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Sunday 21st of June 2015 and they woke me up at 8 o'clock, no because I'm in a hurry. There are  plenty time to catch the flight. But I have yet another plan, and this plan will turn me in to a foocking human anti aircraft balloon. Breakfast at the hotel, early. Then I can have  a “snack” at SAS lounge at Kastrup International Airport.
The best food you can get in any lounge, and yes, there are many excellent lounges. But I doubt it that you can find any better food than at Turkish Airlines  lounge in Istanbul. Hell, I doubt that you can find any better lounge.
But the food at the Scandinavian Airlines lounge in Copenhagen, well, maybe not much. But the bread must be some of the best bread I have ever had, including “Edwards jävla kavring” at Kalle på Spången. I was approaching the breakfast very carefully I only had one (half full) plate of sausages from Skåne. 2 cups of tea, I asked the staff and they arranged beer mugs for me. 3 slices of black bread with liver pate and Skånsk pickled cucumbers. Well, this is how to do it,  avoid eating until it doesn't taste good any more. Yeah, the third plate of smoked  salmon and new potato yesterday didn't taste as good as the first plate. So I didn't spend much time at the breakfast and I felt like a million when I returned to my room to pack up my things  I stopped at the reception to interrogate the staff about the trains to Kastrup. I found out that the trains leave every hour and I will leave around 12. One hour to the airport and I will be there in good time. No need to stress and sweat running around with my wheeled “Polar” adventure pack. There will  hopefully also be some time to update my web page before we take off for Svalbard via Oslo.
Interrogation
I checked out at 11 thirty and I was at the train station 1 minute later, just next door from Elite Hotel Marina Plaza. I told the hotel staff that I would be back on the 29th of June. And by then  I hope Österns Pärla is open. And who knows, I might “POP” by Kitchen & Table for more of the smoked salmon and new potatoes.
So what about Sillen & Makrillen and Roy's Mat & Bar, well,  hmm, I think I give it a skip. Well, anyway, I was at Knutpunkten 1 minute after checking out. Knutpunkten is the train station/ ferry terminal in Helsingborg. It is quite convenient, at least when you live at Elite Hotel Marina Plaza. And Österns Pärla is just located across the street.
 Knutpunkten
 Knutpunkten - To the ferries
 Knutpunkten
  Train waiting to depart
 Train waiting to depart
 Train to Go:teborg
Time was passing pretty quickly while I was standing on the platform waiting for the train to Kastrup, Copenhagen international. Nice to look in to passing trains and all the passengers. People  are reading, talking with each others, playing games and even drinking beer.
It is like a new picture with every different window  passing in front of you.
And it is easy to understand that you have to do this at a station, don't try it on a train passing in 200, you won't see very much and the picture by picture effect is equal to ZERO. But standing at a platform when a train is passing slowly in front of you is quite nice to watch. The train to Go:teborg left and the train to the airport was waiting behind. As soon as the track  was clear the “airport express” moved in and I got on board. The train was empty. 
For 5 minutes, then it was full, very full. It was crowded, not to the extent you thought it was a Indian train, but close. I had a seat, a folded seat in the luggage department and it was OK. Close to the door, good when it is time to get off the train. It was OK to be on the train even though it was very crowded and I was really grateful that I had a seat. It would for sure  not have been very nice to stand up in the crowd.
One thing good with the crowd, it was very nice to get off the train. And straight up to a new crowd. Kastrup was full and I expected it to take a long time to check-in. But I was very pleasantly surprised, I was checked-in in a jiff. Most likely thanks to my Star Alliance gold card. Otherwise I would most likely still have been  in the check-in area trying to get a boarding pass. Security, well, it was kind of OK. So all in all it was kind of a good experience.
But there are the self service everywhere, just like United have in Honolulu and I was glad I didn't had to use one of those things. Again, then I would most likely still have been out there trying to check-in to my flight. Kastrup is for sure not one of my favourite airports, but days like this Kastrup makes it quite high on my list of “good” airports. Well, when can we expect English signs at the train station?  I'm walking to SAS's lounge and when I'm taking a picture there is a guy standing next to a  sport car. He ask if I want to win a sport car.
- No, but a taxi ride I check-in to the lounge and all the seats at the desks are occupied so I have to sit in a sofa. I had some salad and bread drinking soda water. Every now and then I went to check out the desk area to see if there was a desk for me. I was lucky after some 30 minutes and I moved. I killed time up-dating my web page until 4 o'clock when I moved to gate B10 to board SAS flight SK 1468 to Oslo. I will have to wait  for a few hours in Oslo, free dinner at the SAS lounge, first time for me at their lounge in Oslo so this will be exciting. And I really hope they don't disappoint.
Can turn out to be a cheap holiday as I can eat free where ever I go.  Here is money to save! That's the way to go. I think all meals are included during the while stay up here in the North. Well, not while staying in Helsingborg and I will stay 2 more times in Helsingborg before going back home. Time turned quick in the lounge and it was soon time to leave for gate B10. Of course, didn't take long to discover that the “B” gates was at the other end of the airport. So it was more trotting.
  Gate B10 was almost the last gate, next gate was at the end with windows overlooking the tarmac  and the runways. I went to check it out and what was that. Looked like a  plane with SAS old colours.
Yes it was and I stopped to take a few pictures, the gate bridge covered half of the air craft. This was a huge disappointment, but half the aircraft is better than nothing. Reminding of a time when SAS was the world leading airline. First one to fly over the North Pole. The ones inventing the business class. Yes, before it was tourist class and first class. They served TOO GOOD food and they were not allowed to fly to France because there was nothing called business class and the food was too good for tourist class. When they changed uniforms in SAS it was in the world news and at arrival to New York the reporters were lining up to get the “first” sight of the new uniforms. Where do you think the expression “Beautiful like a Swedish air hostess” comes from? The booking system and the alliances, all coming from SAS and what are they today? Pretty much shit? My last long haul flight and they dumped a bag in my knee in the morning. - Breakfast! Yeah, way to go if you want to be a world leader. Now they are only world leader in self service.     Old SAS and new SAS
I was just turning around to go back to gate B8 when they removed the gate and the retro SAS plane was departure. I had a few pictures before going back to my gate where they had started  boarding. Looked to be a full flight, but it is only about 50 minutes to Oslo from Copenhagen and I have a seat in the aisle.
But it must have been something of the most uncomfortable I have been sitting in on board a plane. And landing in Oslo, I shat my pants. And by the sound of it, half of the other passengers shat their pants as well. It was more like they shot us down than that we landed. And I could feel it before we landed, I thought we were flying very fast and I expected us to be  in the mid air. I looked out the window and we were just about to touch down, BANG!!!
There was a lot of information on the PA system, nothing of which could be heard or understood. OK, I understood that we would have to go by bus from the domestic to the international  terminal due to some construction work. Well, and something about the luggage and transfer. So I had to ask one of the security guys when we got of the bus. I needed to know what to do, do I need to get my luggage through custom? Or is my luggage going to Svalbard?
 Of course we have to take the bus
I don't want to miss my luggage running around looking for Polar bears in shorts. There was a  couple asking the same questions and it turned out that we were on  the same Polar Bear Quest.
I was soon finding my way to the SAS/ Star Alliance lounge where I expect them to have Salmon. Well, there was nothing even reminding about salmon. And honestly, the whole experience was quite disappointing. OK, they had soda water and that was what I drank. But time was quick and it was soon time to leave for gate 58A and SAS flight SK 4496 to Longyearbyen on Svalbard. Gate 58A, sounds like a gate at the end of something far away, trotting again?  SAS/ Star Alliance lounge at Gardermoen International Airport in Oslo
Can't wait to arrive to Longyearbyen and Radisson Hotel. We will board the boat M/S Quest tomorrow after a tour around Longyearbyen. But before arriving to Longyearbyen and Radisson  BLU, Polar hotel Spitsbergen we have a 3 hour flight. And of course, trotting to gate 58A.
Gardermoen is a very nice airport and it was not to bad with the trotting. I arrived to the gate and there were many passengers waiting. They told me that the flight was full when I asked about a seat change at the lounge. The flight was delayed due to late arrival and the plane rolled up at the gate by the time we should start boarding. Now we had to wait for the passengers to disembark and for them to clean the plane. And I was among the first ones to board a few minutes before 9 o'clock. Departure time 9  o'clock so we will for sure be delayed.
I was sitting in the aisle seat and there was a guy coming to take the window seat. They plane started to get very full. People were coming on board like there was no tomorrow and the plane was full. All seats occupied, except the seat next to me. I was nervous, well, maybe not because I was for sure not expecting the seat next to me to be empty. Suddenly a PA message “BOARDING COMPLETED” and I could not believe my luck.  We have boarded but we're not allowed to get on board
 We can go on board
 The plane is almost empty when I take my seat
 The plane is full and we're on the way to Svalbard
 The Air Hostess want me to take their pictures when they see my camera
 The Air Hostess want me to take their pictures when they see my camera
 Flying with SAS and they charge me almost 10 US for 2 cans of soda water
OK, it was Ramlösa, the best soda water in the world
On the air plane, the first hour is OK. I call it the “try the luggage” effect. You lift your bag to  check that it is OK and not to heavy. You're surprised, your bag is light like a feather. And you are happy!
But by the time you're out the door it is like your bag weights a ton. So after an hour, well, I spent the first hour talking with the guy next to me and he had interesting stuff to tell me about Svalbard so the time was passing very quickly. I bought two cans of Ramlösa and they charging me a whopping 50 Norwegian Scooby Doo dollars for that. Jeeze, this is the first time I fly with an air line that charge money for the drinks and food. I always say no thanks to the food on board flights. OK, on long haul flights you need to eat, and when flying business it is OK. But here was no food offered, and it is a 3 hour flight. They charged money if you wanted a snack and SAS complaining that they don't have any passengers. The last two hours was not very fun and I was very happy when I could see the mountain tops on Svalbard sticking up through the clouds. That means that we're about to arrive.  We can see the mountains through the clouds
 We can see the mountains through the clouds
 Approaching Longyearbyen
 Approaching Longyearbyen
 Approaching Longyearbyen
 Flying over Longyearbyen
 Flying over Longyearbyen
Midnight and it is day light
So it is time to land in Longyearbyen and it will be past midnight when we touch down. From the air plane it looked to be a dramatic landscape and I'm really looking forward to this adventure. And you? You just have to click HERE to find yourself in the middle of this adventure. I can already sense that there will be a few pictures even though I have promised myself not to take so many pictures. Well, anyway, let's split this adventure in to a few pages to save us some down loading time. Monday 22nd of June 2015: A day in Longyearbyen and joining m/s Quest Tuesday 23rd of June 2015: Hamilton Bay - Zodiac safari Tuesday 23rd of June 2015 - Part 2 Raudfjorden and Moffin Island Wednesday 24th of June 2015 Hinlopen Strait/ Alkefjellet Wednesday 24th of June 2015 - Part 2 Brageneset Thursday 25th of June 2015 At the ice edge Tursday 25th of June 2015 - Part 2 Polar Bears and Ivory Gulls Friday 26th of June 2015 Liefdefjorden Saturday 27th of June 2015 Fuglesongen Island Saturday 27th of June 2015 Virgohamna and Smeerenburg Sunday 28th of June 2015 Last day - Visit to Ny-Ålesund Monday 29th of June 2015 Flying to Iceland via Helsingborg 
    
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admire the ever-changing ice formations while searching for walrus, whales, foxes and polar bears.
North Pole. The islands of the group range from 74° to 81° north latitude, and from 10° to 35° east longitude. The largest island is Spitsbergen, followed by Nordaustlandet and Edgeøya.
Svalbard Treaty of 1920 recognizes Norwegian sovereignty, and the 1925 Svalbard Act made Svalbard a full part of the Kingdom of Norway. They also established Svalbard as a free economic zone and a demilitarized zone.
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