Abisko: Part 1 - Day 1 & 2: Arrival in STF Abisko

BUCKET LIST SUPER CHECKED! I SAW THE NORTHERN LIGHTS!

I have been dreaming of this for many years. I used to check the prices of Abisko and how expensive it was, and I needed to budget for so many items, plus it did not seem worth it to travel to Sweden just to see Northern Lights during the winter. Also, back then, I do not have any friends who are willing to fly to Sweden during winter. Now that I am in Sweden, I should seize this opportunity to go to the north now.

The plan to see Northern Lights was made in mid-November last year. I did not want to procrastinate any further in seeing the Northern Lights. There were four of us in the trip. I bought our SJ train tickets and booked a cottage in STF Abisko. The return train tickets costed SEK1946. 

Here is our 5 days, 4 nights itinerary. Two nights were spent on the train and the remaining nights in our rented cottage.

30 January - Overnight SJ train from Stockholm Central to Abisko Turiststation. Our train got cancelled from Gällivare to Abisko due to derailing works, so SJ provided a replacement bus for us. We reached at the stated time. But since we did not get the overnight train all the way to Abisko, SJ reimbursed us for the tickets of SEK995 per person.
31 January - Arrival in Abisko. Walked to the frozen beach.
1 February - Dog sledding. Walked to the Canyon and Bird Hill. Saw the Northern Lights.
2 February - Bus from Abisko to Kiruna. Bus from Kiruna to Gällivare. Overnight SJ train from Gällivare to Stockholm. The return journey costed SEK951.
3 February - Arrival at Stockholm Central.

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

30/1 Day 1: Overnight SJ Train from Stockholm Central Station to Abisko Turiststation. The train came on time at 1808 hours which surprised us because SJ never comes on time. I was informed that afternoon that our train services are cancelled from Gällivare to Abisko but there will be replacement buses.

31/1 Day 2: We got down at Boden around 5.30am and changed to a sitting train till Gällivare. From Gällivare, we got a bus to Abisko Turiststation. We reached at 11.08am.

Must-Incur Costs

(1) Train and bus ticket (return): SEK1946 per person.

Optional Costs
Day 1

(1) Dinner at Stockholm Central - chicken fillet SEK99

Day 2
(1) STF Abisko - SEK1820 for 2 nights per person, inclusive 2 dinners of SEK880. I did not know that it was for 2 dinners, but the website automatically assumes 2 nights when you opt for the dinner as I am staying there for 2 nights. Oh well, they were good dinner anyway. Accommodation alone costs SEK920 for 2 nights, which makes that SEK460 per night per person (4 persons). The cottage costs SEK1880 per night.

The Story

30012020 Evening: We met up at Stockholm Central station after work and boarded the train at 1808 hours.

31012020 Morning: At Boden, we changed to another train where there are no beds to lie on. We were very happy to see the snow when we alighted from the train. There has been no snowfall in Stockholm since the beginning of winter. Well, there has been only one day of snowfall.

Our buses were waiting for us to send us to Abisko.

The train station that was supposed to be our final destination is located right opposite STF Abisko. It is about 50m distance.

These are the cottages. There is a nice sofa, an equipped kitchen (without a microwave), a table, 2 bedrooms (one of the bedrooms has a view of the mountains. The beds have no bedsheets or pillow cases. One can rent a bedsheet and a pillow case. I brought a sleeping liner so it is lightweight and a pillow case), a bathroom (with toilet paper) and the house is well-heated. Also with very thin walls, as one can hear another person's voice so clearly from upstairs. The floors creak too when one walks. 

View from the window in the kitchen.