Peek to the darkness

It's still coming light at the day time, but the beautiful full moon gave us a nice peek to the coming polar night. Earlier the coming time of total darkness was something unrealistic, something very distant. But having some walks with the dog out on the light of the full moon gave a feeling about the coming time. Now I'm almost waiting forward for the months in darkness.

Now it's time to get used to have daily walks in the town also in darkness. It's time to remember to have reflectors on again - both on us with two feet but also on those with four.

The most eager ones have already started their scooters and been happily driving around. For me this amount of snow isn't yet anything impressive, I prefer wait little bit more and enjoy then driving without getting worried about cooling problems or hitting stones.

Our dog isn't howling the moon. He knows that only thing which is worth to howl are bitches.

It's already getting light in the early morning, but the moon is still going around on it's orbit. I'm not any early bird, but when it's that beautiful morning, it's actually pretty nice to have a little walk with the dog. 

One more busy week in Svea

One more cargo-ship has just left Svea. We have got the first container of goods in the storage. Everything need to be unpacked, registered in the electronic inventory management system and placed in the right place in the storage.

When the one containerfull of goods is ready, the next one is coming. The work continues.

There is lot of work included before we can delivery a thing out of the storage.

At the lunch time the sun is still shining in Svea.

When we're going to have a dinner, the sun has set and beautiful pink is taking over.

The sun is still shining in early October

When I'm on call duty in Svea, I'm coming home in early morning day after when I'm normally coming. From the airplane it looks like town is still in sleep. I'm almost as well.

But some hours later the sun has reached the town. These are the last days when we can see sun shining in the town. When you know it, you just can't stay inside and let the town glide to the shadows again.

White world

So was our summer holiday over and Svalbard was welcoming us back. It was quite an experience to walk out of the airplane and meet the white world after really nice days in summerly Denmark.

Next morning I wasn't even got really woken when I was already sitting a small aircraft and was on the way to Svea. The first work week after a holiday was starting.

Actually autumn in Svalbard is quite nice. I really like that special pink colour in the sky.

It can be pretty painful to wake up early to work, but  beautiful view helps to wake up and gives a good start for a new day.

It was still summer

Even though it was already September, we were really lucky with weather and had a nice summer holiday in Denmark with warm days. We're usually splitting our summer holiday in two and have the second part little bit later in autumn before darkness is coming in Svalbard. It gives somehow the feeling that winter is shorter - it can't be that long when we just came from summer holiday!

Our well-known holiday place was welcoming us once more. I really love our holidays here in Denmark.

We were also travelling little bit in Denmark and had couple of nice days in Samsø, in a little island between peninsula of Jutland and Zealand (the island where Copenhagen is). You don't actually need to be travelling really far away for to find exciting holiday places.

I have to admit that I haven't seen earlier a pumpkin field. These pumpkins were quite a bit bigger than my own I was growing in Longyearbyen.

An essential part of a good holiday is good food. And that we're not lacking in Denmark. Even though, I wasn't really sure if I was happy to meet that red thing on my plate...

Of course our faithful black coated companion was following us everywhere we went. I'm sure he enjoyed our holiday as much as we did.

Everyday life in Svea

I'm spending every other week in Svea, so Svea isn't just a work place but I need to think that there is my other home. For that it's worth to be working like we're doing you need to like your work, work place and have a good time with you workmates. Luckily we're having a really good team to work with and work days aren't lacking laugh and good stories.

It's actually pretty nice to be flying to Svea. I just love these mountains and like to be following where we're. I think landscape is just amazing from the air perspective. Here is Longyearbyen from southward.

This summer has been really cloudy and rainy. Here is Svea in sunshine - one of those rare days we were having a summerly weather. 

Summer is a hectic time in Svea, even though production is low when many of miners are having theis summer holiday. This is shipping seasons first coal boat, transporting 80 000 tonn good quality Svea-coal to the European market.

It's easier to see how huge the bulk boat is when you compare it for a tank boat beside it or to the 20 feet containers stabled on the left side of harbour.

After a work week it's nice to fly home. Soon a complete free week is starting!

Summer days with rain and slush

This summer hasn't been the best one in last years. It has been cloudy, raining and partly cold. Having mountains covered with new snow in late July wasn't really cheering. But somehow, even though the sun has been a rare thing to see, it's easiest to remember those nice days. 

White mountains are nice, but in late July it would be nicer to look mountains without snow.

But anyhow, I think it was kind of impressive to see and feel that coldness in the middle of the summer.

This isn't a graveyard with its's crosses but a building site. Here is coming a new student housing.

But there were also couple of nice days. Then it was almost necessity to spend some time out.

The best way to spend a nice summerly days is to take a little bag with a thermos and packed lunch and have a little trip somewhere on surrounding mountains.

Also our dog is appreciating those small trips.

Always ready, is his motto.

Living in a dangerous place

If I say that life is dangerous here in Svalbard, I guess people start to think polar bears or harsh Arctic climate. But no, I don't mean anything like that. It looks like we're living in a place with dangerous diseases.

The mainland Norway isn't having Rabies, not Echinococcus parasite either. We're having both of them here in Svalbard. Because of that all the dogs, which are travelling to the mainland need to be identity marked (chipped) and they need to have yearly vaccination against Rabies and blood analyse to proof antibodies against that disease. Earlier we bought ourself a worm treatment against Echinococcus before we travelled to the mainland, but since May we couldn't do that ourself anymore but a worm treatment needed to be given by a vet. And that caused a little bit more seriouse problems as a vet is coming to the island just about three times per year.

In early August a lady who can give veterinary services moved in the our island. That makes our life easier, at least temporiraly, as she can confirm given worm treatment. But anyhow, even though we can get now necessary stamps on dogs passport, we can't travel just like that to the mainland. Rules aren't that easy to interpret. Costums meaned that Svalbard is counted in the same category than third countries, which means that we need to contact two days before we travel "Mattilsynet" (=Norwegian Food Safety Authority) and ask a veterinary to meet us in the airport we're landing. Travelling with an animal from Svalbard to the mainland is counted as risky as taking an animal from the deepest Africa with excotic and potentially dangerous diseases. That resulted in that a veterinary needed to be called and he checked that our dog was looking healthy enough to be slipped in the country.

I shouldn't be compleining about the rules which are meant to protect our safety, but in this case I'm feeling all that is little bit overkill and unnecessary use of resources which are paid by taxes. I really can't get it that we're living in so dangerous place it's necessary with all of that fuzz.