About traveling on a night train to the Swedish Lapland…

Il treno, con i suoi agi di tempo e i suoi disagi di spazio, rimette addosso la disusata curiosità per i particolari, affina l’attenzione per quel che si ha attorno, per quel che scorre fuori del finestrino.
(A train, with its extended time and restricted space, brings back our forgotten curiosity for details, sharpens our attention for what surrounds us, for what rolls by outside the window).
-Tiziano Terzani

Waiting for the night train to Swedish Lapland, in Stockholm Arlanda Train Station

The train lulls me to sleep.

Muffled sounds from the outside relax me.

There’s a clothes hanger that swings and it doesn’t bother me.

I write thanks to the small light above my head, while we move north in this dark, rainy night covered in clouds.

It was a long day with flights and too many turbulences. But for me, the real trip starts now: a night train will take me and my friend to Jörn, in the Swedish Lapland, 10 hours away from Stockholm.

Me in the night train in Sweden… the journey begins!

The sleeper cabin is small but clean and quiet. We have a second class ticket and the return trip from/to Stockholm Arlanda (yes, the station is right in the airport! Fantastic, isn’t it?) is Sek 1.360,00 (around Eur 150,00).

A few more details from the official SJ website (where tickets can be bought – different rates apply according to ticket flexibility): The compartment has three ready-made beds, each with a pillow, pillowcase, bottom sheet, duvet cover and duvet. The middle bed is folded up during the day to provide comfortable seating. There are separate compartments for ladies and gentlemen. The compartment has 2 luggage racks. Skis and other bulky baggage can be stored under the bottom bunk. The compartment contains a wash basin and electrical socket. Two WCs (one with a changing table) and a shower are located in the corridor.

Other options for the same trip at night are:

bunks in a 6-berth couchette
private 1st class compartments (with private WC)
sleeping compartment (without beds, only reclinable seats)

Our sleeping cabin, second class, on the night train to Swedish Lapland

In the restaurant car two tipsy Swedish men told us about the beauty of the northern lights, with glistening eyes full of memories.

And with the same light in our eyes, we indulge in this irregular and continuous rocking that reminds us we have a long way to go… but isn’t it true that the most coveted goals are the hardest ones to conquer?

We can’t wait, and we daydream, traveling miles and miles, waiting for Morpheus’ embrace: by the time we wake up we’ll be in the Swedish Lapland. How romantic and exciting is that?