During our exploration of Isfjord, we made several stops at Longyearbyen, Svalbard’s main port and administrative center. The name harks back to the days when it was an American coal mining town. Now back under Norwegian ownership it is evolving into a real community with a population of around 1,700 making it the largest settlement in the archipelago.
Many of the people who live there today are driven by economic opportunity. A lot of the work is seasonal and some leave during the winter. The harsh climate is not for everyone and those who stay year round tend to value the isolation. Over all the population is fairly young which is not surprising considering that that there is no hospital.
The density of population has the added bonus of making it one of the few places in Svalbard where you can walk around unarmed. Without Polar Bears to worry about, the real concern becomes not getting run over, as Longyearbyen residents take their SUVs and small amount of road seriously. During the winter snow mobiles and dog sleds become the norm. Apparently the best way to keep a sled team in shape is to have the dogs tow a vehicle during the summer.
One of the nicest stops in town is the Svalbard Museum. Aside from an excellent exhibit covering all aspects of Svalbard, they also have a good selection of books for sale including “Into The Ice, A History Of Norway And The Polar Regions” which has been an invaluable addition to Snow Dragon’s library. The Museum is also one of several places in town which follows the Norwegian custom of removing shoes before entering and kindly provides crocs for anyone who does not want to walk around in their socks.
The heart of town is essentially a shopping center mainly targeted towards the thousands of tourists who come by cruise ship. There are also several restaurants where you can get anything from pizza to seal. We have been told that the local delicacies are quite good, but can only vouch for the pizza.
Our main shopping interest was the supermarket, which only lacked good coffee. Snow Dragon’s wallet however, did choke at paying $8 for a head of lettuce. Over all fresh fruit and vegetables were pricey with the only exception being mangoes and avocadoes. Why you have to go almost to the North Pole to find reasonably priced mangoes and avocadoes is still beyond us. Sticker shock aside, the quality was excellent.
In order to purchase alcohol we had to obtain a permit from the Sysselman (Governor). Requesting our permit did make us feel “underage” but the process was relatively easy and the ration of 2 litres of liquor, 1 litres of fortified wine and 24 cans of beer was generous. The wine was unregulated but the selection turned out to be dismal compared to the wide range of liquor. Not wanting to waste our permit, we purchased a couple bottles of Snow Dragon’s latest vice, Dark Havana Club Rum.
To see more pictures of Longyearbyen, visit my Picasa album.
good blog.
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