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Svalbard 2
By spotogspindel | April 4, 2014
In 2012, Svalbard had an estimated population of 2,642, of whom 439 were Russian and Ukrainian, 10 were Polish and 322 were other non-Norwegians living in Norwegian settlements. The largest non-Norwegian groups in Longyearbyen in 2005 were from Thailand, Sweden, Denmark, Russia, and Germany. Svalbard is among the safest places on Earth, with virtually no crime.
Maybe since the landscape is either snow-white and light or winter-dark, all the houses are painted in bright colors. It certainly has a charm to it. Because there is perm-frost here, absolutely everything has to be above ground. Which means that all houses are built on stilts.
There are more cars here than I expected, (I even saw a limousine here!) but they are still outnumbered by all the snow-scooters.
And talking of which, we went on a little evening-tour tonight with Anne´s snow scooter.
Here she is. She´s like the coolest! Last year she took me to Israel & Palestine. This year half-way to the North-pole. What´s next I wonder?!
Anyway. We didn´t go too far, because we didn´t bring a gun or a GPS. The gun is needed in case you meet polar-bears and need to scare them away. The GPS you need if the weather all of a sudden turns, and you can´t see a thing.
The temperature here is much warmer than the altitude would suggest. (compared to for example Canada or Russia) The average winter temperature is between -16 to -12 °C (3 to 10 °F). In summer 4 to 6 °C (39 to 43 °F). And we´ve got plenty of clothes, so there´s no reason to freeze. But the clue is just that: dress properly with layer upon layer with wool!
The battery in my camera on the other hand is not dressed in wool, so I had to keep it under my jacket to keep it alive, only getting it out when taking pictures.
Yes, that´s me! On a snow-scooter! First time ever! (I like first-time-adventures)
After a good hour or so, we did start to cool down a bit and decided to warm ourselves in a café… with ice-cream! 😉
And back home, after a nice, warm shower, it´s time for tea, talking and knitting in the sofa.
Topics: Diverse, travel | No Comments »