June 3 – Overland to Kiruna – Home Hosted Dinner | The Escapades of Pookie and Allan

Accommodations: Scandic Kiruna Hotel –

We woke up and had breakfast and then it was off to tour the Open Air museum in Tärendö which featured a typical Lapland homestead. We learned about the culture, traditions, garments, different devices, nomadic lifestyle, and history of the reindeer herding Sámi people. I really enjoyed looking at the old kitchen implements and many of them, I really didn’t know what they were used for. Something that looked like tongs to move fireplace logs was actually a waffle maker. There was a cast iron triangle shaped box that had a lid over the deep cavity with holes punched into the sides. Stones were put inside the cavity with a little water and then all was heated on the fire and… voilà…a steam iron was created. It was very interesting and the original home was built in the 1700’s and moved board by board to this location. Then we drove to Kiruna and had a delicious lunch of pork, potatoes, and broccoli at a local restaurant.

We boarded our bus again and drove to our hotel in Kiruna Scandic. We saw reindeer along the way. The Sami people own their own reindeer herds and each reindeer is marked with the owners special marking on their ears. It is impolite to ask a Sami how many reindeer are in their herd. It would be the same as asking someone how much money they have.

We arrived in Kiruna and our bus drove us all around the town. Unbelievably, the town is in the process of being physically moved, to allow for the continued expansion of the world’s largest underground iron ore mine. As the mine deepens and expands, it causes parts of the town to become unsafe to inhabit. To continue mining, and to preserve the town’s economy, Kiruna is being relocated about 2 miles away. For the residents who live in historical homes, their homes will physically be moved to another location and will be given compensation. For those who live in homes that do not have an historical value, they will be offered compensation and they can have their home demolished and rebuilt in a safer area. Others who just want to move away on their own will be given compensation for their home and they can just leave.

There is a beautiful church that is in the process of being moved. Thick beams are placed under the church as it is jacked up, and then it will be put on a huge flatbed truck and moved to its new location. The process should be completed by August.

We drove through the area where homes had been destroyed and new homes built and we also drove through the area that will be demolished. Most of these folks have lived in the area for years and it is very hard for them to have to relocate.

Our hotel is brand new and is in the new area and after checking in, we went on an orientation walk. Then it was back to the hotel to get ready for the home-hosted dinner.

We were placed in a taxi and driven to our host and hostess’s home. Joel and Lisa were very nice and we found out that Lisa owns a shop in town that sells beautiful and eclectic goods, and Joel is an engineer and has been instrumental in planning for the relocation of the homes because of the mining situation.

We were surprised when our dinner was… wait for it…TACOS!! That was the last meal any of us expected to eat in Sweden. They put out soft and hard tacos with chopped beef, tomatoes, lettuce, bell peppers, apples, corn, salsa, sour cream, a vegetable marinade, guacamole, and cheeses. It was fun to prepare the tacos since we all could make our own. They served wine and beer and chocolate candies for dessert.

We took the taxi back to the hotel and we all went up to the 12th floor to have a drink at the bar that overlooks the town.

It was a beautifully sunny day and rather warm. Too bad we didn’t have this weather yesterday with the pups!