Travel

MIND BLOWING PLACES TO GO FOR SNOW NOW

Courtesy of the Dutch Docklands. Floating 5 Star Krystall Hotel.

If you really love Beautiful Snow, we’ve got some incredible new places for you to go. You probably already know about some gorgeous ski resorts, and we’ve already reported on spectacular Ice Hotels sitting amidst soft white frozen landscapes. So today we are sharing new especially cool places to get some good snow love this winter.

THE KRYSTALL - NORWAY

A staggeringly beautiful crystalline snowflake floats in the middle of an icy blue Norwegian fjord. It is the sparkling new Krystall Hotel. Designed to look and feel like an enormous, yet delicate snowflake, many surfaces are transparent or translucent.

Practically everything is made of glass or crystal. Glass walls and roofs envelop 86 five-star hotel rooms, a spa, and a conference centre.

Looking out, in any direction, you’ll enjoy an unparalleled panoramic view of the Northern Lights. But the best is when you just lie back in your bed and gaze on.

Hallways are riddled with otherworldly blue shapes -- Fireplaces are fashioned out of pellucid bricks -- every aspect will have you feeling like you are on the inside of a snowflake.

The Krystall floats near the town of Tromsø, in the Arctic Circle, far away from the bleed of urban light pollution. It will be tethered to the fjord’s floor, once the environmental assessment determines the final location.

Where ever it lands, this massive “snowflake” can drift 2 to 3 meters from its center, in any direction. You must always take a boat to get to it.

The innovative structure was designed to leave a light footprint on the surrounding wild environs. Because it floats, the building doesn’t mark the ground. The hotel can be removed completely, at any time, without damaging the fjord.

The Krystall’s architect and designer, Koen Olthuis, is developing the property with “floating developments” firm Dutch Docklands. It is slated to open at the end of 2016.

SAPPORO SNOW FESTIVAL

To see some of the best snow sculptures in the world, check out the Sapporo Snow Festival (さっぽろ雪まつり Sapporo Yuki-matsuri).

One of Japan's largest winter events, the Festival revels in Beautiful Snow for 7 days every February -- this year, from the 5th to 11th.

Giant, fantastical snow and ice sculptures line Odori Park, the grounds at Community Dome Tsudome, and along the main street in Susukino.

HARBIN INTERNATIONAL ICE & SNOW SCULPTURE FESTIVAL

The annual Harbin International Ice and Snow Sculpture Festival ( 哈尔滨国际冰雪节) is now the largest ice and snow festival in the world, featuring the world’s biggest ice sculptures.

There are two main exhibition areas:

Sun Island where you will find an expo of the most enormous snow sculptures.
Ice and Snow World is a beautiful place to go at night to see full size buildings made of ice illuminated. They are made from blocks of 2–3' thick ice taken directly from the Songhua River.

The Festival begins on January 5 and lasts well into February. While you are there, enjoy the snow even more with Yabuli alpine skiing.

Harbin is located in Heilongjiang Province in Northeast China. Winter is especially frigid here, with sub-zero temperatures, on average.

Enter your own images and ideas about Beautiful Snow in this week’s creative Photo Competition. Open for entries now until 11:59 p.m. PT on 02.8.15. If you are reading this after that date, check out the current BN Creative Competition, and enter!

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