Sweden the arctic circle
4
A rhythmic “tonk, tonk, tonk” breaks the silence on the banks of the Torne River. It’s so quiet here that any sound reverberates and seems intrusive. We trace the “tonking” to an intrepid boat-builder meticulously repairing the wooden struts on a traditional nuut. He’s so focused that he hardly looks up as we ask about the piles of net and rope bundled in the boat. Instead, he explains the timeless beauty of these Arctic river To get here – 200km into Sweden’s Arctic Circle – we took a 17-hour train trip from Stockholm, straight up the length of the country. This vast Arctic wilderness has only tiny, remote villages punctuating its sweeping landscape, and we’re in one of them: Jukkasjärvi, with a population of 600 people and 900 dogs. This is because during winter, dog sleds are the only transport when the landscape’s frozen and dusted fairytale-white with snow and ice. But in the summer months, from June to August, the huskies are on holiday too, though their wolverine howls can sometimes be heard bouncing across the surface of the Torne. This wild river travels all the way from Norway, through Sweden to Finland, bringing with it salmon and trillions of litres of pure, clean water. Here the river’s easily a mile wide, rushing cool and clear.
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Transcript of Sweden the arctic circle
Arhythmic“tonk,tonk,tonk”breaksthesilenceonthebanksoftheTorneRiver.It’ssoquietherethatanysoundreverberatesandseemsintrusive.Wetracethe“tonking”toanintrepidboat-buildermeticulouslyrepairingthewoodenstrutsonatraditionalnuut.He’ssofocusedthathehardlylooksupasweaskaboutthepilesofnetandropebundledintheboat.Instead,heexplainsthetimelessbeautyoftheseArcticriver
Togethere–200kmintoSweden’sArcticCircle–wetooka17-hourtraintripfromStockholm,straightupthelengthofthecountry.ThisvastArcticwildernesshasonlytiny,remotevillagespunctuatingitssweepinglandscape,andwe’reinoneofthem:Jukkasjärvi,withapopulationof600peopleand900dogs.Thisisbecauseduringwinter,dogsledsaretheonlytransportwhenthelandscape’sfrozenanddustedfairytale-whitewithsnowandice.Butinthesummermonths,fromJunetoAugust,thehuskiesareonholidaytoo,thoughtheirwolverinehowlscansometimesbeheardbouncingacrossthesurfaceoftheTorne.ThiswildrivertravelsallthewayfromNorway,throughSwedentoFinland,bringingwithitsalmonandtrillionsoflitresofpure,cleanwater.Heretheriver’seasilyamilewide,rushingcoolandclear.
“Rightnowyou’rewatchingthenextICEHOTEL,”smilesDavidLind,whoworksattheiconicestablishment.ThisisthewaterthatbecomestheclearicefromwhichtheICEHOTELisbuilteveryyear.TheTorneprovidesitsbuildingblocks,whichareharvestedfromthefrozenrivereachMarch.At1mthick,asingleiceblockweighstwotons.AnnualconstructionstartsinlateNovemberandittakesabout100constructionworkersandartiststocompletethe65-roomhotel.Everything’smadeofice.Justimagine
andeventheglassesyoudrinkfromatthebararesolidice.Insummer,of
course,thehotel’smeltedbackintotheTorneandwoodencabinsprovideguestaccommodation.Jukkasjärvimeans“meetingplaceatthelake”intheSamilanguage.
today,nearlyhalfofSwedenisreindeerterritoryandthereare4500reindeer-ownersinthecountry,with230000animalsbetweenthem.TothenomadicSamiherders,reindeerarelifeandtheymovetheirherdsastheseasonschange.AllofSweden’sreindeerareownedbysomeone;therearenolonger
wildherds.They’resimplytoopreciousforthat.It’snosurprise,then,thataSamiherder’smostimportanttoolisthelasso.Heneedstokeephisherdtogetherbecauseeverypartofeveryoneoftheseanimalsisneededandused.ReindeerpulltheheavySamisledsthroughsnow;theirfuristhewarmestpossible,withhollowhairthattraps
andblanketsimaginable.Sinewsareusedforstitchingandmaking
toughtwine,whilethemeatisbothdeliciousandnutritious.TheanimalsarethefullpackageforsustainingtheSamilifestyle.Reindeeraresmall,butsurprisinglytoughandwelladaptedforthisharshArcticenvironment,wherethetemperaturecandropto-50°Cin
speciesandwhentimesarereallylean,theydigbeneaththesnowforlichen.Theirhoovessplaytowalkeasilyonsnow.Duringsummerthereindeerfattenthemselvesupforthecold,darkmonthsahead.“Goandwalkamongthem,”saysThereseIversenfromtheSamiSiidaCaféinthevillage.“Takesomepelletswithyouandyou’llfeellikeapiedpiperforreindeer.”
velvetyandquiteungainly.Wedidn’trealisethattheirantlersmoult,northatreindeercanbecolouredwhiteandareverytame.“Theclickingisreindeercommunicationandcomesfromatendoninthehoof,”explainsIversen.“It’ssothattheycan
becausetherearelongmonthslikethathere.Buttodayyou’dneverbelievethat.”ItfeelslikelatespringinJohannesburg:bright,warmanddrenchedinsunshine,withthetemperatureinthemid-20s.This,then,istheheightoftheArcticsummer–anda“heatwave”atthesametime.“TheTorneroseto20°C,”sheadds,“andsalmonstarteddyingofheat.Theydon’tknowthesehottemperatures.”Iversenherselfisbaskinginthesunshine,sittingoutsideandcarefullystitchinganintricatesoftleatherandsilverthreadbracelet.She’snotaSami,butshe’sfromJukkasjärviandwantstokeeptheirunique
culturealive.“ThisisatraditionalSamiadornment,”shesaysofthebracelet.Itwillbefastenedusingabuttonofreindeerbone.JustabouteveryoneinJukkasjärviwearsone,andnowwedotoo.Peckishforlunch,westepintotheconicalLavvutent,wheretraditionalSamislowfoodispreparedandservedbyIversen.She’samulti-talentedwomanandsuggestswetrythesuovas,whichis
jamandgurpi,theSamirenditionofareindeerhamburger.Dessertislattegat–tartyellowcloudberriesthatonlygrowintheArctic
ironpan,thesmokespirallingouttheopen-funnelledtenttop.It’ssomehowallfamiliarandunfamiliar,thequietofthewilderness,
versionofourAfricanexperiences.TheredwoodenJukkasjärvichurchnextdoorispostcard-prettyandtheoldestpreservedwoodenchurchinSwedishLapland.It’sshadedbypinetrees,whileinsidewornwoodenpewsandamuralabovethealtartellofreallifeintheArcticCircle.Thesenseofsimplicityhereispalpable.Lifefollowstherhythmoftheseasons,wealthisinreindeerandenjoymentisinthefellowshipoffriendsandfamily.YoucanwalkeverywhereinJukkasjärvi:it’stiny.Thebutter-yellow
torridwinters;verandahsfestoonedwithhangingcandlesforlightondarkdays;ladderslyingonpitchedroofstoclearsnow.Otherroofsarecoveredingreengrowinggrass.Buttoday,doorsandwindowsarewideopentoletinthewarmthofsummer,gardensareburstingwithcolour
betweenhomes.It’scompletelyunexpected,somethinglikeanArcticNamaqualand.JustastheArcticCircle’sinconstantdarknessforamonthortwoinwinter,ithasconstantsunshineinmidsummer.Soifyouonlygotobedafterdark,theArcticmidnightsunwillhaveyou
andthenimmediatelyriseagain,asifteasingyouthatthere’llbedarkness.Tosleep,homeshaveblock-outcurtainsandblinds,butthelocalsarefamiliarwithturninginwhilethesunstillshines;tousitfeltratherstrange,untilexhaustionovercameus.EnroutebacktooursummerlogcabinonthebanksoftheTorne,westopatthetinysupermarkettobuy fortheafternoon.It’saSwedishtraditiontonurturebloodsugarlevelsat4pm.EveninthecapitalofStockholm,workhaltsforandthenpromptlyresumeswithrenewedenergyandinterest.
work,still“tonking”andstillcompletelyfocused.Momentarilyhelooksup,seesusandwavesuscloser.“Justlook,”hesaysinaserious
smileandbeckonsustofollowhim.“Come,”hesays.“Let’stakeabreakandhavesome Ineedsomesugarenergy.”
