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You are here: Home / Thinking / Would You Stay at the Ice Hotel?

Would You Stay at the Ice Hotel?

August 19, 2016 By Jodi

entry-to-ice hotel-northern-sweden

I know it's still summer for most of you but for some reason today I'm thinking about the Ice Hotel in northern Sweden. The hotel is in the village of Jukkasjärvi, north of the Arctic Circle. Every spring the hotel and accompanying art exhibition melts back into the Torne River from where the ice is harvested. And the following winter a new hotel with all-new artwork is built again. Sounds kind of sisyphean, doesn't it?

There's even a bar and a church!

hans-olof_utsi-ice hotel_suite-5321-compressor

hans-olof_utsi-ice_church-5320-compressor

hans-olof_utsi-ice_bar_at_ice hotel

Would you stay at the Ice Hotel? The rooms are about 17-23 degrees Fahrenheit and the beds are covered in reindeer hides! I don't know if I'm brave enough to try it, at least not without warming myself with some Swedish schnaps at the bar first.

I guess my thoughts were tapping into the zeitgeist this week, because I just read this piece about being real on social media, which made me think of these subpar pictures of myself; and also this, on the myths and realities of doing what you love, which I wrote about (in considerably less detail and thoughtfulness) here. One of my readers, Laura, left a thought-provoking comment on my blog and I think this piece addresses it: it's all about the side-hustle.

This week I'm also working my way through the New York Times Magazine piece on the recent history of the Arab world, and it's been fascinating. This is the first time in its history that the magazine has dedicated an entire issue to one single article, so it's a significant read. I'm abysmally ignorant of the history of that part of the world, and reading this is changing that.

Tomorrow we're packing up and heading back to the Midwest for a ten-day vacation. We'll spend a couple nights in Chicago with friends and family, and then we're heading to my hometown, Kalamazoo. We're excited to see everyone but also, you know, dreading the two ten-hour flights with little ones.

What are you reading this week? Anything to recommend?

All photos by Hans-Olof Utsi/imagebank.sweden.se. Artists who created the suite: Petros Dermatas and Ellie Souti.

Filed Under: Life in Sweden, Thinking Tagged With: good reads, hotels, ice hotel, northern sweden, reading

Previous Post: « On Growing Carrots and Children
Next Post: Visiting the Carl Eldhs Studio Museum in Stockholm »

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Dink

    August 19, 2016 at 9:10 pm

    Would love to go to an ice hotel, amazing photos.

    I highly recommend Dr Alice Roberts 'the incredible unlikeness of being'. Easy read science book about the evolution of the human body. Fascinating.

    Reply
  2. Beth

    August 19, 2016 at 9:24 pm

    We visited the ice hotel in Fairbanks a couple times. Never slept there but did have a vodka shot. Beautiful place. Ice art.

    Reply

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About Jodi

I just repatriated from Sweden to the US with my British husband and three young kids. I started this site while living in Sweden to build the conversations and community we've had with loved ones around the world, and to create a space to share thoughts about life, beauty, motherhood, and everything else. read more →

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