Spitsbergen, Iceland, Faroe Islands – Island Hopping in and around the Arctic (Southbound)

Oslo, the capital of Norway, sits on the country’s southern coast at the head of the Oslofjord. It’s known for its green spaces and museums. Many of these are on the Bygdøy Peninsula, including the waterside Norwegian Maritime Museum and the Viking Ship Museum, with Viking ships from the 9th century. The Holmenkollbakken is a ski-jumping hill with panoramic views of the fjord. It also has a ski museum.

Longyearbyen is a small coal-mining town on Spitsbergen Island, in Norway’s Svalbard archipelago. This Arctic town is known for its views of the Northern Lights. The modern Svalbard Museum chronicles the region’s natural and cultural history. It includes a stuffed polar bear. Live bears can occasionally be seen in the area. The North Pole Expeditions Museum recounts early efforts to reach the pole by air.

Spitsbergen is the largest and only permanently populated island of the Svalbard archipelago in northern Norway. Constituting the westernmost bulk of the archipelago, it borders the Arctic Ocean, the Norwegian Sea, and the Greenland Sea.

Spitsbergen is the largest and only permanently populated island of the Svalbard archipelago in northern Norway. Constituting the westernmost bulk of the archipelago, it borders the Arctic Ocean, the Norwegian Sea, and the Greenland Sea.

Jan Mayen is a Norwegian volcanic island in the Arctic Ocean, with no permanent population. It is 55 km long and 373 km² in area, partly covered by glaciers. It has two parts: larger northeast Nord-Jan and smaller Sør-Jan, linked by a 2.5 km wide isthmus.

Húsavík is a town in Norðurþing municipality on the north coast of Iceland on the shores of Skjálfandi bay with 2,307 inhabitants. The most famous landmark of the town is the wooden church Húsavíkurkirkja, built in 1907. Húsavík is served by Húsavík Airport.

Djúpivogur is a small town and municipality located on a peninsula in the Austurland in eastern Iceland, near the island of Papey and on the fjord Berufjörður. The municipality was formed by the merger of rural communities Berunes, Buland, and Geithellur on October 1, 1992

The Faroe Islands is a self-governing archipelago, part of the Kingdom of Denmark. It comprises 18 rocky, volcanic islands between Iceland and Norway in the North Atlantic Ocean, connected by road tunnels, ferries, causeways and bridges. Hikers and bird-watchers are drawn to the islands’ mountains, valleys and grassy heathland, and steep coastal cliffs that harbor thousands of seabirds.

Elduvík is a small village in the Faroe Islands. Elduvík is located in the Funningsfjørður-inlet on Eysturoy’s northeast side. The village which has a population of 23 is split into two parts by a small river. The church in Elduvík dates from 1952. Visible from Elduvík is the nearby island of Kalsoy

Tórshavn, on Streymoy Island, is the capital city of the Faroe Islands. It’s known for its old town, Tinganes, crammed with wooden turf-roofed houses on a small peninsula. Nearby is Tórshavn Cathedral, rebuilt in the 19th century. Local boutiques dot the main shopping strip, Niels Finsens gøta. To the north, the Nordic House cultural center offers theater, dance and music performances in a contemporary space.

Shetland, also called the Shetland Islands and formerly Zetland, is a subarctic archipelago in the Northern Isles of Scotland, situated in the Northern Atlantic, between Great Britain, the Faroe Islands and Norway. It is the northernmost part of Scotland and the wider United Kingdom.