Coming home. A view from Mary-Ann’s Polarrigg on the 31st of March. The blinding effect of the soft, flat light reflected on the endless white is the friendly familiar feeling of the Arctic spring. The wideness and the cold air suddenly gave strong feeling of freedom and surreality. I had […]
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It is 8:30h in the morning and we have a meeting in the bar. A good start of the day. Our expedition leader Jan Belgers has to bring us less good news though: It is foggy, thus we cannot continue the planned landing at the big bird cliff at Steiningfjellet. […]
It started around a month ago. Suddenly and without a warning. I just got my Irish coffee after having eaten tacos on Friday the 10th of June and then I realized it. This would be my last taco Friday in Ny-Ålesund. For now. My mind calmed down again but last […]
Ny-Ålesund is a beautiful place where one gets to know so many people. But that means also that one has to say goodbye all the time. And that sucks. Especially if the nicest person in town, @crazysvalbardfoxlady is leaving. So Christelle, this post is for you ❤️ And yes, I […]
Ny-Ålesund in the dark. Yesterday evening, all the outside lights in town were switched off for science. Only some emergency lights and airport safety lights stayed on. But it was not only literally dark. Another war has started in the world. From the far North, my thoughts are with the […]
The last month has been all marked by light hunting. Since the end of January, the days become longer very rapidly. Every free weekend was spent on the snow scooter to the southern side of the peninsula. May I present you a little overview of last month’s light hunting, with […]
The light is coming back! The so-called “blue hour” has arrived. This picture has been taken around 12:30 local time (UTC+1). Every day gets lighter and it goes fast now. Thinking about next weekend’s plans with the idea of more light feels surreal, yet very nice. We are waiting for […]
The Kartverket antennas are pointing at different points in space, trying to receive radio radiation from objects called “quasars”. Those quasars are very far away and very stable in their own movement (they do not move). That is why they are considered fixed points. During a measurement, several antennas around […]
The Amundsen mast is one of the cultural heritages objects in and around Ny-Ålesund. Back in the days, this big pole was used as an anchor point for the zeppelin in which Roald Amundsen tried and succeeded to reach the North Pole in 1926. He could not enjoy his winner […]
The research vessel “Helmer Hanssen” from the University of Tromsø is in Ny-Ålesund at the moment, doing marine biological research in the fjord. A nice extra spot of light in the harbour and on the water in those dark winter months.