February 2014

From our Member’s Corner

Mary Schoemann, our Treasurer and her family visited Svalbard this December.  Here is an article on her experience.

Visit to Svalbard by Mary Schoemann

We had entered another world.  Between mid November to February, it is 24 hours of darkness.  Even with the continuous nighttime, there was so much exploring to do there.

Svalbard it known for its polar bears, and the citizens carry guns in case of an attack.  Within the city of Longyearbyen, there is a safe area, the pink zone on the tourist map, where it is safe to walk around without an armed guide.

To travel outside the city of Longyearbyen, it is necessary to hire a guide who is trained to protect you from the polar bears.  For our first adventure outside the city limits, we went dog sledding.  The company picked us up from our hotel and supplied all the warm clothing.  We learned how to set up our dog team and were able to drive our own sleds.  My kids loved the dog sledding experience.  The following day, was our 3 km snowshoe hike up a mountain and onto a glacier to explore a glacier ice cave.  When we reached the cave instead of a walk into a big opening, it was a hole in the ground which we climbed down a 4m ladder into the glacier.  Once we were below it opened up into a cave with tunnels and small areas where we enjoyed coffee, cookies and scary stories.  This was my favorite adventure. Each night we were lucky to enjoy the Northern lights amazing display just a short walk from out hotel.

There is much more to do in Svalbard.  There is snowmobile tours, ski expeditions, taxi tours and in warmer months hiking, boat trips, isfjord safaris, fossil hunting and an abandon Russian mining town to explore.  In any of the seasons, there is a chance to see polar bears.  I was very glad we did not meet one on any of our expeditions.  My family is now looking forward to returning to Svalbard during the Midnight Sun to enjoy the beauty of northern most Norway which we could not see during the Polar Night.

Other important facts to know:
Shopping is tax-free in Svalbard, unlike the rest of Norway.  If you are interested in buying spirits to bring back to Oslo, remember you must show a boarding pass in the local store to purchase liquor.  Do not wait until the airport to purchase alcohol, it was not sold there, and even though you must go through passport control in Oslo you can not purchase spirits tax-free upon your return.  Yes, we did make this mistake.

If anyone has any thing they would like to share on the blog please contact Jamie or Ruma at: icon.oslo.newsletter@gmail.com

Upcoming Events:

COFFEE MORNING: Friday 21st February at 11am at the Theatre Cafe  :  Reviews-Theatercafeen-Oslo

Come and join us at this beautiful historic restaurant in the centre of Oslo. We will meet from 11 and if you wish to stay on for lunch then please do so.

Next ICON Members Meeting: Tuesday 25th February at Frognerseteren at 11am.  http://www.frognerseteren.no/

Enjoy coffee and tea and the most fabulous view over the Fjord..... and for the more adventurous of us...after coffee, our Treasurer has offered to lead a Sledging group (Also known as SLEDDING) on the fun run next to Frognerseteren.  Don’t forget to dress for the occasion!  Sledges and helmets can be hired at the venue! Please meet Mary after coffee if you wish to join the team! Click here for fun video of the Sled Run!

Bowling Night on Thursday February 27^th at 6 PM.

Place: Solli Bowling. http://sollibowling.no/

Please reserve your spot.

Contact Ruma at icon.oslo.social@gmail.com or at

Rumadas0204@gmail.com