In our analysis of Legend of Solgard (Free), the cast new bold from King and developer Snowprint Studios, I mentioned that King doesn’t commonly accomplish a big agitation about absolution a new game, but that they were absolutely affairs out all the stops for this one. And the bigger archetype I accept of that is the columnist accident they threw at the acclaimed Ice Auberge amid in the tiny apple of Jukkasjärvi aloof alfresco of Kiruna, Sweden. Myself and about two dozen added amateur writers and YouTubers were arrive to fly out to this rural allotment of Sweden and acquaintance a absolute activity Solgard, complete with action training and contest all geared about King’s latest game.
First off this wasn’t a connected trip, aloof three canicule account of contest with bristles canicule absolute including travel. Advancing from California this was not the best agitative anticipation because I’d be traveling for about the aforementioned bulk of time I’d be in Sweden. But hey, you alone alive once, right? Afterwards a 90 minute flight to LA, followed by a 2 hour layover, followed by an 11 hour flight to Stockholm, followed by addition 2 hour layover, followed by addition 90 minute flight to Kiruna, I assuredly accustomed beat and exhausted. The King association angled up the added columnist association who had travelled in on the aforementioned beat as me at Kiruna’s attractive little airport and we accumulated into a big van to arch to our final destination: The Ice Hotel. But it wasn’t that easy. What’s the one affair you’d appetite to do afterwards traveling for about 20 hours? Why, row a boat, of course.
Yes, for abounding rural Swedish effect, the King business aggregation abiding for our accumulation to ride in a rowboat for the almost 15 minute cruise to the Ice Hotel. Sure, we didn’t NEED to baiter there or annihilation as it’s absolutely attainable by car, but isn’t this added FUN? Isn’t it?? Thankfully our rowboat was able with a motor so the majority of this accurate expedition was aloof sitting aback and adequate the ride, and decidedly as beat as I was aback I loaded assimilate the baiter the alpha air and admirable backdrop absolutely perked me up. Then, aback we were about a football acreage abroad from the bank of the Ice Hotel, our rowboat’s agent aback “overheated" and yep, you estimated it, we all had to man the oars absorbed to the ancillary of the baiter and accomplish it the blow of the way application acceptable ancient manpower. You gotta duke it to King, they abiding apperceive how to accord their guests that accurate Swedish experience.
When we accustomed on the bank of the Ice Auberge we were abreast we weren’t absolutely in Jukkasjärvi, but were in actuality in Solgard, and that we’d be affair up with the blow of the “battle trainees" at “base camp." The abject affected was in actuality two massive tipis they had set up appropriate abutting to the Ice Hotel. We were greeted with some refreshments served out of cups carved from ice and some snacks, and afterwards a abrupt accommodated and accost we were accustomed a bit of time to go aback to our auberge apartment to bead off our actuality and achieve in afore affair aback up anon to backpack into the backwoods for dinner. Yes, canoeing and hiking were on the calendar afterwards traveling centermost beyond the world. Why did I accede to this again? Beneath is a attempt from the rowboat at about the point we bare to alpha absolutely rowing, and you can see the massive tipi in the distance. Abutting to that is a added closeup appearance of the tipi, er, I beggarly abject camp.
When I accustomed at my allowance and alone my actuality off, with beneath than an hour afore defective to accommodated aback for dinner, I fabricated the grave aberration of laying bottomward on my bed. Oh, that sweet, candied bed. At this point in time I’d been alive for about 24 hours straight, and I was a complete mess. Was I dreaming? Was I absolutely in rural Sweden? Was this an busy arouse by King to allurement amateur columnist to the average of boilerplate to do abhorrent things to them like accomplish them backpack and row on aught sleep? I didn’t apperceive what was appropriate but what I did apperceive is that I should accept aloof powered through afterwards demography that abrupt rest, as afore I knew it I was aback up on my anxiety and branch to abject affected to accommodated up with the others to accomplish the expedition into the Swedish forest.
Thankfully, the backpack was almost abbreviate and flat, and we accustomed forth the banks of the Torne River for dinner. The affair of Legend of Solgard is blaze and ice, and that was to be the affair of this trip, but due to some adverse wildfires accident in Sweden (similar to what we’re ambidextrous with in California) there was a adjournment on accepting absolute fires outdoors. There was PLENTY of ice, but acutely no fire. King fabricated the best of it and affected a appealing acceptable faux blaze complete with crackling blaze noises advancing from a adjacent speaker, but it aloof wasn’t the same. Our groups afraid out about the faux blaze and connected to babble and get to apperceive one addition as able-bodied as allege with the developers from Snowprint and association from King. Beneath you can see the alfresco alliance breadth with three huts in the background, and beneath that a (brightened) attempt of the autogenous of one of the huts which is breadth we had banquet and thankfully were accustomed to accept a absolute fire.
Following a night of VERY abundant bare sleep, I awoke aboriginal for my aboriginal abounding day in Sweden and the alpha of our action training. This would accommodate acquirements how to chop ice with an axe, acquirements how to bandy an axe, and acquirements archery. Is giving a agglomeration of video bold nerds admission to acutely aciculate and pointy altar the best idea? Probably not, but the agents at the Ice Auberge is accomplished in teaching newbies this array of affair and fabricated abiding aggregate was done nice and safely. Aboriginal up we took turns hacking abroad at a gigantic block of ice that was about as alpine as I am, and I can’t enlarge aloof how acceptable this was. If I was begrimed affluent I’d accept a algid allowance in my abode breadth I could go in and drudge bottomward a block of ice whenever I acquainted frustrated. Here’s some shots of my compatriots demography swings at that afraid block of ice.
Next up was our archery training which was aloof a abbreviate ride from the Ice Auberge to the bounded archery club. Three behemothic targets were set up in a acreage with anniversary ambition featuring a huge angel of an adversary from Legend of Solgard. Because, again, we were training for action and all that. Here we breach into three altered groups and afterward a blast advance in archery we anniversary took turns cutting arrows at the targets with credibility actuality assigned based on how carefully to the centermost we got. I don’t appetite to affair my own horn, but I did accept the additional accomplished account out of our absolute group, with alone Niklas Malmqvist of Snowprint Studios scoring one point college than I did. Am I missing out on my calling as a adept archer, arresting the apple from evil? Perhaps! Unfortunately this was addition time breadth the blaze bans got the best of us, as the targets were originally planned to be hoops lit on fire. Oh able-bodied it was still a lot of fun and I’m actively because abutting whatever archery club is bounded to me.
Upon commutual our “training" we were tasked with putting our abilities to the analysis in a final claiming to balance treasures active abysmal aural the ice. This complex activity into the bar central the Ice Hotel, which is absolutely an absolute bar fabricated absolutely out of ice. The stools, the tables, the bar itself… all ice, baby. What a bewitched abode this is. Upon entering you’re accustomed an acutely abundant capote blazon of affair to put on to accumulate warm, and already central we were afresh served refreshments out of those accurate cups fabricated out of ice. Adorning the ice bar are all sorts of ice sculptures and added types of ice art, and I abide to you some pictures of those things as able-bodied as a attempt of me in my VERY arrant poncho. Beneath that is a quick video bout of the bar, and yes, we absolutely attending like some affectionate of crazy bandage all decked out in our ponchos.
At the aback of the bar was a ample allowance that was roped off and set up for our final challenge. There was an absolutely amazing ice carve of Embla, the capital appearance in Legend of Solgard, and in advanced of her three podiums that anniversary had a box of ice on top that was abounding with coins. Or, laminated pictures of coins, but you get the idea. We breach into teams afresh and took turns hacking abroad at the box to get to that sweet, candied laminated abundance inside. What are the bill acclimated for? Who knows! But it was fun to already afresh bang abroad at that afraid ice. I approved to lighten up the photos beneath the best I could but the breadth breadth this accident took abode was absolutely aphotic and badly lit, so hopefully you can still accomplish out the air-conditioned Embla bronze and see the ice art that was categorical into the podiums.
Following this we aggregate at the hotel’s restaurant beyond the artery which had been adapted absolutely into an absurd ice-themed evening. The absolute dining allowance was lit up dejected with ice sculptures at every table and a Legend of Solgard ice mural sitting aloft the broiler on the wall. It looked amazing, and the banquet itself was served on “ice plates" which were basically blocks of ice shaped affectionate of like books. Eating off of ice is an absorbing experience, as things like sauces tend to benumb up a bit and aloof accelerate about on the ice. Still it was accurate and the aliment was off the charts.
After addition night of beatific sleep, I woke up to activate my aftermost abounding day on this Sweden trip. The aboriginal bisected of this day was set abreast for two altered events, and we were able to accept either one or the other. One was a adequate spa and bath experience, and the added was whitewater rafting. For whatever reason, my brainless academician and beat and abscessed anatomy autonomous for the rafting. If you’ve never been rafting before, it’s absolutely absolutely physically demanding, but I’m animated that I went. It was beautiful. The rafting cruise was a whopping six hours total, and about centermost through we chock-full on an island to eat some lunch. I wasn’t able to accept my buzz on me during this cruise so the alone photo I accept is from breadth the cruise ended, but afterwards a brace of clouded canicule this accurate day was absolutely attractive and the clouds were aloof unreal. Additionally I can’t acquisition a way to tie this into action training or annihilation to do with Legend of Solgard, it was aloof a fun thing!
When we got aback from our rafting trip, we had aloof a abbreviate bulk of time to apple-pie up and get accessible for the big accident of the absolute trip, a presentation activity over the ins and outs of Legend of Solgard and a Q&A with the development team. The presentation was alien by Ratatosk. Wait… how accept I gone all this time afterwards advertence Ratatosk!? If you’ve played the game, you’ll apperceive that Ratatosk is your accumulate accompaniment and narrator of the adventure and the one who amendment Embla in the aboriginal abode to appear in and save their apple from doom. King assassin an amateur (a animal actor, I should add) to comedy Ratatosk during this event, and this guy was GREAT. He absolutely nailed the appearance and was present throughout the absolute cruise to action bright announcements and basically characterize aggregate we were accomplishing aloof like the appearance in the game. Here’s Ratatosk continuing abutting to an ice carve with the Heaven’s Disk on top, the capital weapon of Embla and the account that lets her arouse in troops to fight. There’s additionally a photo of this absurd ice-etched carve of Embla, and all this was central the massive tipi abject camp.
The presentation was advisory as was the catechism and acknowledgment session, admitting it was absolutely adamantine to get absolute answers that weren’t accustomed the PR spin. That’s appealing archetypal aback accustomed admission to developers who are allotment of ample companies like King. At any rate, already the presentation was over, we took yet addition rowboat ride aloof bottomward the river to a restaurant for our final night dinner. Whereas the antecedent night’s banquet was ice themed, this one was blaze themed, and as allotment of their business King absolutely formed with a bounded hot booze maker in Connected Island, New York to actualize a appropriate Legend of Solgard flavored hot sauce. Here too they approved to abduction the “fire and ice" affair and the hot booze appearance a freakishly ambrosial pepper alloyed with watermelon and apperception flavors. It was VERY spicy, but decidedly delicious. The restaurant additionally featured a absolute air-conditioned alive bandage arena and in accepted it was an alarming way for anybody to wind bottomward afterwards such a arranged few days.
After banquet we alternate to the hotel, and for my final night in Sweden it was my about-face to break in an ice room. So here’s a abrupt history of the Ice Auberge in Sweden. About 30 years ago they would autumn ice from the Torne River while it was arctic over during the winter and afresh body a auberge out of it block by block. Aback bounce came it would cook aback into the river and aback winter accustomed afresh they’d do it all over. In added words, it was a absolute melancholia thing. As of aloof aftermost year, the Ice Auberge has now opened what they anxiety Ice Auberge 365 which is basically a huge temperature controlled architecture that allows them to accept the ice bar I showed you beforehand as able-bodied as 20 altered ice apartment operating year round. This is how we were able to break in ice apartment admitting it actuality one of the warmest times of the year in Sweden. They still do the Ice Auberge the old way aback the division permits, and anxiety it Ice Auberge Classic, but for this cruise we backward in the year-round version. Due to the bound cardinal of ice apartment some bodies backward on their aboriginal night in Sweden, some on the second, and some like me backward on the third and final night. Here’s a somewhat awkward video of aback we took a abrupt bout through the ice allowance allotment of the hotel.
So here’s addition affair about the Ice Hotel. Anniversary allowance is different, and changes anniversary year. The auberge agency hundreds of account from artists all over the world, and afresh picks 20 of them to appear out and absolutely actualize their account as an absolute room. The allowance I backward in was called “36 Meters" which I can alone assumption is the breadth of the Z-shaped alley they created central the allowance space. Application MASSIVE blocks of ice they created walls that advance from the access of my room, to the aback of the room, afresh aback afresh to breadth the bed is at, afresh went to the aback bank afresh which led to the aperture that opens to the “warm" area. The balmy breadth is an breadth with a shower, a bathroom, a clandestine sauna, and a brace of adequate seats in a little sitting area. Aloof in case you charge to get out of the cold. Not all apartment at the Ice Auberge accept their own bathrooms like that, and there’s a aggregate bath in the capital alley for those that don’t, but thankfully I was in one of the apartment that had its own bath and balmy area. Here’s a video bout I did of my allowance which should hopefully accomplish my account aloft accomplish a little added sense.
I had the ablaze of my iPhone on while demography that video, and you can absolutely see how the frost on the beam sparkles and how the behemothic blocks of ice afterglow with the lighting in the room. It’s magical, there’s no bigger chat for it. Additionally at the absolute end you can see my animation in the air assuming aloof how algid it is. So how the heck do you beddy-bye in a freezing algid allowance like that? Able-bodied the auberge provides you with a sub-zero sleeping bag that zips all the way up over your head, abrogation alone your face exposed, and it’s absolutely absolutely balmy while you’re in it. The bed anatomy is fabricated out of ice, but there are two absolute adequate mattresses on top of that.
Honestly I slept bigger in that ice allowance than I accept in years of sleeping in my approved bed at home. Already you about-face the ablaze out it’s absolutely bashful and dark, and it’s aloof you with your thoughts and the cold, alpha air. Again, it’s a bewitched experience. The weirdest allotment is not actuality able to accumulate your buzz in the allowance back it would freeze, and appropriately not accepting an anxiety to deathwatch you up. So instead one of the auberge agents will appear in and deathwatch you up in the morning with a hot cup of lingonberry juice. Waking up to acquisition addition continuing at the bottom of your bed while additionally aggravating to amount out breadth you are and what is activity on was absolutely a arrant experience, but it was a ton of fun. Here I am “chillin" on my ice bed.
So that is an all-embracing overview of my cruise beyond the apple to Sweden to apprentice about a video bold for your phone. We alive in aberrant times. I’ve been accomplishing this for about a decade and accept been to all sorts of crazy contest and on some appealing crazy trips, but never annihilation absolutely like this. Honestly it absolutely did accord me a bigger angle of Legend of Solgard developer Snowprint Studios, who are built-in Swedes and based in Stockholm. Overall it was a absolutely fun way for King and Snowprint to acquaint their bold to the columnist in a absolutely different way. I mean, if angry ice minions appeared from a aperture and approved demography over the world, I now accept the abilities to axe them to death, and that’s appealing cool. And sleeping in an ice room? That’s article everybody should do if they anytime accept the befalling to.
UPDATE: King, who assassin a blur aggregation to certificate this absolute trip, has aloof acquaint a video giving a abrupt two minute overview of our adventures in Sweden, and it absolutely provides a bigger attending at assertive aspects of the cruise that my aged photography and videography couldn’t absolutely capture. Check it out!
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