Lessons learned and summary:
- You can take a train from Stockholm to Abisko with one change in Boden C.
- Sweden in not known for being cheap (tiny snack wrap in the train for € 7, a can of beer for € 8)
- There’s an outdoor store in Abisko tourist station. You can buy some remaining necessities. (Watch out though, e.g. gas cartridges were out of stock)
It’s that time of the year again….trekking time! And this time we decided to head north – all the way beyond the Polar circle. We are on the train from Stockholm to Abisko – a town in the very northern part of Sweden. We booked our own coupe…feeling truly upper class here :D…Not that the coupe would be that luxurious (actually it’s pretty crappy) but it was quite expensive…definitely the most expensive 2 square meters we have ever rented. We call it “our little Hongkong apartment”; both the price and the area correspond to that.
The ride is long, landscape is passing outside of the window. Trees, bushes, trees, trees, a house and even a small hill once in a while. Most of the time, the land is rather flat. Frankly we are not exactly charmed by the Sweden so far. That is about to change soon after we arrive to the final destination….”Look, there’s a reindeer!”, I shout out as I notice one furry fellow casually chewing on twigs of the bushes next to the road.
And just like that we are exiting the train in the Abisko tourist station. There are many other hikers all around. At least for once, we do not feel different, we are actually fitting in…except for the size of our backpacks. At least half of the people around us with their gigantic Fjällräven packs seem to be heading for an expedition to Mount Everest (at least)…well I hope we haven’t underestimated anything…bacuase when even my 70-liter Gregory pack can be considered “small” (on a comparative basis), something feels a bit odd.
Before we hit the trail, we still manage to do a lot – cadge 2 half-empty gas cartridges in the Abisko tourist station store, take a picture at the starting point, read something about the Abisko National Park and meet the first Czech people.
Right after the first few steps on the trail, the grey cloud of doubt disappears and a spark of joy and excitement ignites. “Wow, it’s so beautiful in here!“, I rejoice as we pass by a river bank. The blustering emeraldine water in it is crystal clear. It is a lovely early evening, we are here, walking in this natural wonderland. Simply walking…placing one foot in front of the other, inhaling the crisp cool air. And that’s all we need, really….All we need to be truly happy. It is already worth it, worth all the long journey up here.
Hopeful Wanderer 