Jukkasjarvi is not only home to the Icehotel

Jukkasjarvi is small village located 17 km east of Kiruna and home to 610 inhabitants and over 1.000 dogs. The name of the village, which is one of the oldest in Lapland, stems from a Sami word that corresponds to "meeting place at the water". In the old days it was in fact an important market place.

The church in Jukkasjarvi dates back to 1726 with an original part built 1607. The church is built in a special timber construction, the only one of its kind preserved in Sweden.

Next to the church, at the old market place, you will find "Sami Siida" - an accessible and reconstructed sameviste. At the outdoor exhibition you can learn about both nomad and modern Sami lifestyle. Arts and crafts are on display and you can sample Sami slow food.

Lapland style lunch by Staffan

Sharp at 9 am this morning I picked up four guests (2 Danes and 2 from the UK) at the Icehotel in Jukkasjarvi. They had booked Ofelas "Moose safari by snowmobile" starting from the farm. During the 35 min transfer by 4WD I explained in Danish and English about Kiruna's ongoing changes. Included in the safari is also a Lapland style lunch served in the farm's stable kitchen. Today I was responsible for preparing the meal for six persons, our 4 guests plus our wilderness guides Kerstin and Sarah. Yesterday I prepared a similar lunch for 15 hungry horseback riders! Today it was a lot easier...

After waving good bye to the snowmobile riders I started to prepare the lunch. Upon  their reurn the riders are given a cup of hot lingon berry juice to warm up. A cup of spicy broccoli soup follows and is served with a choice of rye bread (hard) or polar bread (soft). Main course is smooked moose meat (from a former farm visitor shot in September 2017 by Matti) served together with owen fried potatoes and a woked vegetable mix. Today's dessert: blueberry cake served with whipped cream. Coffee or tea to follow before its time for transfer back to the Icehotel by today's lunch man.