First day in Lapland: breaking the ice

I have planned a 5 day trip to Lapland to chase the auroras! I have chosen a very nice spot after months researching the web... Will I succeed? 

As a very brief summary, auroras are generated when charged particles of the solar wind impact the magnetic field of the Earth.🌍 Their magnetic energy is transformed into kinetic energy, and the accelerated electron interact with the atoms and molecules of gases present in the atmosphere, like oxygen or nitrogen. ⚗In each collision, the atom or molecule absorbs energy from the electron and releases it in the form of light, whose color depends on the altitude and the gas involved.🌈

I have been trying to find out where and when I would have a good chance of seeing auroras, hopefully in Europe! There is a small village in Swedish Lapland, called Abisko, which is the best location in the world to see auroras, according to NASA. It is located nearby lake Torneträsk, surrounded by mountains that keep the clouds away, thus creating a microclimate of clear sky above.🤨

Also, I choose dates with no moon, so the night is as dark as possible. 5 nights to increase my chances. And in March, also, because it is more likely to see the auroras, as earlier in the year the weather tends to be more cloudy.🤔🤔

So fingers crossed and let's go hunting!🤞🏼🤞🏼

Previous day: I arrived in Sweden on March the 23rd, taking an extra day for safety and dedicated to tourism in Uppsala, just in case my checked-in luggage was delayed. 

Finally, I find myself waiting for the night train to Lapland. The name of the train is very descriptive: my destination is 250 km above the Arctic Circle! Oh my God!! Will I make friends with the girls in my sleeping coach? Will I possibly see some aurora already tonight from the train? yippee! 😀😀😀

This is the moment when I decide to wake up in my bunk bed on the train. I could not sleep all night in the excitement of traveling on a train moving further and further heading towards the North pole for 16 hours! I had the feeling I was going to pop up at the other end of the Universe!! What will I see when I look through the window?? All white?? How exciting!! 🤩 

First day, arrival at this remote small village, Abisko, after a long night on the train. While my room gets ready, I go for a stroll, what my honorable mother calls "getting in touch". Hi mum! 😘

Those two mountains are called Lapporten, or "The doors of Lapland"

Short stroll over the frozen lake, even though in the beginning it is somewhat scary for someone who has hardly ever seen the snow! As it was so slippery, I turned around quickly...🙁 I will be back😉😉

Walking on the lake (😎🥇), I arrive at the next village (or a few more houses around the next train station) and there is an icefall! I can hear some water oozing, it comes out at the lower section... The ice is blueish and the place is wonderful 🆒

The canyon downstream the icefall. Liquid water can be discovered, really transparent, in some areas under the ice crust🌊

This is the 700 m long road connecting my hostel and Torneträsk lake... In most other places a car is needed to chase them. But I have worked hard to find a place where I can watch auroras at my door, basically 😎

Also, I have chosen 5 nights around the new moon, and the time of the year with clearer skies here. It seems that the mountains surrounding the lake avoid as well the presence of too many clouds, there is microclimate here that makes it one wonderful aurora chasing spot!!

First exploration of the woods of the natural park, through signed pathways... I will dare to enter more remote places later, step by step 😉

Looking through a window of my hostel, the first night it is snowing a lot... Also, according to my App, the solar activity will be medium-low tonight, so probably it is not worth to be awake waiting for auroras 😥 So, I take the opportunity to sleep, as I had not slept in the train and I don't know what can happen for the next 4 nights 🤞🏼