The tie that binds

If you believe in the motto of Svenska Bastuakademien, The Swedish Sauna Academy, only truth prevails in the sauna. Then perhaps you have asked yourself this question: Can one find oneself in the sauna?

Let’s say that the whole trip starts on the bridge between Seskarö and the mainland. There’s a fabulous sunset and, since there is no traffic in the middle of the night, you allow yourself to pause and enjoy. In some way, it feels as if the bridge is elsewhere, not in Sweden. Your colleague says, “it’s almost as if this bridge was in Norway.” And someone else even likened Seskarö to a Swedish Key West – which may be a bit of an exaggeration. Meanwhile, you sit still in the car, marvelling at the light of the midnight sky. This is one of the summer’s many enchanting white nights and, even though it may feel as if you are somewhere else, in Norway or Florida, here is where you want to be. Perfectly still in the summer night. 

Haparanda and the neighbouring Finnish border town of Tornio named themselves Eurocity. Here, the river is no border, but the tie that binds. You’ll see, hear and experience this all along your journey westward from the islands of the Bay of Bothnia to the mountain landscape surrounding Riksgränsen. Today you’ve been out to the National Park of Haparanda Archipelago, revitalized in a spa at Sweden’s easternmost mainland point, dined and slept at Stadshotellet, which dates from 1900, and taken a car ride out to Seskarö under the surreal light of the northern summer.

In times past

The following morning, you will saunter over the bridge to Tornio. Near the church is a monument commemorating Friedrich Georg Wilhelm von Struve’s expedition to chart the Geodetic Arc. This World Heritage site, the path of Struve’s survey expedition, with triangulations stretching from Odessa on the Black Sea to Fuglenes on Norway’s North Atlantic coast, tells a fabulous story that you will follow for virtually all of your trip. 

Here, by the church, King Karl XI might also have seen the midnight sun in 1694. But at the stroke of midnight, clouds rolled in and blocked the sun, so the king missed the show. However, he decided to try his luck the following year and in preparation for his return, the round so-called ‘King’s Window’ was installed on the church tower. Unfortunately, the king died before he was able to return and missed out on both the midnight sun and the window. 

After a morning stroll – nowhere on the scale of Struve’s expedition – breakfast and careful consideration of whether a new item from IKEA’s northernmost outlet might be needed, your travels continue. Not much distance will be covered today. First, in Kukkola, some mustard is procured from Pesula, the world’s northernmost mustard grower, after which you take a jaunt to Struve’s Geodetic Arc before pausing for lunch: fresh-smoked whitefish at Kukkolaforsen. Bag-netting for whitefish in the rapids of Kukkola is a cultural heritage, and a more locally sourced lunch can seldom be found. Fresh fish, caught in the river, some metres away, prepared in the adjacent smokehouse and served with fresh potatoes. In addition to rapids and fishing, Kukkola has everything you desire if you’re a sauna aficionado. This is the home of Sweden’s sauna academy, and holds at least thirteen different saunas, among them, two smoke saunas. In times past, the smoke sauna, antibacterial and cleansing, was the undisputed answer to all ills. Children were born in the sauna and the departed rested here, awaiting burial. In mid life, evenings were spent here.

A history filled with visions

The next day also starts off at a relaxed tempo. Dinner and a sauna take their toll. And the view from the room on Luppioberget makes your bed an even nicer place to be. A fascinating view. You eat breakfast and pack your stuff. The journey proceeds upstream along the river. At Särkilax a chapel has been built anew after the original was washed away in the spring flood. Here, you might even climb a bird watching tower to do some birding. You drive past Svanstein, where Struve continued recording his measurements of the curvature of planet Earth up on Pullinki. But, since you’re planning to see a few more sights, the hike up Pullinki will have to wait.

Just before reaching Pajala, you make a brief stop at Kengisforsen. Kengis bruk, the site of an old ironworks, offers world-class salmon fishing, but is also part of the local industrial heritage and history, together with places such as Svanstein, Masungsbyn and Melderstein. It is a history that is filled with visions, as well as tribulations. After visiting Kengis, you pause for lunch at Bykrogen in Pajala, beside the world’s biggest sundial. That afternoon takes you out to the wetland meadows of Vassikavuoma, and on a short amble up the green hill of Jupukka, the fifth point of measurement on Struve’s expedition along the river valley. After a visit up on Jupukka, you drive to Arctic River Hotel in Tärendö. And, yes, there is a sauna, a tub and a whole river to bathe in.

A city on the move

It is difficult to understand ‘the new Kiruna’. It’s hard to take in the magnitude of the entire urban relocation; to comprehend how a whole town can pack up and move to a new site. But that’s exactly what is happening. Summer 2022 saw the relocation of Kiruna’s old town centre. You meet a fascinating new urban setting as you approach along the E10. You check in at Scandic Hotel, which was designed by architects SandellSandberg. On one side it’s a bit edgy and angular; on the other, more rounded. Somewhat reminiscent of the north and south sides of Giebmegáisi/Kebnekaise. Or, perhaps, one side of the building can be likened to Giebmegáisi in profile, and the other side is much like the iconic Lapponian Gate, Čuonjávággi. The top-floor bar commands a magnificent view of both the city centre and the surrounding landscape. This is such a very distinctive part of Sweden that it is in some way a provocation to lump it together with the much-clichéd term ‘Norrland’. As a place, the Arctic mining town of Kiruna really is incomparable to anything else in Sweden.

The choice is yours

You stay a couple of nights in the newly reawakened town. You’ll visit Nikkaluokta, and then swing by Icehotel later in the day. Eat dinner at Mommas, have a coffee at Spis and walk through the new town which, in a way, is still a construction site and a fresh urban centre. It’s a completely different world. In the new city hall, Kristallen, drawn by architect Henning Larsen, you take the opportunity to visit Länskonstmuseet. The whole building is a great expression of architecture and culture. At Camp Ripan you experience the pleasures of an award-winning spa and enjoy a meal prepared in one of Europe’s most sustainable kitchens. Over dinner, you ponder this sauna sojourn. From Cape East on the coast via Kukkola, Arthotel Tornedalen – whose sauna by the way was created by designer Christian Halleröd – to Luppioberget and Tärendö, you have landed in Kiruna, and had a sauna at both Scandic and Camp Ripan. Tomorrow you’ll continue westward to Niehku Mountain Villa, where, of course, yet another sauna with a view awaits you.

Here, in the sauna, you realize that the end of your journey is approaching. From the coast to the high country, from sandy beaches to mountaintops, your roadtrip has been magical. 800 kilometres later, having enjoyed fabulous hospitality, sightseeing and a northern culture. You’re feeling the physical effects of the day’s hike up to Rissajaure (known locally as Trollsjön – Troll Lake), through the amazing Geargevággi, or Kärkevagge. But, aided by the sauna, your aching muscles start to loosen up. Making no haste, you speculate on the next day’s possibilities. You’re considering a day trip up to the mountain Njullá, with Sweden’s most iconic view of Čuonjávággi and a walk down the mountain via the canyon, in Abisko National Park. Perhaps, then and there, you’re inspired to stay just one more night. You might check in at Abisko Mountain Lodge and sit down to dinner at Fjällköket. Who knows?

The choice is yours; it’s your vacation and this journey is slow travel at its best; an opportunity to take the day just as it comes. You toss a scoopful of water on the hot stones and let the heat pinch your cheeks. Only truth prevails in the sauna and, truth be told, life is really very good right now.