Svalbard

When I was watching a map of Europe and found Svalbard I couldn’t believe my eyes!! I totally love “His Dark Materials”, by Philip Pullman, and I couldn’t imagine the Armored Bears Land actually existed!

Don’t go without having someone in your party with some weapons traning. Get to know the territory. Go to the public library in Longyearbyen upon arrival and read the most recent issues of the Svalbardposten to know if bears have been spotted in the vicinity recently. Talk to the locals. Report your excursions to the authorities. Mobile coverage is quite good in many areas and getting better. The UNIS has (or used to have) free access to wifi.

I want to go here to watch the Auroa Borealis from a small mountain, i’ve heard wicked things about it and i want to take a picture of it

It’s wonderful. You ride snowmobiles and stop every 15 minutes to remove your helmet and ice off your eyelashes.

Still, I haven’t been there. But then again, I haven’t been to Bergen either.. My point is: Svalbard is a place I’d really, really like to visit, but when planning a vacation somewhere, I end up going somewhere warm =)

Fantastic trip! Went alone with another guy I knew from school… walked up Bjorndalen, west of Longyearbyen, saw some reindeer! They were great! Oh word of warning – bring crampons and get some ice training, because not being able to cross a glacier (to continue our journey) made it not so good. Will go again, and experience that freaky 24 hour day that totally messes up your sleeping patterns!

trouble is that if everyone goes it will be spoilt so maybe check out pictures on the web instead!

It’s one of the crazyest places you can ever visit.