Annual Ice Bar: It's just cool

I saw a program on the Discovery Channel recently that followed the building of Sweden's Ice Hotel. The accommodations - from the lobby to the hotel rooms to the lounge (including the bar glasses) were constructed out of ice. Not just any ice, but crystal clear ice carved from a nearby river the winter before.

Of course ice isn't made to last and the hotel melts every spring, hopefully with no one still in it, to be reborn again a winter later.

It sounds adventurous at first thought - a serene arctic getaway. But I imagine after day two of doing your best to avoid the restroom (and the 10-minute process of declothing and reclothing) the romantic notion clouds a bit.

But the ice lounge does sound cool.

Lucky us Portlanders. We don't have to travel anywhere near the arctic circle to enjoy a bar carved out of ice.

Ice Bar at Portland Harbor Hotel opened last night. And while colleague Avery and I were across town at the Portland Museum of Art's Rock and Roll Photography show, plenty of other folks gathered near the bar's ice luges.

The Ice Bar opens at 4:30 pm today and again on Saturday. After that it'll go the way of "job security" and disappear altogether.

There's a $10 fee, but that cash goes straight to a local charity so quit yer complainin'.

DJ Jason Keith will provide the music and you can either bust out some heavy breakdancing moves to warm up or do what I do: linger near the outdoor heaters.

Two minutes next to one of those things and you'll find yourself pressing your face to one of the nearby ice sculptures just to cool down.

And while Ice Bar is historically well attended, you can still find some room inside if you need a few minutes to warm up.

Git all the Ice Bar details

Check out some pictures from last year's ice bar