Second day on Spitsbergen, adventures during the polar night in December 2022. What can you expect? What does everything look like, from breakfast through a walk to riding in a harness at -50C.
I stayed in Longyearbyen at the Radisson Blu Arctic hotel, a very good place I recommend as a place to survive.
What does polar night mean?
It is dark 24 hours a day, there is no sun, whether you wake up at 8 a.m. or 4 a.m., the view outside the window is the same. Everything is as dark as at night.
What’s the temperature?
It is worth mentioning here that we have the temperature in the application on the phone, but it is the temperature that is measured in the shade, at a height of 2 meters in a meterological booth. As I learned from local guides at the tourist information center, you shouldn’t look at it, you have to enter a given location and select the option to show the perceived temperature from the list. Then you can see the truth, because it is windy and cold outside the window, the temperature ranged from -27C to -31C.
Longyearbyen walks.
It is worth noting that you can walk without a firearm only in a designated lane around the main road; if you encounter a sign with a polar bear, it means that you are not allowed to walk further without a firearm. While walking, you can also meet reindeer. From a distance, reindeer look like something gray and white, so when you see a reindeer in person for the first time in your life, you may start to wonder whether that thing that is far away from us is a reindeer or a bear.
What can you see?
There is a Svalbard museum located in the University building, it is worth mentioning here that entering some of the facilities is always the same procedure, you take off your shoes and leave them on, and you still wear socks. Of course, the only super market in Svalbard operates like a regular store, i.e. normally in shoes, just like in other stores.
In addition to the Svalbard museum, there is also a polar expedition museum and a handicraft center. I also recommend a walk to the port and the northernmost gas station. There are various other attractions in the Longyearbye area, such as mine visits, snowmobile rides, and SnowCat trips to see the northern lights. You can also go to Barentsburg or Pyramiden.
Update 10/2023
Trips to Barensburg and Piramiden have been limited due to Russia’s attack on Ukraine.
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