Arrival in Longyearbyen:

 Arrival in Longyearbyen: 

 

Longyearbyen’s enterprising spirit has seen the town through many changes. Whalers first fished its icy shores in the early-17th century, and, in 1896, Hurtigruten (then Vesteraalens Dampskibsselskab) brought tourists to visit Svalbard. The founder of Hurtigruten, Captain Richard With, even shipped an entire hotel here to house the visitors who were as curious then as we are now about a land so far north.

 
It wasn’t until 1898 that two families spent the whole winter here. A year later, the first commercially viable coal was mined and coal mining began in earnest in 1901. The industry transformed Longyearbyen into a bustling company town, and moulded other mining towns such as the now-abandoned Pyramiden, to the northeast.

 
During World War II, German forces scorched the earth of Longyearbyen, leaving only four buildings standing. Post-war rebuilding and the migration of mining outside city limits in the 1990s paved the way for modern industries like tourism, Arctic exploration and climate research.
Today, Longyearbyen is the world’s northernmost settlement with a population over 1,000. The Midnight Sun, stark beauty and unique wildlife that surround it draw people from all over the world; it helps that citizens of countries that signed the Svalbard Treaty can live and work in the archipelago indefinitely.
As a result, Longyearbyen is very multicultural, and a hub for scientists, adventurers and tourists. Film crews have even used it as a base for blockbusters like Mission: Impossible 8. The iconic Global Seed Vault is perched on a hill overlooking the town, plays a vital role in preserving the planet’s biodiversity.

Yesterday was a sea day where we relaxed and packed for our disembarkation. There was an excellent lecture on the Norwegian Polar Explorers. The weather yesterday was overcast foggy and a bit misty. 

0500 off to morning coffee and get caught up on the world. Yesterday we did get 99% packed up with just a few items to stow away. We will need to be out of our room by 1000. There will be a place to store our hand luggage till we disembark at 1400. 

We have opted for a taxi to get us to Maryann’s Polar Rigg, our hotel for 2 nights. The roads in Longyearbyen are not roller bag friendly at all.

 FYI there are 4 taxis in Longyearbyen and even arranging ahead can be unpredictable. We will see how this goes. Bet they are on Northern Norway Island Time. 

                                Excellent cream of wheat

After breakfast we finished packing and had our bags out ready to be picked up, and our hand luggage stored. 

We went to deck 9 and enjoyed our scenic cruising the Billefjorden past Pyramiden (an abandoned Russian coal  mining town) to the Adolfbuta Glacier. There were two white specks in the distance that were yes Ice Bears, but way way way too to far off. 

 

 
We soon docked after lunch and we said farewell to our new friends / table mates. I am sure our paths will cross again. 

 

 
We then gathered our hand luggage and disembarked the MS Trollfijord to await for our taxi. At 1400 our pickup time we learned the taxi had no record of our reservation. No worries as another driver said he would take us. 

 
We arrived at Maryann’s Polar Rigg AND THIS PLACE IS GREAT. The theme of the property is that of a coal mining workers lodging. Well it actually was just such. There is a library and a game room. This is one larger communal room that is warm and inviting. 

 

 

 
One House Rule is you remove your shoes when you enter the buildings. This tradition dates back to the coal mining days, where the miners would remove their dirty boots before coming into the lodging. 

 
We have a double room with en suite bath and it is cozy as you can see. 

 
We did some basic unpacking and went to the library to settle into this lifestyle. I really like this place. Cozy, Funky, eclectic, historical all rolled into one. 



We arranged for a taxi to take us to the airport when we depart. We made a dining reservation for 1800 tonight. We find it overkill to have house keeping for such a short stay so advised the front desk that we did not require this service for just two nights. 

I will report on dinner and breakfast tomorrow morn. Now I plan on sitting and enjoying a coffee and soaking in the ambiance.