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Flew from Oslo Norway today August 11, 2022 to Longyearbyen, Svalbard in the Arctic.

Longyearbyen stretches along the foot of the left bank of the Longyear Valley and on the shore of Adventfjorden, the short estuary leading into Isfjorden on the west coast of Spitsbergen, the island's broadest inlet.

First look at our home for the next 10 nights, the Ocean Diamond.

Longyearbyen Town is the world's northernmost settlement with a population greater than 1,000 and the largest inhabited area of Svalbard, Norway. the town has seen a large increase in tourism and research.

Look out for polar bears. You cannot go beyond this point in Longyearbyen without a rifle.

Best word to describe this part of the world. "Desolate"

Known as Longyear City until 1926, the town was established by and named after American John Munro Longyear, whose Arctic Coal Company started coal-mining there in 1906.

Historically, Longyearbyen was a company town, but most mining operations moved to Sveagruva during the 1990s, and production ceased in 2017 due to immense financial losses

The town is built right into the surrounding hills.Everyone that lives there is from the outside and women are not allowed to give birth there. Due to the remote location, a few weeks before their due date women are obliged to go to mainland Norway to have their babies.

The coal mines were opened and closed numerous times over the history of the area.

Glaciers are very close to the town of Longyearbyen.

Meanwhile, the town has seen a large increase in tourism and research. This includes the arrival of institutions such as the University Center in Svalbard, the Svalbard Global Seed Vault and Svalbard Satellite Station. Svalbard Airport, Svalbard Church and the Svalbardbutikken department store serve the community.

The American community buried their dead at Hotellneset. In 1918, eleven people were killed by the Spanish flu and a graveyard was established in Longyear City. The burial ground remained in use until 1950, with 44 people buried. However, it was discovered that the bodies were failing to decompose because of the permafrost, and that they could be preserving various microorganisms. Bodies have since been sent to the mainland for burial.

Reindeer run wild throughout the area and in town.

Church of Norway. Longyearbyen experiences midnight sun from between 18 April and 23 August (127 days), polar night from 27 October to 15 February (111 days) and civil polar night from 13 November to 29 January

The University Center in Svalbard is a Norwegian state-owned limited company that is involved in research and provides some higher education in Arctic studies. The courses offered fall into five main science disciplines: Arctic biology, Arctic geology, Arctic geophysics, Arctic technology and Arctic safety.

26 men were killed in a coal dust explosion in Mine 1. This resulted in the mine being closed. The coal mines were opened and closed over a number of years.

Ny-Ålesund "New Ålesund" is a small town in Oscar II Land on the island of Spitsbergen in Svalbard, Norway.

The company town is owned and operated by Kings Bay, which provides facilities for permanent research activities by 19 institutions from 11 countries.

As Ny-Ålesund has no legal existence as a town, it lacks any formal area.

Glaciers flowing into the bay across from the village.

The scenery is spectacular across the bay from the small village.

Occasionally ships will come north but only in the Summer Months. as the seas freeze over.

Massive glaciers in the distance across the bay

Massive glaciers in the distance across the bay

Ny-Ålesund is the world’s northernmost settlement, situated at 79 degrees north in the north-western region of Spitsbergen, Svalbard in the Arctic..

Our group learning of Ny-Alesund, the history and information from our expedition leaders from on board our ship.

Rules and regulations for Ny -Alesund. As a visitor in Ny-Ålesund, there are some rules one needs to be aware of: In the settlement and in a surrounding radius of 20km around Ny-Ålesund there's radio silence, meaning wifi and bluetooth must be turned off on mobile phones and other units. It's not allowed to use drones or other equipment, cameras, wristwatches etc., with WiFi turned on. This is due to The Norwegian Mapping Authority's geodetic station just outside of the settlement which measures the earth's movements with very finely tuned and delicate instruments.

Description and rules for the area

Blow up of the previous signage to read.

Ny-Ålesund has an all-year permanent population of 30 to 35, with the summer population reaching 114

From the end of the 1960s, scientific research has been the main activity in Ny-Ålesund. At present time however, it is a research station with scientists from over 10 different countries which only has around 40 residents living there throughout the whole year. But in the summertime the population count can on occasion rise to around 150 people.

In the wintertime Ny-Ålesund is a stopping point for a few select skiing expeditions that are offered by various activity providers in Svalbard. There are no accommodation offers available for tourists in the settlement.

The air temperature was around 30 F in summertime here. Definitely cool summer weather

The beauty of the landscapes makes up for the colder temperatures.

The settlement has its own airport, harbor, a museum, the world’s northernmost post office and a souvenir shop

One local hotel for those working and doing research.

Ny-Ålesund has Svalbard's largest collection of automatically protected cultural heritage sites. 29 builidings in total, amounting to about half of all the buildings in the settlement, are protected.

Oldest building in the settlement of Ny-Alesend

As a visit in Ny-Ålesund it's also important that one walks on the roads and wooden pathways, and not on the tundra.

Local homes in the village

Statue of Roald Amundsen’s honoring his expeditions to the North Pole. This was his starting point to the North Pole adventures.

Building housing the Chinese expeditions and research in the area.

Sign warning everyone not to venture beyond it without a weapon to defend against Polar Bears.

You can still see the mooring mast that the airship “Norge” was docked with here in the photo.

Biologists do research on the tundra and the birds that use it, and as such it's important to disturb the vegetation or wildlife as little as possible. In addition, there are many research installations placed in and around the settlement, so to be sure that one isn't ruining research findings one should stick to the roads.

View of a small tundra plant

Ny-Ålesund is also known as being the starting point for Roald Amundsen’s expeditions to the North Pole. You can still see the mooring mast that the airship “Norge” was docked with. This was also the starting point for the dramatic North Pole expedition of the Italian Umberto Nobile, whose airship crashed when returning from the pole point. Half of the onboard crew died in the crash, but Nobile miraculously survived the crash and was later rescued.

Our ship the Diamond Ocean docked with tundra in the foreground. Obviously the air temperature was a cold day and in August too.

The arctic summer overcast and cool. Reflections on the arctic ocean.

Antennas and communication equipment for the research in the area.

Photos at the Museum showing the location of Ny-Alesund in the Arctic.

Map of Svalbard areas to the right and Spitsbergen areas to the left.

Small residences for the researchers to stay while spending the long cold winters

Ny-Ålesund is a settlement with a dramatic history. The period of 1917 to 1962, King’s Bay Kull Company ran mining operations in Ny-Ålesund. Throughout this period there were a number of accidents, and a total of 76 people lost their lives in mining related activities.

What ultimately became the end of the mining community in Ny-Ålesund was the big mining accident on the 5th of November 1962. The accident claimed 21 lives in total. 10 bodies were possible to recover, while the remaining 11 got the mine as their final resting place.

More glaciers close by

Viewing glacier Fjortende Julibukta from a distance.

Looking toward the Aft of the ship lifting zodiacs into the Arctic Ocean for expeditions.

Brünnich’s Guillemot. Black and white bird found in the Arctic

Glaucous gull. he only large gull found in the farthest reaches of the north, groups of this Arctic bird are known by many creative names: squabbles, screeches, scavengings, gulleries.

This is not surprising, as glaucous gulls are scavenging birds known to raid other bird colonies in search of eggs and chicks. They will also hover above humans and foxes, hoping a distraction will enable them to snatch up their prey without interference.

Fellow travelers out in a zodiac

Expedition leader posted to lookout for any wild animals that could attack while we are on land exploring.

Black guillemot. One of the more stylish Arctic birds, black guillemots are known to change their colors to match their environments

The farther north a guillemot is found, the whiter its plumage will be. They’re also particular about how they hold fish in their beaks. This trait is still unexplained, though some think it is related to where these birds like to hunt.

Glacier ice floating after calving from the glacier.

A glacier is a persistent body of dense ice that is constantly moving under its own weight. A glacier forms where the accumulation of snow exceeds its layers over many years, often centuries.

Landing on Lilliehookbreen to do explorations of groups from the ship.

Zodiac leaving the ship heading toward a landing.

Ocean Diamond ship in the morning mist with ice present in the foreground.

Definitely desolute and very cold in temperature

Large group of the Gloucous Gulls

Glacier is a huge mass of ice. It is formed by the continuous deposition of snow and the transformation of that snow into ice. It is formed when the rate of deposition of snow is far greater than the rate of ablation. With the time, the ice transforms into sugar like granules. The granules grow larger with time and thus compress the air pockets present between them.

Miles and miles of glaciers long

Zodiacs landing on Gravneset approaching a new landing location.

Yellow tundra in the foreground with an old research station in the background.

We spent several hours walking across the rocky landscape to to discover magnificent new glaciers and ice fields. An ice fox ran across us as we were walking. I missed the photo shot of it.

The landscape is surreal.

Reflections in the water are magical.

The ice is huge that has broken off of the nearby glacier and washed on shore.

The glacier recedes many miles inland from where I am standing.

Ice that has broken off the main glacier through calving.

The glacier is close by and hundreds of feet high.

Glaciers appear blue in color. Rayleigh effect plays an important part in the blue appearance of a glacier much like it does in the appearance of the sky as blue.

The release of blue light comes from the sunlight. As the ice is transparent, it permits light to pass through. Before the ice allows light to pass through it, the ice crystals absorb light of longer wavelengths from the visible spectrum.

All of a sudden we see calving of the ice beginning from the glacier. Ice falling into the water in front of us.

A second calving happens moments later at another location on the glacier.

And it is over sometimes in just a few seconds.

A group ahead of us is returning to the ship. We embark and disembark at the aft portion of the ship, back, for each zodiac landing.

Zodiacs and expedition leaders waiting for their groups to load for a new location landing.

Next landing is Smeerenburg. Smeerenburg was a whaling settlement on Amsterdam Island in northwest Svalbard. It was founded by the Danish and Dutch in 1619 as one of Europe's northernmost outposts. With the local whale population soon decimated and whaling developed into a open sea industry, Smeerenburg was abandoned about 1660.

Smeerenburg Dutch Whaling Station. 1614 to 1655. There were 15 buildings and 200 inhabitants. This is where the whale blubber was cooked and its buildings.

The lookout tower is manned by one of the expedition leaders looking for any wild animals that may arrive hungry looking for food... "Tourists"s

Remains of the Dutch Whaling Station and the blubber cookeries. What was left was excavated in 1979 to 1981.

Zodiac out on the water. Notice the glaciers and mountain peak across from the Smerenburg.

Zodiac returning to the ship.

Walruses are relatively long-lived, social animals, and are considered to be a "keystone species" in the Arctic marine regions.

The walrus has played a prominent role in the cultures of many indigenous Arctic peoples, who have hunted it for meat, fat, skin, tusks, and bone.

During the 19th century and the early 20th century, walrus were widely hunted for their blubber, walrus ivory, and meat.

Walrus live mostly in shallow waters above the continental shelves, spending significant amounts of their lives on the sea ice looking for molluscs.

Walruses can weigh more than 4,400 pounds. We were told this group was all males.

Walruses live to about 20–30 years old in the wild. The males reach sexual maturity as early as seven years, but do not typically mate until fully developed at around 15 years of age.

Length typically ranges from 7 ft 3 in to 11 ft 10 in.

These two were funny. There were only a few feet off shore. Kept coming up out of the water to see where we were standing and then disappeared again to another location a few feet away.

After returning to the zodiac and a trip along the coastal shore we encountered some very full of food seals.

Now that is a smile of a full stomach.

From the looks of them I don't think they could eat another once of anything. They are bursting.

Svalbard is home to a huge number of seals. With their thick layers of insulating blubber, true seals, otherwise known as earless seals, are better adapted to these icy waters than are sea lions or fur seals, which are not found in the High Arctic.

Our Expedition Leader, from Argentina, Martin Soliani or "Tincho", was with us the entire trip beginning in Oslo, and in the Arctic adventure. An awesome leader well versed in the Arctic and the Antarctic.

Group ahead of us returning from Zodiac trip

Landing on Torellaesfjellet

Climbing to the top looking back down at our fellow travelers below. It was a good workout in the climb up.

At the seaside a group of Walrus sleeping. I think they do this very well.

In the distance on Hingstsletta the bridge discovers two polar bears on the beach.

It is discovered that the two polar bears are both female. Out of camera range are 2 cubs waiting for their turn to eat too.

It looks like from our vantage point from the zodiac we are on that they are devouring a walrus that may have killed for food.

A quick glance at us and it is back to feeding themselves.

A quick glance from the rear female looking toward us.

Hingstsletta is a low-lying plain in the entrance area of Lomfjord on the west side of the fjord.

The whole area is part of Hinlopen Strait, it is on the west side of this huge waterway. A little river is flowing through the rocky landscape, partly forming little rapids and waterfalls.

Other fellow travelers in zodiacs pull up to where we are as we were fortunate to be the first zodiac to arrive and take photos of the two polar bears.

What a thrill to see these two magnificent animals so close to the shore.

The Black Guillemot are spotted in the water. We are arriving at the Hingstsletta in the distance where the Black Guillemot are found in the cliffs ahead of us.

Closeby is the Glaucous Gull

Masses of Glacous gulls closeby

Alkefjellet is a bird cliff facing towards Hinlopen Strait

We were very fortunate to arrive in the 4 days that the baby chick Black Guillemot are jumping off the cliffs and out of their nests.

When the Guilemot chick leaps in the air the hope to land in the water and the father hopefully follows the chick into the water after the chick.

In the water you hear the fathers calling for their own chick. Unfortunately many do not find the father and the father does not find his chick. Many are lost at sea.

Here a father has found is chick and another is following. The mother raises the chick.

Once the father locates his chick he takes over raising the chick until it is ready to go of on its own. The male bird will not return to the next until next year when again it mates with the same female.

It is absolutely amazing to sit in a zodiac and watch all this commotion. We were so lucky to see all this happen in just 4 days a year.

Here you see the males, females and the chicks on the narrow perches. Very narrow and thousands of them too.

It is resident in much of its range, but large populations from the high arctic migrate southwards in winter. The bird can be seen in and around its breeding habitat of rocky shores, cliffs and islands in single or smalls groups of pairs.

Typically restricted to rocky shores, black guillemots utilize the cliffs, crevices and boulders for their nests, hunting the inshore waters for prey.

Breeding pairs will typically lay 2-egg clutches and raise 2 chicks to fledging. Incubation typically lasts 28 to 32 days, once hatched chicks receive care from the parents until they fledge aged 30 – 40 days. Once fledged chicks are totally independent and by age three or four years they will begin to re-join their natal colony.

Fathers and chicks out in the ocean for weeks teaching the young ones to survive diving and flying.

Here you see a Glaucous Gull trying to break its way into the Guillemot areas to steal a chick to eat.

They feed mainly by diving towards the sea floor feeding on fish, crustaceans or other invertebrates.

Many chicks do not make it to the water and crash into the ground. The Glaucouos Gull flies down and eats the chick. They are the clean up birds I guess you call them.

In the middle of all the Guillemots flying in all directions around us we discover a private sailing ship to the right of us anchored. .

Zodiacs tied down for the night at the aft of the ship after a busy day.

The ice on the water is changing to frozen sheets all around us.

The Ice Breaker ship we are on is about to enter into the ice frozen over as we head north.

Larger and larger junks of ice appear around us in the Arctic.

Suddenly out of no where a polar bear is spotted on the floating ice in the middle of the Arctic Sea.

Even with the telephoto lens it is easy to see he is relaxing at one point on the ice.

Suddenly he stands up on the ice sensing that we are in the vicinity of this magnificent animal. What a thrill for me to see him standing on his rear feet.

He must be thinking.. Hey Jim...come on down and join me. OK only kidding.

Here he is jumping from one piece of ice to the next.

He is drifting nearer to the ship for closer up photos.

Jumping from one piece of ice to another trying not to fall into the freezing water.

One look back at us from the ice. We were so lucky to encounter this magnificent animal so close to us in the middle of the Arctic Ocean.

The ice around the ship is freezing over into massive sheets of ice. Soon it won't be long before the entire area around us freezes solid.

View of the frozen sea looking over the bow of the Ice Breaker ship we are on.

We have now reached the furthermost north we are able to travel at 82 degrees latitude 8 degrees longitude N north, 472 nautical miles or 542.8 miles from the magnetic North Pole.

Latitude pertains to the horizontal imaginary lines running from east to west, which represents the distance of points, north and south of the equator. Also known by the name parallels, it is expressed through an angle that ranges from about 0° to 90°, 0 being the equator, N and S, north and south, an angle formed between poles and equator. Longitude is a vertical imaginary line that moves from north to south direction and is present on the east-west side of the Prime Meridian, used to calculate distance between two points.

We now see our friendly Polar Bear disappear into the horizon after circling the ship on the ice.

A group of walrus sleeping o the beach near the water found in Storoya.

Fellow passengers out on zodiac runs in the area of the Negribreen Glacier.

Close up of a group with the expedition guides manning the zodiac.

Beautiful blue ice, broken off from the glacier, under the gray colored sky is awesome to see up close.

Group on the aft deck of the ship waiting for a zodiac to appear below on the water to take them out for an adventure.

With ice all around us suddenly a Harp seal appears from under the water.

The Harp seals have short flippers, which they use to move in a caterpillar-like motion on land. They do not have external ear flaps. Harp seals are about 5 to 6 feet long, weigh about 260 to 300 pounds, and have a robust body with a small, flat head.

The glacier you will be seeing in this photo and the following is the Negibreen Glacier.

The zodiac zig zags across the frozen ocean water and ice looking at the mammoth size of the face of this glacier.

The Negribreen Glacier forms a wide glacier front with the moving extreme point Kapp Antinori. The glacier covers an area of about 460 sq miles. It is named after the Italian geographer Christoforo Negri.

The beauty of maneuvering in and around the ice you have the feeling you are in another world.

If you could get close enough to the face of the glacier it would be several thousand feet high. We have to remain away from the face of the glacier due to the calving of the ice which can cause huge waves.

An area of the glacier has broken off to form what looks like an entrance to a cave. This area could collapse at an time cause a calving of the ice and a small tsunami of water away from the glacier. A dangerous area to be too close to it.

A rare look at small microcosm of the underside of a glacier.

Another angle looking at the glacier in the same area.

A floating ice berg is 90% under the waterline and only 10% is visible above the water line.

Our expedition leader told us in a few minutes all zodiacs would turn off their motors. All communication between zodiacs, the mother ship will cease for 15 minutes.

In the stillness of the Arctic we floated past this mass of blue ice.

In the distance one could hear the calving of the Negribreen glacier, the crashing of the ice into the frozen ocean. Overhead we could hear occasional birds flying around us. A seal could be heard. It was an incredible 15 minutes of silence in the world that is constantly making noise. This was total silence.

Our ship the Ocean Diamond sits motionless in the silence of the world. Stopped in time in the frozen arctic ice.

This magnificent glacier of silhouetted ice floated past us in a moment of time.

Close up look of mother nature at her best in shimmering beauty.

When the engines again were turned on and we began our journey back to the mother ship I mentioned to our expedition guide how sharp much of the ice was as we traversed above the water. At that exact minute I heard the sudden crash of ice and then air coming out from under water from our zodiac. I looked up at every one and in a loud voice yelled, "we have a puncture". Then I asked, "does anyone remember the song from Titanic?" The looks on several faces was priceless.

I was then told by our expedition guide that the zodiac has 7 chambers within the underside of the zodiac. If there weas a problem there are a number of zodiac within a short radius that could rescue us. "Or we could swim back to the mother ship". Maybe you could do 4 strokes in that cold water only. "The problem was mute.

We pulled up a piece of a glacier floating nearby in the water. It was centuries old and cold!

Ice balancing on a glacier.

Blue ice

The air temperature was freezing. They filled the pool with ocean water around 25 degrees, and lifted ice into the pool at the aft of the ship. That is me standing there ready to jump into that freezing water.

Yes that is the back of my head in the water and I cannot wait to get out of it. it was cold. So I can now say that I have done a polar swim in the Arctic in 2022 and in the Antarctic in 2019... both ends of the earth I have swam in both the Antarctic and the Arctic oceans.

Arctic Sunset

A fin whale has a sleek, streamlined body with a V-shaped head. It has a tall, hooked dorsal fin, about two-thirds of the way back on the body, that rises at a shallow angle from the back.

A fin whale is a filter feeder and hunts by swimming with its mouth open towards its prey, taking in large amounts of water as well as food.

Fin whales communicate with loud low-pitched sounds.

Fin whales are one of the most sociable of whale species, often congregating in family groups of 6 to 10 members.

Sometimes they gather in groups of almost 250 individuals during migration periods or near feeding grounds. This species is highly migratory

Midterhuken is a mountain and a place with old trapping facilities from the Dutch catch in the 1600s, at the tip of the headland where Van Keulenfjorden and Van Mijenfjorden meet, southwest of Spitsbergen, Svalbard

there are remains of houses, spectacles, lookout towers and graves. It was also home to one of hagerup's substations in 1898.

Rugged mountains fall straight into the ocean

Zodiac returning to the ship go pick up the next group waiting to go on land at Miderthuken.

Opposite of where we landed in previous photo looking into the distance.

Beach where we landed ere looking back at the ship in the distance.

Checking out the landscape. An Arctic Fox was spotted at the base of the hillside.

Looking off across the bay into the distance.

Another group coming ashore in a zodiac.

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It was cold, rainy, windy and rough terrain to explore and walk on.

I was so glad to have that warm coat wrapped in layers of warmer clothing underneath the coat too. The cold wind was biting at your face. Gloves were in the pockets temporarily..

The tiniest of plant life alive in the Arctic.

Across the bay another huge glacier in the distance loaded with ice and snow.

A rare discovery of a flower blooming in the arctic.

Midterhuken from a distance as we sail away towards Longyearbyen

Zodiacs secured aft on the ship after numerous outings in them.

We landed on the strip of land to the left in the photo. Good photo shot of the surrounding areas across the bays and mountains.

The Svalbard Global Seed Vault is a secure backup facility for the world's crop diversity on the Norwegian island of Spitsbergen in the remote Arctic Svalbard archipelago.

The vault sits high up the hill from the city and the airport.

Offices of the seed vault. The Seed Vault provides long-term storage of duplicates of seeds conserved in gene banks around the world. This provides security of the world's food supply against the loss of seeds in gene banks due to mismanagement, accident, equipment failures, funding cuts, war, sabotage, disease and natural disasters.

Entrance into the storage's of the seed bank vault. The Norwegian government entirely funded the Seed Vault's approximately US$8.8 million in 2008 construction cost. Norway and the Crop Trust pay for operational costs. Storing seeds in the vault is free to depositors.

The Seed Vault officially opened on 26 February 2008 although the first seeds arrived in January 2008. As part of the Seed Vault's first anniversary, more than 90,000 food crop seed samples were placed into storage, bringing the total number of seed samples to 400,000.

The seed bank is 430 feet inside a sandstone mountain on Spitsbergen Island, and employs robust security systems. The facility is managed by the Nordic Genetic Resource Center, though there are no permanent staff on-site.

Spitsbergen was considered ideal because it lacked tectonic activity and had permafrost, which aids preservation. It being 430 feet above sea level will keep the site dry even if the ice caps melt.

The seeds are stored in sealed three-ply foil packages and then placed into plastic tote containers on metal shelving racks. The storage rooms are kept at −0.4 °F.

The low temperature and limited access to oxygen will ensure low metabolic activity and delay seed ageing. The permafrost surrounding the facility will help maintain the low temperature of the seeds if the electricity supply fails.

Area of the airport for training in case of fires.

The city's new environmental station recently opened for the delivery of household and commercial waste at Hotellneset. The closed indoor facility is unique in Norway and one of several important steps the local community is now taking to minimize the climate and environmental consequences for Svalbard. The state-of-the-art facility is now ready to accommodate everything from cars and snowmobiles to plastic and cardboard.

The bay stretches along the foot of the left bank of the Longyear Valley across from Longyearbyen on the shore of Adventfjorden, the short estuary leading into Isfjorden on the west coast of Spitsbergen, the island's broadest inlet

Longyear78 is an outdoors store located in the center of Longyearbyen. Here you will find a broad selection of outdoors clothing and equipment, as well as the possibility to book various day tours.

Apartment building across the street from the Supermarket and Outdoors store.

With a history dating back to 1921, the Svalbard Church is the northernmost church in the world and is a lovely little place not only for a memorable prayerbut a visit too. Svalbard Kirke is the only church in Svalbard,

Rifle and ammunition department within the Longyear 78 Expedition store

Also Pistols and ammunition. You cannot leave the city limits without a weapon to defend yourself against polar bears

Stationen Restaurant located next to Longyear 78 and Supermarket square

Liquor department located in the Svalbardbutikken grocery and department store next to Longyear 78 Outdoors store.

What a great variety of wines and liquor, from around the world, available for purchase within the supermarket.

View of apartments in the foreground and in the hills the former coal mining camps remnants still on the hillside above the town.

Close up of the coal mining facilities no longer in use

Svalbardbutikken located in the heart of Longyearbyen is the northernmost department store in the world. The store offers a wide range of groceries, fresh produce, tax-free cosmetics & electronics, gifts, souvenirs, and kiosk products. In Svalbardbutikken you will also find Svalbard's only liquor store, Nordpolet.

What a great trip this has been to visit Oslo, Norway for several nights. Then fly to Longyearbyen, one of the worlds northernmost settlements, lying within the Arctic Circle, at 78 degrees North longitude. Then to board the Ocean Diamond for 10 days with many landings on the zodiacs. To see polar bears, 8 of them during the trip, walrus, whales, seals and many birds that live in the Arctic. To have the opportunity to plunge, and briefly swim, into the frozen Arctic Ocean water. To see and experience the beauty of this incredible top of the world. An adventure of a life time for sure.

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© 2025 Jim Schroder