Traveling to Abisko

 

Beach party with friends and colleagues at the shore of Lake Torneträsk (Photo: J. Bengtsson)Even if I have just been bragging about how easy it is to access Abisko, it was still an early start from home. From Lund we traveled to Copenhagen airport, where we flew to Stockholm and then on to Kiruna. We arrived to Kiruna just after lunch, had a late lunch in town and also ceased the opportunity to buy some food (especially fruit and vegetables) and beverages that you cannot find in Abisko. Abisko is a small village with 120 inhabitants, but despite the small population, there is a huge store where you can find most things as many Norwegians come and buy cheap candy (a huge room full of candy), food and tobacco here. It is great, but fruit and vegetables is not really what the store is focusing on, so it is very nice to be able to buy that in Kiruna.

 

We arrived to Abisko late afternoon and made ourselves at home in our rooms at the research station. The research station can accommodate approximately 100 persons when the station is full.

 

It is always lovely to come back to Abisko. You immediately start to catching up with old friends and making new ones and even if it sometimes is somewhat frustrating that a 20 meter walk from the common kitchen to your room can take 20 min as you run into so many people, it is extremely nice, both to discuss science, but also to catch up regarding life in general. Abisko is a really friendly place and the old hit by Sisters Sledge "We are family..." is really applicable for the atmosphere here.

 

We had a very beautiful evening with sunshine and we were invited to a beach party down by Lake Torneträsk. After catching up with friends, we planned tomorrow's activities and had an early night in bed.

 

 

Margareta