The charm of an Arctic vacation

The Norwegian archipelago of Svalbard is the perfect place for travelers keen on frigid temperatures and total darkness

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Gorgeous, cold Svalbard
(Image credit: REUTERS/Anna Filipova)
A sign warning of polar bears outside of Longyearbyen, the administrative center of Svalbard, Norway.
(Image credit: (AP Photo/John McConnico)Originally used as a whaling base in the 17th and 18th centuries, Svalbard (an ancient Icelandic word meaning cold coast or cold edge) became a coal-mining hub in the)

Mt. Breinosa in the distance, on the island of Spitsbergen, in Svalbard.
(Image credit: (REUTERS/Anna Filipova))

The northernmost non-military post office in the world, in the Kings Bay research station in Ny-Alesund, Svalbard.
(Image credit: (REUTERS/Anna Filipova))

Dogs, some that are family pets and others that are used for sledding, wait in their yard outside the settlement in Longyerbyean, Svalbard.
(Image credit: (REUTERS/Anna Filipova))

An old locomotive train that was used for transporting coal is preserved as a monument at Ny-Alesund.
(Image credit: (REUTERS/Anna Filipova))

Radar antennas at the European Incoherent Scatter Scientific Association facility at the base of Mt. Breinosa.
(Image credit: (REUTERS/Anna Filipova))

A sculpted bust of Norwegian explorer Roald Amundsen at the scientific base of Ny Alesund.
(Image credit: (REUTERS/Anna Filipova))

Dinghies and research vessels in the small harbor near Ny-Alesund on Spitsbergen.
(Image credit: (REUTERS/Anna Filipova))

Workers housing in Longyerbyean.
(Image credit: (REUTERS/Anna Filipova))

Lauren Hansen
Lauren Hansen

Lauren Hansen produces The Week’s podcasts and videos and edits the photo blog, Captured. She also manages the production of the magazine's iPad app. A graduate of Kenyon College and Northwestern University, she previously worked at the BBC and Frontline. She knows a thing or two about pretty pictures and cute puppies, both of which she tweets about @mylaurenhansen.