Barentsburg - Summer 2008
July 24th
We head towards Barentsburg by boat - beautiful light effects on the way.
Bird cliffs are typically very easy to identify by the flourishing vegetation underneath!
First views of Barentsburg: the power centre that provides energy for the town…
…and the city centre, to be reached over a long staircase - on the right side, the old
staircase, to the left the newer, and right next to it the newest one, under construction. They are wooden stairs, and due to the climate they do
not seem to last too long…
The harbour building…
…and a view of the docks.
Obviously, there is also some infrastructure for children. They have 30 of them during school
season.
Barentsburg main (and only!) street.
The café in the community mensa (now in disuse), with a soviet-style mural.
Another mural on the other end of the building…
…and one on the building opposite.
Main city square.
The heroic mural on the community centre building.
A view across the main city square towards the chapel in Pomor style, built to commemorate
the victims of the plane crash in 1996 when 141 miners on their way to Barentsburg and Pyramiden died.
Barentsburg.
The buildings in this town have something very cheerful - either in the colours they are
painted with…
…or because of the murals.
Or because of both.
Barentsburg had its own textile factory…
…and still has a museum…
…with interesting exhibits about polar life and exploration across the centuries…
…and some structural problems.
A typical housing. The wooden box in the bottom right of the window is the fridge. People
living on the ground floor obviously have to be a bit careful with the food they keep there, since (hungry) polar bears can get very curious!
Kittiwakes nesting on buildings.
And again, do not take anything for granted on Svalbard: there are cats in Barentsburg!
And *only* in Barentsburg! They are actually banned on the island, in order not to disturb the wildlife… but in Barentsburg things go a different way…
Alpine Bistort (Bistorta vivipara).
Very fascinating was also a show with traditional russian songs and dances - 
I am usually very allergic against that kind of things…
…but the genuine enthusiasm with which these miners (no professional dancers, there are only
miners here!) perform made it really something special.
On the way down t the harbour I spot yet another cat…
Finally, we leave Barentsburg and sail north.
On to the North-West coast | Back to Svalbard - Summer 2008
We head towards Barentsburg by boat - beautiful light effects on the way.
Bird cliffs are typically very easy to identify by the flourishing vegetation underneath!
First views of Barentsburg: the power centre that provides energy for the town…
…and the city centre, to be reached over a long staircase - on the right side, the old
staircase, to the left the newer, and right next to it the newest one, under construction. They are wooden stairs, and due to the climate they do
not seem to last too long…
The harbour building…
…and a view of the docks.
Obviously, there is also some infrastructure for children. They have 30 of them during school
season.
Barentsburg main (and only!) street.
The café in the community mensa (now in disuse), with a soviet-style mural.
Another mural on the other end of the building…
…and one on the building opposite.
Main city square.
The heroic mural on the community centre building.
A view across the main city square towards the chapel in Pomor style, built to commemorate
the victims of the plane crash in 1996 when 141 miners on their way to Barentsburg and Pyramiden died.
Barentsburg.
The buildings in this town have something very cheerful - either in the colours they are
painted with…
…or because of the murals.
Or because of both.
Barentsburg had its own textile factory…
…and still has a museum…
…with interesting exhibits about polar life and exploration across the centuries…
…and some structural problems.
A typical housing. The wooden box in the bottom right of the window is the fridge. People
living on the ground floor obviously have to be a bit careful with the food they keep there, since (hungry) polar bears can get very curious!
Kittiwakes nesting on buildings.
And again, do not take anything for granted on Svalbard: there are cats in Barentsburg!
And *only* in Barentsburg! They are actually banned on the island, in order not to disturb the wildlife… but in Barentsburg things go a different way…
Alpine Bistort (Bistorta vivipara).
Very fascinating was also a show with traditional russian songs and dances - 
I am usually very allergic against that kind of things…
…but the genuine enthusiasm with which these miners (no professional dancers, there are only
miners here!) perform made it really something special.
On the way down t the harbour I spot yet another cat…
Finally, we leave Barentsburg and sail north.