Svalbard - An Arctic Fairytale

I was unsure of how and if I wanted to write this blogpost. It felt weird and out of tune to encourage people to travel in times like these. The corona pandemic has put everyone's lives on hold, with governments urging us to stay home for our own safety. The Black Lives Matter movement has been reignited not a moment too soon, and travel pieces felt frivolous in comparison to the important stories that need to be heard now. However, like Edward Enninful wrote in his editor's letter for the August issue of British Vogue, "...  our eyes have turned to nature as a steadying force amid the chaos". We all need to step back sometimes, press pause on the world and enjoy nature. Svalbard is just the right place for this.

The pandemic has hit the economy hard, also at Svalbard which has had a 75 per cent decrease in tourism this year. If you still have the means to travel, Svalbard is a destination well worth your time and money. We spent a week above the Arctic circle. Here is what we enjoyed and what we learned for next time. 

Obs! We visited in the summertime, going north during the winter will mean different activities and warmer outfit requirements.

Day 1 - Arrival 

We arrived at Svalbard Airport in Longyearbyen, Friday at 12:40. The first thing everyone does after collecting their luggage is to take a photo of the direction sign outside of the airport. From where you're standing there is 18 692km to the South Pole, but just 1 309km to the North Pole! Then you'll buy a return ticket from the bus driver who will take everyone to their hotels. If you're lucky you'll get our bus driver who entertained us with facts about Longyearbyen, and comments on us being lucky missing out on "rush hour". For reference, the population of Longyearbyen is 2368 people.

Should you arrive before your hotel room is ready, I would suggest lunch at one of Longyearbyen's many lovely restaurants and pubs. It is illegal to walk outside of Longyearbyen city centre without a weapon as polar bears walk freely on the island and can attack at random. Therefore, stay in the city centre when you're without a guide with a weapon and enjoy what Longyearbyen can offer on souvenirs and sport/outdoors wear!

Day 2 - Horseback riding and Svalbard's own brewery

A beautiful way to take in the nature around Longyearbyen is by horse. The little stable has three horses; one for the guide and two for a guest each. The sun came through the clouds and we stopped for photos of the small and beautiful Arctic flora. Unfortunately, there were quite strong winds that day, 14 meters per second, which made the otherwise calm and friendly horses a bit stressed. Nonetheless, we agreed we probably had a better day than the people at sea who all got seasick. 

In the evening we went for beer-tasting at Longyearbyen's local brewery. The little brewery was started by the multi-talented Robert Johannesen. Our host for the evening told us the story of how Robert, miner turned pilot turned beer maker, changed the law so that he legally could open a brewery, while we tasted 5 different beers from their collection. The differences in taste were prominent and it was fun to discuss what the beer reminded us of, like banana and caramel. My favourite beer is the Stout, it has a rounded taste and reminds me of a cup of coffee!

Day 3 - Walruses, my new favourite animal

Luckily with less wind, we set sail with Better Moments for a day of walrus safari. The first stop on the trip was, however, at Alkehornet bird cliff. Sadly there were not many birds in sight, but it didn't matter to me as I was more mesmerized by the stunning blue-green seawater. I couldn't stop trying to capture the beautiful colour with my camera. We then headed towards a spot along the shore where the walruses like to chill and sleep in the sand. On the way, we were even fortunate enough to see wales enjoy the sea. There weren't as many walruses at the beach this day compared to normal, but as we were about to leave two walruses came swimming towards the others and we got a good look at these big marvellous animals. They're smelly and snore like an old man who has had too much beer, yet I find them quite cute laying in a big blob with the others, itching their stomachs from time to time!

Day 4 and 5 - Isfjord Radio 

After a slow morning in Longyearbyen, and a walk inside the safe zone where we came up close to wild reindeer (!), we set sail again, this time headed for the old radio station at Svalbard. The visit to Isfjord Radio is organised by Basecamp Explorer and you can choose to say one or two nights. Because of its remote location, you are not allowed to walk outside of the hotel without being accompanied by a guide with a rifle. 

We were met with something warm to drink and a tour of the grounds. Then it was time for the famous arctic swim. Completely voluntarily of course, but how can you not? You get a bathrobe and 20 minutes in the sauna before you can enjoy the 3-degree celsius fresh seawater then run back to the sauna for warmth. We went in three times! All for the Instagram photo which proved difficult to take as concentrating on not looking crazy in 3-degree water is easier said than done...  

If you're there for one night like us you have to choose between a

 walk on land or a RIB boat safari as the activity for the day. Considering the rest of our itinerary we should perhaps have chosen the RIB boat safari which visits Alkehornet and the Esmark glacier, as the walk on land was to see walruses. Nonetheless, seeing my new favourite animal again was fun, and I had a long discussion with the guide regarding their cuteness!

Day 6 - Seven new adorable fur-friends

It's hard to pick a highlight in a place like Svalbard, but cute dogs always win! There are multiple different dog farms around Longyearbyen, with slightly different tours on offer. Because the horseback trip was to the west of Longyearbyen, it turned out that Greendog Svalbard was the perfect choice as it is located north-east of the city. This way you get to see as much as possible of the area around Longyearbyen.

Greendog provides outdoor suits, boots and gloves for everyone. For the dog's safety, especially in these times, they wanted us to only pet the dogs with gloves and face-covering on which they also provided. After saying hi to the most energetic bunch of four-legged friends, two and two got a sledge on wheels each and seven dogs to pull it. The dogs are a mix of Husky and Greenland dog. They're used to temperatures around -20 degrees celsius, so we had frequent water breaks for the dogs as 6 degrees is hot for them! The humans, on the other hand, were offered coffee to warm up on afterwards. The dogs work as sledge dogs until they're about 8 or 9 years old when they retire and you can adopt one for free! I was so tempted to take one back home! Sadly, student accommodation doesn't allow dogs...

Day 7 - Pyramiden, a Soviet utopian society

Svalbard was given to Norway in 1920 because we were considered to be harmless in comparison to other countries who might have used it for military strategic positioning. However, the global community has a right to use the land, and there are two Russian settlements at Svalbard. There are still people in Barentsburg, but Pyramiden has become a ghost town of a Sovjet utopian society.

There are multiple ways to get to Pyramiden. We went with the Polar Girl Charter, which organised local tour guides for a tour around the old settlement. While the boat ride there was a bit slow and crowded for my taste, even with only half the normal number of people, the guided tour itself was fantastic! Back in the day, Soviet wanted to show off their ideal society to the Norwegians in Longyearbyen, so Pyramiden was fitted with a canteen with free food for all, schools with swimming pools, a hospital, a little airport and a greenhouse where they actually managed to grow fresh vegetables!  

Day 7 - Home 

A week of adventures has passed by, and the first thing on my mind is that I want to come back! This time in the winter to see the northern lights and perhaps go on a three day trip with Greendog and their fury crew!