It was nice to wake up to land! In fact, the Hurty made a detour before Longyearbyen and took us to the Nordenskiöld Glacier via Billefjorden. This glacier is massive (11 by 25 km), and I was fortunate to see its spectacular, nearly 5-km-wide front.
Later, as we sailed into Adventfjorden, I was excited to spot the Seed Vault, which houses more than 1 million dormant seed samples of crops and trees from all over the world. It was pretty small in the distance with only the entrance visible, but seeing it has been a lifelong dream.
We docked in Longyearbyen, the world’s northernmost permanently inhabited town, just 1,300 km from the North Pole. The town sits in a valley surrounded by glaciers and steep, flat-topped mountains.
Longyearbyen was established as a coal-mining centre in the early 1900s, and mining continued until June 2025, when the town switched to diesel fuel.
Research and education are important industries up here. Students from all over the world come to study at the University Centre in Svalbard. The median age of the population is 33-35 years old so this is a youthful, vibrant town!
Droves of people were out walking and riding bikes, likely making the most of the daylight before the Polar Night period sets in. I watched a daycare group, and the little ones were all wearing reflective vests, playing freely in a huge outside yard with various play structures—one even had caribou antlers over the entrance.
There were a lot of vehicles out and about with noisy studded tires, even though it was a balmy 9°C today; however, snow could arrive any time and it’s illegal to drive in inclement conditions (including black ice) with regular tires.
Beside every apartment building, parking lots were full of snowmobiles. There were also a lot of larger snow cats around town. I’d love to see this place in winter.
After 14k hilly steps, I’m looking forward to catching a Roald Amundsen biopic on the ship tonight.
Some interesting quirks about Longyearbyen:
- There are only a few named streets; the rest are just numbered.
- You must take your shoes off in most places.
- An artist put together a colour palette for Longyearbyen’s houses and buildings. Only approved colours are permitted.
- It is famously forbidden to die or give birth here because the town has only basic medical facilities. Since the permafrost prevents bodies from decomposing properly, chronically ill residents must leave for the mainland. Pregnant women must do the same well before their due date.
- Residents are required to carry rifles outside the city limits due to the presence of polar bears, though weapons are banned inside premises.
- Cats are banned to protect the fragile local bird populations.
- There is a local ski hill run by volunteers.
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