Kirkenes and the Snow Hotel

As we approached Kirkenes this morning, the outside temp was -14°. The sea around us was covered in floating ice.
The ship docked at 9am and we were off promptly on our much anticipated excursion to the Snow Hotel - it did not disappoint!
A bright sunny day and thankfully it warmed up to a balmy -5° as we enjoyed the 20 min bus ride to the Snow Hotel. There are many lakes in Kirkenes, we passed four, all completely frozen over and covered in snow. Everywhere looked beautiful in the deep snow as it sparkled in the sunshine.
On arrival, we were taken to meet the working husky dogs who pull the sledges for the husky rides. We didn't have a ride, but it looked great fun, especially for the huskies who were impatient to get away! We were encouraged to stroke the huskies who were not running - their thick coats are so soft and they seemed to enjoy the attention. However you don't mess with them while they're running and in work mode!
The Snow Hotel is amazing, each bedroom a different theme with fantastic ice sculptures. It is kept at a temp of -4°, apart from the restaurant which is heated (presumably the loos & showers too). I really wouldn't want to spend a night there having felt how cold the beds are! Who wants a headboard made of ice in a room made of frozen snow!
The dome shaped hotel itself was covered in fleece, normally done from April to preserve the ice, but a milder than usual March meant it had to be covered a month early.
We were offered a warm drink and a reindeer sausage as a snack - I declined the sausage, Syd couldn't eat his, it was pretty awful apparently.
We were also able to visit some reindeer, much smaller than you would imagine them to be with soft pale coloured fur.
On the drive back, we were taken to a view point with an amazing panoramic view over Kirkenes harbour.
Back in time for lunch on board. Lunch consists of a selection of small plates
Each section of the trip has some dishes on the menu that are relevant to that region as well as the regular choices, these are Fiords, Polar, Artic and Islands.Read more