Norway and Svalbard

Sep 1-7, 2018
AC865 YYZ-LHR, SK804 LHR-OSL, SK4496 OSL-LYR, Sep 4 SK4425 LYR-TOS, Sep 6 SK4431 TOS-OSL, SK1463 OSL-CPH, AC883 CPH-YYZ

Since reading about Svalbard from one of our favourite travel bloggers, Tom has been interested in visiting.  Although technically it is an independent nation state, it is administered by Norway, and Air Canada treats reward tickets the same as Norway, so it was a great value for an award ticket.  We got to visit Oslo, Svalbard, and Tromsø as part of the same trip and enjoyed each.  Svalbard was truly an exceptional place and well further north than we’ve even been, including our first trip into the Arctic Circle.  Back in Norway, Tromsø and the surrounding areas were also beautiful.

Sep 2

After a good overnight flight and surprisingly painless connection in Heathrow, we had the afternoon to explore Oslo before our late night flight to Longyearbyen, Svalbard. We picked up a rental car and headed into the city.

View of Oslo from Ekeberg Park

Oslo with cruise ship

Waterfront Redevelopment area has transformed the area since our last visit

The 2008 Oslo Opera House is the centerpiece of the waterfront redevelopment

Wood walls contrast the modern architecture

The Opera House was designed to resemble a glacier floating on the water.

We dropped off the car at the airport, and made our way to the lounge to wait for our flight deep in the Arctic Circle to Longyearbyen, Svalbard at 78 degrees north latitude, the furthest north we’ve been on the ground.

Sep 3

Although the sun never set on the day, we were up early for a full day boat trip through the fjords to the former-Soviet mining town of Pyramiden. As we were there in September, we were definitely at the end of the season, and although we weren’t expecting crowds, were surprised to be two of the three people on our boat designed for up to 100 passengers. With the guide and operating crew, we were outnumbered by the staff. Although it was kind of crazy to be on such a large ship, we were very happy they didn’t cancel the trip, and enjoyed the personal touch on our 12 hour tour.

Norwegian Coast Guard protecting Svalbard

Northern Flumar drafting along the boat

Some of the many puffins that shared our journey

More of the Northern Fulmar

Northern Fulmar close up

The many layers of rock exposed on Svalbard

More of the rustic island coast line

Enjoying the sun

Walrus in the wild

First view of the Pyramiden city and mine

End of Nordenskiöld Glacier; roughly 25km long and 11 km wide .

Up close with the glacier

The many shades of blue

More glacier close ups

Smaller boats can get a little closer

Unfortunately we didn’t get to see any calving, but lots of potential opportunities

A polarbBear mother and cub, our first for the trip

No where near as close as in Manitoba, but felt a little more authentic

The bear was surprisingly active

Continuing to explore the area

Climbing action shot

Bears with glacier view

More bear and glacier from a different experience

Another perspective on the glacier

Making our way into Pyramiden to start our tour

More Northern Fulmar in flight

More Northern Fulmar in flight

Puffin action shot

Now derelict equipment on the port, previously used to load coal

Visible coal mine infrastructure

Original housing for the miners; now a hotel mostly for Russians

The Arctic Fox shared part of our small tour

The food service building with ornate decoration

Colourful kitchen

Looking a little post apocalyptic

Recently renovated theatre

Gymnasium

Bottle house, that is, a cabin literally constructed from bottles.

As someone was actively archiving, our small tour was able to view the film storage for the theatre.

All of the buildings and infrastructure on stilts due to the permafrost

Old phone on display in the hotel

We found another polar bear on the boat ride back; luckily we didn’t meet any in the town

One last bear shot

Making our way back through the fjord

Hunting hut along the coast

Some of the remains of the Svenskhuset Tragedy where 17 men died in the winter of 1872-73 when they were trapped and died from lead poisoning from eating food sealed in lead tins

Small boat wreck

Making our way back into Longyearbyen at the end of our long tour

Waterfall

A little more greenery in the landscape

More rugged cliffs

Broader perspective of the cliffs

Broad glacier perspective with the sun lower in the sky

Different lighting and perspective

Longyearbyen’s Global Seed Vault. The main entrance is under repair, but the seeds are safe deep in the mountainside.

One of the many boats in the harbour

Relatively busy time in the harbour

Miners’ Memorial Statue on the main street of Longyearbyen

Parking restrictions outside our hotel

What passes for sunset from outside our hotel

After the cruise, we had a late dinner in Longyearbyen, shut out the midnight sun with our blackout curtains, and turned in for the evening.

Sep 4

After breakfast, we had a few hours to explore the town before our flight south to Tromsø.

From the shoreline, looking back at the scope of the relatively small town of Longyearbyen, with a population of around 2000.

Low tide along the shoreline

Longyearbyen Glacier at the edge of town

After a bit of mist, the sun came out lighting up the town. Unfortunately, some of these buildings were recently declared off limits due to the risk of rock slides.

A little bit of perspective outside the airport

Boarding our flight out

Flying into Tromsø

Looking to the mainland from the island of Tromsø

Tromsø waterfront

Traditional Norwegian architecture

Active harbour

Domkirke; most northern Lutheran Church in the world

Most northern Catholic Church.

Kong Olav (King of Norway 1957-91) statue in Kong Park with school in the background

After exploring the downtown of Tromsø, we splurged on a pizza and some beer. Norway is still one of the most expensive places to visit, and strangely more so than the much more isolated (but lower-taxed) Svalbard.

Sep 5

We had a full day in the Tromsø region, and got out on the road to explore the islands and fjords. As we were late in the season, all of the ferry services had stopped, so it took us a little longer to navigate the coastal areas, as we had to take the long way around. However, the weather was beautiful, and the lack of tourists made it pretty painless to get around.

Ramfjorden, as we make our way south along the coastline from Tromsø

Balsfjorden a larger fjord

Looking back up the coastal highway

Looking across the fjord

Looping our way back around the fjord with the mountains behind us

Making our way through the the island of Senja and back towards the coast

The roads were relatively well maintained for the amount of traffic

The small coastal town of Hamn

New tunnel and bridge eliminated the need for a twisty mountain road and a long trip around the fjord

Gryllefjord the jumping point for the summer ferry service

Colourful houses of Gryllefjord

Panoramic view of the new bridge and tunnel

The inlet of Gryllefjord

Senja Troll was the largest troll statue in the world, unfortunately destroyed by fire in March 2019

Bergsfjorden, as we head up the North East portion of Senja

Bergsbotn Platform

Exploring the rocky coast of Bergsbotn

More of the Bergsboten platform

The scenery continues further up the rugged coastline

Although the roads were generally in good shape, many of the one lane roads had a pull off space for passing, marked with the sign M, for Møteplass, or “passing-place”

Looking across Ersfjord

Ersfjord

Rocky course of Ersfjord

Mefjord

Inlet of Mefjord

Wild mushroom

Much closer to Tromsø and back on the mainland, on the west side of Balsfjorden this time

Looking across to the island of Kvaloya before we entered the tunnel

Outlook just north of Tromsø over Ersfjorden

At the end of the long drive we made our way back into Tromso to grab a late dinner near the hotel. Before we dropped off the rental car, we made an attempt to find some dark clear skies and the northern lights. Unfortunately we were unsuccessful. It was a bit of a long shot so early in the season, but thought it was worth a try.

Sep 6

Before our evening flight back to Oslo we had the day one last day to explore Tromsø. We started by crossing the bridge to the mainland and the Tromsø Cable Car and a short hike.

Looking down on the town of Tromsdalen

Hiking up the last metres to the top with Tromsø (across the bridge) and Tromsdalen below

Full view of the island of Tromsø

Making our way down the cable car

Tromsø Library

Arctic Hunter monument

MS Polstjerna, sealing ship from 1949

After a nice day of exploring, we headed to the airport for an evening flight to Oslo, where we stayed overnight near the airport.

Sep 7

Early morning flight from Oslo to Copenhagen, Toronto and Houston.