We took a flight from Stockholm to Luleå, where we then took a bus to Piteå, then further up to the Storforsen Rapids. This was an excellent hike where we got to witness incredible rapids and stretch our legs after a long day of travel. We hiked up the falls and rapids up to a swimming hole where we were able to do some swimming as a group which was a lot of fun. This was a great cold plunge as well as all the water was snowmelt. This was one of our favorite parts of the trip as we both enjoy hiking, swimming, and cold plunges. We were glad to get active together as a class and explore Niklas’ hometown area.
For our full day in Piteå, we actually drove down to Skellefteå for a visit to their local government. We got to hear from a few different presenters on how they are drastically improving their city, as they have much to offer. The primary company, NorthVolt, is hiring for many opportunities as they expand and construct a new factory. Bradley also got to speak on a panel to local citizens from the municipality, giving advice on how they could better utilize marketing and social media to attract visitors to their city. We were lucky to be able to tour the “Wood Hotel”, one of the largest buildings in Europe made completely out of wood. A nice local woman gave us a tour of that as well as showed us around NorthVolt’s new facility about 5 kilometers out of town.
That evening, we had a great dinner in the heart of Piteå with a few local business owners. We were able to talk to a nice woman who owned a few local businesses on the same street where she developed a small community, and after dinner, she showed us around. Piteå was an incredibly charming small town where we were able to get exposed to the life of local Swedes.
