Everything happened one year ago. A small adventure of my life. Something like: into the wild.

Maybe the word wilderness is a little bit exaggerated, but all of these things that happened in Lapland are on top of the list of my favourite things and will stay forever deep in my heart.

Lapland? What’s that? Maybe that’s your reaction while reading these first lines. Lapland isn’t an ordinary country, it’s a region in the Northern part of Scandinavia. Borders? No way! The area reaches from Norway to Sweden to Finland and Russia and it’s famous for its breathtaking scenery, lots of snow during winter times… and of course the Northern Lights.

Did you see the Northern Lights? Sure. Did you freeze? Yes, I did. Did you meet Santa Claus? Nope.

Typical questions from someone who hasn’t been to Lapland yet. Lapland is more. Let’s take one thing at a time.

It was an unpleasant rainy day in Stockholm when we hopped on the bus of Scanbalt Tours. Yes, a rainy day. January 2012. Sweden. Not what we expected. But things should change. Off we go to the North! 1200km along the Swedish East coast. Traveling by bus is fun. Strange and unknown people, last reservations for some trips with a shaky Wifi connection, and those typical bus movies…no one likes them but they help to bridge the time. Suddenly the view outside of the bus is monochrome. Pitch-black night and snow. Everywhere. Finally!

18 hours later we arrived bleary-eyed and exhausted at our hostel in Kiruna at 8 am. Kiruna is Sweden’s most Northern city – you can imagine the amount of snow and lack of temperature. We spent one hour in the hostel until the first tour started. Everything was arranged perfectly – thanks to our tour guide Marii. You book the combi-ticket for the snowmobile tour and the dog-sledding. Bang! You will be picked up in front of the hostel right on time and they will drive you safely and fast to the camp. We have been a group of 18 people and the first thing we did was to get some warm overalls and some even warmer boots. You definitely need them. If you don’t use them you will regret it while sitting on a snowmobile at latest half an hour later. The fun starts after some minutes of driving lessons. You pick a buddy to share a snowmobile. Your instructor will be in front of the group to show you the way and help you. You start slowly. And suddenly you’re getting faster. Faster than expected. The ice-cold wind freezes your face and you’re glad that there are lights on your snowmobile at 10 am. That’s as well Lapland: The sun does not rise completely in wintertime. But the snow is bright. After a while, it was my turn. A slap on the back of my buddy, shift change. Dude, that thing is damn heavy. But also damn powerful. You pull just slightly the gas tap and all of a sudden you speed up to 80 kilometres per hour on the icy snow landscape. You wear a helmet just in case. With racing stripes of course.

We had a small break on our way and the chance to warm up again with some coffee and camp fire. Snowmobile and coffee? That’s the combi ticket? No! There wasn’t just a camp fire. They have been waiting for us already. Our sleds. And of course: our sled dogs! These tiny dogs shall pull our sled? Hell yeah! There were about a dozen of dogs in front of each sled only waiting for us to hop on. Four people sitting on the sled and one guide behind us (who was steering the dogs by his voice) did not speed up like the snowmobiles but the dogs had some natural tricks that gave them some extra power.

The city of Kiruna offers even more than this. The city only exists because of the world largest iron ore mine (you can also visit it, if you want to). And of course, the workers need to live somewhere. And because of the mine’s extent, Kiruna will be displaced soon 5km towards East.

So… what else is there in the Eastern parts of Kiruna? Jukkasjärvi. Jukkasjärvi is the home of the famous ICEHOTEL. Aaaah! They rebuild it annually and designers from all around the world apply for designing those rooms. There are no doors for air conditioning reasons. Just some fur closing the entrances. The mattresses are made of fur as well. You will feel comfortable and cozy lying on them at -5 degrees at night. And if it’s still too cold for you, you can get some warming Vodka out of ice blocks in the famous ICEBAR. Afterwards they throw those ice blocks back into the Torne River. The fish like it.

What else? The ICEHOTEL is famous for its weddings. Yes. Weddings. They have a special church made of snow and ice. Every year over 100 couples are getting married there. But not with warm coats, knitted caps and moon-boots. Wedding suit and wedding dress. Looks better on pictures. Goosebumps? Photoshop! Ice-tested families even let their babies be baptised there. First step to become a Viking…

After our visit at the ICEHOTEL there was another highlight. We met some Sami and reindeer. The Sami are an indigenous folk that lives in Lapland and farms reindeer. At 2 pm, it was already night, we met an old man, his wife and one of their grandchildren. He showed us his reindeer with pride in his eyes and gave us moss to feed the animals. Inside their wooden cot – the traditional housing of the Sami, they gave us some reindeer meat and sang some traditional songs to us.

Though Kiruna is the most northern city of Sweden you have to go even more North if you really want to see the Northern Lights. We drove to Abisko. Aurora borealis. The Northern Lights. Sounds beautiful. And it is really beautiful! If you’re lucky you will see them at a clear sky. Colourful vapour. They were green. A wonderful green. Bright. Waving. Moving.

There’s no need to get to the Aurora Sky Station. You can see them everywhere if it’s the right time. Maybe even while cooling down in the nearby lake. Cooling down? You’re right, cooling down. That’s another thing you have to do. If the special sauna building isn’t closed because of a broken chimney, you can heat up there and cool down in the lake. They say it toughs you up. We used the build-in sauna at the STF Abisko Turiststation . And jumped into the snow afterwards. Heating up and cooling down. Over and over again. The next day… everybody felt sick. Not! It truly toughs you up.

Back to the iron ore mine. How does all of the iron ore get to the rest of the world? By train. By train? By train! The first kilometres on rails, then on the sea. In Norway. The city of Narvik is nearby Abisko and definitely worth visiting. The Germans occupied this city during WW2. They needed the iron ore of Kiruna for their weapons. Maybe that’s a reason for those unfriendly looks when they notice that you’re from Germany. But maybe they don’t notice it – in spite of the Gulf Stream it is too cold for sandals and tennis socks. The journey from Abisko to Narvik leads you through a breathtaking scenery full of mountains, lakes and a few wooden houses.

You can take the first steps of the famous Kungsleden in Abisko. The Kungsleden, which means King’s path, is a famous hiking path in Sweden, starting in Abisko. I really wanted to walk this path. Just for a few kilometres. Most people of my group decided to go ice climbing or snow shoe hiking (you can book those activities at the Turiststation) but I just wanted to walk. On my own. So I took my cap and gloves. It would have been good to have these things also for my camera, which decided to take a nap. Or maybe hibernate. But the pictures are there anyway. In my head. A path across Lapland, surrounded by snow and a few trees. Tracks of animals. Mountains and purling water. Nothing else. Just me.

Now and then you will meet some other people. Frozen hair and rosy-cheeked. Just like you. After some time I met a small group. They were lost. We split. One part of the group took the way back I came from. The other group, including me, decided to take a shortcut. Too bad, Yvonne gave me a compass this Christmas and not one year earlier. Next time it will definitely help me…

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Johannes is Yvonne’s brother and studies Human-Computer Interaction at the Lake of Constance. During his studies he spent half a year in Sweden. His love of adventure brought him to the North at the end of his exchange semester. He loves Scandinavia and is already planning his next trip to find snow, reindeer and the Northern Lights. Last year he won the best brother award: a compass. Where will this compass lead him and will he defend his title this year?

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But actually. Actually I just did one thing in Stockholm. I made the child in me happy.

And let’s be honest. Does it really matter if you see the top sights in a city? The most important thing is to have fun. Well, and sometimes the child in me is calling me so loudly I often think someone else could hear it. Yvonne. YVONNE. YVOOOOONNNNEE. And then I say to myself: “Ok sweetheart, what do you want?”. And the child in me wanted to do this:

- Go to the Royal Palace and star at the guards and test how far one can go before you get deported from Sweden.

- Eat so much cotton candy in Gröna Lund until you feel sick and play the bugbear at the haunted house

- Take the ferry to Fjäderholmarna, buy yourself an ice cream and sit next to the water

And that’s what we did:

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And now listen to Feist and enjoy my Instagram pictures from my trip to Sweden…

Goteborg will be a synonym for jeans from now on for me. Why? Will tell you soon…

Liseberg in Goteborg is Northern Europe’s biggest amusement park.

I had a lot of fun in Gröna Lund in Stockholm…

Sunset in Stockholm at 10pm. Yes. 10pm.

2h spare time? Hop on a boat, drive to Fjäderholmarna, eat an ice cream, feel happy.

Make your hipster heart happy at Grandpa.

And then it was time to say goodbye… but I will be back. For sure!

Thanks again to VisitSweden and airberlin for inviting me on this trip.

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And then its half past eleven. Nearly midnight. And although it’s a bit too cold the Swedish girls take their Swedish-long legs in mini-tiny skirts for a walk and the Swedish guys are wearing beards and looking good. And the sky is playing Hollywood film set.

More about my trip to Goteborg and Stockholm with VisitSweden and airberlin, where to eat Sweden’s best ice cream, how you get the job as bugbear in a ghost house and where you’ll find Sweden’s best looking men – soon here on my blog. Meanwhile check out my Facebook page for more pic from my trip to Sweden.

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Here are my 5 favourite winter city trips:

Copenhagen

Even when your hands are so shivering you barely can hold it, that’s one thing you really have to do when in Copenhagen: eating a Hot Dog at one of the many food booths. You can warm your fingers with a gløgg later in Paludan Bogcafe, one of my favourite cafés. It’s a combination of bookstore, living room and café – cozy and, for Copenhagen, with reasonable prices. PLUS: they have free WIFI. Sun is shining and the weather good looking? Perfect! What about a trip to the beach? Take the metro M2 to “Amager Strand” and you’ll find yourself at a gorgeous beach with a view right over to Sweden.

If you’re in Copenhagen on the first Friday in November you’re a very lucky person. Because it’s Jul Dag – Christmas beer day. At every bar at exactly 8:59 p.m. the Christmas brew will be introduced. And if you know the Danes you know that this party night will be legendary. In February Copenhagen is all about Wondercool, the winter festival.

Amager Strand

Amsterdam

I can’t remember where this gorgeous hippie hand bag is now, but I remember I bought it at the Waterlooplein flea market, normally totally crowed during summer, it’s perfect for bargain hunting during winter. From mid November you can buy Oliebollen and Poffertjes (traditional doughnuts and pancakes) at food booths all around the city. Best with a hot chocolate. And go ice skating! Especially when the channels are frozen… Yes, I had a very romantic weekend there with my then-boyfriend. Well, actually not. It was so freaking cold and the heating in our hotel was broken so we had to go to sleep with all our clothes on and even warm up the clothes with a hair dryer. True story. I suggest looking for a cozy and warm apartment in Amsterdam in advance so the only naked people you’ll see won’t be the one in the sex museum.

Stockholm

Uh, I made some mistakes when I visited Stockholm for the first time but after all I had an amazing weekend. What I liked most was wandering around the old part of Stockholm, Gamla Stan where our hotel was located, and watching the mounting of the guard at the Royal Palace, which happens there every day around noon. If it’s too cold to stay outside I suggest taking a trip with one of the sightseeing busses, they will take you all around the city. Really cool is also a trip with one of the sightseeing boats where you can drink hot Glögg and eat the traditional pea soup while watching Stockholm passing by.

Berlin

Ok, I have to admit I’m always telling people: Don’t visit Berlin during winter (if you haven’t been here before). Because winter in Berlin is terrible. It’s so f***ing cold and the sidewalks are mostly totally frozen you can’t really walk. It’s likely you will hate it. BUT: if you have been to Berlin before (and that’s equal with falling in love with this amazing city) you probably will even love the winter here. When the streets are decorated with all this Christmas lights and snow is slowly covering the Brandenburg Gate and the smell of mulled wine leads you to the next Christmas market… well, you get the picture. Talking about Christmas markets, that’s one thing you really should do. There are nearly 100 different ones all around the city. My favourite is the one at Gendarmenmarkt. And if you’re up for a different kind of Christmas Shopping I recommend the Holy Shit one. To save all the money for the shopping (don’t forget to check out all the vintage stores) you can easily find some cheap apartments in Berlin.

East Side Gallery in Berlin

Paris

I have to say it. Yes. Are you ready? Ok… “We’ll always have Paris”. Awwwwwww. I fell in love with Paris when I’ve been there for the first time when I was 18 (Jee, that’s 14 years ago. Can you believe that???). I was sitting on the steps in front of Sacre Coeur, the city of love was lying to my feet and in the very moment when sun was setting a guy played “Imagine” from John Lennon on his guitar. Sigh. And now imagine this same scene with snow. See, even more romantic, right? I’m not really a romantic girl, but the thought of the city of lights and love covered with snow, which dampens all the hectic sounds and leaves you alone with your thoughts… sigh. I can’t think of a better place to be during winter. And when in Paris the best thing would be to stay in an Amélie-like apartment, right? So what should you do there besides falling in love? Go for a round of ice skating in front of the Hôtel de Ville, the Renaissance-style city hall. Stroll along the nearly empty (compared to high season) Champs-Elysées or go bargain hunting during the six week long January sale.

Photo by my sister Sonja Zagermann

Have you been on a winter city trip before? Which city would you recommend?

This is a sponsored post.

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5 mistakes I made in Stockholm:

- Taking a cab: It takes a while to get from the airport to the city. And yes, I knew it won’t be cheap. But instead of being better informed I believed this guy at the airport who said it would be almost the same for two persons to take a cab or taking the bus. 490 Swedish Crowns. Duh. That’s 27 Euros per person. The cheapest bus who takes ten more minutes to the city would have been 13 Euros each.

- Ask the wrong questions: Yes, I thought it would be fun to do a city trip with no clue about the city. The first thing I saw was this huge house with a guard in front. Uhm, well I really wanted to know what this is so I asked. And the guard: THAT’S THE ROYAL PALACE!!! Uhm, ok. But he was so nice to let me take a pic of him. Anyway. Felt ashamed.

- No Swedish: Food. Not kidding: there are a lot of good Italian restaurants in Stockholm. My tip: Agaton in Gamla Stan.  But  if you don’t tell the waitress that you wanna have the change back she will keep it. Maybe she would have been nicer if I had ordered Swedish food.

- No Swedish: People. Oh I know, I should be ashamed. I do know some people living in Stockholm and totally forgot to tell them. Once I arrived in Stockholm it was too late to arrange something. But I thought, hey no problem, cause…

- Wrong: I thought wrong. I was pretty sure that my brother will move to Stockholm in summer so I can visit him and meet all the other people and do all the sightseeing without any hurry. Uhm. No. He’s moving to Sweden. But not to Stockholm but to Linköping. Ya, I know.  It’s not so far from Stockholm but it’s not the same. Period.

More pics from my trip to Stockholm you’ll find on my facebook page.

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More pictures from my weekend trip to Stockholm you’ll find on my Facebook page.

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