Just a more than perfect day

We started our day with whale watching around 07:00 hours. The sea in front of Bleiksegga is famous for its population of Sperm Whales, but this morning we were not successful in seeing any. The only whales we should see today have been the whale pictures in Tomas´ whale lecture!

FRAM reached our destination of the today, Skipnes and Tinden, after lunch at 13:00. The weather has been magnificent. The sun was shining out of a clear blue sky. The autumn vegetation - like the northern birches - was glimmering in the sun.

Skipnes and Tinden are two old fishing settlements, but today they have more importance for the tourism than for the fishing industry. Most of the houses are now a museum and we all had the possibility for a guided tour of the buildings

Off the Skipnes wharf we saw several types of jellyfish swimming. 

Those passengers who liked to hike got the possibility for a good nature walk from one settlement to the other one. The others moved between the villages in our Polarcirkel boats. Most of the passengers took the chance for a hike through the tundra, especially under this amazing weather conditions. Even though the hike was perhaps for some guests a bit hard, we have to say: “congratulations to everybody, you have been brave passengers”. Along the hike we were delighted to see many plant and fungi species.

Even nearly everybody has been quite tired after such a sunny and active landing we could not go to bed early. An amazing Northern Light forced us to dress up warm again and to stay outside for a longer time. Many photos have
been taken this evening, but to stand once under the Northern Light, that gives a feeling you will never ever forget.

North Norway and Tromsø- Getting warmer

As we sailed south from Bjørnøya, you could feel the air getting just a little warmer. This morning we could see land- the north coast of Norway. And then we saw trees cladding the hills on one side of the sound we sailed through on our way to Tromsø. Having not seen any trees for the last few days, they were a delight, made more so by their changing colours of autumn. Some snow squalls ran over us as if to remind that we were after all at 70° north!

We arrived into Tromsø just after lunch in brilliant light and blue skies. The sun never gets really high in the sky in the Arctic, even in mid-summer, but now the sun stays relatively low and makes for wonderful images. There is also a warmth to the light, belying the temperatures, which were around 5°C. Tromsø has many old buildings, unlike Finnmarken to the north and east- the most northerly part of Norway- which lost many buildings at the end of WWII.

Old warehouses stand at the old shoreline, all with their characteristic little winch houses at the top front.

The first residence in Tromsø to have electricity

One of the modern buildings in Tromsø- The Polaria- Polar Aquarium

Tromsø is a fine place, sophisticated and bustling, but always with the reminder of where you are provided by the surrounding mountains, this day covered in a light dusting of snow that had fallen the previous evening. We had about 6 hours to enjoy the place, which people did by visiting the city of over 70,000 people, taking a guided walk around the city, or climbing the mountain over on the mainland and coming down by cable car. There is so much to see and do in Tromsø that you really need a week to sample the restaurants and coffee shops, visit the museum, aquarium and many historical points of interest. One thing is clear, Roald Amundsen figures prominently in this city!

It is the sort of place that beckons you back, as evidenced by the many people on-board the Fram for whom this is not the first trip, nor will it be their last.

Our last day in Svalbard has come!

We spent our morning on a very nice beach on Bear Island- Bjørnøya in Norwegian, the southernmost tip of Svalbard in the middle of the Barents Sea. The island was discovered (documented) by the Dutch explorers William Barentz and Jacob van Heemskerk in 1596, but for sure the Vikings knew about the island already. We had strong wind and snow showers during the morning, but the bay was quite sheltered and so we could enjoy our time onshore. Next to the beach we had a wonderful bird cliff where lots of Northern Fulmars were still sitting on their nests at the end of the breeding period. We could easily watch them interacting, calling and flying in and out of the colony. Bear Island is very famous for all different kind of sea birds like Kittiwakes and Guillimots and others. The Island is an Nature reserve since 2002, but we came a bit late in the season so that most birds had left their colony already.

The weather has been very impressive. Heavy snow showers chanced with clear blue sky and sunshine. On our way back we had the possibility for a short PolarCircleBoat cruise along the coast before we had to say “good bye” to Svalbard.

The afternoon we spent on board on our way to Norway. Lectures, given by our Lecture staff and our board photographer, gave us again more information about everything we have seen or we will see in Norway. We are already looking forward to our next destinations.

Tomorrow we will reach Tromsø and our Greenlandic staff member Aka has to leave the ship after she has been such an unbelievable help for us especially when we cruised in Greenland. She put her feelings and experiences she got here on board in a nice poem. Read it and enjoy it.

Chilly fall gratitude

by Aka S. Bendtsen, Expedition Team member.

Early morning in the fjords

Mountains use the seamirror

with their white glacier-coat to look cool

Look out the window

Fresh clear air

Or snow, wind and fog

Bright white  icebergs sailing by

Different colored striped mountains we pass by

Get dressed warmly

Get the equipment ready

Before every landing we have to do

Before time passes by

The ground has its fall colours

Not much snow yet

Night frost though

The fox is not white yet

The geese are not gone yet

The bearded seals are laying on icefloes

The polarbear track now and then on the ground

The polarbear is hiding from us

We see a glimpse of it though

The huts can still be entered

without shifting the snow yet

The ground is dangerously slippery though

Svalbard /Spitsbergen mit der spitze Berge

Already winter with snowy winterstorms

With birdcliffs and long glacier fronts

Northern lights will play

up in the sky where ever you go up north

Only if the skies let you though

I thank you Fram

for the  new journeys

Adventures whereever you go

With friends we call colleagues.

To see nice new places

We have to say goodbye sometimes to you though

That´s a glimpse of an adventurous life of a chilly fall on-board with Fram expedition.

A glad one.

With gratitude.

Hornsund- Burgerbukta and Brepollen

Our last day in Svalbard for this Arctic summer season can be described in one word- STUNNING! We left behind the energetic windy, snowy conditions and they were replaced with light winds and blue sky (in patches at least!). Every second the soft, Arctic light seemed to change and provide yet more opportunities for the eye and for the camera.

We found ourselves in Horsund this morning after sailing south from Isfjord overnight. We turned in the sound then up and into Burgerbukta for a morning landing.  In every direction there were icy peaks interspersed with blue glaciers. And if you cared to look down, you were delighted with many Arctic plants and rocks of various colours, in a totally natural alpine rock garden! During the landing we were situated in front of several blue glaciers all sourced from the icefield above. There was an opportunity to stretch our legs on a hike up the ridge, around and down again. Some of us opted for a guided hike up onto a nearby glacier, and yet others kayaked in to the end of the sound and the foot of another glacier, always of course keeping a safe distance away. This late in the Arctic summer (tomorrow is officially autumn!) there were only a few birds flying over such as Arctic Terns and a few Arctic Skuas. Down the beach there were footprints on the beach running up from the water. Because of their dinner-plate size they could be created by only one animal- the Polar Bear! However, during the landing we were lucky not to encounter this top predator of the Arctic.

After the landing we sailed further into Hornsund to Brepollen. There we gathered on decks to take in the incredible landscape of this area. Some of us were comparing what we were seeing to similar locales such as Alaska and Antarctica, but most admitted that for today anyway, this was the most beautiful place they had ever seen. 

An icy, active day in Spitsbergen!

We were boarding the ship yesterday in a storm and this storm even picked up during the night. The weather forecast for the next day did also not promise better conditions and so our Captain had to make the decision to change our planned route to a safer new one. Here, nearly at the top of the world the weather sets the rules, if we like it or not. The new plan was to hide from the storm in the Isfjorden and stay there during the day with the possibility of a landing in the afternoon. At the beginning we were disappointed that we could not go further north, but when we heard about 8 to 10 meter high waves on the open sea for 30 hours we were happy to be in the sheltered waters of one of the most spectacular fjords in Spitsbergen. By the way, Spitsbergen is the biggest island in the Svalbard archipelago. The Isfjorden is with 107 km the second largest fjord in Spitsbergen and the landscape is brilliant. Nobody knows how many photos were made during our day in the fjord. Thank goodness nearly everybody has digital cameras today and we had not to think about the fact if we have enough film with us and what we have to pay later in the photo shop to get the photos.

But we did not have time to be outside the whole time. The morning was filled up with a very dense program. After a first breakfast on board we had to join the mandatory AECO briefing where we learned the right behavior in Arctic regions. Later on we had our Captains Welcome Cocktail in the bar as there has not been time for it yesterday. Just after lunch we got the possibility to rent very comfortable thermo boots. Together with the expedition jacket we got as a gift directly after the check in yesterday, we have been properly prepared for our first landing.

During all these activities we had our first wild life experience, a Fin whale, which came quite close to the ship. Our planned landing for the afternoon in Brucebyen started with a delay of nearly one hour as the bridge found two Polar bears at the beach. Clearly our all-day Polar Bear, which started at 0700h this morning, paid off.

Of course the Captain stopped the ship and we got a good possibility to watch the Polar bears with our binoculars. They were a bit lazy and moved very little. Perhaps they had just had their lunchtime nap, but these have been our first wild Polar bears and they have been fantastic, even they were lazy! And if we got bored with the Polar Bears (!) you could always look to the left at a beautiful blue glacier.

After all these activities we got the possibility to stretch our legs in Brucebyen. Brucebyen lies at the very end of Billefjorden, a sidearm of Isfjorden. William Bruce, a Scottish polar scientist, built in 1919 just next to the impressive Nordensköld glacier four huts as a base for coal exploration of the Scottish Spitsbergen Syndicate. The wind was blowing even here at the end of the fjord quiet strong and cold, but we enjoyed it to see the rest of the arctic tundra vegetation and the feeling to be on a historical important place.

Full of new impressions we came back on board.

After a nice dinner there was still time for a nice drink in the bar. What will bring the next day?

Svalbard! The capital and a Russian mining settlement

My head is spinning with so many thoughts. You see I have not been to the Arctic for 14 years, but as a Canadian, the Arctic is always close to my heart. So here we are in Svalbard- so similar and yet so different from the Arctic in my home country. It is good to be back! Svalbard is a remote archipelago of islands 1000km north of the northern tip of Norway. They are a possession of Norway but have their own government and host some Russian mining settlements (more on this below).

Svalbard is a long way from Canada and I flew in, like our passengers, to Longyearbyen, the capital, yesterday. And like our passengers, I joined the ship today. For many on board though, they are home, as our cruise will take us to only one country, Norway and quite a few of our passengers and crew are Norwegian.

So, back to my thoughts about Svalbard so far. The level of development in Longyearbyen is incredible considering how far north it is. There are good hotels and fine dining to be had in the “city” (byen means city in Norwegian but to many the place is small enough to be a village, albeit with an international airport!). There’s a museum, a cultural centre, university, schools, shops, several hotels, good wifi and mobile phone coverage, and all the amenities you would expect in a modern centre, including paved roads! Remember, we are at 78° north and only a little over 700 nautical miles from the North Pole! However, the city still has a "wild" feel. One reason Longyearbyen can be so developed is that it is relatively accessible by sea and air from major centres in Europe. In Canada at almost 80° north, the sea frozen for many months of the year but around Svalbard it is open, thanks to the North Atlantic Drift bringing “warm” water from an area around eastern Florida, to northern Europe.

 The hills around the Longyearbyen were a beautiful gold brown this morning as we sailed out of Longyearbyen and on our way to the Russian coal mining settlement of Barentsburg. 

A light dusting of snow lay on some parts of the ground. The weather was unsettled with strong winds and snow squalls all day. Barentsburg is a “little Russia” amid this Norwegian Archipelago and our visit felt a bit like traveling back in time. 

An imposing bust of Lenin stood overlooking the settlement. 

Even here there was a hotel, bars, a restaurant or two and even a brewery- the most northerly in the world. Pretty well everything is “the most northerly in the world” in these parts. Some miners treated us to a great Russian folk show with singing and dancing, before we toured the settlement with a local guide. The wind was howling and the snow falling as we walked around. This “summer snow” gave us a true taste of the energetic weather so typical of the Arctic.

John Chardine, Expedition staff, Fram

18.09.14 Longyearbyen DAY 15 & DAY 1

So... Now it is time to say goodbye. 
Our last Greenland trip is over and we are now in Longyearbyen. 
Passengers left early this morning. Busses were ready to bring them to their next destination at 8.am.  
The expedition team stood on the pier and waved while the busses drove off. Goodbye is always a bit sad, but we had a really nice trip. 
Now we are getting new people onboard and new staff in the expedition team. 
New passengers are arriving at 11, that is in ten minutes. So, the next trip begin. 

17.09.14 Magdalenefjord / Ny-Ålesund DAY 14

Today we arrived in Svalbard. Here it has really become winter! We were in Magdalene fjord this morning and it was very windy, cold and snowing. It was a bit slipery as well on the landing site, so the landing was shorter than expected. Passengers went back onboard after a little time on shore.  

The second place today was Ny-Ålesund. Here we really had a snowblizzard. Even deck 5 and 7 were covered in snow. Passengers did go out again, but unfortunately most people came back a little cold and wet.

We did the captains farewell in the observation lounge during the evening and shortly after we had an auction for the charity foundation in Greenland ”The Greenlandic children”. 

We had the ships flag, signed by all the officers and expedition team, all the place names and a map over Greenland we had been using during this voyage, for sale. 

16.09.14 Second sea day DAY 13

Goodmorning everyone. Today was yet another day at sea. We had a bit of movement on the ship today, but this did not affect the passengers. Everyone seemed to enjoy themselves.  

We were sailing along the ice edge, hoping to spot wildlife. Unfortunately no polar bears again today. But the ice itself was nice to look at and a lot of passengers were standing out on deck taking pictures.

We also had a couple of lectures in the afternoon. 

The program for the day was changed a  bit because of the beautiful ice, but we managed and all lectures were given. We also held a few bridge visits where the passengers could come up and talk to the captain. 

We then had the captains dinner in the restaurant and everyone dressed up in their nicest clothes to meet and great the captain. 

15.09.14 First sea day DAY 12

Today was the first of our two sea days on the crossing to Svalbard. We started the day off with fog. That was a shame, because we were sailing along the ice edge and were really hoping to see polar bears. Unfortunately we did not see any, also when the fog lifted later that day.

So we were having lectures on board Fram today. 

We had both english and german lectures. One lecture from our two Greenlandic ladies about culture. A lecture about hunting by one of our Sirius guys Martin and a lecture about ice by one of our geologists Steffen. This turned out to be a fine way of spending the day.

After the seated dinners were over, the trainees onboard Fram had prepared a quiz for all the passengers. 

This was held in the observation lounge and people were divided into boatgroups. They had to answer around 20 different questions. One particular hard one was ”How to spell Scoresbysund in Eastgreenlandic?” Now that the quiz is over i will give you the answer to that one: ITTOQQORTOORMIIT.