Are you looking for a new book or film for the weekend or upcoming holiday? Here we have listed a selection of books and films and TV series that take place in some of our favourite destinations.
Photo: Hannah Lawson
Journey to Greenland
When they flee Paris for a remote village in Greenland, two part-time actors become immersed in the archaic Inuit culture and forge unexpected bonds.
Available on for example Netflix
The North Water (TV series, mystery)
Patrick Sumner, hoping to escape the horrors of his past, finds himself on an ill-fated journey to the arctic that throws him into the path of brutish harpooner Henry Drax.
Available on for example Apple TV
Arctic
A man stranded in the Arctic after a plane crash must decide whether to remain in the relative safety of his makeshift camp or to embark on a deadly trek through the unknown.
Available on for example Amazon and Hulu
Polar Bear on Disney+
Narrated by two-time Academy Award® nominee Catherine Keener (“Capote,” “Being John Malkovich”), Disneynature’s “Polar Bear” tells the story of a new mother whose memories of her own youth prepare her to navigate motherhood in the increasingly challenging world that polar bears face today.
Watch on Disney +
Ninety Degrees North – The Quest for the North Pole
by Fergus Flemming
A thrilling artfully told chronicle of the mostly 19th-century adventurers, madmen and explorers who quested after the North Pole.
South: The Endurance Expedition
By Sir Ernest Shackleton
In 1914, a party led by veteran explorer Sir Ernest Shackleton sets out to become the first to traverse the continent of Antarctica. Their initial optimism is short-lived, however, as the ice field slowly thickens, encasing the ship Endurance in a death-grip, crushing their craft, and marooning 28 men on a polar ice floe....
What a remote island! Storøya is a miniature version of Kvitøya. A large icecap that covers most of the island apart from some rocks in the south and a small peninsula on the northern tip. But the landscape is magnificent, and the weather is perfect! The sea is calm and the slow, long swell from the south are the only thing that disturbs the flat surface.
White and blue icebergs that’s broken off from the icecap surrounds us as we depart from Sjøveien in our Zodiacs. The black and brown beach and small strip of land are mostly gravel and rocks and some sea ice that still attached to the land. Before we left Sjøveien we carefully scouted of the beach and discovered a small yellow spot on a snowfield by shoreline. Now, as we approach the area with the spot, spot changes shape and the white head of a polar bear turns towards us. The water off the beach is shallow and sprinkled with rocks so we stay at a safe 100 meters distance from the beach. But it is more than enough to have a great experience! The polar bear is a really big male bear that is resting on the snow. The bear is just lifting its head when he hears us but is clearly determined to continue to sleep. We manage to get some great pictures of the bear before we return to Sjøveien and continue our expedition.
Since 1999, we have taken travellers on once-in-a-lifetime trips to Svalbard. From May to September our three small expedition ships, carrying only 12 and 53 passengers, explore this magnificent Arctic archipelago. Unpredictability and flexibility are the main keywords when you travel with PolarQuest as the exact route depends on weather, ice conditions and wildlife encounters. Sometimes you might be woken up in the middle of the night if a polar bear has been spotted on the ice.
Polar bear encounter & thousands of of Brünnich’s Guillemots
During the night we have sailed northeast and in the morning M/S Sjøveien anchors in Kinnvika close to the abandoned sheds from Swedish-Finnish research expedition in 1957. However, our planned landing is cancelled since a large male polar bear is walking on the ice close to the shore.
Instead, we jump into the Zodiacs and carefully make our way towards the bay. The large male walks along the ice edge and then turns north towards the sea banks. There it lays down and seems to fall asleep. We then decide to set course south. Shortly after lunch we arrive to the large bird cliff Alkefjellet. During summertime, the impressive cliff is home to hundred thousand of Brünnich’s Guillemots. As our small group cruise along the cliff, the sounds and smells of the large colony hit us in an almost mind-numbing way. At the northern end of the cliff, a small Arctic fox is scurrying off from a bird carcass. We are not sure about what has happened, but birds are flying, fighting and tumbling all over the place so it's probably not difficult for the fox to get a target here. After we have left Alkefjellet, we anchor in the calm and beautiful bay of Faksvågen to absorb all the impressions. /PolarQuest's guides on M/S Sjøveien, 17 June 2022
Since 1999, we have taken travellers on once-in-a-lifetime trips to Svalbard. From May to September our three small expedition ships, carrying only 12 and 53 passengers, explore this magnificent Arctic archipelago. Unpredictability and flexibility are the main keywords when you travel with PolarQuest as the exact route depends on weather, ice conditions and wildlife encounters. Sometimes you might be woken up in the middle of the night if a polar bear has been spotted on the ice.
Edgeøya – walruses, reindeer and hiking on the Arctic tundra
After having sailed through the currents in Freemansundet we anchor by Kapp Lee on the northern edge of Edgeøya.
Kapp Lee is an old trapper station where whales and walrus were caught and butchered by the thousands during the last centuries. Remains like bones and skulls from all sorts of animals from those days are scattered around the peninsula we land on. The cape and the walk up on the slope are surrounded by green, lush tundra. A small Arctic fox meets us almost immediately when we step ashore. The fox are runs around and is a bit curious but keeps its distance to us all the time. The contrast to Nordaustlandet is great. The tundra on Edgeøya is very green and full of Arctic flowers. We aim to walk up to a cliff with beautiful view over Storfjorden. On the way up there, we meet a little group of Reindeer. A couple of curious calves carefully close in on us and we get a chance to get good pictures of them. Today the water in Storfjorden is calm and the sun reflects in the southern swell. Tomorrow will sail deeper into the fjord and explore the east coast of Spitsbergen.
/PolarQuest's guides on M/S Sjøveien, 28 June 2022
Since 1999, we have taken travellers on once-in-a-lifetime trips to Svalbard. From May to September our three small expedition ships, carrying only 12 and 53 passengers, explore this magnificent Arctic archipelago. Unpredictability and flexibility are the main keywords when you travel with PolarQuest as the exact route depends on weather, ice conditions and wildlife encounters. Sometimes you might be woken up in the middle of the night if a polar bear has been spotted on the ice.
Far east - Storøya and Kvitøya
Today we were going to explore the remotest part of Svalbard and Storøya and Kvitøya were our destination. yesterday’s beautiful late evening at Karl the 12th Island with our very first polar bear we woke up to Elke’s morning wakeup call announcing beautiful calm weather with two polar bears on a patch of snow.
Many of us were quickly up on the deck with our binoculars to take a glimpse of these magnificent animals before breakfast. Shortly after we embarked on a zodiac excursion along the coastline of Storøya. In our Zodiacs we got to experience plenty of walruses. We observed these powerful, but elegant swimmers from a respectful distance, soaking in both their behavior and sound - the communication between the animals put smiles on everyone’s faces.
During the afternoon we explored the waters of the barren island of Kvitøya. The view and moody light of the ice cap that covers 99 % of the island was absolutely breathtaking. Going back in history 125 years ago, we thought of Andrée, Fränkel and Strindberg, who found their final resting place on the stony beach. Imagining having to spend weeks at this desolate place gave many of us goosebumps and we were very happy knowing that we could return to the comfort of our vessel after our cruise. Some Swedes on the journey were hoping to put their feet on the island but as Kvitøya is so unsheltered from the swells and also two polar bears did not allow for that. Nevertheless, we were close enough to view the monument from the Zodiacs and you could feel the excitement of just being at this place amongst the guests. I believe that many of us that haven’t heard the story of Andrée’s North Pole expedition before and experienced it here at Kvitøya became fascinated about the enthusiasm and faith of these three polar explorers. May their journey ever remain one of the greatest mysteries in polar exploration.
At the end of May, Johan Reuthammar and Camilla Norberg from our office went on the expedition "Springtime in Svalbard" on board M/S Quest. They had a wonderful week with great weather, wonderful atmosphere on board and several exciting wildlife encounters. Every day they did peaceful zodiac cruises and fantastic hikes. Below you can read an interview that Camilla did with Johan about his experiences on board.
We have recently returned home from a wonderful expedition with nice weather and a lot of landnings. I know you've had a great week, but did this trip live up to your expectations?
It most definitely did! It has been a number of years since I last visited Svalbard and my expectations were high. My last trip was also on board M/S Quest, but in the month of July. I really liked to be back on M/S Quest and I also enjoyed going to Svalbard in May this time to be able to compare how nature changes at different times of the season.
What would you say is the biggest difference in traveling to Svalbard in May compared to July?
The bird life is of course different. We got to see a lot of different birds during our trip, like Brünnich's guillemot and Little auk, but later in the season you will encounter even more birds. However, the biggest difference, in my experience, was the landscape. In July you can do long hikes stepping over vegetation and flowers, while in May you often get a hike through deep snow. It is incredibly nice in the spring with the snow-capped mountains and the vast fjord ice. On our trip we were lucky enough to have great weather with sunshine, no wind and very calm sea. Despite the white landscape with deep and wet snow, we had the opportunity to make landings every day and do both shorter walks and longer hikes up the mountain. The hikes were definitely a highlight of our trip.
I know you really enjoyed the hikes, but is there any other event you remember in particular?
I rarely say no to a plunge in the sea, so I will have to say that "the polar plunge" was a really strong experience. We did this next to the pack ice at 80 degrees latitude, and the thermometer showed comfortable minus one degree. It was truly an adrenaline rush and an extraordinary event that I would recommend everyone to do, if you get the chance.
We were lucky and got to experience a rich wildlife during our trip. Is there any encounter that stands out to you?
We saw polar bears on two occasions during our trip and that is of course very cool, but this time I think that a walrus at Smeerenburg was my best encounter. The water was calm, the sun was shining, the walrus was resting on a rock and behind the walrus we got a glimpse of M/S Quest. It was a great photo opportunity!
We stayed on board M/S Quest and she was fully booked during our week. What was it like to share a cabin with someone you did not know from before? And how was it to spend so much time with 50 other travelers?
Since there is a lot going on on an expedition like this, you do not spend much time in your cabin. But you quickly get to know the person you share a cabin with, so it works great. Surprisingly fast all the faces on board become familiar, and since we do not have any assigned seats in the restaurant, I had the opportunity to dine with most of the travelers. I never experienced the ship as crowded, there are several places to hang out. In addition to the panoramic lounge, I like to be on the bridge, a great place to spend time, talk to the crew and search for wildlife.
Do you have any special recommendations for our PolarQuest travelers to bring with them in their bags?
Binoculars and knee-high boots! A pair of binoculars is a great thing to bring with you on zodiac cruises and also when you relax in the panoramic lounge or on the deck on board Quest. The experience is so much better when you are able see details on everything from glaciers and birds to walruses and polar bears.
Knee-high boots are also a must! In the spring, you often step in deep snow, but it is also a must for the rest of the season. Because during almost all landings you usually step into the sea to get to the shore from the zodiac.
Since 1999, we have taken travellers on once-in-a-lifetime trips to Svalbard. From May to September our three small expedition ships, carrying only 12 and 53 passengers, explore this magnificent Arctic archipelago. Unpredictability and flexibility are the main keywords when you travel with PolarQuest as the exact route depends on weather, ice conditions and wildlife encounters. Sometimes you might be woken up in the middle of the night if a polar bear has been spotted on the ice.
