Håkan Stenlund
A father. Writer. Fly fisherman. Bird hunter. Content manager at Swedish Lapland Visitors Board. Patagonia Ambassador. And low budget environmentalist.
![]() | Revolving around fly fishingIt is an unusual sight. From the helicopter we can see Lake Pieskehaure, below the Sulitelma massif, lying almost completely still. Only a few ripples move across the surface of the large body of wate... 26 Lifestyle | 2020-12-10 |
![]() | At the outmost rimNo one knows exactly when the island Malören rose from the sea. Given the speed of post-glacial rebound in the Bothnian Bay archipelago, it should have been a thousand years ago, give and take a few h... 23 Places | 2020-12-10 |
![]() | Leila NuttiWhen she turned 18, her father registered a company in her name. That’s just how things are in the Nutti family. “While I was growing up, I noticed that people were always working. For me, work is a n... 14 Culture | 2020-11-19 |
![]() | The embroidered | 2020-11-17 |
![]() | The gold of the Bothnian Bay“Kalix Löjrom makes you happy”, it is as easy as that. Simon Laiti is busy in his food studio at Hemmagastronomi in Luleå. He is creating a three-course Kalix Löjrom testing menu for a dinner party an... 13 Taste | 2020-11-13 |
![]() | The great race of mercyOn February 2, 1925, the Norwegian Gunnar Kaasen entered the town Nome as a hero with his dog sled team and his lead dog Balto. He delivers ten kilos of vaccine to a town affected by the deadly epidem... 11 People | 2020-10-26 |
![]() | World’s best place for northern lightsOn a beautiful Tuesday night, we take the chairlift from the village of Abisko towards the top of mount Njullá. It’s cold and crisp, the full moon is out, and the stars are abundant. We see a faint gr... 29 Nature | 2020-10-01 |
![]() | Architectural dreamsBertil Harström, a fly fisherman and architect, has already turned 70. This afternoon he takes a stroll outside Arctic Bath, a new cold bath-house on the Lule River outside Harads. The concept was bor... 9 Design | 2020-10-01 |
![]() | The aurora whispererNorthern light photographer Mia Stålnacke has a squirrel on her balcony, and she’s named it Galileo. It’s no coincidence. Galileo Galilei gave the northern lights their Latin name, aurora borealis, an... 11 People | 2020-09-28 |
![]() | The Arctic lightKaamos If you translate it directly, Kaamos means – darkness. But those who live in the polar regions know that’s not the case. It’s how the snow magically reflects blue light; Kaamos is the word used... 29 Nature | 2020-09-06 |
![]() | The food storyFilleting fish by a lake called Sårgåjávrre stand Lennart Pittja and chef Johan Eriksson. The morning’s catch will be just enough for the evening meal. A fire has been lit in the old smoking hut. This... 13 Taste | 2020-08-23 |
![]() | The woodsA steady, refreshing breeze blows through the forest at Arctic Retreat. Sometimes the wind grabs hold of the trees around the log cabin, where I am staying. The trees sway gently in time with Nature. ... 29 Nature | 2020-08-22 |
![]() | Photograph the northern lightsThere are many talented guides and operators offering tours where you get to take photos of the northern lights. Peter Rosén, Chad and Linnea Blakely, both in Abisko, and Sámi photographers Ylva Sarri... 29 Nature | 2020-07-05 |
![]() | Shooting autumn colours1. Location The famous photographer Sven Hörnell from Riksgränsen, in the Kiruna mountains, once said, when asked if it was expensive to use so much film: “Film is never expensive, it’s the moment tha... 29 Nature | 2020-07-04 |
![]() | The waterwaysIt is a clear, but slightly chilly early summer morning in the forest. The night mist lingers like minute clouds in the deep valley of the Laisälven river. The rays of the sun have yet to reach all th... 37 Adventure | 2020-05-19 |
![]() | The secret stone valley— What is this?! Have you seen anything cooler than this, Zach? American photographer Andy Anderson calls out to his son and it echos through the Stone Valley. But his son doesn’t answer; he seems abs... 23 Places | 2020-05-19 |
![]() | The longest silenceBut that doesn’t happen very often. Most fish are ridiculously small, hardly worth mentioning. Honestly, who wants to hear the story about when you caught a couple of char that was big enough to fill ... 26 Lifestyle | 2020-05-01 |
![]() | Gravel roadsNalovardo, June, at the peak. Without stopping at the turning area by the top cabin, I pedal on along the road that leads to the peak cairn: a kind of mountain stage, or Strava segment, that I have ma... 37 Adventure | 2020-04-28 |
![]() | A stay in historyLenin was here. And then he went home and started a revolution. There is a blue plaque in the waiting room at Haparanda train station that tells us how Lenin, the old comrade, stopped here in Haparand... 23 Places | 2020-04-23 |
![]() | Beach life | 2020-04-20 |
![]() | A road trip for the hungryIn the old days, you could be arrested for loitering. Ambling along in the world without plans was seen as very suspicious behaviour. These days it’s different, and spending a day doing nothing is mor... 13 Taste | 2020-04-13 |
![]() | The king of all trailsThe King’s Trail extends through a varied mountain landscape in Sweden’s Arctic destination Swedish Lapland. The Swedish name is ‘Kungsleden’ and it was used by the Swedish Tourist Association – STF –... 37 Adventure | 2020-03-30 |
![]() | The way we eatKaffeost In Tornedalen, the coffee cheese is called kahvijuusto, and in Swedish, we call it kaffeost. It could be a fresh cheese that in many ways resembles the Italian mozzarella. But in northern Swe... 13 Taste | 2020-03-28 |
![]() | The bestsellerI call Mattias Fredriksson on a Saturday. He’s out taking biking pictures with Janne Tjärnström, a Kiruna native. We agree that I’ll call Mattias the next day, so that’s what I do: “Hi Håkan, the weat... 26 Lifestyle | 2020-03-21 |
![]() | Driving on iceEric Gallardo drives fast. The chicane on what’s a perfect copy of the formula-1 track, Paul Ricard, on the metre-thick ice of Lake Uddjaur comes up very quickly. Unlike Eric Gallardo’s own knuckles o... 37 Adventure | 2020-03-16 |
![]() | The call of the wild“And through another winter they wandered on the obliterated trails of men who had gone before. Once, they came upon a path blazed through the forest, an ancient path, and the Lost Cabin seemed very n... 37 Adventure | 2020-03-14 |
![]() | A place to preserveRed log cabins in a kind of organised chaos around one of northern Sweden’s most beautiful churches – this might not be a completely accurate picture of World Heritage Gammelstad, but that’s what it f... 14 Culture | 2020-03-13 |
![]() | Arctic fikaIn the middle of the village square, in Arjeplog, a stone’s throw from Silvermuseet, you’ll find Arjeplogs Vilt & Kafé. Step inside to try a coffee experience with a difference – and at the same time,... 14 Culture | 2020-03-12 |
![]() | Adapted for the ArcticIt is not by chance that the reindeer on Svalbard are short-legged, while the reindeer of the woodland Sámi villages in Sápmi have longer legs. Long legs are a disadvantage on mountain slopes swept by... 29 Nature | 2020-03-11 |
![]() | The higher landPadjalanta/Badjelánnda means the higher land in Lulesámi. It’s Sweden’s largest national park, right next to the Norwegian border. The Padjelanta National Park is a part of the World Heritage Site Lap... 37 Adventure | 2020-03-09 |
![]() | Chad chose AbiskoChad Blakley’s interest in photography began at an early age. As a teenager, he worked for a local newspaper in a small town outside New Orleans, Louisiana. During his college years, he started a smal... 11 People | 2020-03-07 |
![]() | The national parksMost things in life aren’t as obvious as they might seem. On one side of lake Torneträsk, we find Vádvečohkka (Vadvetjåkka) National Park, one of Sweden’s wettest areas. On the other side of the same ... 29 Nature | 2020-03-01 |
![]() | Between two worlds“Kukkola is a village in Karl Gustav’s parish in Haparanda municipality, next to the Torne River, just over ten kilometres north of Haparanda along Highway 99″, I read about Kukkola on Wikipedia. But ... 23 Places | 2020-02-09 |
![]() | MuohtaIt was the best skiing of the season. From the top of the chairlift and down to the forest line, the snow was deep as a ski boot and completely virgin. But how would you define ‘the best skiing of the... 29 Nature | 2020-02-02 |
![]() | The travels of a Solar EggRiksbyggen’s sauna Solar Egg has been on a tour and become globally famous. The sauna was created by the artist duo Bigert & Bergström and exhibited for the first time in spring-winter 2017 at Luossav... 9 Design | 2020-01-31 |
![]() | A hideaway for all seasons... 23 Places | 2020-01-29 |
![]() | A design favouriteA slow walk through the birch forest that surrounds the path between breakfast at the Treehotel restaurant and my room, the Mirrorcube, soon reveals the grandeur of the hotel. The beautiful birch fore... 10 Bucket list | 2020-01-28 |
![]() | Jokkmokk Winter MarketYou’ve got to expect the normal market knick-knacks, of course. There are the helium balloons, t-shirts with novelty prints and sweets that will make your blood sugar level hit the roof. But you’ll al... 14 Culture | 2020-01-17 |
![]() | Living in a dreamWest of the classic mountain hotel in the Kiruna mountain world, and near the Norwegian border, at the old locomotive depot in Riksgränsen, is Niehku Mountain Villa. Niehku that translates into ‘dream... 9 Design | 2020-01-10 |
![]() | The master’s | 2020-01-08 |
![]() | At Pinetree LodgeFive kilometres from where the public road ends in Kangos, outside of Pajala, is where you find Pinetree Lodge in Särkimukka. Four people live there: Johan, Sara, and their two children. And one hundr... 37 Adventure | 2020-01-01 |
![]() | Visut – a story of the reindeerOur home, Swedish Lapland, has been formed by the Ice Age, the seasons and the reindeer. And we, too, have lived our lives in the shadow of the forces of nature. At Nutti Sámi Siida in Jukkasjärvi, a ... 14 Culture | 2019-10-30 |
![]() | A forest food barMathias Dahlgren won the world chef championship, Bocuse d’Or, already back in 1997 and today he’s one of Sweden’s most famous chefs. His restaurant Matsalen at Grand Hôtel in Stockholm was named one ... 13 Taste | 2019-09-09 |
![]() | The big closing partyIt’s all about turning. No jumps, no flips, no rails. Just the beautiful art of being able to turn on a snowboard. But apart from that Riks Banked Slalom is just a great happening in May. Riks Banked ... 37 Adventure | 2019-03-06 |
![]() | A night at the stationWhat happens when you combine a delicious dining experience with the world’s best location for the northern lights? Well, perhaps you can call it a perfect night at the station. The place for northern... 23 Places | 2019-01-29 |
![]() | Winter swim with Christof WandratschWhen extreme swimmer Christof Wandratsch became the first person to cross lake Boden and broke the world record across the English channel, he found himself looking for new challenges. He found winter... 11 People | 2019-01-21 |
![]() | Out of receptionPlaces still exist where there’s no point asking for the password for the wifi. Places where you leave your mobile behind to spend some quality time with others – or perhaps with yourself. The Sámi ec... 26 Lifestyle | 2018-12-10 |
![]() | The brewing coastOne brewer used to build cars for NASCAR, another is a trained social worker, and a third is a business developer at the University of Luleå. Beer interest is growing, and in Swedish Lapland, there ar... 26 Lifestyle | 2017-08-07 |
![]() | The Nordenskiöld raceThe world’s longest cross-country ski race, 220 km, take place in Jokkmokk. How did it all begin? And why? It’s hard to know what goes through the head of someone who’s about to travel 200 km on skis.... 37 Adventure | 2017-03-17 |
![]() | Skating under the northern lightsThe Dutch filmmaker Marco Lubbers had a dream: To go speedskating under the northern lights. And he also wanted to make a film about it. For that, he travelled to Swedish Lapland. Marco Lubbers is a f... 37 Adventure | 2016-12-16 |
![]() | 5 questions to 5 Sámi designersSámi design comes in many shapes. Some of Sweden’s coolest designers have taken the Sámi expression further – to put some excitement into everyday life. ... 14 Culture | 2016-11-28 |
![]() | The vulgata rallyOne of nature’s most beautiful displays takes place during a couple of weeks every summer. A mayfly called Ephemera vulgata hatches, and every single fish in the lake go crazy when presented with such... 26 Lifestyle | 2016-06-20 |
![]() | Archipelago daysWhat happens when a father and son decide to spend a couple of days in the Gulf of Bothnia archipelago? Well, first you have to promise that there will be mobile phone coverage and then keep your fing... 26 Lifestyle | 2016-06-17 |
![]() | Ice fishing in SaltoluoktaEquipped with a reindeer skin and an ice drill, an ice fishing rod and maggots, our friend Håkan Stenlund welcome spring on the ice around Saltoluokta. Winter fishing has never been more enjoyable. On... 29 Nature | 2016-03-06 |
![]() | The fishing luck of mothers-in-lawThe Arctic climate calls for certain innovations to master the art of ice fishing. To close the door on the cold, be comfortable and catch a fish you sometimes need a whole house. But inside the house... 26 Lifestyle | 2016-02-10 |
![]() | Into the winterWhen the rest of Sweden prepares for spring, Björkliden and Riksgränsen open for the winter season. Håkan Stenlund goes north, to the playground of the fanatics. “Thank you for this weekend”. “Thank y... 37 Adventure | 2016-01-14 |
![]() | Sweden’s highest Mountain StationOne thousand, two hundred and twenty-eight metres above sea level is where you find Sweden’s highest mountain station: Låktatjåkko. It takes you a couple of hours to walk there from Björkliden and hal... 23 Places | 2015-10-30 |