Bucket List Biggie – Longyearbyen

The edge of town

As I said in my last post, Longyearbyen was our jumping off point of our G Adventures Realm of Polar Bear tour. It's not that easy to reach Svalbard, with just two commercial airlines (Norwegian Air and Scandinavian Air) and a few flights at day into Longyearbyen. But, I am sure it beats the days when you had to come by sailing ship!

Me arriving in Longyearbyen

We traveled to Svalbard on Scandinavian (SAS), which is a very nice and pretty reasonably priced airline. As you can see, the airport is somewhat basic. You just have to be careful not to trip on the multiple obstacles scattered across the tarmac.

Svalbard Airport

We flew in from Amsterdam, with an overnight stay at the airport hotel in Oslo on the way. That was part of the revised plan after SAS informed us that our original connection time in Oslo was too short (yeah, 55 minutes is short, but that was the itinerary they offered and were still offering even when they were telling me it was too short).

Interestingly, neither the airline nor G Adventures could come up with a plan that didn't have us spending a whole day waiting at the airport. So, I did. We gave up time in Amsterdam and ended up with about 12 extra hours in Svalbard, half of which we spent sleeping. The original flight arrived ay midnight; now we arrived around noon. 

That was much better because we didn't have to start our tour jet-lagged.

The most impressive thing about SAS was the food. We were booked at the "Premium Economy" class, which gave us lots of perks: priority boarding, two checked bags, better seats and a snack. No, we did not have a big, fancy meal. We just had little snacks on each of our SAS flights (Amsterdam to Oslo, Oslo to Longyearbyen, Longyearbyen to Tromsø and Tromsø to Reykjavik). 

Presented like a gift in a small box, each snack consisted of a variety of marinated grains and vegetables with packets of inventive dressing and toppings. Served with fresh, warm bread and chocolate truffles. Heavenly!

I wish I had taken a picture before I gobbled it up!

To give you an idea, here's a description from SAS of two of the snacks they offer: 1. Roasted cauliflower with a lentil, black bean and beet-flavored wheat salad. 2. Mushrooms preserved in dill and horseradish with rutabaga, field pea, radish, roasted turnip and rapeseed salad. 

Ours were slightly different, but you get the idea. 

Now, I realize many people would find these little treasures rather strange. If you don't like veggies, grains or hummus, don't even apply. But, Scott and I loved them!

Flying In
Flying into Longyearbyen was spectacular: snowy mountain peaks, glaciers, aquamarine lakes and bays, punctuated by a few mining operations.

Svalbard from the air

You can watch part of my flight here and here.

On the way in, we passed what looked like an active mine. I am not sure which one because I wasn't clear on our approach. I suspect it was Sveagruva, where many locals work. You do see some evidence of Svalbard's mining past in town, including a statue of a coal miner in the town square. 

Mining is important in Svalbard ...

... but tourism is, too

Do you think they will later erect a statue of a travel agent?

Town
Most of our time in Svalbard was spent aboard the G Adventures Expedition, which I will discuss in subsequent posts. Here, I will talk just a bit more about Longyearbyen, where we spent a total of about 32 hours.

One of the less busy times

As the embarkation point for many cruises, Longyearbyen is one of those towns where the number of people on the streets ebbs and flows with airline and cruise ship schedules. At times it was very quiet; at others quite crowded.

Funken Hotel; Photo: Scott Stevens

We stayed at the Funken Hotel the first night. Up the gravel hill from the main part of town, it was fairly convenient, although the Radisson Blu, where G Adventures had originally booked us, would have been far more convenient. It is down near the museum and the "center" of town. I don't know why they moved us.

I had one small beef. By the time we arrived, it was too late to book dinner reservations at the Funken. They did offer bar food, bur the restaurant was fully booked. I think they should hold some spots for reserved guests. 

We ended up eating a few meals in town: a really yummy bleu cheese burger at Svalbar, a bar and pizza joint; and two meals at Stationen, where I had absolutely delicious goulash and Scott had a fish casserole.

Both before and after the cruise, I walked around town just to get a feel for the place.

Longyearbyen

Plus, I looked for birds and was richly rewarded.

Birds
The town was bursting with Snow Buntings in their full breeding plumage. I had seen non-breeding Snow Buntings in Iceland, but I had never seen them with their striking black and white feathers. These little guys were singing their hearts out from almost every fence post, rooftop and hummock. I guess as one of only two songbirds, they have a big order to fill.

Snow Buntings

Nesting under shelter erected by the Dog Kennel

For breeding, Common Eiders take advantage of a field next to the town’s Dog Kennels, where everyone in town boards their sled dogs. The Common Eider's primary predator is the Arctic Fox. The smell and sound of the dogs spooks the Foxes, keeping them away. So, the Eiders stay close.

Someone has even built a few little wooden shelters (just an inverted vee made of wood planks) that some of the ducks use. 

Dog Kennel, the kennel pond and some inhabitants

I saw a few Common Eiders when in town before the cruise, but didn't know about the Dog Kennels then. Someone told me when we were disembarking on the last day. So, I walked down there during the few hours we had in Longyearbyen before our departing flight. There were hundreds of Eiders, including lots of Common Eider Chicks. I looked and looked for a King Eider, which sometimes hang out with Common Eiders, but no luck in Longyearbyen.

Eider families

The largest European duck, Common Eiders are well-equipped for the Arctic, with thick, soft feathers. The chicks have exceptionally warm down that has long been harvested for filling pillows, quilts and outerwear. 

Male Common Eider

Although eiderdown pillows or quilts are now a rarity, eiderdown harvesting continues and is completely sustainable, because down can be collected after the ducklings leave the nest with no harm to the birds. 

Female Common Eider and Chick

When you watch them swim, you can see how well water beads and rolls over their backs. Just like water off a  ... Well, you get it.

Very waterproof ducks – which is good because that water isn't much above freezing

I was thrilled to see my first Barnacle Geese in Longyearbyen. These graceful black and white birds can be found throughout the islands. 

Barnacle Goose in flight

Once, the Barnacle Goose and the similar Brant were thought to spawn from the Goose Barnacle. Yep, people thought they actually hatched out of a crustacean; and, yep, a barnacle is a crustacean, not a mollusk. I looked it up. Anyway, this myth can be dated back to at least the 12th century and it persisted until the end of the 18th century, partially because people never saw Goslings, just adult Geese. That's because all the breeding and maturing was happening in the arctic, away from human eyes.

A beautiful bird

Barnacle Geese breed in the North Atlantic, with multiple populations around the North Pole. The Svalbard population, which winters on the England/Scotland border, comprises about 24,000 Geese. They frequently build their nests high on mountain cliffs, away from predators (primarily Arctic Foxes and Polar Bears). 

The ones I saw in Longyearbyen were on flat ground, taking advantage of protection of the Kennels, but I don't know if they were nesting. I did not see any Barnacle Goose Goslings there (I saw some later in Iceland).

Nesting on cliffs protects the birds, but it has some drawbacks. The nests are away from predators, but also away from food. 

Like all Geese, the Goslings are not fed by the adults. So, still unable to fly, three-day-old Goslings jump off the cliff so that they can forage for food. Their small size, feathery down and very light weight helps to protect some of them from serious injury when they hit the rocks below, but many die from the impact. Arctic Foxes are attracted by the noise made by the parent Geese during this time, and capture many dead or injured Goslings. The Foxes also stalk the young as they are led by the parents to wetland feeding areas.

On the wing, unfettered by Goslings

Generally, Arctic Foxes are the biggest threat – along with Glaucous Gulls – to much of the bird population in the arctic. There are no raptors.

The Glaucous Gull is huge and an intimidating predator

And, I also saw my first Purple Sandpiper in Longyearbyen – yay, two lifers the first day there!!! The Purple Sandpiper isn't exactly purple, but it does have a slightly lavender tint.

Purple Sandpiper

Plus, I saw some Pink-footed Geese – the same species we had in Colorado last winter. The difference: they belong in Svalbard, they do not belong in Colorado. 

Pink-Footed Goose

And, I was able to get some good pictures of a Parasitic Jaeger (a banded one). 

Parasitic Jaeger

All that time I spent on my Pelagic Birding trip trying to get a good Jaeger shot and this was a piece of cake! 

That Jaeger tail is so distinctive

I even got a picture of one eating a flower. I knew they ate fish and various sea creatures (usually stolen from other birds); I did not know they ate flowers.

Who knew they ate flowers?

On my stroll to see the Common Eiders, I inadvertently walked close to a nesting Arctic Tern and, boy, did Daddy Tern let me know I was not welcome. I wish I had gotten pictures of being dive-bombed, but I was mainly interested in preventing bodily harm. The most vivid memory is a Tern about two feet from me with its mouth wide open, shrieking away as it hurtled toward my face.

Nesting Arctic Tern

Hey, if you just sit on the ground and lay eggs, what do you expect?

Of course, all of Svalbard was teeming with Black-legged Kittiwakes, probably the most numerous bird in the arctic. There were a few in Longyearbyen; it wasn't until later that we saw the huge nesting colonies.

Black-Legged Kittiwake

Midnight Sun
Although I have visited near and above the Arctic Circle, this was my first prolonged period during the Midnight Sun. I expected that there would be a twilight period even if the sun didn’t set. But, I was surprised to see that midnight and noon were indistinguishable. The hotel (and the boat) had very good blackout curtains, so sleeping was not a problem.

Pretty much what you can expect day and night

Being well above the Arctic Circle, Svalbard has constant daylight from April 19 to August 23. That's four months. And, of course, they get the converse in winter, when the sun sets on October 26 and doesn't come up until February 15. That is called Polar Night and I bet it gets pretty depressing. During our trip, we went more than two weeks without a sunset, but your brain still thinks you're going to have one. I caught myself numerous times when I thought, "well, I'll do that tonight after it gets dark ..." It didn't.

"Downtown"

Town
Longyearbyen has a small amount of roads and some paths. Some is paved, but most is gravel, which I am sure is a housekeeping disaster. This is mitigated by raised wooden sidewalks and brick pavers in the main part of town.

The hotel required us to remove our shoes and leave them in cubbies in the downstairs entry. The gravel is dark gray, sharp and dusty. Over time, it wears everything away and would be brutal on carpet and wood floors. 

There are lots of apartments and detached houses mixed in with hotels and inns. Many look like prefab units that most likely came in by barge and some are bright colors which probably really pop during the snowy winters. Some of our fellow travelers stayed at an inn that used old miners' cabins for accommodations. Our hotel was more standard, with your basic Scandinavian Modern decor.

Longyearbyen

Shipping containers, heavy equipment, snow machines ...

Like every arctic and subarctic town I have visited, Longyearbyen has its share of junk lying about. Some is snow machines that will used in the winter; some is just stuff. These places are remote, there is no way to get rid of expired equipment and materials.

And, there are no trees. So, I also went about two weeks without seeing any vegetation taller than, say, four inches.

The locals seemed to be fairly young; we saw lots of babies and children, all decked out in winter gear. It struck me how odd it must be to live somewhere where a parka and knit cap are routine even on the summer solstice, which was the day we arrived.

Beware the bear

Polar Bear Love
My walk to see the Common Eiders ended at the Polar Bear sign (the words mean, “they could be anywhere.”) After that point, you are not supposed to venture on without a gun. 

I wish I had taken a photo of the two teen-aged girls who whizzed by on their bicycles, dressed in typical jeans and tee shirts, sporting school-type backpacks and carrying rifles slung over their shoulders. Another day in the life.

They do love their Polar Bears in Svalbard (I do, too, and I don't even live there). There is Polar Bear art everywhere. Of course, Polar Bears are a huge part of their economy: tours, hats, mugs, calendars, pretty muck anything you can think of with a Polar Bear on it. 

Polar Bears in Longyearbyen; Center Photo: Scott Stevens

We didn’t see any animals in Longyearbyen (beside the big stuffed Polar Bear in the center of town), although there was a Reindeer somewhere in town while we were there.

Longyearbyen has a few museums. I visited the small, but nicely appointed Svalbard Museum, which is housed in the University Centre in Svalbard building. It displays historical artifacts and exhibits of local plants and animals. It was a quick walk-through, but interesting.

Svalbard Museum

Courtesy: Longyearbyen PO

I wanted to get a stamp for my National Park Passport (some international parks have them), but there didn’t seem to be a place to go, until Scott suggested the Post Office. Good idea!

They won't just randomly stamp your book. You have to buy a stamp – a Polar Bear Stamp. So, I bought one. Then, the Postmistress stamped it with a Polar Bear cancellation stamp. Upside down, but oh well. Then, she threw in an extra cancellation featuring a Svalbard reindeer.

Cool!

Now, let’s get on a ship …

The G Adventures G Expedition at Magdalenefjorden

Trip date: June 15-July 4, 2019