Back in the saddle on a forest trail in Poland

Last night I arrived at Zabie Oko after 5 hour by taxi from Gdansk Airport. It was nice to meet my fellow riders for the first time (4 from Switzerland and 5 from Germany) and of course Tadeusz, our Polish guide. This ride will be my 5th with him. I can communicate with Tadeusz in German and the same goes for the German riders. For me to understand Swiss-German is quite a challenge!

After a great Sunday breakfast including cold cuts and freshly made pancakes it was time to collect and prepare the horses. I was assigned "Ethos", a 20 year old trail veteran. We bonded immediately! After 4 hours in the saddle we have now arrived at Dwor Szwalk, a beautiful manor house located next to a lake. From my cosy room I have a glimpse of the lake.

Flying start today...

... with WIZZ Air to Gdansk, Poland and my next trail ride. The plan is to ride thru Masuria (former East Preussia) following the border of Kaliningrad and eventually cross over the border into Lithuania.

I am riding with a German-speaking group and so far I only know Tadeusz, the Polish organizer, and Paul from Switzerland. I know both gentlemen from previous rides in Poland. Total group size is 10 riders and we will cover 220 km during six riding days. Please stay tuned in for ride updates.

Lapland Mission Completed!

After three weeks as a "jack-of-all-trades" at Ofelas in Lapland I have now recently returned home. My ex colleagues at Norwegian took very good care of me during the flight between Kiruna and Stockholm-Arlanda. Thanks again! Once airborne it was great to see the sun again after 10 days of Polar night darkness.

As a temporary transfer guide/driver for Ofelas during Nov/Dec, I have covered 2.800 4WD kilometres on snowy roads. The total number of roadside moose and reindeer I have met between Kiruna and Ofelas farm exceeds the number of cars and snowmobiles on the very same road!

Today is Christmas Eve and I would like to take this opportunity to thank all my followers for this year and wish you all a peaceful holiday season and a happy new year.

Lapland Santa's

As promised in an earlier blog and with only six days to go before Christmas eve, it is time to let you meet some of the Santa's I have seen in Kiruna and Jukkasjarvi during the last couple of weeks.

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.

Nikkaluokta, a gateway to Kungsleden

Nikkaluokta is a Sami village locted at the end of the tarmac road from Kiruna, 39 km west from Ofelas farm i Puoltsa. In its vicinity lie the areas of two Sami communities, Laevas and Girjas. Both communities still herd reindeer in the region. My hosts belong to these communities, Kerstin to the former Matti to the latter.

In Nikkaluokta you can stay in a nice mountain lodge, complete with a small grocery store, a slow food Sami restaurant and a chapel - all run by the Sarris, an old Sami family.

Nikkaluokta is famous for:
a) being the starting point for several hiking and skiing trails, including the popular "Kungsleden" (The King's Trail), a hiking trail of approx 440 km (270 miles) between Hemavan in the south and Abisko in the north
b) often being the coldest place in Sweden - when it is -32°C in Puoltsa it could well be -37°C in Nikkaluokta
c) being the starting point for people wishing to climb the highest mountain in Sweden, "Kebnekaise" (Cauldron Crest), 2,096,8 metres (6,882 ft) above sea level.

The winter season is due to start early next year. When I visited Nikka the other day I only met two reideer in front of the lodge. To reach the information hut for the area you had to hike thru meter deep snow...