JW2OTA - Svalbard - News

Rune, LA2OTA will be active from Svalbard 24 September - 1 October 2014 as JW2OTA.
He will be active on 160 - 10m CW, SSB.
QSL via home call.
Information from Rune:
Hello all ! Will be qrv from Longyearbyen from 24.September to 1. Oktober together with Gunnar LA1FH- Kjell LA9HH and the BOSS LA8DW Karl.
We will be qrv on SSB and CW - 10 to 160m if band is open ! 73 and hope to se you in the pileup !

Svalbard

A fairytale place to visit

Svalbard is a (Norwegian archipelago) situated in the Arctic Ocean, on the north main land Europe and it is approximately halfway among continental (Norway and the North Pole). Svalbard is known as the kingdom of the polar bear and it is a truly fascinating place for travelers from worldwide. This beautiful place is unique from many aspects, including its wildlife, wild nature and also for the old mining towns that are spread on the islands. Some interesting things about Svalbard include:

Its name, which in English means “cold coasts” and which was first mentioned in the twelfth century, in Icelandic texts.
Almost 65 percent of Svalbard’s area is consisting of protected areas, including six national parks, three nature reserves, a geo-topical protected area and fifteen bird sanctuaries.
The archipelago is characterized by a relatively mild climate, with an average temperature that ranges from -14 degrees Celsius in winter, to 6 degrees Celsius in summer. During summer, fog is relatively common on this archipelago.

Unique experiences in the Arctic

Svalbard is a wonderful place to visit, not only for its impressive wildlife and wild nature, but also for the variety of places to visit and go to. You can find a wide selection of restaurants, cafes and pubs, especially in Longyearbyen, which is Svalbard’s capital. One of the most interesting and special experience that you can live there is enjoying a meal in a Sami turf. In most of the restaurants and cafes that you can find in this country, you can find delicious dishes basically using local ingredients, which include seal, whale, arctic char, grouse and even reindeer. There is also possible that sometimes you may also be able to find polar bear on the menu, although this rarely happens.

Some of the local products that you should take into consideration for shopping include furs, silver and gold. You can find different shops, from smallest to largest, where you can buy everything from groceries and fresh foods, to sports and leisure equipment and also a variety of amazing gifts and souvenirs. You will also be able to find some small stalls and galleries which sell different handicrafts, art and national costumes.

Activities that range on season

Svalbard is offers the perfect setting for a wide variety of activities, which may differ depending on the season.

Activities suitable for summer and autumn. Some of the most common activities that can be enjoyed during these seasons include boat trips, cruises and hiking, but other activities are also available and they include kayaking, seal watching and dog sledding on wheels.
Activities for winter. During this season, you can enjoy having some skiing trips with snowmobile or with dog sledding, which is one of the most common and enjoyable activity in the country.

Although some activities are mostly suitable for a specific season, there are also activities that can be enjoyed regardless of the season. Some of these activities include the following:

Visit at the gallery in Longyearbyen, where you can admire a selection of books, old maps, exhibition of paintings and sometimes even sales exhibitions.
The Svalbard Museum, situated in Longyearbyen, offers a variety of exhibitions consisting of flora, fauna, hunting and coal mining representative for Svalbard.
The Longyearbyen Church, which is a wonderful place to visit any time and offers service on Sundays. Also, on every Tuesday evening, there are Norwegian waffles and coffee sold at this church and this offers people the chance to get to know each other better.

Some of the other activities and events that you can enjoy in Svalbard require a minimum number of attendants and they are:

Barbecue evenings
Boat trips
Glacier walks
Ice caving
Dog sledding
Rides
Fossil hunting
Kayak trips
Skiing trips
Weasel trips
Sightseeing
Snowmobile safaris
Wilderness camps

Interesting facts to know

Of course that you’ll find out about hotels, restaurants and shopping very easy, since you can search for them on the internet. However, some of the things that are not shown this easy for locals and visitors are some less common things related to Svalbard – these are the interesting facts that you will enjoy reading for your interest and fun:

In Svalbard, the Polar night lasts between October 26^th and February 14^th. However, a difference between day and night can be observed between November 14^th and January 29^th.
In the dark period, the northern lights can be seen on Svalbard even in the middle of the day.
The midnight sun in Svalbard exists between April 15^th and August 26^th.
Every year, the Arctic Tern migrates 70000 km from the Antarctic to the Arctic and then back again.
There are over 40 different nationalities living in Lonyearbyen.
Svalbard is the only place where Svalbard Reindeer can be found.
The polar bear has actually developed from the brown bear and it took it thousands of years to perfectly adapt to the arctic environment.
Only the female polar bear hibernates for about two months in the winter in order to have her cubs, but the male polar bear does not hibernate.
In Svalbard, there are more polar bears than people.
In Svalbard, there is low air humidity, which makes this location be categorized as arctic desert.
During every summer, there are hundreds of bird species that nest on and around Svalbard.
There are fossils in Svalbard which you can freely pick and take home with you.
The Predator X, which was the largest sea living carnivore in the world, was excavated in Svalbard in 2009, by the team lead by paleontologist Jørn Hurum, Ph.D.

Thoughts in the end

As you can see, Svalbard is one of the most interesting places in the world and it offers a wide variety of things to see and do. With its wild nature and its amazing places, Svalbard offers the perfect setting for any visitor who wishes to enjoy a story-like vacation.

JW2OTA Svalbard