Svalbard: an adventure of a lifetime ❄️

Reading time: 8min

Prepare yourself for magic, unforgettable landscapes, and the most beautiful Arctic adventure imaginable 💙

Earlier this year, I crewed onboard one of the ships sailing around Svalbard – a remote archipelago between mainland Norway and the North Pole. What awaited me was more than I could have dreamed of: polar bears, sugar-coated mountains, glaciers, and a kind of quiet magic that I have only experienced in Svalbard so far (and sooooo much more). Svalbard is absolutely breathtaking and unforgettable – this was truly an adventure of a lifetime 💙

After just one month and 905 nautical miles in the high Arctic, I caught a glimpse of the magic Svalbard has to offer (and it left me craving more). From breathtaking landscapes to daily moments of pure WOW! – it was truly the most extraordinary Arctic adventure I could have imagined. I hope this blog post offers a little insight into this unforgettable place and maybe even inspires you to explore Svalbard for yourself 😉

A few fun facts about Svalbard:

It’s home to the Global Seed Vault (a backup for the world’s food supply) 🌾
Svalbard has three seasons: Polar Summer, Northern Lights Winter and Sunny Winter
From late April – late August you have midnight sun = you’ll not see a sunrise or sunset
From mid-November – late January you have polar nights = the sun never rises

Everywhere in Svalbard you don’t lock your doors and you leave the keys in cars/zodiacs/snow mobiles, in case of a polar bear evacuation 🐻‍❄️

LONGYEARBYEN
Longyearbyen is one of those places that feels more like an outpost than a town (at least to me). Nestled between sugar-coated mountains and icy fjords, it’s the world’s northernmost town with a population of around 2.400 humans.

Before leaving Svalbard, I somehow managed to make a stop at Café Huskies. And I’m so happy that I did. This is a GREAT place for a coffee, while enjoying the company of beautiful huskies. I got to meet Tequila and Tycho. Fun fact: Huskies howl instead of bark – a trait from their wolf ancestors 🐺

Take a stroll through the Polar Rig where you’ll find a penguin bus, a boat on land and other interesting objects… Because, why not…

By the harbour you’ll find the Svalbard Brewery (the northernmost brewery in the world) 🍻
Fun fact: the beer is crafted with fresh glacier water.

80º NORTH – THE ARCTIC DESERT
Crossing the 80º North lines was such a cool experience. Honestly, I don’t know if I will ever get any closer to the North Pole than this. We motored through the massive ice chunks with ice as far as the eye can see. We later turned the engine off and just drifted between the ice in complete silence – such an unforgettable experience. We even saw paw prints from polar bears and foxes 🐾

NY-ÅLESUND
Ny-Ålesund is the world’s northernmost permanent settlement, located 1.231km from the North Pole. Almost 40 humans live here all year round – even in wintertime. The Summer brings researchers to Ny-Ålesund, which can bring the population up to 180.
As a tourist, you can only reach Ny-Ålesund by water (the 2 weekly flights from Longyearbyen are only for researchers and deliveries).

The museum (which is open 24/7 and FREE), gives a nice insight to the history of Ny-Ålesund. Here you can learn about the community and how every meal is eaten together in the dining hall. Read about some of the residents and how their day to day looks. Learn about Roald Amundsen and the airship “Norge”.
A few of the houses in Ny-Ålesund form part of the museum as well, so make sure to take a wander through the streets of Ny-Ålesund (there are only a few streets, so it will not take you long to see every colourful house in this place 😉).

Across from the museum, you will find the gift shop and a red post box. If you were to send a postcard, this is probably one of the coolest places, from which you can send them (who wouldn’t like to receive a postcard from the northernmost place in the world) 📬

Wandering through Ny-Ålesund you quickly realise that all the houses are very colourful. The reason is that the colours help improve visibility during the winter, where snow and fog can make navigation a challenge ❤️💙💛

Surrounding Ny-Ålesund, you will see these signs with a safety warning for polar bears. Note that you’re not allowed (for your own safety) to walk outside of the settlement without a rifle or flair gun 🔫

Ny-Ålesund is surrounded by a beautiful backdrop that just makes this place look like a postcard no matter what direction you look 😍 Stunning mountains, majestic glaciers – pure magic. The most well-known mountains (and also the ones you can find on some of the merchandise in the gift shop) are the Tre Kronor, named for their distinctive three-peak formation, resembling three crowns. The three peaks are named after the countries Sweden, Denmark and Norway; Svea, Dana and Nora.

BARENTSBURG
Barentsburg is a tiny Russian mining town that feels like stepping into a surreal time capsule (it snowed the day we were there, which was so fitting). Walking through this place it really feels like stepping back in time. Walking the concrete streets surrounded by snow, silence and buildings that look like something from the Soviet Union, Barentsburg really feels like a little piece of Russia 🪆

ARTIC WILDLIFE
Svalbard is home to a variety of arctic wildlife and I feel lucky to have seen sooooo many in the little time I spent up there.

POLAR BEARS
I was one of those lucky people that got to see a polar bear in its natural habitat within the first 48 hours of arriving in Svalbard. A polar bear was strolling along the coast after having had lunch (a reindeer). See the video I recorded through the binoculars here 🎥

A few fun facts about polar bears:

There are more polar bears than people on Svalbard
A polar bear has an excellent sense of smell, even better than dogs. It can smell food from several kilometres away
The fluffy ambassador of Svalbard normally walk at a slow pace to avoid overheating

SVALBARD REINDEERS
Did you know that Svalbard has its own species of reindeer? Yep, they are called Svalbard Reindeers. They are the smallest reindeer in the world with their short legs and more rounded heads – and they look so cute 😍 They’ve populated Svalbard for about 5.000 years… We saw sooooo many of them, but always at a distance.

WALRUSES 🦭
Harmless, curious, clumsy and cute are probably the words I would use to describe the walruses I met in Svalbard. I saw walruses swimming, chilling on a piece of ice, a family of 25+ huddled up and napping, some rolling down the beach into the water (because everyone knows that the best way of getting into the water 😉), playing in the water, etc.

Did you know that a walrus can hold its breath underwater for up to 30min?

I was also lucky to see seals, arctic foxes, ducks, snow chickens and many, many other different bird species 🐦

GLACIERS
Svalbard is home to OVER 2.100 glaciers, covering almost 60% of the land area (even though this sounds very impressive, Svalbard does not have the most glaciers in the world, but it is one of the most glacier-dense regions and are among the most studied in the world).

The glaciers in Svalbard are majestic – and even after having seen glaciers almost every day, I still look at each one as more beautiful and impressive as the last. I don’t think I’ll ever get tired of seeing glaciers. I actually think that most of my pictures from Svalbard are of glaciers (and my pictures does not do them justice). They are way more beautiful in real life. And nothing beats, when you hear a piece break off and fall into the water. Such an amazing experience 🥰

Breathtakingly beautiful with sugar-coated mountains and gorgeous glaciers

BECAUSE WHY NOT
I had many absolutely amazing moments in Svalbard, like an arctic BBQ, parking the bow of the ship in the ice, seeing what is probably the northernmost toilet in the world, etc. I could keep on going, but let me instead finish off by saying if you ever get the chance to visit Svalbard, take it. Pack layers. Pack sunglasses. Bring your camera. Bring a journal. And be ready to fall in love with a truly unique place ❤️

Feel free to reach out with any questions you might have, if you would like to know more about the ship I worked on or if you need any help planning a trip to Svalbard 😊

Everywhere you look, makes you feel like you are in an arctic dream or a fairy tale.
(waiting for Elsa to appear and start singing “Let it go” any moment)