‘ju:femaiz

From Stockholm I boarded a SAS flight to head to my cousin’s kommun of Skellefteå. He moved there about two years prior and when thinking about a world trip there was no way I was going to skip a visit to the north of Sweden to catch up with him.

Arriving at Skellefteå reminded me of the regional airports of Australia, with one exception that you couldn’t escape – the snow that was everywhere except the tarmac. Even in late March and early April Skellefteå is a place covered and surrounded by snow. I late found out that the Baltic to the east was still covered by a thick layer of sea ice that needed continuous movement to maintain shipping lanes. Stephen treated me to dinner and a quick bit of bearing gathering before we headed back to his place with me feeling exhausted by about 8pm and promptly crashed out.

Saturday saw us head inland to the kommun of Malå for the final round of the World Snowcross Championships. It would appear that supporters of this sport are much akin to those ardent followers of motorcross (I’ll leave that to you to make your mind up about what that means). That said, it was rather crazy seeing the skidoos tear up and down what would normally be a ski slope, achieving massive airs in the process.

Sunday we headed to the edge of the Skellefteå kommun for some skiing. Driving out there was an interesting experience, with Stephen showing me the importance of both all-wheel drive and traction control, and also how to determine the number of lanes on a road (easier said than done when it’s covered in snow). For the record, take the number of tyre tracks, add one, then divide by two.

Monday presented me with the opportunity to wander around the town. In spite of the cold temperatures I took the opportunity to wander the area and check out the quaint old Bonnstan – the old church village where farmers would stay while undertaking their compulsory religious “education”. Also on the “to visit” list were churches, bridges and various other locations covered in about three feet of snow. Did I mention how much I love snow?! Once Stephen got home from work he drove me out to the edge of Sweden – where Skellefteå meets the Baltic – to sea the pack-ice and experience the biting wind that blows in from the Arctic, Finland and Russia.

Alas all things must come to an end, and on Tuesday morning I grabbed a lift to the airport and boarded the first of three flights that I needed to take to get to my next destination – Copenhagen, Denmark.

More Flickr Photos from Skellefteå and Malå