Chasing Northern Lights

Day 1 of 3 of our tour back takes the same route as we took up. Reason 1 is simply that this is the fastest route to get back to Germany, the alternative route through Norway would have taken 4 days of intensive driving at least. Reason 2 is that the kids preferred it that way, on the way up there was a Pool discovered at checkout in Luleå which was at that time too late to use. So their idea was to get there early this time and jump into the water. This driving option gave us one full extra day on Lofoten so everyone agreed. We started at 5:00a, so we get time in Luleå.
The drive through the Kiruna Pass has impressive views to offer, however road conditions were difficult on the way up, with roads mostly icy and almost no visibility. This was bound to be different on the way back as clear skies were forecasted.
As temperatures have been falling over the last days, even more cold temperatures were forecasted for our travel day. Temps as low as -32C in Kiruna were forecasted the day before departure, a few days earlier it was still forecasted at -22C. We didn’t know until after that we were about to travel to Swedish Lapland on one of the coldest days in 25 years…oops!
We prepped the car before our trip to Norway, changing fluids and filters to withstand up to -32C. This is all Ford could „officially“ sign the car up to. Everything below to be at our own risk, so the statement from the dealer. We expected to be fine.
Christopher organized diesel additives to add to the tank, enabling diesel to remain fully fluid up to -35C. So the forecasted temperatures made us increasingly nervous, not knowing how much colder it would get and how well the car would actually do.
As we left the Lofoten area, temps were already down to -25C, as we reached the border to Sweden and the Kiruna pass, temps fell to -39C!!! Nervs were blank, at this point the windows were frozen from the inside, all of them. The clutch pedal started to become hard to move. Significant cold started to come through the floor of the car. All kids were in blankets and winter cloths, we had our winter cloths on, including snow boots and pants. The kids were warm, we were freezing 🥶 . The engine did not generate much heat anymore, the motor was knocking. Christopher kept the gears low and revs high to generate a little more heat. We turned off the inside fans to a minimum to keep the front windows clear of ice. The front window kept clear of ice only through the heater, however even there ice started to build there. Once we were in the zone it was clear we had to try and just get through.
We drove roughly 90 min through -38, before temperatures rose to -25C - the car did it! It was clear, stranding up there would be a very bad spot, on a mountain pass, early in the morning, away from significant civilization. It would take hours to get help. So we knew the only option is to keep going until temperatures relief. If you think about it afterwards, it may have been a risk not to take. Although it would have been 3-4 days to let the extreme cold temperatures relief - this was no option either.
On the further drive and in between it went up to -20C, giving us and the car relief and chance to stop for gas and food, while the motor kept running (as all locals do here). However the closer we moved to Luleå the more the temperatures fell again to -38C and they stayed that low, despite weather reports indicating max -22C in Luleå. So as we arrived at these much lower temperatures we knew we had two options. Either drive further down to southern Sweden, out of the extreme low temp zone, or find a garage for the bus to overnight. It was clear that once we turn the engine off the car will freeze over and we will be stranded. Janine was checking with local car dealers to see if they offer any option to park at their shops. No success, only reaffirmation that our car won’t make the night unless we leave it running or we have a motor heater as all locals have it in their car. Well, we don’t! Possibly a feature to be added.
One car shop had a hint to a parking garage. We were checking online for location and availability. Christopher had meanwhile checked all of us into the Scandic hotel, knowing that if we don’t find a parking solution we won’t stay the night. As he conveyed that message for the lady at the reception, she started placing some phone calls, then gave hopeful signs of a solution. She would know a person who could pick Christopher up, drive to a garage in downtown several kilometers away with him where he could park our bus overnight. This person would bring Christopher back to the hotel and pick him back up in the morning again. We were excited and skeptic at the same time. The bus is over 2M high, many of the garages have 1,9M limits. Due to the lack of options we agreed, brought the kids & Knut to the hotel room with all essential things needed for the night, Christopher took off with bus to follow the guy in the Volvo (stereotypical 😅) to the garage. Janine prepped the kids that if the garage option would not work, we all would return to the car and continue the drive to Stockholm. This was not preferred by anyone, needless to say, we just had a 10 hour drive behind us and Stockholm is another 11 hours away… 😬
Long story short, good news for the night. Garage fits! Car can warm up, kids can pool while the adults come down with their nerves. 😉😂
Christopher warmed up his feet in the hotel room, with a local beer from the bar and with Knut in the room. The kids had fun in the pool with mom and we all enjoyed a nice dinner at the hotel.
The temps outside were so extreme, fingers would freeze within minutes, even Knut wanted to go back inside instantly after going out. Breathing was hard, the cold air would creap into the nose, it was by no means comfortable.
This was for sure a real nerve wrecking adventure driving day! We’ve done some stuff before, this was a scary one though, if you think of all the „what if‘s“ afterwards!Read more