Finally Winter ~ Snow Hotel, Reindeer and Sled Dogs

 November 11, 2022

Kirkenes is the easternmost town in Norway, just a few miles from the border of Russia.  It is also the turning point of the Hurtigruten route.  Heretofore, the weather had been mostly rainy, with a few nicer days thrown in, but no snow.  As we neared the end of the line and our port of call, the precipitation changed to snow.  

In Kirkenes I had booked a dog sled tour, but there wasn't enough snow on the ground for it, so it had been canceled.  Instead of just walking around town for the three or so hours we were in port, I booked a bus trip to the Snow Hotel.  Bus windows have lots of reflections, especially when it's darker outside, but here's a photo of our beautiful ship.  

Soon we were driving through the snowy streets, and then out of town.  As is typical, the tour guide was very chatty, with a memorized spiel and poor jokes.   She did, however, have some interesting things to point out.  Such as the house beside the road that was built utilizing the top of a WWII bunker for a sturdy foundation.

The Snow Hotel is way out in the boonies, away from any town.  It's kind of like a boutique hotel, and farm rolled into one, except instead of cows and chickens, there are reindeer and huskies.  The hotel is comprised of a tarped-in ice structure (which would look a bit better with a foot of snow on top), as well as interesting looking cabins scattered across the hillside.

Inside the Snow Hotel was another world.  It was obviously very cold, and some of the floors were a bit icy.  As a part of the tour, we were given a glass of berry drink in the Ice Bar.  

In this room we met our first ice and snow sculpture, an amazingly life-like reindeer head, formed against the wall of the room. 

I have no idea how they created the eyes to look so alive.

After finishing my tasty drink, I got bored, so decide to explore the hotel.  It wasn't very large, and oddly, there didn't seem to be any guests.  All the rooms were open to go in.  Each room had a different theme on the walls, but otherwise were all the same, in that they consisted only of a bed of ice, topped with fur.  There was no en-suite bathroom, but a warm one down the hall for all to share. 

Lighted ice sculptures lined the halls.  This penguin and her two eggs was one of my favorites.

And this one that maybe is a wolverine.

There was a big room at the end of a hall that was filled with more sculptures.  On one wall this cozy Christmas tree and fireplace setting, with a fur lined chair you could sit in.

The centerpiece of the room was a large sleigh and what I presume was supposed to be Santa.  All around the top of the wall was a start border that looked like quilt blocks.   

This intense-looking Viking stared at us from another wall.

Near the Snow Hotel there was a hilly fenced area, dotted with scrubby trees.  Hiding amongst those trees were three reindeer that slowly ambled down when our guide called to them.  I learned on the ship, and with further research, that male reindeer shed their antlers after mating season, in November or December, while females usually keep theirs until after their calves are born in the spring.  Females usually have smaller sets though.  And either sex can lose them by fighting, etc.  So this sweetheart could either a bull or cow, but since the remaining antler is smaller, I'm thinking she's a girl.  Here I got a close look at reindeer feet, and could see how well-suited they would be for swimming.

This one, with his magnificent rack, was very friendly, and enjoyed a good scratch behind the ears, until someone told me to please move so they could take a picture.  Apparently they didn't want me front and center in their photo.  It was an awkward moment.

The nearby reception area and hotel dining room was a cozy place to come warm up and have a small bite to eat.  

I liked the design of the firepit here.  The fire is high enough off the ground to be useful with only a small fire needed.  Walking around towns in Norway I saw a few of these with people huddled around. 

Inside it was really warm, and we soon were peeling off our coats.

We sat at long tables with a beautiful view beyond the window and enjoyed wraps of tasty reindeer sausage, with a hot drink of some berry juice.  I've never really liked sausage, but these were quite good.

Once we finished our snack we were free to go outside to explore, and to visit the huskies.  

I'm not sure how many dogs they keep here, but there were a lot of them!  Chained in groups of two to their little duplexes, they were a rowdy bunch.  Howling, yapping and lunging against their chains.  

We were told, however, that they were perfectly safe to approach and pet, so I took a chance and gave a few good behind-the-ear scratches.

A couple of girl mushers were harnessing up teams.  Though there wasn't enough snow to take tourists out for a ride, they would continue with their training for the upcoming season.

The funny thing was, once the teams flew off down the trail, the left-behind dogs immediately quieted down.  It seems that they were all just clamoring to be on the team.  Phoebe was especially sweet, and once she accepted that she wouldn't be going out, she snuggled into her house for a nap.

Though certainly a tourist stop, I'll always treasure this excursion as it was a little taste of northern winter, with reindeer, dog sledding and the unique hotel made of snow.