hour bus ride from Gothenburg, in through Stockholm and on towards the incredible winter landscapes of Abisko. Throughout my time here I have seen some of the most beautiful landscapes and scenes so it was only natural that I take as many photos as humanly possible. So below I will share some of the best moments of this adventure!

As we just celebrated Finnish independence of 100 years what better time than to share with you my experience in the beautiful world of winter.

The winter wonderland at the depths of winter does not get very long days and in the summer it does not get very long nights. We were lucky to join a tour group of students to see some of the attractions the region has to offer.

After 24 hours on the bus, we are ready to go into the Arctic circle.

Here is a family going to a fishing spot on the lake of ice, there were little campervans modified for the ice scattered all over the rivers and lakes. What an amazing winter holiday!

Once we got to Abisko we went for a walk through a section of trail called Kungsleden, in swedish this means the Kings path.

Safe to say it was snowing well and truly! The experience was surreal.

There was even a chance to go for an Ice Climb!

We were setup in one of the Teepee huts with tables and a fire to keep warm with the light show going on outside and some delicious smores.

In the photo below you can see the vastness of the white landscape with the people in the middle giving the frame some sense of scale.

It is a majestic wilderness that definitely can look tough to live in, however many Swedes, Finns and Norwegians are willing to take it for the sheer beauty the region offers.

The beautiful @kitchentable taking a photo in the snow. See her introduceyourself post here

Then it was on to Narvik, just over the border in Norway - we went to the fish markets and then to the Scandic hotel for an unbelievable view of the city and the surrounding mountains.

On our final night in the North we were lucky enough to be put on the most extraordinary show from the Aurora Borealis, the amazing light show moved both faster and slower than I imagined and was truly surreal. I wish I had the right setup to capture it on film, next time for sure I will be better prepared!

Below are some of the photos I managed to get that night, have you ever seen the Northern Lights or it's Southern equivalent the Aurora Australis? Tell me of your experience, the feeling it gives you just to witness is completely unreal!

These lights occur when charged particles emitted from the sun during a solar flare penetrate the earth's magnetic shield and collide with atoms and molecules in our atmosphere. These collisions result in countless little bursts of light, called photons, which make up the aurora.

Collisions with oxygen produce red and green auroras, while nitrogen produces the pink and purple colors. This reaction encircles the polar regions of the earth and occurs at an altitude of 40-400 miles (65-650 km) in a zone called the "Auroral Oval."

The aurora borealis most commonly occur between 60°-75° latitude, but during great geomagnetic storms the auroral oval expands equatorially and can reach 30° latitude or further.
Explanation Source

I feel completely blessed and very fortunate to have had the opportunity to experience an incredible landscape and phenomenon such as here and I cannot wait to have the chance to go back to see it again

If the question ever arises that you might have the opportunity to go then utilise it to it's fullest and have an experience you will remember for the rest of your life!

Thanks for reading fellow Steemians and see you all on the next adventure!

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