Calendar
Ice, Ice, Baby
7 August 2012
Sweden
The world's largest igloo' is how the brochure describes it, and technically this is correct. A fairy tale structure in the wintry landscape north of Sweden's Arctic Circle, the Ice Hotel is a fascinating example of a building in snow and ice. But this is no Eskimo hut - it's a palace, a castle cut from frozen crystal.
7 August 2012
Sweden
So, why would anyone of sound mind and body travel to a place where the indoor temperature is 5 degrees below zero? That's easy - because on this entire planet, there is nothing, absolutely nothing like it. The beauty of the place is spellbinding.
7 August 2012
Sweden
Beds are wooden platforms suspended on massive blocks of ice with a thin foam mattress covered in a thick layer of overlapping reindeer skins. Arctic sleeping bags make it possible to sleep in a room the temperature of a meatpacking plant. Dozens of candles are tucked into little ice nooks and crannies throughout the room. It might look rather romantic, but any ideas of amour are cut dead by the fact that the sleeping bags are like quilted coffins, strictly for one person only. Besides, the effort of extinguishing all the candles and manoeuvering yourself into the bag is exhausting. But you can forget worrying about having to get up in the middle of the night: once you're out ... you're out cold!
7 August 2012
Sweden
The Swedes are completely unperturbed by below-zero thermometer readings - for them it is simply a matter of 'appropriate' or 'inappropriate' clothing. It's true that standing in the Absolut Ice Bar nursing a hollowed out block of ice filled with vodka is perfectly comfortable so long as you're wearing a cosy snowsuit. (Supplied by the hotel's ever-helpful 'igloo guides')
7 August 2012
Sweden
The colour of the ice changes according to the weather and the time of day - it can be green, blue, grey or turquoise, and the entire structure melts back into the river each spring. Even a cynic must admire the pure poetry of such a cycle.
