May 18 - Longyearbyen

Written sometime in September & posted on 11/18/18

Svalbard is a Norwegian archipelago situated between the mainland of Norway and the North Pole. In 2016, population of Svalbard was 2,667, with over 2,000 residing in the small, northern town of Longyearbyen. (Fun fact: there are approximately 3,000 polar bears in Svalbard!) The infrastructure of Longyearbyen was built primarily because of coal mining, and while mining remains a major industry, tourism and research also play a part in the economy of Svalbard.

Thanks to fellow passenger Pete Benoit for this list of facts about Longyearbyen:

• Established in 1920 by American entrepreneur John Longyear of Boston, MA
  
• Longyearbyen is the largest settlement and the administrative center of Svalbard
• 2,200 residents from 53 nations including 35% non-Norwegians *There are more snowmobiles than people!
• 150,00 tourists per year arrive via the harbor and the airport
• The Svalbard Global Seed Vault was established 2008 to preserve varieties of plant seeds. It's one of 1,750 global seed banks.
  
• There are fenced in children’s playgrounds to protect children from polar bears
• University Centre in Svalbard (UNIS) offers undergraduate, graduate and postgraduate degrees in topics relating to the Arctic including the one-year Arctic Guide Program
• The Northern Light Observatory includes two massive satellite dishes on a peak above the town

We spent just a few hours in Longyearbyen, getting a few glimpses of how geography shapes life in this remote place before boarding the National Geographic Explorer. Click through the slideshow to read about my day in Longyearbyen!