Norrland Sweden : Part 9 - Day 4 Morning: Ice Hotel (Exterior) and Kiruna Church

Day 4 (Morning) of Norrland Drive

Here is a summary of what is spent on Day 4 Morning. 

18/6 Day 4 Morning: Overnight in Lappeasuando Nature Reserve -- Ice Hotel (exterior) in Jukkasjärvi -- Church in Kiruna

Must-Incur Costs

(1) Petrol in Kiruna (last filled in Gäddede) - SEK712.67 / 45.89 liter / SEK15.53 per liter 

The Story

180618 Morning : It had been raining the night before and it was still raining when we woke up. It was cold. Prof Sweet Tooth drove further north towards Kiruna. Along the way, we saw the signboard that states 'Ice Hotel'. I got so excited and I said that we needed to see it! Of course, ignorant me did not realised that I cannot get in for free. Such a fancy place requires a ticket even to view the interior. It costs SEK295/ RM147.50 for an adult ticket. Gawd, so expensive. One can buy the ticket at the souvenir shop. I saw that they organise tours that includes Ice Hotel, Kiruna and Jukkasjärvi which costs SEK475 / RM237.50 for an adult. Really, why is everything so expensive?

There were other accommodations in the premises too. Not everyone can afford to stay in the Ice Hotel, so stay outside and buy a ticket to get inside. There is a thick grass insulation that covers the hotel. There was also a ice-producing factory next to the hotel. Definitely lots of maintenance for this hotel. I wondered what is their profit margin like considering all these expenses. Do they have sufficient number of tourists to cover their monthly fixed costs?  

After the short detour to Ice Hotel, we drove into Kiruna, the biggest town in the north where the world's largest iron ore mine lies under the city. The entire town of Kiruna will move to a new place called New Kiruna. I saw the transportation area (where the iron will be transported by train to the respective places) and it was completely sealed with a red wall. The town was like any other town. It has a shopping mall, grocery marts, a night club (!) where Prof Sweet Tooth joked that the club can't be opened during the summer because it is 24 hours daylight during the summer so there is no 'night' (I rolled my eyes), a Scandic Hotel (for sure, it must be a booming town to have a Scandic Hotel here), and lots of residential areas. 

We went to see the church that has a clock tower next to it. I thought the church was unique because it has a painting at its altar. 

The former president of the mine, Hjalmar Lundbohm asked the architect of the church, Gustav Wickman to build a church in the form of a Lapp cottage. The 12 gold plated statues on the exterior show the human frames of mind such as prayer and desperation. The altar piece is painted by Prince Eugen and is a lyrical picture of heavenly beauty. St George and the dragon was a gift from Christian Eriksson. There are 3 bibles inside the church - Swedish, Finnish and Sami, the 3 languages spoken in the parish. Source from an Information paper in the Church.