Kebnekaise: Part 1 - Day 1 and 2: Train and bus ride to Nikkaluokta

In the summer of 2019, I succeeded in ascending Mount Kebnekaise, Sweden's highest mountain of 2096.8 meters. It is half of Mount Kinabalu, the highest mountain in South East Asia that is located in Sabah, Malaysia but one of the toughest I have ascended. It is steep and extremely rocky. Gosh, I hated rocks and stones after the hike! 

I went with 2 Swedish guys whom are very well-versed with the Swedish nature and we took care of each other. They are very calm and I did not have to worry because any conversations with the locals are left to them. Haha! Here is how our 6-day itinerary looked like:

1 August - Overnight SJ train from Stockholm Central to Kiruna. 

2 August - Arrival in Kiruna. Bus from Kiruna to Nikkaluokta. 19km walk to the mountain station.

3 August - Rest day.

4 August - Hike up and down Mount Kebnekaise.

5 August - Helicopter ride back to Nikkaluokta. Overnight SJ train from Kiruna to Stockholm.

6 August - Arrival at Stockholm Central.

The train tickets were bought in mid-June 2019 and at that time, I was worried that the tickets were sold out. We were lucky to be able to buy tickets for 3 of us in the same compartment. The return bus and train tickets cost SEK2495 per person. Here is my story.

Day 1 and 2
Here is a summary of what is spent on Day 1 and 2.

1/8 Day 1: Overnight SJ Train from Stockholm Central Station to Kiruna Station. The train was scheduled for 1937 hours, but departed at 2030 hours, and to arrive at Boden the next morning at 1012 hours.

2/8 Day 2: Arrival in Boden at 1105 (delayed from scheduled arrival at 1012). Next train ride from Boden at 1434 hours to Kiruna. Arrival in Kiruna at 1429 hours. Bus from Kiruna at 1515 hours to Nikkaluokta. Arrival in Nikkaluokta at 1635 hours. 

Must-Incur Costs
(1) Train and bus ticket (return): SEK2495 per person.

Optional Costs
Day 1

(1) Lunch sandwich (we met up earlier to rearrange our things) SEK29
(2) Beer at Bishop Arms SEK78
(3) Dinner salted salmon with dill stewed potatoes at Stockholm Fisk SEK225
(4) Coffee latte at Urban Deli SEK35

Day 2
(1) Breakfast package on the train SEK65
(2) Lunch baguette SEK74
(3) Dinner sauteed reindeer with mashed potatoes at Nikkaluokta SEK175

The Story

01082019 Afternoon: We met up earlier at 2pm to repack our backpacks. Then, we gradually made our way to Stockholm Central station. We decided to have dinner before the train ride but our dinner place at Stockholm Fisk was not opened yet. So, we had a beer first at Bishop Arms. My friends love their beer. So, I joined and had Gose beer from the tap. 

At 5pm, we made our way to Stockholm Fisk. I think it is a fancy place. It looks fancy to me. My friends' philosophy was that we should eat well before our travels and we should treat ourselves to good food because we may not have that in the north (where the mountain is located). Since it is a fish restaurant, I had the salted salmon with dill-stewed potatoes (rimmad lax med dillstuvad potatis). They gave dried bread with butter as appetizers. 

The train that was scheduled to arrive at 1937 hours was delayed to 2030 hours. Initially, an announcement was made that it was delayed to 2010 hours and then it got later to 2100 hours and finally, it made an appearance at 2030 hours. One of the guys said not to worry because the train and bus rides are connected and if one of them gets delayed affecting the next journey, the passengers will be compensated financially or the train operator (SJ) will provide a taxi to the next destination. Plus, the train will stop at a few stations so there is buffer time for the train to wait at the other stations. Also, it is good to remember that it is very common that SJ trains get delayed. One do not have much of a choice because SJ is the only train that goes to the north. So, take it or leave it.. 

In the train, we went to our compartment. There were only 3 beds in the compartment which is great because we did not need to share with anyone else. I slept in the highest bunk because according to the guys, since I voiced out that I was afraid of sleeping on the top, I should train myself and sleep on the top. Yeah, sometimes, they are mean...

There is a shower room and toilet room at the end of the carriage. It is very clean. I took a quick shower. The water pressure was not high, though. There were towels provided too.

At each bed, there are switches for lights and radio so one does not disturb the other. We have packet waters too in the room.

We explored the bistro which was in the next carriage. Lucky for us so that we did not need to walk far. Here is an idea of how the price looks like. A cup of coffee or tea (with a second filling) costs SEK22. Hot chocolate costs SEK22. A cinnamon bun costs SEK15. Soft drink costs SEK20. Alcohol-free beer costs SEK29. 

We got back to our compartment and called it a day by 11pm. It was cold in the compartment for me but the guys did not have any problem at all. 

02082019 Morning: I woke up early due to the chill and bugged the guys to wake up too. Haha! We made our way to the bistro by 730am. It was very bright because daylight hours during the summer are very long, even longer when one is in the north. Here is how the breakfast package looks like - yoghurt with muesli, rye bread, bun, chocolate, apple juice and coffee.

We changed trains at Boden and were headed towards Kiruna. 

The train ride has a beautiful scenery. Such blue skies and green trees.

Our baguette for lunch. We took out Yatzy and played for a few hours. Yatzy is an interesting dice game. Try it. I never knew about it until this trip.

Finally, we arrived safely at Kiruna station at 1429 hours! What a long ride. Close to 19 hours of train ride. We were greeted by a lovely weather and not to mention, warmth, which surprised me pleasantly. I was ready to be attacked by the cold but it was sunny. Yay!

Now, the last leg - the bus ride to Nikkaluokta!

Here we are - Nikkaluokta! AT LAST! We made our way to the sole building in Nikkaluokta where we had our dinner - sauteed reindeer with mashed potatoes. We need to fill ourselves up with lots of good food for the 19km walk to the mountain station. I took sauteed reindeer because reindeer is a must-try food in the north. Only the north can serve the best reindeer dish. Dinner includes salad, coffee or tea, a cold drink (I took lingon berry drink) and hard bread.

I thought that this was important information for the readers to know - there are services for storage boxes. 24 hours storage costs SEK50, 48 hours cost SEK85 and it gets cheaper as the hours get more. For 168 (24 hours x 7 days) hours or more, it costs SEK168.

Once we were happy and the tummies were satisfied, we took our backpacks and started our 19km walk to Kebnekaise's mountain station. The time was 1715 hours. Let's go!