Off to Longyearbyen

 Traveling to Longyearbyen.

Svalbard is the archipelago, Spitzbergen is the Island, and Longyearbyen  is the city. 

Up at 0300 and get ourselves together. Sack Breakfast that would feed an army or two. Off to the airport, check in, security, passport control and then our flight to Longyearbyen. 

It is in Longyearbyen that we will board the Le Boreal, a Ponant expedition ship. As this trip is not at capacity, there is a lot of room to stretch out on the plane. Stuff to do before we board.

We arrive and get our baggage and load onto a bus. We are then taken to the town’s shopping area and turned loose. My research showed a coffee shop we can relate to - Cafe Huskies. We walk to the cafe and have a cup, actually a bottle, of their tea and latte. It is a fun place with pups running about getting petted and begging, just like home. 

We come back to the meeting place where we visit a local sporting good store. WOW! the firearm prices are crazy high. Then to a local grocery store to see their offerings, high prices as expected as about everything has to be shipped in.

We board our bus and go for a nice lunch in a school auditorium. Then off to see a sight or two before boarding the ship.

I opted for a coal mine and brewery tour. 

Coal mining is pretty much the reason Longyearbyen came into existence, so I chose the coal mine tour. This was very informative and fun to walk in the cool underground and learn about the mining methods. Currently there is one operating mine which supplies the coal to produce electricity for Longyearbyen. 

Next up was a stop for a beer tasting at the Svalbard Brewery. This is the northernmost brewery here on earth. Their beers were good and I really liked their stout. I made a note that their products are available in Tromso. The owner was quite the entrepreneur and persistent in establishing his brewery.

Off to the Ship. Our ship is Le Boreal, part of the Ponant Line. It is a beautiful ship with an excellent crew. Safety drill, intro of crew etc etc.

Dinner (Excellent Food) and we then unpacked and settled in when we get the word, an Ice Bear has been spotted by a sister ship. 

We sail to some fast ice and find an Ice Bear in the distance. Folks were pretty excited seeing their first Ice Bear in the wild.

Soon we were off to bed. 

Photos from this trip can be found at Soggy Moose Photo  and FAA SOGGY MOOSE PHOTO