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 =)