A three hour or so flight from Oslo to the Svalbard Archipelago, specifically Spitsbergen, the largest island, and a nosey round the township of Longyearbyen (78°N) before boarding a ship heading further northwards to Ny Alesund (78°55'N).
Some facts:
- The islands making up Svalbard are situated in the Arctic Ocean and range from 74° to 81° N latitude.
- As much as 60 % of the landmass is covered in ice and glaciers, and less than ten percent has any vegetation.
- The sun doesn't appear at all during the winter but shines continually (yes, 24 hours of daylight) during the summer.
- Far north of the Arctic Circle, the area has an Arctic climate, with average summer temperatures ranging from 4 to 6°C and average winter temperatures ranging from −12 to −16 °C.
- There are no trees or shrubs and plants which are found here are very low growing.
- Environmental legislation throughout Svalbard is strict. All wildlife is protected and disturbing animals and birds and picking flowers is prohibited.
- Fishing, hunting and mining have largely disappeared, with research and now some tourism as the main industries.
- This is polar bear country.
- Polar bears are at the top of the food chain.
- Everyone owns a rifle.
- It is illegal to hunt a polar bear and if one is shot in self-defence (absolutely the last resort, with flares and other devices carried to discourage approaching bears), it must be reported immediately to Svalbard’s Governor.
- Longyearbyen was established in 1906 because of coal mining.
- About 2,100 people live in the town.
- There is an alcohol quota for residents who must present an alcohol card when making purchases.
- No-one is born here. If you're pregnant, you're shipped off to the mainland well before your due date.
- No-one is allowed to die here. Permafrost preserves bodies rather too well. Even live samples of the virus that caused the catastrophic Spanish Flu pandemic of 1918 were recently extracted from some of the bodies buried here.
- This is the home of the Global Seed Vault, the world's largest secure seed storage facility built into the mountainside and holding seeds from more than 4000 important plant species, a repository as insurance against some future global disaster.
- Ny Alesund is the northernmost permanent settlement in the world.
- It is half the distance from the North Pole as the distance from Oslo to Ny Alesund.
- This proximity has made it the point of departure for many North Pole expeditions, including those undertaken by seaplane and airship by Roald Amundsen. (The mast to which the airship, Norge, was secured is still there, just a short walk from the statue erected in his honour.)
- Residents (about 30 in winter, 130 in summer) are connected to research and environmental monitoring projects.
- Eleven institutions from ten countries around the world have established research stations here, three of which are permanently staffed.