Sweden, Kiruna, Day 2

Kiruna is built on top of the world's largest iron mine. The mine is slowly caving in and there are plans underway to move the entire town to another location. So you are really seeing something here that won't be here in the next twenty years(moving starts 2013). There are many activities to do in and around Kiruna, and you can choose what suites you, but I will tell you what we did.
TOUR OF MINE
A bus leaves from the tourist office, which is in the parking lot outside the Scandic Hotel, just up the road towards the town. It takes you up into the mountains to an exibition mine, and 540 meters underground. The guide takes you through the mine, multimedia show, exihbition and museum. Including coffee and cookies! Daily departures:9am, 3pm, and takes 3 hours. You can book through the tourist office. 280SEK each
SNOW FESTIVAL
The walk up the hill through a park to the main street of the town takes you through an open area where the snow festival is held once a year in the last week of January. If you are going see if your trip coincides with this. They bring huge blocks of hard snow into the park and then teams of artists carve shapes and images into the ice. There is also a reindeer race down the main street and the town is full of Sami people in traditional costume selling their wares. There are also other activities over that week.The town itself in quaint, and has some warm cozy coffee houses, try Safari Cafe where the locals go. When we were there the shoe shop on the main street was having a sale and the boots were going for about $8 a pair!
HORSE RIDING IN SEARCH OF THE NORTHERN LIGHTS
Now you could go on Husky rides, reindeer tours, snowmobile rides, but we chose horses. You are picked up from the hotel driven to the farm (which by the way also rents horse smelly very rural rooms). Then you help prepare the horses, suit up and go riding through total silence of a hundred year old forest. Hopefully you see the northern lights. On returning you have dinner - delicious in the Luvvo - around a very smokey fire and the guide - who is Sami - tells you about their life. Very friendly, casual and helpful. You don't feel like they are watching the clock. Highly recommended. 4 hours - 16:00-20:00. 425SEK each.
On this day the time in between activities is spent walking around town, relaxing and eating. We went for a long walk after we returned from the horses, in the hope of seeing the lights.