Science and research for asia. Winter at the end of the world neighbors far away in the days are short. Its eleven in the morning and its just getting light its the shortest day of the year. A lighthouse nunavut is as far north and west as its possible to get on the european mainland. Lapland is the most remote cold. Right at the top of europe a region of extremes above the arctic circle. First thing each morning eleana hands than stone looks towards the small harbor to see if a boat is still there its their only link to the mainland its low tide so she has to wind the gangway down to the pontoon she lives more or less alone on the island in the sea shes been here for five years. At first glance it doesnt look like anyone could be selfsufficient here but first appearances can be deceiving elena is checking on todays dinner. That you know ive caught crabs today its always Something Different sometimes its crab sometimes fish that tate has or carrots from my garden if you just saw it there watching you on the gangway i wonder isnt this a little bit uncomfortable it all but. I dont i moved here because i wanted to lead a good and exciting life and challenges like this a part of that life there are forces that are stronger than me once i cant keep up with it now. Its still much too early for dinner so alaina keeps a catch in the water until later. Her small realm is a manageable size the island has a jetty a lighthouse a well rocky fields and a sandy beach. Elena regularly gets helpers on her island who perform hard physical labor in exchange for room and board here she and rocco from side to nia walk past the potato field to the beach. They want to harvest freshly washed up seaweed to fertilize her vegetables maintaining an old island tradition c wade is full of potassium magnesium and even calcium. Will be at the top do yo potatoes taste of potatoes or of c. When i read. This look at a calculus something apart and they dont taste of same weight they taste completely normal a little bit of c oh yeah yeah i need to know how do we let the seaweed dry the salt and sand are washed away by the rain when they couldnt and then it instead of that i. Sometimes its hard work reviving old traditions like when the wheelbarrow almost gets stuck in the sand ellena isnt a fan of tractors. At least its light out and thanks to the gulf stream its not that cold either the sun stays below the horizon and wont be seen directly again for a few weeks. The soil in the potato field is accustomed to the mix of seaweed and ill be. This was of the most fertile spot on the small rocky island which had one hundred inhabitants in its heyday but that was a long time ago. By two oclock its already getting down. But theres almost no better place to see the rugged peaks of the low photo work done from the lighthouse on the Little Island that lawyer as its called in the region. Demand was limited when the state put a number of light houses along the coast up for sale that lawyer is too far north and too far out to sea. To commemorate its great history elaine or occasionally donates one hundred candles to the lighthouse because it was built one hundred years ago the big light has gone out but a small halogen lamp now does the job elena is often alone in the town but shes not lonely. And so for love them i feel part of a big welled up here i see the sky and the ocean three hundred sixty degrees around me. Him the tear that of it gives me a strong feeling of connection with the wild i can also see the stars at night that and all that stood about and assist that in. Every now and then she even sees the northern lights. Above. It saturday half past six in the morning elena is the first to get up the hours when everyone else is still asleep is her time. It would have. Some of you i always wanted to work with my hands when i worked as a journalist and in the administration i longed for this thats why i moved to the white house but you can let me know. What i want to do things like they bread every morning. And the minute pulled out of pocket. At lunch time the next day eleanor takes us back to the mainland a journey of five nautical miles across the open ocean back to civilization. Lapland is a place of wide open spaces and freezing temperatures we experience our coldest day in the swedish town of kiruna its minus thirty five degrees celsius. We take a helicopter tour around karuna across a desolate expanse rivers and lakes are frozen over with a layer of ice half a metre thick. The snow is so cold that it barely crunches anymore and so light even a semi wild reindeer sink into. The river below us the torn a river provides the best ice in lapland its clear and blue so its no surprise that people who love the cold have settled on its back next. Even turned it into a business in this remote region which was once believed to be the end of the world. It can get cold enough for them with the best raw material around. Elsewhere in the world snow gets cleared away but in the warehouse of the hotel on the torn a river its been piling up for twenty years now so she wrote a line and is a sculptor shes creating a bedroom for paying guests. The merest saga the us at their wrecked ive covered these blocks for myself that theyll be the base for that bed the green up im going to create three beds. The rest to create slow release and this could become an arctic fox. Caption dr. No two rooms are alike each is unique with its own expiring date at some point everything will flow back into the rhythm. So. As in material ice is perfect it adapts wonderfully snuff the force of. The next day the thermometer drops to minus thirty eight degrees celsius theres no wind no fresh snow just the icy cold. The Iron Ore Railway Line between kirana and novick continues operating between trains the tracks become a place of refuge. The reindeer wonder along the Railway Tracks and the streets the buses drive slowly behind. The reindeer have trouble finding food under the deep snow they make slow progress. Because. Its so cold that victoria highness going to her son have to go out every morning and night to prevent their small herd from starving were in poor yes two hundred kilometers south of corona. The reindeer spend the rest of the year living outside in the fells but to get through the winter they need looking after with daily feeding for a few months the rain there are generally good natured but victoria neela have to watch out for their antlers nevertheless. I dont take care of them every day but when i do i stroke and feed them leila tells. Explains that the reindeer ataman says he likes them all. To let us know not. Victorious father is a reindeer breeder she studied in stockholm for a few semesters commuting between the city and lapland. Neela has a favorite reindeer its called apple and is harnessed for shorter trips its an arduous task because victoria can only put on a harness without gloves. Or you come in a field after my fingers are freezing and going on a sleigh ride has fallen out of fashion these days that. Can have almost forgotten that even though some a woman like me thinks its cold now if you spend too much time outside without lights on having to touch on a wood so your face will be a bit cold nanina lets get going and look for food for the reindeer. Reindeer apo as quickly drawn to a tree. The who regularly have had these branches are covered in lichen a real treat. For random people can eat i can too but it doesnt taste very nice you can make tea with it and this is even more that it made me only had a few reindeer we were able to get in through the winter with the like on the now that we have ten its not enough and you know the boredom that will formally that other of them off we connect to sned for once a rave if someone offered gave a demo should i now get out upon. The trip ends after half an hour on his sleigh wants to go home. Or. The songs of the sun me are about reindeer a pristine environment silver lakes and golden mountains the seasons and being on the move. Were heading father north a thousand kilometers across the ocean. Spitzbergen is situated halfway between the north cape and the north pole an island group in the arctic ocean cold and beautiful the average and your temperature is minus five degrees celsius. By only february the sun peeks out behind the mountains sending a soft light across the horizon. The days are getting lighter again the contours of the mountain landscape visible in. The east fjord which despite its name hasnt been over for a long time now is steam. Because warm sea water from the gulf stream meets freezing cold polar air here when theres a High Pressure system in the wind drops its time for small trips the capital of we can call it that is situated in the valley itll be weeks yet before the first rays of sunlight reach it but its a tradition among young people in the town to walk towards the sun a few weeks earlier on the sixteenth of february l. Karen multitude german expats making their way towards the sun together with some friends i will see the sun today and i hope if we dont get more clouds we should have miracle. How long has it been going in the valley. Weve not seen it in the valley since the end of october since mid october really hot since mid october. So for three almost four months i want to. Molest the summit stunned five hundred metres along the ridge artist. Will we see the sun. Its not looking good we have this band of clouds thats come in from the west but maybe well be lucky and therell be a break in the clouds. If you can just. The final stretch a ridge. Its not looking sunny day no unfortunately not its even started snowing flight arc. Geologist immediately starts uncovering the rock on top of the trolls dine. With the some there behind the crowds to show you that. Theres the one mountain heres the other and its right here. Through her head. But the suns not visible. But its there we know its. Dishonest and you. Move. To. The polar night last for mid november to mid january during that time its always dogg. Thats when the residents of long a boon or on their own. On spitsbergen its so dark that the reindeer switch off their internal clock day and night become one it doesnt matter when they sleep awake. People need to maintain their sleep patterns but alka cope well monitor the geologist anelka and avalanche expert have lived on spitsbergen for ten years and are old hands we visit them at ten at night its strange to think that its just as dark in the afternoon do you have different strategies for coping with the darkness. Yet i swear by Fish Oil Like all norwegians a spoonful of fish oil every morning. Our use wine. The boss yes doesnt need it coffee in the morning to get going and then a lot of light during the day and then early to bed you have to be active the dog time is a very social time theres a lot gonzalo sat said that puts it healthy. Its the eighth of march the official day that the sun returns to the valley the moon is bright in the morning sky it looks like it will be a clear day like every morning mother gets on his racing bike with studded tires and judges into the valley. The sun has been shining on the hillside opposite for a few weeks but a part is a party and a dates a date at noon schoolchildren come to the village Gathering Place to welcome the sun it would be nice if it showed its face for the celebration and its owner but since two thousand and five the sun has always had an on this day. I want to see her head was go ahead head over to her head her head her hair and salute her mother those of her sister margaret stead the singer are there and it was her movie that theyre the. This plain wooden staircase on which ten year old syria accept a prize for best son sticker plays a special role the son is visible from there if you crane your neck. If. They were sick and this is the old hospital stay away we used to say that the people who survived the darkness and sold the sun on the steps would get healthy again. Soon its an old superstition that says everything will be fine when the sun returns to the valley and it is all i am all for. But no matter how much they clamor for the sun it refuses the show itself in the valley. Someone has clearly miscalculated the time the children the younger ones in particular want to go home again but then it doesnt arrive a quarter of an hour late suddenly the adults are is excited as the little children about the start of spring at minus twenty eight degrees celsius now its really coming. Im. But its fantastic. Whats fantastic. This sun weve been without it for so long you know people often think that its dark it during the winter and that we cant do anything as a result but thats not true we have the full moon and thats our sun in the winter we take advantage of every beam of light when theres snow to see the landscape as soon as you leave town you can see very well. See the few that. Have. Winter in the arctic has an undeservedly bad reputation. There are people who say that even long you have been with this population of two thousand people and the same number of snowmobiles is too lively for them there are even people who let themselves be iced in. After around two hours we reached temple fjord which is covered in a thick layer of ice in early march. Stuck in the ice is an old ship frozen and immovable and deliberately so. The norden leashed is a hotel ship with a captain helms woman and a cook visitors a welcome and a greeted with coffee and raisin buns. Mica is the helms woman she never gave to the ship here in early winter she makes sure every day that the ice is stable enough for the crew and visitors in the past anyone spending the winter on a ship was worried most of all that ice floes would crush it but those ships were made of wood not of robust steel like the nautilus. The ice has to be hc if a storm what a break out in the open ocean we could start to drift thats why we need the ice to be stable. Its hard to imagine that ice this thick could break. It off after forty eight centimeters. What made you want to come here its just on the mend it is nice to show this to other people come here to spend the night we recently had minus twenty five degrees celsius it was cold and windy so it was good we could welcome visitors with hot soup and if it is going to and. That was. What. It was going to come to feel jack is in charge below day here in the arctic shes baking an apple cake with apples imported from the netherlands she spent twenty years cooking for film crews in amsterdam she now appreciates the solitude. Even told that india i love reindeer and theyre really tasty too i saw polar bears here two years ago and last year as well but not yet this year i hope i will. Sima just call me in the film because. Jack is guests traveled here by snow below from the main town a journey that took two hours after coffee and cake the heading straight back out again a sunday out in the arctic. The dutch flag hangs proudly from the mast it commemorates navigator villain barons who lent to the area and the sea his name four hundred years ago micah was happy to follow in his footsteps. I love the quiet and im amazed such a monotonous landscape with its three colors of black white tanqueray. Fascinating over england to know you can hear and a vintage life of washington. And. We continue west woods across the sea to a small place at the edge of the world. Where going to greenland the old whaling town of rada bay is our destination. In the winter at first glance everything is still buried under snow and ice forty houses fifty people with no cars and no Running Water the sea is covered in a layer of ice several meters thick a Perfect Little village with a church a school and a shop its idle even the cemetery has see views. This spring sun has brought a little bit of a fill with it its the perfect time for short trips out on the ice. Dogsleds are the only mode of transport here it takes three hours to pick us up from the airport first across the ice then through the mountains. On the way back the dogs have to take regular breaks. Steyn and the others take good care of their dogs but they do always have a whip with the dogs are so hardy that they sleep outside in all kinds of weather even on the frozen sea. When the terrain gets too difficult the passengers have to get off this is a dangerous spot the in which call it the broken nose. Suddenly some of the dogs bolt with an unmanned sled. One of the dog handlers ants tells us about a detour. Is this roadway that yes why dont we go across the ice the ice is very thin its much the go around the shore if. You buy. Two of us get on a sled the dog handlers are relaxed confident that the bolted dogs will come back the remaining dogs race at high speeds for an hour sweating through their tongues. Ive. Got it. At the school the teachers and students switch back and forth between danish and greenlandic the language with so many cues and the fifty words for snow. The teacher harold is from denmark hes teaching the first graders how to write their names greenland was a danish colony for a long time its only had self rule since two thousand and nine since then they have been more greenlandic names again these two boys are called in on quack little person and. Damaging or for a long time the indigenous language was frowned upon it wasnt even on the curriculum for some years during the one nine hundred seventy s. Thats changing now what will become of damage in and little person one day we ask mayor Lars Fleischer on change i see. See a great future but yes there are few of us. And its such a big country with so many opportunities since you know what. Sort of stuff you know its in business can the children stay here or do they have to leave for a bigger town and then either way theyll have a great future. And. Even if they want to become a pilot or a doctor they can be anything they like a. New car the cats transforms the school into a place of worship with just a few small changes hes a Public Sector worker like almost all of the adult inhabitants of road. Its the eighth of april Easter Sunday only one person is outside rein in the east about for a full hour switching hands every five minutes nearly everyone else is hiding away indoors except the tireless newcomer. Says the community is pasta he himself got married in this church and hes witnessed forty five weddings and more than twenty baptisms here or in a village thats really had a population of more than fifty the people here were converted to lutheranism by missionaries in seventeen thirty three. Hundred one or here or here i started here in one thousand nine hundred eighty seven twenty five years in order bay this year. Do you know if. So youre celebrating an anniversary. Youre sorry i didnt understand youre celebrating an anniversary. Year so on the twenty seventh of july afternoon. Few people go outside in this weather despite the tireless bell ringing. And i marry them as wife her daughter mia. The man lars. And steen one of the sled dog handlers they preferred to be among themselves during the easter service. The. But thats not the case during the traditional cafe mc gathering with coffee