Arctic Things to Do

 
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    by globetrott
  •   Things to Do
    by globetrott
  •   Things to Do
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  •   Things to Do
    by globetrott
  •   Things to Do
    by globetrott
 

Reviews from VirtualTourist Members

Day 17: Trondheim - Oslo

by tini58de

June 14, 2005We arrived in Trondheim in the morning and had 6 hours layover to explore this wonderful city - which we did! We enjoyed the colorful houses, the cathedral, went up to the castle and had a little picnic at the river. The sun was shining and so we really enjoyed our stay there.At 2 p.m. our train for Oslo left and took us through what is considered to be one of the most wonderful landscapes. Well, I guess we were just spoilt! Still it was an enjoyable train ride!Our arrival in Oslo was a little frustrating, but we finally made it to the hotel and enjoyed the shower and our beds!!!

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Day 16: Longyearbyen - Tromsoe - Norway

by tini58de

June 13, 2005We got up at 3 a.m. (the sun was still shining brightly!!) and went to the airport. Everything went smoothly and the plane took us to mainland Norway, where we had our breakfast in a nice little Tromso park at 7 a.m. already!!After a stroll through this lovely town we boarded the bus and went south on a tour through what I consider the most beautiful landscape I have seen in a long time!All of a sudden I realized how much I had missed those trees and how much I loved the green of the landscape, the blue of the fjords and the sky and the red of those wonderful wooden houses.We went from Tromsoe to Narvik to Fauske, where we boarded the nighttrain to Trondheim.A special thanks to VT friend Jan (knerten) who was of enormous help with this part of our trip!

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Day 15: Barentsburg/Spitsbergen

by tini58de

June 12, 2005It seems as if we could not be without a ship.....We took a boat tour to Barentsburg, the Russian settlement up north and reached our northernmost point of the whole trip: 78°4' N!!!Barentsburg was something else: very remote, very Russian (or rather old time Socialist) and quite poor! But those people there sure know how to celebrate: since we visited on the Russian National Day, we saw almost everybody up dancing and drinking and having a good time!!! Tough life up there, indeed!On our way back we enjoyed the sight of another beautiful glacier and finally got to see, why Spitzbergen is called Spitsbergen (=pointed mountain)!After 10 hours of cruising we returned to the guesthouse, packed our things and tried to get some sleep.

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Day 13: Spitsbergen/Svalbard

by tini58de

June 10, 2005We are now cruising the archipelago of Spitsbergen/Svalbard.The morning was exciting with another polar bear observation - from 8 until 12.30 h we watched him, but he did not move much. He might have been enjoying a seal for breakfast or so, I am not quite sure.We also visited a most beautiful glacier and hoped that upon our return to the polar bears surrounding he would have moved a little bit and taken notice of us... But no, he was still at the same position, so after 4 1/2 hours we left him and went on....Today we reached our northernmost postion of our cruise: 78°34' N !Later in the afternoon we made a zodiac landing at Tordenskjöldbukta, which was a rather wet place to visit.... We did see one or two Spitsbergen reindeer and got a lot of interesting information on flora and fauna right here on the spot!Dinner was special, since we had one birthday to celebrate and...

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Day 14: Longyearbyen/Spitsbergen

by tini58de

June 11, 2005This was it! This was the end of our cruise and we had to leave the ship and everyone who we had met and made friends with! What a wonderful time this had been!We went to our guesthouse and then went on a walking tour through Longyearbyen: we watched the northernmost marathon of the world, visited the museum, had a delicious lunch and a most enjoyable cup of coffee at the local church.And it stayed light day and night!!!

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Throat Singing

by JohnniOmani

One of the true highlights of experiencing Arctic tradition is going to watch throat singing contests. Women usually gather in a large hall all dressed up in traditional clothes. Men play the instruments which includes traditional drums and women enter the circle in the hall. They begin by dancing and swaying and getting into a transe like state at times. They begin throat singing traditional and regional songs that sounds like something you have never heard before. You cant believe that these women are producing the sounds from their throat but is wild to see. It is a mix of Mongolia meets the Arctic and it is wild to witness. I highly recommend it!

So much to do

by JohnniOmani

The Arctic has so much to offer and could keep a traveller busy for as long as he or she wants to spend there. Travellers can meet with local Inuit to discuss the areas history or talk over tea about life in the Arctic. The elders will tell you about legends and myths that are fascinating or you can visit their homes and see the women make incredible handicrafts. The land and terrain offers something that you wont experience anywhere else on the planet. You can cariboo hunt, ice fish, sleep in igloos, ride on traditional kamatiks(sleds), snowmobile or take in the stars. Overall, the Arctic offers a magical experience.

Day 9: Jan Mayen

by tini58de

June 6, 2005In the morning we reached Jan Mayen at 71° 00' North. This vast island has only 25 inhabitants and impressed me with its black and white appearance: it is a volcanic island and thus the black ashes and the white snow made a bizarre combination!We were welcomed by the commander, invited to the station, where we had coffee and cake and later part of our group went on a hike across the island to the Kvalrossbukta.Very impressive!

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Day 18: Oslo - Germany

by tini58de

June 15, 2005Our last day!!!After a delicious breakfast we did some Oslo sightseeing and walked around the old castle, the harbor, the townhall and the cathedral before taking the bus to Torp.We flew to Frankfurt/Hahn and I got home to Karlsruhe around 10 p.m. with a backpack full of memories to last for a long long time.................

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Day 12: off the coast of Spitsbergen

by tini58de

June 9, 2005We spent most of the day outside today!!Since we could not make it into the Hornsund yesterday as we had planned, we were forced by the packice to find another itinerary. We sailed along the ice looking for possible "detours" - and what we found were a couple of walrusses on the ice.This is more than unusual, since walrusses have not been spotted that far south that time a year, but the winter had been very cold and long, so we were extremely lucky!!! We spent about two hours in the zodiacs, just watching in particular one walrus - we were so close that we could even hear him breathe......In the afternoon we spotted polar bears!!! They were pretty far away, but with our binoculars we could observe them well! A polar bear mother with her cub playfighting in the water for almost an hour and then the little one sledging down a hill on his behind... not once, not twice - three...

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Questions and Answers

sheherezad profile photo

Q:  I suddenly mused that it might/should be more interesting to check out the Canadian North, the Inuits etc instead of checking out... 

Bothwell profile photo

A: Sheherezad, I think “Into the Northwest Passage” tour is definitely unique and is the kind of tour that you’d remember for the rest of your life. I’d say, go for... 

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