ARCTIC BATH

Umeå, Sweden

An hour drive outside Boden you will find the small village Harads. The village made its mark on the map in 2010 when Treehotel started its operations. This year, another spectacular accommodation has opened: Arctic Bath. The hotel floats on the Lule River - or, when the mercury dips below zero, rests on the ice. Here, just under an hour south of the Arctic Circle, nature is an experience in itself. Architecture blurs the line between indoors and outdoors, allowing you to encounter it. It's high-class luxury framed by the most untamed and vibrant surroundings.

In the small, intimate restaurant, a five-course menu inspired by Sami culinary culture is served every evening. Local ingredients, such as wild-caught Arctic char and reindeer meat. Palt (a traditional Swedish dish), fennel sorbet, and flatbread. The flavors are drawn from the region: wood sorrel and spruce shoots, cloudberries, and hay.

Winter bathing has a long tradition in the north, especially in Finland - but also here in Swedish Norrbotten. The sauna should be hot, the scrubbing brush should invigorate the skin, and the icy dip should calm the mind. With a bathrobe and slippers, a spa ritual is explained, where the different steps are named after elements like flint, mist, dew, and marsh. Moving between the cold and warm - or perhaps the merging of the two states - is a meditative experience.

In addition to feeling both invigorating and relaxing, winter bathing is said to have positive health effects. Studies suggest it can counteract stress, alleviate pain, and strengthen the immune system. Experience says that once you've tried it, you'll do it again. But that's probably mostly due to the endorphin rush, the thrill of sinking into the zero-degree water.