From party frocks to invites and Christmas cocktails, we've got everything you need to throw a fabulous party
Husky sledging and zip-lining in Sweden
To me, winter sports automatically mean spending the whole day on the slopes, followed by some well-deserved apres-ski. A trip to Are in Sweden made realise there is a lot more to it
If you are not a ski nut, or don't want to spend a whole week on the slopes, a lot more activities are now on offer. I tried my hand at some dog sledging and scared myself stiff zip-lining over ravines.
Dog sledging was a magical experience. No Santa Claus, reindeer, or jingle bells of course, but a basic sledge pulled by eight gorgeous huskies. As we got there, the sledges were ready and so were the dogs: we were greeted by a cacophony of barks and yelps. They couldn't wait to get going but stopped barking as soon as we were on our way.
Apart from being thrown around a bit and the smell of the dogs defecating while running - you'll be glad to know that although I sat at the front I did not get splattered - it was wonderful. Sliding along a path in a forest of fur trees in absolute silence is incredible and slightly eerie.
Flunking dog school
Arriving at a huge frozen lake, we were supposed to turn around. But it didn't happen straight away. Our musher had explained that the two front dogs are chosen because they know the meaning of 'hoger' (right) and 'vanster' (left). Either ours had flunked dog school or they were just playing dumb because they wanted to carry on running. Whatever the reason, they kept looking at our musher as if she was speaking a foreign language.
It took a good few minutes before they decided that they actually knew what she meant and agreed to take us back to base. On the way back, we stopped at a cute round wooden hut to have some hot chocolate around a warming fire. It felt like we were living our own fairy tale. I would definitely do it again, and if you have children, I am sure they would love it. I even got to drive the sledge which really made my day.
1 | 2 | next
printer friendly
send to a friend
Delicious
Digg
reddit
Facebook
StumbleUpon
Horoscopes| Message Boards | Quizzes | Newsletters | Join
iVillage Ltd is a UK company registered in England & Wales (3837269) at 80-110 New Oxford Street, London WC1 1HB
