Two Lithuanians landed in Svalbard: compulsory weapons, a whale steak and Lenin’s bust still standing

We buy tickets for 400 euros with risk; We did not know if Norway would be open to tourists or if it would need to be quarantined. We were lucky and were able to travel freely.

So when we come down from Vilnius, we change to Riga, Oslo, and then we land in Longjyrbiene, from where the north pole is only 1300 kilometers away.

The capital of Svalbard meets gloomy weather – the wind blows and it rains. When you come in from a hot summer, you want to shrink. The driver of the bus that takes tourists through the hotels briefly introduces this city to the captain.

The city was founded in 1906 by American John Munroe Longyear, who started a coal mining business here. It currently has more than two thousand inhabitants and up to 42 nationalities. Mostly Norwegians, and secondly they settled down unexpectedly. We did not agree with the Lithuanians, but we heard that at least one really does.

The city has a university, research institutions, a coal mine remains, and tourism is playing an increasingly important role. As we drive, we see that all the buildings, most of which are painted in bright colors, are built on poles; here is the land of permafrost and this method is the safest.

Near the streets and courtyards they leave countless snowmobiles waiting for winter. There are no trees growing throughout the archipelago.

After leaving the hotel, we hurried to rent a rifle; after all, it is forbidden to leave the city without him. To obtain a weapon, a European firearms passport is required or, as was the case with us, the governor of Svalbard is contacted and a special permit is issued by him. It is true that a certificate of innocence is also necessary.

The woman behind the counter checks if I can really use the rifle, we paid 150 euros and the Mauser reminiscent of WWII is in our hands for a week.

We are in a hurry to rent a rifle; after all, it is forbidden to leave the city without him.

When we visit the supermarket, we first put the gun in the safe and take a look; the prices, of course, are not Lithuanian, but lower than in Norway. Svalbard is generally a tax-exempt area, so cigarettes and alcohol cost here similarly to Lithuania.

By the way, the northernmost brewery in the world is located in Longyearbyen.

Late at night it is completely bright: the polar day, when the sun is around the horizon throughout the day, will continue for a few more days, and then the white nights will begin.

As we leave the slopes of the mountains, we see old mines and stretched pillars that used to transport coal to the fjord in hanging carts.

When he returns to the hotel, the polar fox that came from somewhere rejoices.

Konstantin smokes a flying homemade travel hookah outside. We didn’t stay overnight too long and after drawing extra thick curtains we finally created our usual dark night. In the morning we will sail to Russian Barentsburg.

The bus bypasses all accommodations and picks up those who have registered for the trip. About thirty people, and we are the only ones with weapons, the only ones sailing in one direction. Because back through the lands of the white bears we will walk again.

We are the only ones with weapons, the only ones sailing in one direction. Because back through the lands of the white bears we will walk again.

At first, the ship sails towards the Esmark glacier, from an impressive wall several tens of meters high, white and blue, slowly sliding into the water, it smells cold.

The crew takes a chunk of dislodged ice and serves it to all travelers in glasses with whiskey or Fanta. Then lunch is served, the most interesting part of which is the fillet of the only whale that is still hunted in Norway – the small stretch.

As we sail towards Barentsburg, the water becomes increasingly undulating, the ship sways, but the houses already visible in the distance assure us that we will not be able to get seasick.

After mentioning the name of the city, let’s take a look at the history of the archipelago. It was the Dutch traveler Willem Barents who discovered this archipelago in 1596. He called what he saw Spitsbergen (in Dutch “pointed mountains”). Dutch, English and Danish whalers soon developed here. Later, the Russian ethnic group Pomors, engaged in fishing and hunting.

Mining began in the late 19th and 20th centuries. All this time the archipelago did not belong to any state. Finally, in 1920. Under the Treaty of Svalbard, sovereignty of the archipelago was assigned to Norway, and in 1925. Svalbard finally became part of the Kingdom of Norway.

It is true that the agreement gives the signatories the right to participate in fishing, hunting and mining. According to the treaty, the territory is demilitarized. Lithuania joined the list of signatory countries in 2013. By the way, Svalbard is the only territory in the world without a visa.

And now let’s go back to shore, where Anna, who came from the Urals, tells about this settlement in English with a bright accent. The city of mines was founded by the Dutch in 1932. It was sold to the Soviets. And now it belongs to Arktikugol, the Russian state trust that suffers losses.

It has more than 400 inhabitants, about 70 children. Especially from Russia and Ukraine, Donbass. There are also Tajik workers. Most are lured by a salary three times higher than the continent’s mines, some come from romantic incentives to live in the Arctic, there are scientists. More and more people are involved in tourism, a specially established subsidiary of Arktikugol, the travel company Grumant.

This place is very contrasting: next to at least externally renovated sports and cultural halls, canteens, troika housing blocks (four floors, locally called skyscrapers), other buildings, there are abandoned and dilapidated buildings, pipes dug out of the ground .

A Japanese SUV has been placed in front of the huge “Our goal is communism” sign. The Lenin city bust can be enjoyed today and tomorrow; after all, the day is here 24 hours a day.

Right next to the reindeer roaming the grass. Attention is drawn to the strange building with an extremely high fence – the Russian consulate. At the door there is a table with the working hours: four days and two hours each. For our two guides, Sergei opens the museum. Arctic explorations, Pomors, geology, history of the city and other exhibits. Presented in an old fashioned but neat and welcoming way.

No less interesting than the museum is Sergei himself, a tattooed and pierced Muscovite who never liked the capital and loved the north. Having spent part of his life further north, he studied the behavior of polar bears in the land of Pranas Joseph.

In general, the town seems dead, it turns out that everyone rests at home since Sunday.

During the night walk, we visited a miniature church, watching the man fish for cod off the pier without success. On the way back, we passed three guys from the “Krasnyj medved” bar. Like the vast majority of locals, he politely greets the first.

In the three-story hostel we are the only guests. And although the kitchen was closed due to technical obstacles, we prepared a hot dinner without any problem.

We won’t be spending the night again for a long time; we need to save energy before the hike that awaits tomorrow.

More adventures are in other parts of the story.