Oslo to Longearbyen, Svalbard, Norway

OSLO to Svalbard:

Where in the world is Svalbard? Svalbard is a Norwegian archipelago in the Arctic Ocean. Situated north of mainland Europe and is about midway between continental Norway and the North Pole

Our bags were picked up last night and all we need to have concern for is our carry on. 

Again we enjoyed a great breakfast at The Thon Hotel. After which we went back to the room and gathered our carry on and made our way to the lobby, 

The bus ride from Oslo to the airport is about 45 minutes. At the airport we gathered our bags and proceeded to check in. Our bags are well within the suggested weight limit. I did note others had bags over the limit and the airline was not having any problems. 

After checkin we made our way through security, we were hand wanded and patted down. My camera gear was jumbled in and they asked for a visual inspection. The Security personnel were friendly and appreciated my willingness to help them do their job. 

The we made our way to the gate, waited and the boarded a bus to take us to the aircraft.  I was actually surprised to see this was a totally chartered flight by Lindblad, only our group is on board.. As such there is plenty of overhead room and after being seated moved to an exit row for the additional leg room. This flight is operated by SAS.

Our destination where we will meet the National Geographic Explorer is the city of Longyearbyen on the Svalbard archipelago.

After takeoff there was  a constant cloud layer and nothing to view until we broke through the clouds on our approach to Longyearbyen. Then we noted snow caps peaks and a grey stark environment as the clouds were rather low. 

In the terminal we are met by various guides and given a lanyard which allowed us admission to the art Gallery and Museum. We then  board one of four busses with our guide, Vladamire. Vlad is Russian from Moscow and has been living in Longyearbyen for 4 years, working as a guide. Mostly he guides out door activities, but does do a bus tour every now and then as a break. He had just returned from a week long glacier camping trip. 

Our first stop was the Northernmost Church. Here we were able to get a view of the city. Longyearbyen is a multi national city where 41 nations are represented. Politically it is Norway but member nations have an interest where their citizens can come and work. The basic forms of work include mining of coal, infrastructure, scientific research, and tourism. Tourism being the greatest employer.  

Currently there is just one coal mine in operation as the demand for coal is down. There are several signs of the past coal industry, from abandoned mines to the lift system which was used to move the coal to the docks. 

We are told there is very little crime as there is no place to go, and every one knows everyone as it is a small community. 

We made our way to the Gallery where most the most significant item on display were the collection of maps. Among them was the maps by Barrent who first explored this area to chart these waters. Scurvy was unknown of at this time and he and others of his expedition succumbed to scurvy. 

From the Gallery we made our way to the Museum. I very much enjoyed this museum and wished we had a bit more time there. The displays are well done and chronicle the natural history and the human history of Svalbard. 

I was surprised to see a display of an Enigma encryption machine used by the Germans in WWII, and information about Alan Turing. Some will recognize his name from a recent movie or knowing the history of Bletchley Park. Simply, he is the father of modern computing. 

From there we made our way to the Global Seed Vault. Here seeds from around the world are stored. The seeds are contributed by all nations except North Korea. Here the seeds are stored in a safe environment should a man made or natural disaster occur and a crop needs to be restored. 

For bear protection, each group traveling outside of the city must have a rifle. Interestingly is the 30.06 is the rifle of choice. In our bear country we carry a shotgun for bear protection. They can also carry a pistol when traveling privately. Qualification is required for guides and if traveling independently a firearm can be rented. The local range is located above the airport. 

There are other requirements that must be met for groups traveling into the back country. Specific ways of placing your tents, perimeter tripwires, etc are all spelled out and failure to abide by the procedures can result in a fine.  Should one not follow the proper procedures and have to kill a Polar Bear, the fine can include two years in prison.  All killings of Polar bears are investigated to determine if the shooting was justified. The Polar Bear in protected and not hunted in Norway. 

We did see some Reindeer near the airport as we viewed the ship from the Seed Bank.

Gotta love this cruise port. These are not a regular cruises , it is an Expedition!! 

We made our way to the ship and started to settle into our home for the next several days. We quickly unpacked and made our way to the muster station for the safety drill.  

Then we all gathered for the introductions of the ships staff, followed by dinner. 

After dinner we made our way to the observation lounge and downloaded pictures and tried to stay awake. Soon sleep was evidently winning and off to bed we went.