The Voyage Ends; Not the Trip

Wednesday, 13 July
Latitude at Wake UP: 78°13’46” N
latitude at the end of the day: 60°19’42” N

Crossing from Alkhornet, our landing site on the opposite side of Isfjorden (post here), Silver Explorer spent the night anchored just off shore from Longyearbyen (Longyear City), the administrative center of Svalbard. 

After a quiet night in the calm waters of the bay, we woke up to find the ship tied up to the pier on the outskirts of Longyearbyen.  The overcast skies did little to brighten up the industrial feel of the town, which was named for John Munroe Longyear, one of two Americans who made a deal in 1905 with a Norwegian company that was looking for foreign buyers to develop and run the coal mining operations in the area.

Hoping for a chance to make a quick, exploratory trip into town, we prepared for the day ahead and went to The Restaurant for breakfast.  Our plans were for naught, however.  Since we were going to be chartered to Oslo as a group, passengers were not being allowed off the ship to go wandering at will.  Understandable, I suppose; but disappointing nonetheless since it’s doubtful that we’ll ever find ourselves back in Longyearbyen (or Svalbard for that matter).

With a population just over 1,900, Longyearbyen is considered to be
the world’s most northerly town.

Disembarkation was scheduled for 9:45a, but with our outbound charter flight bringing the passengers for the next cruise, we were asked to vacate the suites by 8:30a to give the crew time to complete their cleaning chores.  So, we collected our carry-on bags after breakfast and made ourselves comfortable in the Panorama Lounge.  Our timing was excellent as it wasn’t long before the seating was at capacity.

Coal was transported from the mines to the shipping point via cable cars
called “kibb;” the towers supporting the cables were called “kibbstolper”
(kibb poles).  This conveyance system is now defunct.

Mui sneaks off to put a few things in one of our bags so we don’t have
to carry them aboard the plane.

The airport transfer busses arrived around 9:30a and disembarkation began soon thereafter.  Not sure why we had to go through the security gate, but we did, running our shipboard cards through the reader one last time to show that we had indeed disembarked the ship.  (I wonder if anyone has ever tried to stow away at the end of the cruise?  Maybe I should have tried).

Filing down the gangway, we found our bags amongst the luggage that was lined up on the pier, waiting to be identified.  (Seeing some of the oversized bags the other passengers had brought, I sure felt better about our three pieces!)  Making sure the bags were loaded in the baggage truck, we said our farewells to the expedition team that had taken such good care of us, and boarded what turned out to be the first bus to leave the pier.

The ride to the Longyearbyen airport was short.  Being amongst the first to arrive worked in our favor.  Sure, we still had to wait 30-minutes or so (seemed longer; and maybe it was) for the SAS check-in counters to open, but at least we were one of the first to get our seat assignments.  Yay for exit row seats!!!

For those curious about such details, the checked bag allowance for the charter flight was 75 pounds (34 kg) per person.  There was no mention of a per bag limit; the SAS agent did not blink an eye when we presented her with three pieces that weighed well below the combined limit for the two of us.  Our carry-on bags (all camera equipment) were well over the 11-pound (5 kg) limit; we were relieved that they were not weighed!!!

The baggage carousel is under the protection of a polar bear.
(the bear was killed in 2009 after it attacked a couple of students near the airport,
fatally injuring one of them.) 

Next, we had to wait for security to man the checkpoint.  Passing that hurdle without mishap, we found ourselves in the deserted waiting lounge where we snagged a couple of lounge chairs with leg rests.  Nice!  Free internet access gave us all an opportunity to check on long-neglected email accounts; and I even managed to post a teaser to the blog before the boarding announcement for SAS Flight 7193 was made at just before noon.  Nice!

A comfy Boeing 737-800 is waiting for us to board for the flight to Oslo.

“Farvel” Longyearbyen; “Farvel” spitsbergen; “farvel” Svalbard!

right about now Silver Explorer is boarding the passengers for the next cruise!
[dead center in the picture]

last glimpse of the Norwegian Arctic before the plane climbs above the cloud deck.

The nearly 3-hour flight to Oslo was uneventful.  We were served a full-lunch consisting of chicken cold-cuts on a bed of pasta, and panna cotta with raspberries for dessert.  Quite reasonable for airline food.  After lunch, I pulled out the Oslo information from my bag and put together “jello-plans” for our 2½-day post-cruise stay in Norway’s capital city.  If those plans have to change due to circumstances beyond our control — weather being foremost — then so be it, but at least I have a priority-sightseeing list that will help us make the most of our limited time.

We arrive in Oslo to sunshine and blue skies.

We landed at the Oslo airport around 3:15p.  It took us another 45 minutes to go through passport control (surprise!), collect our luggage, pass through customs, and supplement our stash of NOK (Norwegian Krone) at the currency exchange booth.  All this and we were still on the first of several Silversea transfer busses from the airport to our hotel, the Radisson Blu Scandinavia.  With traffic heavy, but flowing smoothly, the ride took about 40 minutes.  Along the way, we enjoyed the lush green landscape we’d seen from the air.  What a difference from the tundra environment.

"velkommen til” Oslo!
(Oslo Gardermoen airport from the transfer bus to the city)

Typical scenery en route to Oslo on the transfer bus.

When you arrive at a hotel as part of a transfer group, check in can be a time-consuming hassle.  Even though we were sitting in the back of the bus, our divide-and-conquer plan worked well to reduce our check-in time at the Radisson Blu.  While Mui waited for the luggage to be off-loaded, I went inside to check us in.  Our names had been phoned in by the woman who had greeted us when we boarded the bus, so all room assignments had already been made.  Five minutes after arrival, we were in Room 622.  And the good news; we won’t have to switch rooms for the rest of our stay, which is on our own nickel (tonight’s stay is included in the Silversea transfer package from Longyearbyen.)

622 is a “cozy,” run-of-the-hotel room that overlooks a residential neighborhood;
well-insulated windows keep the traffic noise at bay.

We didn’t dawdle in the room.  By 5:30p, we were at one of the local grocery stores, buying the fixings for peanut butter and jelly sandwiches (for lunch), and fruits and snacks to munch on while we’re exploring the city.  Dropping off our purchases in the room, we then went walk-about around downtown Oslo.  Our outing confirmed that the hotel is indeed conveniently located within walking distance of downtown and will make a good base of operations for us.  I have no idea what Silversea is paying for tonight’s stay, but at $281, the two-night advance purchase package (with breakfast) that I booked for the rest of our stay is a best-buy of this trip.

We didn’t have a specific destination in mind and just wanted to get our bearings, so we headed to the Slottet (Royal Palace), located at the top of Karl Johans Gate, Oslo’s main drag.  [“Gate” means street in Norwegian.]  Named after Karl Johan, King of Norway and Sweden (1818-1844), the street is lined with stately buildings — to include, the University and the National Theater — as well as department stores, boutiques, and eateries galore.  A perfect place for people-watching.  And we had plenty to watch as the sunshine-filled, blue-sky weather and 62F (17C) temperature had brought people out in droves.  Add to them a bevy of motorcyclists strutting their stuff in black leather jackets and leggings — you bet we definitely had plenty to watch.

With no cameras to weigh us down, we walked most of the way down Karl Johans, detouring into side streets to find out where they led.  We stopped to browse menus, trying to decide where to eat dinner.  Unable to make up our minds, we did what a lot of others had done — we bought panini sandwiches to go, found a bench overlooking a fountain in the park next door to the National Theater, and sat down to enjoy an al fresco meal, followed by ice cream for dessert.

Good enough for the locals; Good enough for us.
[taken with Mui’s Blackberry]

We were back at the hotel by 8:00p and more than ready for an early night for a change.  Tomorrow we start exploring Oslo in earnest.