We boarded our Zodiacs at 9pm in cold damp weather with a light snow falling. It’s really not about the weather, it’s what you wear. And, we were definitely bundled up.
We started out toward a beautiful, massive cliffside called Alkefjellet (say that three times fast). The mountain rose straight out of the sea and had spectacular columns that rose over 300 feet into the low cloud cover above.
The Alkefjellet CliffsThere were a number of guillemots on the water as we got closer to the cliffs.
As we approached the cliffs we started noticing many birds in the water. Our birding expert told us they were called the common guillemot. We learned that Alkefjellet means Mount Guillemot. Creative name.
As we grew even closer to the cliffs it appeared as if the walls were moving. Soon it became clear that the cliff was covered with these black and white birds. I mean covered. Experts estimate that there are over 120,000 guillemots on the cliffs above. We didn’t count, but, after seeing the massive numbers across the full width of the cliffs, I would almost think that is a low number. Guillemots come back to this same spot every year to nest. Each couple has one egg. Once the chick is ready to leave the nest the birds head out to sea and don’t return until the following year. I wonder if they rent the place out to other birds while they’re gone.
Click on this photo and zoom in on it. There are thousands of birds on this small section of the cliffs.A closer look.It’s like they live on different floors of an apartment building. The penthouse looks a bit crowded, though.I’m not sure how they nest in such close quarters.
One benefit of being with National Geographic photographers is that they teach you a lot about wildlife photography. I was having difficulty getting in-focus photos of birds in flight. Bryan, one of the photographers on our trip, gave me a few pointers:
I was particularly proud of this photo of a guillemot in flight. You can even see the light snow falling around it.
After about an hour we headed back to the ship. As we embarked they handed us a hot toddy with dark rum which put a nice finish on the enlightening excursion.
The expedition (we were told not to call it a cruise) went quickly and on our last day we saw more polar bears. Not as exciting as the momma and her new cubs. This was a mom with two two-year-old cubs. They were huge rather than cute. And, they really didn’t stay too close to mom. After a while, they laid down to sleep and she kept going. I think she was trying to ditch them. Two years is long enough!
Here are all three bears. Mom on the right. The kids on the left.The young ones seemed to be ready to call it a night.But, mom just kept on walking along the shore. Before long she was out of sight. I wonder if the kids ever caught back up with her.
Finally, Lisa and I had a chance to kayak out to a beautiful glacier. We were warned not to get too close to the glacier or surrounding ice as the glacier could calve (big pieces falling off) and the mini-icebergs could flip over causing it to fall on us. Since neither option sounded good to us, we kept our distance.
Heading out in our kayak!The glacier (I think that couple might be too close!)One of the icebergs with kittiwakes on it.The kayaks lined up outside the ship.
We’re now sitting in our hotel after disembarking the ship and flying to Oslo. We head home tomorrow. It has been an amazing experience. We learned so much and got an appreciation for the environment, the wildlife, and the history of this remote part of the world. On our second to last day we crossed over the 80th parallel. We will likely never be this far north again. But, we will never forget our time here.
Stay tuned for Lisa’s wrap-up of our visit to the Arctic.
Lisa and I were awakened in the morning to a 4.0 magnitude earthquake. At least that’s how it felt. We looked outside and we were surrounded by sea ice.
The National Geographic Resolution is the world’s first Polar Class 5 icebreaker cruise ship. This means it can go places in arctic waters that virtually no other cruise ship would attempt. Today was a day we did just that. As we came around to the east side of the Spitsbergen the sea was iced over throughout much of the route. The ship vibrates like an earthquake as it plows through the frozen ocean.
Plowing through sea ice as seen from the bow of the ship.
The bridge of the ship is always open to passengers (one of the unique opportunities for passengers on the Resolution). So, Lisa and I thought we’d better head up there to see what was going on.
We arrived to find a flurry of activity. The navigation officer was driving. She had the biggest smile on her face as she guided the Resolution through the ice. Apparently it is one of the most fun aspects of piloting a ship. And an experience not available to most cruise ship officers.
The view from the bridge.Our Navigation Officer was having a blast piloting the ship through the ice.
Watching the ship carve though the ice is mesmerizing. Take a look at this short video. Make sure the sound is up on your device.
Breaking through the ice.
The crew told us we were plowing through ice in search of polar bears. They largely spend their time on sea ice in search of seals, their favorite food. The ship has extraordinary technology to search for wildlife. The bridge has both infrared cameras and telephoto cameras to spot bears. The infrared cameras pick up the heat signature of the animals and the regular cameras confirm what type of animal had been spotted.
The infrared camera above with the corresponding standard image below. Lisa and I searching for polar bears.
After a full morning of searching, alas, no polar bears.
We did, however, catch site of a walrus lounging on the ice.
A nice afternoon nap in the sun.He was soon visited by an ivory gull. But, he didn’t want to play.
The ice we were carving through is called drift, or pack ice. It is floating out in the ocean. We kept hearing about fast ice — the kind we aren’t allowed to navigate through. Was it moving too quickly? As it turns out, fast ice is a term for ice that is “fastened” to the land. Since it is essentially an extension of the land, it is considered habitat for polar bears, seals, and walruses. So, we stay out of these areas so as to not destroy their habitat.
Sea ice is rapidly disappearing. The warming of the planet is occurring quickly and even faster at the poles. There is clearly more we need to do to slow Earth’s warming. Diminishing sea ice eliminates the habitat for many of the species we are seeing on this visit. It also means ice on land such as Greenland is melting in the ocean which significantly raises sea levels and affects coastal areas all over the world. Scientists estimate the Arctic could be ice free by 2040.
Arctic sea ice levels in September and March from 1978 to 2023 vs. 30 year average.
After lunch, since we still have Arctic ice, we got out into our Zodiacs for an afternoon cruise. The weather was spectacular.
First we took a lap around the ship.We cruised along the sea ice.Brad capturing the scene.
Our Zodiac group was led by a National Geographic photographer. He was a great educator, helping us get the most out of our cameras. He was also good at identifying the arctic birds that were flying overhead.
A Northern fulmarA Kittiwake
No luck finding a polar bear today, however. So, we’ll try again tomorrow. We’re heading north through more sea ice that is prime polar bear territory. We’ll keep our eyes open and let you know if we spot one!
We flew to Longyearbyen, Svalbard from Oslo today. The three hour flight took us north of the 78th parallel. Because the Earth tilts on its axis, days are longer the farther north one travels in the summer. It is the exact opposite in the winter. Days get shorter as you approach the winter solstice. I’m a geography geek so I began to ponder this concept (much to Lisa’s dismay).
Think about it this way: The equator is at 0 degrees latitude. The North Pole on the other extreme is at 90 degrees. Hawaii, in the tropics, is at 20 degrees latitude, San Francisco at 38 degrees, New York City and Boulder, Colorado are at 40 degrees.
We started this trip in Copenhagen. It is way up north at 56 degrees latitude. Oslo, where we spent the past two days is even farther north — 60 degrees.
The days at the equator are always the same. Exactly 12 hours of daylight and 12 hours of darkness. Hawaii days vary, but very little from winter to summer. Most of us live in 35 to 40 degree latitudes and we’re all familiar with those long summer days and the very early darkness in winter. Norway, on the other hand is known as the Land of the Midnight Sun in the summer and sees the sun set not long after noon in the winter.
Well, here in Svalbard, we will not see a sun set the entire week we are here. The sun will simply circle overhead, never even approaching the horizon. No Northern Lights for us. Our grandson Max asked us how we will know when to go to bed. I told him, “I have no idea.” I write this at 10 pm with the sun blazing overhead. Lisa and I are forcing ourselves to sleep.
The view from our deck at 9:30 PM. The sun will get no lower than this. It will simply circle around the sky.
Conversely, the sun will not rise at all in December. Darkness all day for days on end.
The Arctic Circle is defined by the point farthest south where there is at least one day where the sun does not set in the summer and does not rise in the winter. The Arctic Circle is at 66.34 degrees latitude. So, with Svalbard being so deep beyond the Arctic Circle it will experience many days with no sunset. Kinda cool. Kinda strange.
Svalbard is just south of the North Pole near the 80th parallel.
Anyway, we boarded the National Geographic Resolution, a new ship equipped with icebreaking capability and luxury accommodations. First, however, we spent a little time with husky dogs, the ones who pull the dog sleds around here. The weather was an unusually balmy 43 degrees. Very fun.
The dogs are out sunning themselves on this beautiful summer day.BlitzenDiamond
More to come as we embark on our search for polar bears, walruses, and arctic foxes. But first, we have to figure out how to go to sleep with the sun shining through our curtains all night long!
We have never been to any of the Scandinavian countries. We decided, by seeing other people’s photos, watching the show the “Bear” that featured Copenhagen, and knowing that we enjoy good food and wine, that Copenhagen was top on our list. My friend, Joan Stucka, sent me a book by Michael Booth about Scandinavia entitled “The Almost Nearly Perfect People” and it certainly had us intrigued. Denmark has been named the Happiest Place in the World. Oprah even came to visit and agreed that the Danes were surely the world’s happiest. We were ready to go to Copenhagen and share in some of this happiness for 72 hours.
Although the weighty job of judging world-beating happiness in just three days is impossible, I will say the city is extremely vibrant, young, clean, and just plain contagious. We arrived on a beautiful, warm sunny Sunday afternoon and the place was bursting with people enjoying the sunshine. The famous canals and waterways were packed full of boats. People were swimming and sunning themselves. Every café was filled to the brim along Nyhavn, a popular street full of colorful buildings and a variety of restaurants. Jet lag was no longer a possibility with all of this energy around us. We walked the famous shopping area, The Stroget and began to enjoy the vibrancy of Copenhagen.
Nyhaven Street. A historic area full of open air restaurants, colorful buildings, and old sailing vessels.A beautiful day on the canals — pleasure craft on the water, cyclists on the bridge, and sunbathers on the shore.
In the following three days, we learned a lot about Copenhagen’s history through a wonderful Old Town city and food tour and a boat trip out on the canals and waterways. We took to the streets on our bikes and worked our way to the famed Little Mermaid statue (Copenhagen was the home of Hans Christian Anderson), and saw the current palace of the monarchy. We figured out the subway and train system and went out to the Lousiana Art Museum in Humlebaek (Thanks to our friend Shelley Freeman who gave us the recommendation). We ate lots of open-faced sandwiches (smorrebrod) and dined on outstanding Danish-inspired French Cuisine.
The famous Little Mermaid statue. Hans Cristian Andersen, who wrote the fairy tale, was from Copenhagen. A sculpture from the Louisiana Art Museum about 30 miles north of Copenhagen. We could see Sweden across the strait.An upscale, modern take on smorrebrod, the traditional open-faced sandwiches of Denmark. These featured herring, beets, and cheese foam. All were delicious.A more traditional display of smorrebrod.
After pondering the question of happiness, talking to as many people as we could and reading Michael Booth’s book, here is what we came up with:
— The Danish people seem to be a very content group. The live in a society that values income equality. There are very few people at the top or at the bottom of the income spectrum. They have free quality education and health care and take good care of their senior citizens and their pre-schoolers.
— The Danes trust each other and their politicians. We were there during a run-up to an election and there must have been about ten different political groups represented. Apparently, they get together as a coalition and represent the wills of the people so there is little divisiveness between parties. They certainly are not envious of America’s current situation.
There were posters all over the city for the upcoming election to represent Denmark in the European Parliament.
— The Danes love their Royal Family. They feel that they are one of them and they are often seen in public (The King even sponsors – and runs in – a half marathon). Their children even go to public schools. The Danish Queen, Queen Margrethe abdicated her throne in January of 2024 to let her son Frederik become King; an act that astonished the people because she was so beloved. King Frederik is known to be a man of the people and even met his wife Mary at a bar in Australia rather than some arranged affair.
The Amalienborg Palace, the royal residence.We rode our bikes over to the palace.
— The Danes pay a lot of money in taxes — up to 72%. That means they work until Thursday before they earn their own money. Amazingly, they seem to do it without complaining because it helps give them all a high standard of living. 90% of Danes can be considered middle class. And, no one can cheat and pay less on their taxes like in other countries.
— The Danes love their bicycles. The streets are full of hundreds of bikes at all times! 60% of Copenhagen people ride their bikes to and from work. There are a couple of reasons for that statistic. There are bike lanes everywhere so it makes cyclists safer on the roads. But most likely the main reason is that cars are taxed at 100% so owning a car is a very expensive proposition.
There are more bikes than cars on the road.There are many of these contraptions out and about. Moms and Dads taking their kids along. Entire parking lots of bikes were everywhere.
— Danes are very social and love being involved in clubs and groups of all kinds. We saw many running clubs while we were walking around the city. Apparently there are clubs for everyone and every interest. The saying is that a Dane will go to a party and within eight minutes figure out three degrees of separation with everyone at the gathering. Forget Kevin Bacon’s six degrees of separation. They only need three! Our boat tour was called a social sailing trip with the main objective of getting to know each other and share in experiences rather than simply hearing a lecture about history.
I think the answer is B but our captain says it’s C.Our captain showing us the ski slope built into the recycling plant seen in the background.
— Recycling, electric cars, and environmental measures are very important to the Danes. We saw nearly as many electric cars as gas-powered ones and the government is very proactive when it comes to the environment. Their trains and subways are clean and efficient and a very popular way to commute.
— Sadly, they smoke a lot and they smoke at restaurants outdoors. Our one big complaint. Apparently the Danish tobacco industry has a grip on its population.
— Their language is impossible to translate for Americans but everyone speaks English so it is easy to get information. They have added three extra letters to their alphabet to make it even more confusing.
OK, we know what you’re thinking. But, this translates to “Your Speed.”
— If you are into Legos, the company started in Denmark in 1932. The word lego means, play well. They have the original Legoland about three hours out of the city! Our hotel had a replica in their lobby made completely out of Legos.
Our hotel, the Hotel D’AngleterreIt’s Lego replica in the lobby.
Copenhagen ended up on the very top of our list of favorite places to visit. The city is walkable and bikeable, the people are vibrant, and there are no safety concerns, and it is a culinary paradise. We loved our 72 hours in this beautiful country.
Chocolate is readily available.Another source of happiness in Denmark — the danish.Lisa getting ready to enjoy our giant grilled artichoke.The Danes love licorice. Here is a whole wall full of various licorice candies.No place is Denmark is more than 32 miles from the coast. So fish is a staple of the Danish diet. This monkfish is ugly, but tastes delicious.And, it’s pretty easy to find herring. This sign reminded me of the Forrest Gump scene about shrimp.
Lisa and Brad's Travels 