The kingdom of ice - trip to the North Pole (Svalbard, Norway)

Today I am going to take you to an extraordinary place at the end of the world. We will travel together to Svalbard, an archipelago in the North Pole, that is inhabited by more polar bears than people.

I visited Svalbard with a group of friends over 10 years ago. The archipelago, including the largest island, Spitsbergen, is officially part of Norway, but a special treaty allows two other nations to settle there and exploit resources. These nations are Russia, which deals with coal mining, and Poland, which uses special permits mainly for scientific purposes.

Transport and the capital

To get to the island, first, go to Oslo and from there catch a flight or boat to Spitsbergen. Remember that the island is located in the Arctic Circle. Choose your travel date carefully - it depends on whether you arrive on a polar day when the sun does not set over the horizon for six months, or during the polar night when darkness surrounds the island for half a year.

The unofficial capital of the island, and the only town, is Longyearbyen. Less than 2,000 people live there. Besides this lovely place, on the other side of the island, there is also a mining village owned by the Russians, but it is not accessible to tourists.

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_{To move from one place on the island to another, people often use dogs}

Accommodation and attractions

In Longyearbyen, there are as many as three hotels and camping with limited hot water. In addition, you will find a museum, restaurant, church, cemetery, and harbor here. When planning a trip and accommodation, make sure you book in advance and ... remember that places that are difficult to access can dry your wallet. Norway is a very expensive country and Svalbard, as a place where all goods must be imported from mainland Norway, has even higher living costs.

Be prepared for low temperatures. Although Svalbard suffers from Global Warming and the climate is changing drastically there, temperatures remain a challenge. The second surprising and demanding element is the fact that ... on the island, you have to borrow a gun and know how to shoot!
Yes, except for a few buildings like the local bank, everyone in Longyearbyen walks the streets with shotguns, and when you want to trek outside of town, gun possession becomes mandatory and you may be fined if you don't have it. Why is it like that? Did the Norwegians like Westerns so much that they decided to recreate their version of the Wild West at the North Pole? Not exactly. The regulations apply due to the danger of being attacked by a polar bear.

There are more bears on the island than people, often when they cross the land from one coast to the other, they can attack humans from hunger. Without weapons, humans have no chance to protect themselves from these colossal and strong creatures, so a gun becomes indispensable, although when the animal is far away, it should rather be shot in the air - the point is to scare the creature away, not kill it.

What else is interesting on the island? Certainly, if you have the opportunity, it is worth visiting research stations, the port, and ... the World Seed Bank. Of course, it's impossible to go inside and, frankly speaking, I don't even know if it's okay to walk closer to the Bank as I didn't have that opportunity during my trip, but it is certainly an intriguing and wonderful place. If you've never heard of it before, let me tell you a few words about what this bank is: It's a place with dozens of security features, which only a select few can enter. It stores hibernated seeds of all plant species in the world. In the event of a climate disaster, they can be used to restore the species and introduce it to the environment once again.

_{Up-left: the only church in the town;
up-right: old coal mine;
down: while exploring the island, get ready to sleep in a tent in extreme conditions.}

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Fauna and Flora

In addition to the polar bears on the island, there are reindeer, seals, walruses, dolphins, sperm whales, killer whales, and several types of birds, including loons, terns, gulls, and snowballs. The vegetation is very limited - mainly mosses and lichens, smaller clusters of flowers (as many as 130 kinds).

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Other curiosities

• Taxes in Svalbard are among the lowest in the world. This is one of the forms used by the government to increase the number of inhabitants on the island in the future
• on the island, it is illegal to die! Burying people and proper decomposition of bodies is hampered by permafrost, so sick and elderly people are gently suggested to leave Spitsbergen and travel to the mainland of Norway
• Internet is available in Longyearbyen thanks to cables with fiber optics that runs along the bottom of the ocean.

_{Personal fun fact: I still have this jacket and now I use it on winter in subtropical climate :)}

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All the photos included in the post belong to me and were taken during my trip to Svalbard.
Thank you for reading,
@papi.mati