Skellefteå 17-22 December 2021
We spent Christmas break in Skellefteå and St Petersburg. Skellefteå is a town in the north of Sweden where Yasha is currently working.
Skellefteå is a really small town.
The banks of the Skellefteälven river which runs through Skellefteå. Only 4 hours separate sunrise and sunset.
Bonnstan is a Church Town. People who had to travel to attend Sunday masses built these temporary homes. The Church Town has existed for almost 500 years.
Most houses in Skellefteå had Christmas decorations. No bright colours, just warm yellow light.
Skellefteå from the other side of the river. The tall building in the middle is a local tourist attraction: this 20-story skyscraper is made entirely from wood.
A church in Skellefteå.
We went skiing every day. The forests around Skellefteå resemble Karelian isthmus.
The blue and red lines show our track on the 18 and 19 December, respectively. Shift-click on the track link will open it in nakarte.me.
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There are small hills and places to make a fire.
The sun came out and transformed the view.
The sun only comes out for a few hours and it stays low. This makes sunset last for a long time.
Lova has just arrived...
...but we have already explored every ski track.
Sunset in the forest.
We were skiing on a hill overlooking Skellefteå: the best place to enjoy the sunset. There is a large campsite at the foot of the hill. There are visitors even during winter months.
We went hunting for Northern Lights every evening, and one of these hunts was successful. The aurora was quite weak but still made for great pictures.
Skiing trip to Vitberget
We got out early to make the most of the short winter day. It took us an hour and a half to get there. It was a cold morning, with the temperature of -24 °С.
The blue line shows our track, and the P icon shows the parking spot. Shift-click on the track link will open it in nakarte.me.
Skiing up the Vitberget slopes.
Checking the map...
Sonya. Despite low temperature, it was easy to stay warm by constantly moving.
Lova
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Vitya |
Yasha |
Masha
The road turned in the wrong direction and we went up through the forest. There was not too much snow but climbing up took some time.
Moose tracks.
The higher up, the more snow.
An unlocked bothy with a stove at the top...
... and a lookout tower.
Tiny fir trees under the snow.
Yasha managed to attend a work meeting.
Snow-capped trees at the top.
Small hills, lakes and the never-ending forest.
Sunset.
Time to go home...
We came down from the top of the hill to the lake. It got dark as the sun had set but the moon had not risen yet. Despite the low temperature, there was some surface water under the snow cover on the lake, and our skis got iced. Eventually we found snowmobile tracks running in the right direction and followed them to the car. It took us a while to open the car as the battery in the key got discharged in cold weather. Getting the skis off was also a challenge as the water froze in the bindings but eventually we made it back to Skellefteå.
The sea
After returning from the Vitberget trip in the evening, we went to hunt for the Northern Lights. The view of frozen sea was so magical that we returned to the same place the following morning. It was still cold but sunny.
The blue line shows our track, and the P icon shows the place where we left our car. Shift-click on the track link will open it in nakarte.me.
Sunlit trees.
The sea.
The sea here is frozen but there is open water further away from the shore. The island appears to hover over the sea.
The view is breathtaking. The fog rises above the open water.
Sunset again.
The sun does not rise high so we cast very long shadows.
A yellow tongue stick out from the frozen sea.
An icy pipe organ.
Ice flowers.
We decided not to venture onto the ice.
The sun lights up the trees.
Here ice ridges form unusual shapes. We found an ice bridge and a perfectly round hole.
We spent out last evening in Skellefteå skiing and playing curling. Unfortunately our short break in the north of Sweden was over.
