We trust that you all had a very happy & merry Christmas and were able to enjoy the special time with family and friends filled with all the great traditions and trimmings. To all you good little boys & girls we hope that Santa brought you all that you had wished for and so much more. Just know that although we weren’t able to be with you all at this special time, you were in our thoughts and wishes.

As for us, the Christmas leg of ‘Fee & Nick’s Awesome Adventure’ took us to the winter wonderland of Sweden for 11 fun filled and exciting days that we will never forget. Our journey began with us spending the night at Heathrow airport, an experience in itself, before catching the early flight to Stockholm. All I can say is ‘Thank God’ that there was a 24 hr Starbucks on hand to keep us sane and well dosed on caffeine while we wiled away the hours. The flight itself was a short jump over the ocean before we were flying over the sparse scandinavian country side which just looked picture perfect and magical in a blanket of snow.

Upon our arrival at Arlanda airport we were struck by one thing…. The Cold!! The moment we stepped off the plane we were struck by the temperature, it was a cold that we had never experienced before. We were informed by the helpful flight attendants that it was a merely a mild winter’s day of -6 C and that worse to come. Aren’t we lucky? But hey it doesn’t snow in the tropics and that’s what we had come for, a ‘White Christmas’.

After a short train ride into Stockholm we made for the first port of call, like every other journey, to find our hostel for the night and dump our backpacks. Our accommodation this time round was rather unique as we stayed on ‘The little red boat’ in Gamla Stan (Old Stockholm) region. The location was superb as from our portal window we were able to get some great views of the city and it was centrally located allowing for easy walking access to the city centre.

Unlike the other major cities we have visited during our travels, Stockholm did not appear to have very many places of historical interest to visit. This made for a refreshing change from the norm as traveling is so exciting and every experience is different from the next, however, when in Europe there definitely comes a time when one cannot bring one’s self to visit another Cathedral, Basilica or Palace. They all seem to blur and look the same after a while!

That being said, we did visit the Royal Palace for the changing of the guard which was very impressive. There was all the pomp and ceremony that one could handle and for some comic relief there were a few slip-ups on the ice which were so funny. Why is it always so funny to watch some poor Bugger going a cropper? I’ll tell you ‘cause deep down you are thanking your lucky stars that it wasn’t you. We also managed to stumble across Road 81 which is the narrowest street, at less than a meter wide. The reason that they built this road is a mystery as there is no way of getting anything up or down it. Don’t worry though you will all get to experience this street as I managed to take literally 50 photos of this stupid street. In my defense, we had bought a new camera just before we left so this was the first time we had used it.  Just like every other boy in the world with a new toy, I had to try all the different settings and get all the different angles.

Fiona managed to find one of Stockholm’s interesting attraction that definitely sparked her interest and she insisted that we could not leave until we had been there……. The Absolute Ice Bar!!!!!  This amazing bar is exactly as the name suggests…..ICE.  Before entering you are given a thermal poncho to wear, to ensure everyone looks like Eskimos.  The walls, the ceiling, the bar and even the glasses that your drinks are served in are made of ICE. It had to be the coolest drink that either of us have ever had and made for a really unique experience. In true Munich tradition Fee wanted to take a souvenir glass but by the time we got it home it was just a puddle, funny that!! Other than that we spent a lot of time eating and drinking (particularly hot drinks) in cosy little cafes between bouts of walking and shopping in the city.

After 2 nights in Stockholm the time had come to grab our belongings and head North to Ostersund for the adventure we had been waiting 5 months for.  Flying over Ostersund, I tried very hard to get Fee to look out at the winter wonderland below, but as you all know, Fee is not the best traveler as she tends to suffer from motion sickness. Poor thing!! Needless to say when we touched down, we were both like little kids playing in the snow on the footpath and must have looked so silly but we just didn’t care. It was great.

When we arrived at Ostersund airport we were greeted by Christina of Husky Holidays who had driven from Mulken to pick Arjan and Ester (our new Dutch friends) and us up.  They were both so lovely and for the entire trip in the car we didn’t stop talking, swapping stories. The journey back to Mulken was just mesmerizing as the beautiful surroundings took our breath away. The trees looked like postcard Christmas trees with snow in their branches and if you ask Fee, the houses were the spitting image of gingerbread houses.

When we arrived at our new home, we were greeted by Kim one of the owners, who was so welcoming. Our room was just perfectly decorated in a lovely understated country style with subtle inclusions to give the room a authentic Swedish appearance, like elk antlers as the toilet roll holder and wood furnishings.  After settling in, we then ventured down stairs coaxed by the most amazing ‘Home-style’ aromas.  At dinner we met our two other new friends who had arrived from the UK earlier that day Anna and Dan.  The six of us with Kim, sat down to a lovely meal of Moose stew.  It was just a great start to greater adventure.

After we had all been feed and watered, we headed out to meet the dogs who would be unfortunate enough to have to pull our beer bellies around for the next couple of days. We were so fortunate that at the time of our visit there was a litter of puppies that were only 10 weeks old and needless to say all the ladies were hatching plans as to how they were going to get one home. After getting acquainted with the dogs we retired to watch the mushing classic Snow Dogs for some insight into what we had to look forward to.

The following morning we donned our snow gear, headed outside into the cold and began the adventure. We had a quick briefing on how to brake and steer the sleds and then it was time to harness the dogs and set out for our first ride. The girls were nominated to go out first, while the boys were responsible for starting a fire and cooking lunch upon their return.

We all started with four dogs and once they were fully harnessed we headed out into the cold wilderness. All the dogs were barking and howling (not only because they were excited but also because some of the females in the dog-yard were on heat) but the moment you left it went silent. There were no sounds to be heard except the sound of the dogs running, you couldn’t see anyone in front and there was no one behind. You were all alone and it was great. I cannot describe the experience when you are out on the sled with simply the wilderness and your dogs it is something that words could never do justice to. Needless to say everyone in the group couldn’t stop talking about it when we returned

The next time we ventured out we were allocated our teams who we would be working with for the duration of our stay.  My dogs were Max, Arnt, Mimi, Fray, Lukex and Kinko.  Fee’s dogs were Poyk, K2, Helma and Hussan.  All the dogs in our teams were just amazing with their own characteristics and it was so hard not to get attached. They just seemed to worm their way into your heart!!

After a few days of learning the ropes we were
fortunate enough to go out on expedition. 
Expedition consisted of a longer ride, followed by an overnight stay in the wilderness.  Due to the fact that the sun didn’t rise until 8:30am and went down about 3pm we set up camp around 2:30pm.  We first took the dogs off the sled and put them on their stake out lines and gave them all hay to make beds with for the night…they were so cute.  We then put up our tents and lined them with reindeer skins and sleeping bags (I still cannot believe we slept on snow and weren’t cold).  We then helped build the communal Teepee so that we could sit around feasting and swap stories of the day’s adventure with a few quiet whiskeys.

After a surprisingly good night sleep we packed up camp after breakfast and headed back to the farm after yet another long ride. The following day Ester and Fee really wanted to try 6 dogs and Bergsvein actually asked if they would like to try and we all know Fee. She never backs down from a challenge so the resounding answer was ‘Yes’.  Fee didn’t know how she was going to stop the sled with 2 extra dogs because if you ask me, she was struggling to brake the four she started with.  Her two additional middle dogs were Frosty and Gogahn who were placed in the middle. I think that this trip was the most amazing ride for Fee. Having two extra dogs really changed the pace and you could not wipe the smile off her face for days.

With Christmas fast approaching it was time to start decorating the house with all the festivities.  First thing first, it was time for us to pick our Christmas tree.  Ester and Fee with saw in hand, headed into the forest for the perfect Christmas tree.  Shortly after heading out, they started back to the house with two trees to choose from.  Unfortunately, when they got them back to the house and saw them in real light it was clear that they were lacking in substance, so as they were relegated to the front door. The group as a whole set out on the great Christmas Tree Hunt in search of the perfect tree. After much deliberation, we ventured back with our perfect tree in hand.  We decorated the tree whilst singing to Christmas carols being played in the background and drinking Mulled wine.

We were extremely fortunate to be invited by Kim and Bergsvein to stay on for two extra nights after our tour was due to finish.  We finished Christmas Eve however Arjan, Ester, Fee and myself (unfortunately Dan and Anna had to return to the UK) were able to extend this magical experience.  We were joined by the Craft family (Linda, Tim, Zack, Hectar and Felix).  Kim and Bergsvein were very good at accommodating all cultures traditions.  They wanted to ensure everyone had a wonderful Christmas.  In Sweden they celebrate Christmas on Christmas Eve, so we experienced a feast of traditional Swedish Christmas food for us all.  After an amazing meal, we had some lovely warm Mulled wine and port to finish off the evening.

Christmas day began with food from the night before consisting of smoked salmon, ham, pork, cheese, bread (oh their bread is sooooo good!) sausages and traditional flans and fish pies with onion, potato and cheese…mmmmm!  We began the morning with a lovely ride to a secluded spot for a snack of Swedish Christmas Bun. Upon our return, we were the lucky two who were able to take the horses for a ride Christmas night whilst it was snowing.  Yes, can you believe that on Christmas day it actually snowed and we were out dog mushing and horse riding.  The poor horses “Pal” and “Bruna” were struggling to keep their back legs from slipping out from underneath them.  It was so romantic strolling through the small quiet town whilst it was snowing just the two of us.

Unfortunately, boxing day saw our fun in the snow come to an end.  We were sad to go and shed many a tear, as this had become the best holiday we have ever had as adults as we both remember some amazing holidays as kids with our families.

Well…four pages on and we hope we haven’t bored too many of you. Another year has come and gone and what a year it has been!! ‘Fee & Nick’s Awesome Adventure’ has taken us all over the world and afforded us so many new experiences. We hope that 2006 will be as good for you as 2005 was for us. Keep an eye out for the next installment of the ‘Fee & Nick’s Awesome Adventure’ as we approach the final leg of our journey around the world. Till then take care and hope to hear from you all soon.

Lots of love /Fee & Nick