Travel Russia Today

The Torne River runs along the border of Sweden and Finland and is the location of the annual novelty, the Ice Hotel. But you don’t have to travel to Sweden in the dead of winter to experience the crystal clear ice that this river produces. Year round the sparkling clear ice formed by the waters of the Torne are on display at the Ice Bar in the Nordic Sea Hotel in Stockholm.


Sponsored by Absolut Vodka, the Ice bar gives a whole new meaning to “on the rocks”. Hollowed out cubes of ice serve as the vessels for a variety of flavored vodkas and eliminate the need for traditional ice cubes. These ready to serve glasses of ice are stacked on “glass clear” ice shelves behind a full size bar completely constructed of ice and surrounded by walls, and tables all made of ice.

No bar stools to stick to! Don’t worry – an arctic style parka prevents frostbite and woolen knit gloves keep you toasty and warm throughout the experience. Of course you can remove a glove and tempt the ice glass to stick to your fingers or leave the imprint of your hand on the wall for posterity but most visitors find it hard to leave their hand against the glistening ice for long enough to melt an impression. The bar provides a party like atmosphere with club lighting and music that ranges from Abba (of course) to some of Sweden’s more modern pop stars.

The bar menu consists of both alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks. Vodka straight is favored by many but it can also be mixed with a variety of fruit drinks to create a fun cocktail. In between sips of the throat warming vodka the vast majority of guests spend their time taking photographs of themselves and their friends.

The crowd is incredibly international – the night we were there the 60 or so people (maximum allowed in at one time) consisted of Australians, Japanese, Chinese, Americans, Argentineans and almost every European country all giggling and laughing at this novel phenom that will be a highlight of any visit to Stockholm. Despite the provision of warm upper clothing, your shoes are yours and at 23 degrees Fahrenheit flimsy soles will soon have you beating a retreat for the exit!