Norway: Land of Fjords, Islands and Vikings | Free Documentary Nature

[Music] [Music] fjords and rocky islands define the coastline of Norway and Vikings its history the Scandinavian people have settled the land from Cape Linden to the North Cape three-fourths of the population lives in southern Norway most of the famous stave churches are also to be found here the mighty yo stood on glacier is a reminder of the last ice age with enormous glacial lakes at its base the Sami people also known as the laps and their reindeer characterized the sparsely populated northeastern part of the country in the fall killer whales follow swarms of herring right up to the coastline and the Spitsbergen are chabela go in the far north is the realm of seals and polar bears this Scandinavian country stretches from the 58th parallel to far above the Arctic Circle 2,000 kilometers separate the capital city of Oslo in the milder south of Norway from North Cape thanks to the Gulf Stream Norway enjoys a much milder climate than one would expect to encounter this far north the warm ocean current keeps the coast and the offshore island groups such as the Lofoten ice-free for the most part the Lofoten archipelago was settled about 6,000 years ago today about 24,000 people inhabit this group of about 80 islands fishing and it's related industries have always defined their way of life [Music] most towns are located on the eastern side of the islands here the mountains some of them as high as a thousand two hundred meters form a natural barrier against weather fronts coming in from the West the sea is also more calm here than on the stormy west coast newsfeed is a characteristic low fulton fishing village in the southern part of the island of flux tons built right up to the water's edge its houses to find the contours of the natural harbor in 1975 the quaint town of new Seward was officially declared a site of historical interest today it is one of the best preserved historical fishing villages in Norway the most popular export was and is stock fish fish that has been preserved by drying cod is the most common fish used for this purpose in Norway the stock fish museum displays historic equipment used in the production of this national specialty some of the pieces on display are over 100 years old there was a booming trade in dried cod fish already during the Middle Ages it was an indispensable food staple on long ocean voyages even then thanks to the Hanseatic trading houses in bergen stock fish was marketed internationally the fish are dried on large wooden frames just a few weeks ago these frames were emptied and massive amounts of dried cod were shipped to destinations all over the world summer has a particular attraction north of the Arctic Circle instead of dropping below the horizon in the evenings the Sun hangs low in the sky and continues to bathe the islands in a nearly magical light the Lofoten mountain range was formed by volcanic activity in the Earth's ancient past geologically speaking these islands are among the oldest on earth some judging their age to be as old as three and a half billion years the continual working of the ocean tides combined with glacial activities during ice ages past have cut deep fjords and swathes into the stone cliffs the islands we see today are the peaks of this ancient majestic mountain range towering above the level of the sea the troll Massif is one of the Fulton's more distinctive rock formations according to Nordic mythology the trolls the formation is named after our magical often destructive spiritual creatures which appear in the form of giants or Dwarfs the steep flank of the 1040 five meter high troll formation disappears abruptly under the surface of the trollfjord only about two kilometers long and a maximum of 800 meters wide this feud is particularly popular with ocean-going tourists [Music] the breadbasket of the Lofoten is located to the west of the central mountain range [Music] agriculture and dairy farms thrive on this fruitful soil right down to the ocean shore [Music] westerly winds laden with moisture from the ocean are responsible for the lush green on this Atlantic side of the island [Music] most of the time the cloud banks are stopped by the mountains causing the rain to fall only on the plane so it is often cloudy on one side of the mountains and sunny on the other [Music] the major sources of income for little footmen have always been fishing in agriculture recently the third source has been added tourism protected sandy beaches are inviting places to go for a swim or to sunbathe during the summer months it is not unusual to enjoy temperatures of up to 30 degrees Celsius the North Atlantic provides for the needed refreshment from the heat on the Lofoten Islands playing beach volleyball north of the Arctic Circle is not a contradiction and still to be found in the far north one can find pristine unspoiled beaches between 500 and 950 AD the Lofoten were in the hands of the Vikings they built several settlements and a chieftains Lodge in the hamlet of Borg in 1983 archaeologists came across the first relics subsequent years of excavation brought the largest chieftains Lodge ever found to light today an exact reconstruction marks the site the heart of the living Viking museum in Borg craftsmen demonstrate how work was done back then they produce all sorts of useful items using simple tools [Music] [Applause] [Music] they're handmade products are then offered for sale at the annual Viking market in front of the museum both in historically accurate attire the men and women of the museum also infuse ancient customs and traditional dances with new life the time of the Vikings began in the eighth century in Norway Denmark and Sweden raiding bands of these seafaring Germanic Norse people spread fear and dismay in Europe North America Russia and Middle East at the marketplace in Borg various fighting techniques are demonstrated using the corresponding weapons and equipment [Music] today however the fighting is strictly for entertainment according to historical tradition before embarking on a raid the Vikings would perform a ceremony appealing to the Grace and favor of ho Dean the chief of the Nordic gods the people of the museum do the same with the blood of the stallion the blood of the goat and the blood of the bull we ask you to help us make this market successful casting off into the sea in a Viking longboat is a must on a day of celebration like this this longboat is an exact reconstruction of the bosu berg ship displayed in the Viking Museum in Oslo it is hard to imagine that in the old days the Vikings spent months traveling in these small vessels raiding and plundering and winning one battle after the other a map in Oslo Viking Museum shows that the Vikings were not only feared warriors but also successful traders their shipbuilding skills surpassed those of any other people of their day by far giving them their major advantage they're notorious ships were particularly stable thanks to the clinker or lap strait method of construction whereby the planks of the hull overlap the osa Berg longboat is the jewel among the ocean vessels discovered from the time of the Vikings it has been copied many times the ship built around 800 AD was found under a burial mound on the shore of the Oslo fjord in 1904 it is assumed that it was buried along with a high priestess to help her sail safely into the afterlife the elongated prow also called a stem was often elaborately decorated especially on a notorious Viking warships a special dragon or animal head served to identify the ship [ __ ] were standard equipment and sails were also often used their agility and sophisticated construction gave the Viking ship supremacy at sea within just a few moments the Vikings were able to dismount a single mast even when under full sail and take full advantage of the agility the oarsmen were able to provide seen from the stern the rudder was always located on the right side of the ship this is where the nautical term starboard or steering board comes from Oslo was founded during the time of the Vikings in 1299 King Jaco and v declared the harbour settlement to be the capital city of Norway nearly 1/4 of the Norwegian population lives in or around today's metropolis of Oslo this is the seat of the Norwegian Parliament the National Theatre presents works by writers like Henrik Ibsen or Bernstein abusin Oslo got its nickname the tiger city from bjornsen he described it as a dangerous and merciless City in one of his stories today King Harald v Queen Sonja in their family reside in the oslo castle many oslo residents spend their vacations in the region of Hardanger only a few hundred kilometers away while the mountains are still covered in snow spring returns to the valleys on the slopes of the fjords apple trees are already in bloom Hardanger is europe's northernmost fruit growing region and is indispensable to Norway's fruit production about half of the nation's homegrown fruit is cultivated on the slopes of the Hardanger fioor heavy rainfall is not uncommon during the months of July in August so the farmers cover the fruit trees with tarps three weeks before harvest time Norwegian cherry production began about twenty years ago under the motto we put cherries on the market after the rest of the Europeans are done today the fruit is exported to the whole of Scandinavia the children enjoy being part of the harvest the luscious fruit tastes best right off the tree in Hardanger nearly every house has its own cherry tree steena is expecting a visit from her friends from the neighborhood she will serve a cherry cake what else her mother has already prepared all the ingredients only the cherries are still missing pitting the cherries is a painstaking task steena patiently removes one pit after another in the meantime her mother has filled the baking form the girl can now lay the cherries out on the batter her brother can hardly wait for the cake to be finished he keeps on checking to see how the two of them are getting along steena x' grandparents used to run a bakery and once a year her mother digs out the old recipes and bakes a colorful variety of cherry delicacies while the treats are in the oven the children occupy themselves with the leftover cherries [Music] obviously seeing how far you can spit cherry seeds is a lot of fun as well as long as they don't land in the neighbor's garden an hour later the children can hardly believe their eyes they have a choice of three huge cakes the treats are served with whipped cream and walnuts today they are allowed to eat as much as they want [Music] [Applause] [Music] cherries are not the only attraction Hardanger has to offer there is also a famous waterfall the stein das wesen it's character changes with the seasons in the springtime it's tributaries are fed by the melting snow during that period several cubic meters of water per second cascade over the stein Delft fussing with enormous power [Applause] during the summer on the other hand it comes across as a lazy trickle the Stein dogs fussing also allows one to look over its shoulder so to speak visitors can walk behind the falling water and look out through the watery curtain the fart over center is located at the Harding or fjord a type of hands-on shipbuilding Museum boats are built here just like the Vikings used to make them in part even tools from that past era are put to use the quick and agile boats are once again in great demand analysis of the Viking ships showed that the wood used for the structural parts was never bent to fit a single piece that fit naturally was always used this knowledge is used by today's shipbuilders and results in particularly stable boats [Music] just neighboring the museum is a small nondescript hut with a view of the Hardanger fjord Edvard Grieg spent many a summer in this Hut's here the famous Norwegian composer found the solace and inspiration he needed for many of his works he also composed pieces for the Hardanger fiddle the norwegian national instrument the Hardanger fiddle is richly decorated and constructed a bit differently than a normal violin its form and the addition of several so-called sympathetic strings which resonate below the normal ones give it a distinctive characteristic sound unlike many other European countries Norway enjoys an unbroken tradition of folk music part of its repertoire stems from the middle ages most songs however had their origin in the 19th century [Music] another of hardeners attractions is the largest high plateau in Europe the Hardanger Vida covers an area of about eight thousand square kilometers Ice Age glacial movement molded the landscape into today's distinctive form hiking here is a wonderful pleasure and countless small Hut's provided inviting places to stop for a rest the majority of the 450 types of local flora belong to the moss and lighten families only few flowering plants are able to survive in the thin topsoil a noteworthy exception is the cotton grass it thrives particularly well in the moist PD soil in the summer months herds of sheep and goats graze on the high plateau about half of the Harding evita was declared a national park in 1981 and is now protected from human influence this part of the plateau is reserved for the sole use of the wild animals the numerous lakes on the Hardanger Vita feed the boring fussing Norway's most renowned waterfall the waters feeding avoiding fussing are dammed and used to generate electricity for the sake of the tourists however the natural level of flow over the Falls is maintained during the summer months Bergen is located to the west of Hardanger with its population of 250,000 it is Norway's second largest city according to historical documents the location was first settled in 1130 the residents of Bergen have a special appreciation for sunny days rainfall is nothing out of the ordinary here the depth of the natural harbour of Vagan allows cruise ships to tie up directly at the wharf ocean cruise ships from all over the world dock here several times a week this favorable connection to the sea allowed Bergen to open a Hanseatic trading office in 1343 within a short time a small city district developed around it tisk Bergen the German docks even though the city of Bergen was not an official member of the Hanseatic trading Association it was able to participate in the prosperity of the organization cities with Hanseatic trading offices were not allowed to join the Association Bergen was under the supervision of the Hanseatic city of Lubich in the German province of schleswig-holstein nearly 1/4 of Bergin's population was German during the Han cz's heyday behind the freshly renovated facades along the shore promenade a different bergen comes to light today just as many hundreds of years ago one finds the wooden warehouses and offices of the Hanseatic traders even to this day they serve as places of business and rooms for holding cultural events in its long history the tisk bergen district has often fallen prey to raging fires after each blaze bergen was painstakingly restored to its original condition finally in 1979 it was declared a UNESCO World Cultural Heritage Site as an example of Hanseatic architecture in addition to the business of transporting offshore oil the extensive harbour with a shipbuilding and fishing industries is an important economical factor the fish market is one of the city's attractions everything the sea has to offer can be found here foreign students often work at the market to help finance their living expenses this gives tourists a real chance of being able to ask their questions and get answers in their mother-tongue regardless of where they come from with all these delicacies to choose from the decision is not always easy the our Lunsford is located north of bergen it is a sidearm of the 204 kilometer long Shogunate the longest fjord in Europe the artistic landscape along the fjord can best be explored from a board ship norway's smallest stave church is on the narrow yurt masses have been held regularly in this church since 1147 only 40 worshippers fit in this only three and a half metre wide house of God the painted Dome of the sanctuary shows a rare depiction of angels which are clearly female [Music] the agricultural museum in Audrina's big tongue is a bit farther inland the green roofs popular today in the middle parts of Europe have been standard in the north from the very beginning besides a multitude of Hudson houses from various historical eras an entire mountain village has also been maintained in its original state the more modern main house contains furnishings from way back when it almost looks like the residents just stepped out for a moment in the past nearly all of Norway's towns could only be reached by sea over time and bit by bit land connections were established in many cases tunnels were the only way to gain access in the year 2000 after five years construction time the first automobile drove through the Laerdal tunnel the longest road tunnel in the world already a few metres into the tunnel one is under 1,000 meters of solid rock futuristic blue fluorescent lighting provides variety and helps drivers stay alert a so-called snow road winds over the mountains separating our land from Laerdal it is impassable in the winter and even during the summer months the snow doesn't melt completely on the yost atolls breen it looks even more like winter this is Europe's largest landlocked glacier for a long time it was assumed that Norway's glaciers were remnants of the Ice Age which ended about 8,000 years ago in Scandinavia in the mean time it is known that it was too warm for glaciers to form in Europe after that time not until about 500 years before Christ's did it get cold enough for the glaciers to form again today the Yost adults brain is about 100 kilometres long and 15 kilometers wide it's ice measures 500 meters at its thickest point only a few mountain peaks break the surface of the ice-covered Plateau on a bare brow of rock the University of Oslo has set up a small station for the study of glaciers and the climate [Music] glacial ice is a valuable geophysical archive as the ice forms it traps the prevailing climate and environmental conditions freezing them in time so to speak drilling cores out of the ice allows for an exact dating of changes in the climate for several years now the Earth's glaciers have been melting and shrinking in size current studies are taking a good look at the effect of the increase of meltwater on ocean currents especially the Gulf Stream system 22 glacial ice fronts flow from the ice plateau toward the valley the most renowned the Nygaard Spreen draws some 30,000 tourists each year a boat carries the visitors across the melt water lake directly to the foot of the glacier experience glacier guides chop pathways into the ice providing a safe ascent they know the perils of the ever moving ice masses new cracks and crevices can appear at any time [Music] in the company of a guide who knows these phenomena however and equipped with a climbing iron and firmly fixed to a rope anyone can become a glacier climber [Music] seen from up close glacial ice shimmers of deep blue its own weight presses it's entrapped air bubbles together so strongly that all colors except blue are absorbed during the summer melt water runs down to the cracks in the glacier to the solid log below upon reaching the so called glacier door the meltwater shoots out into the valley it feeds a multitude of streams rivers and waterfalls in the Yost Adele's Green National Park including the Learn River on the southwest border of the park one of Norway's most beautiful valleys lies along its banks to learn Valley or learn darlin in the midst of this idyllic landscape lies the lava net a seemingly harmless small freshwater lake it is hard to imagine that it has been the cause of several catastrophes in the course of its history that does nothing to lessen its popularity with tourists both local and foreign nearly every small village in the well developed country of Norway offers places to spend the night in addition nearly every body of water can be explored by boat a ferry boat is always busy taking visitors to the glacier on the opposite shore of the lake this glacier also feeds a waterfall [Applause] many of Norway's highest waterfalls flow over the rims of hanging valleys which formed in places where the graining effect of the moving ice was not so strong [Applause] a short hike leads to the base or the door of the Kendall's breen one of the Glacial tributaries of the Yost Udall's Breen massive shields of ice cover the mountain peaks and extend down to the treeline the magical urn Valley stands in stark contrast to the raw glacial landscape but as inviting as the lake seems to be the local historian Olaf Elida knows just how dangerous it can be here is his story I forgot all of the massive rock fragments that you see here used to be part of the mountain huge landslides in 1905 in 1936 caused giant tidal waves the lava net used to be 90 metres deep at this location today the rock fragments from the landslide stick as much as one and a half meters out of the water [Music] for no survey at what - Treecko the Lovat net is the watery grave of 92 people who died in the floods and were never found 9 large farming estates made of the village of Anna stop no one lives there anymore bo doll was also razed to the ground today the descendants of the survivors spend their vacations in the learned Valley along with tourists from all over the world they are delighted by the landscape and no one thinks about the disaster the memorial plaque in nuran is the only reminder of the victims of the terrible inland tsunamis an historical jewel is located just upstream one of the oldest wooden buildings in Europe the stave Church of borgund looks much the same today as it did 800 years ago resin rich pine wood was used to build the stave Church following the medieval method of rot and mildew protection the wood is treated regularly with tar to this day tests have shown that the wood used in the construction of the Bergen Church was felled in the winter of 1180 281 the thresholds made out of particularly strong logs rest on the stone foundation the heathen dragon heads raised to the heavens are meant to protect the church from evil spirits the crosses also serve as magical symbols of protection [Music] the Western portal is also richly decorated with dragon like creatures only the door hinges and the lock of the door are made of metal the rest of the church is made entirely of wood the medieval windowless interior is well-preserved wooden pillars support the roof construction human masks and mythological creatures can be recognized at the ends of the pillars [Music] the church is dedicated to st. Andreas the twelve ondrea's crosses symbolized the Twelve Apostles the altar was built in the 17th century it depicts the crucifixion flanked by the Virgin Mary and John the Baptist from Laerdal which it's spectacular stave Church our journey takes us on to the northwest the beautiful valley slowly gives way to an unspoiled high plateau to the Dovre feel musk oxen graze peacefully against the backdrop of the shnu heta at 2286 meters it is one of Europe's highest peaks the first attempt to reintroduce the musk ox to the Dover Fjell National Park in 1927 failed the next attempt 20 years later has proven to be a success currently more than 80 animals live here [Music] the last musk oxen vanished from the Eurasian continent about the same time as the mammoth only in Canada and Greenland have they survived in the wild to this day it is particularly important for the herd to build up sufficient fat reserves during the late summer that is the only way they will be able to survive the harsh winter the musk ox related to the goat family ranges within an area of only a few kilometers even when food is scarce there is no migrating to greener pastures going west from Dover fel takes us to the small village of gaya anger at the end of the fjord of the same name the guy ringer fjord is probably Norway's most visited fjord over a hundred cruise ships land here every year breathtaking waterfalls cascade over the steep overhangs with such charming names as the suitor and the bridal veil or the Seven Sisters this fascinating ocean Inlet has much to offer underwater as well although it might be better not to get too well acquainted with some of its creatures the diameter of the umbrella of the lion's mane jellyfish can measure up to one meter and it's stinging tentacles can be up to 20 metres long these very beautiful sea creatures feed on small fish shrimp and other jellyfish their prey gets caught in the tentacles and the sting injects a poison which paralyzes the victim in humans contact with the tentacles causes an unpleasant burning of the skin a well camouflaged monkfish waits patiently on the ocean floor for prey to come along the monkfish is popular among fish lovers it's tasty white meat remains firm even when cooked the fish is quite common it is found in polar waters as well as in the Mediterranean and the Black Seas when the animal gets hungry it waves the first elongated strand of its dorsal fin back and forth like a lure as soon as an unsuspecting fish goes for the bait the monkfish sucks its prey into its huge mouth with lightning speed besides jellyfish and monkfish even sharks can be found in the Norwegian fjords this young catch our catch from its egg just a few days ago and is busy keeping an eye out for a fitting snack the crab meat would certainly be a tasty meal for the shark but this one is a bit too big for the young animal he will just have to keep on looking the young shark swims directly toward a lion's mane jellyfish contact with the stinging tentacles would certainly cost of his life [Music] he pauses briefly does he recognize the danger he swims over the jellyfish keeping a respectable distance speckled cat sharks are bottom dwellers they avoid strenuous swimming as much as possible this fish makes a determined move back to the comfort of the ocean floor the shark was lucky exhausted the young shark takes a much-needed rest in the meantime the monkfish does his name proud waiting for his next victim the find out svet lookout is located above the guy ringer the panoramic view from this point is among the best known in Norway ålesund is a popular starting point for excursions on the guy rang or fjord the sunset bathes the city built on several islands in a magical lights a terrible fire destroyed the city in 1904 the german emperor wilhelm ii immediately ordered relief aid with practical support from the germans the city was completely rebuilt in huge steel a popular architectural style of the day [Music] the bird island of rune de is located only a few kilometers from other zones the islands trademark is the Atlantic puffin southern Scandinavia's largest colony of this fascinating bird comes here to breed each year during the breeding season about 100 thousand pairs gather on this small island to raise the next generation of puffins leading up to the breeding season additional build plates grow on their beaks and their color becomes more intense the birds spend three-fourths of the year on the open sea they come to roost on land only to raise their young with their large beaks they are able to deliver several sand eels to their nesting burrows at one time the inconspicuous hole is the entrance to an underground passageway leading to the actual nest it is often several meters long Atlantic puffins live in breeding colonies normally the parents share the work of raising the young should one of the animals perish another will move in to take its place after the egg hatches both parents were feed the chick for several weeks as soon as it leaves the nest however the chick is completely on its own [Music] [Applause] [Music] back to civilization these long houses belong to the town of Trondheim the city was founded by the Viking King Olaf Tryggvason in 997 until 1217 it was the city where the kings of Norway were crowned and thus the country's capital city Trondheim has been destroyed by fire many times during its long history in 1681 Kristian v gave the city a new look modeling it after Versailles in France the neat arse dome also fell prey to the flames its current facade is only an approximate reconstruction of the original medieval building it's round stained-glass window reminiscent of that in Notre Dame reveals the full glory of its colors only when viewed from inside the church the hola festive pageants are held here every year this is Norway's largest church and cultural festival heading north from the crowning city of the Norwegian kings we come to the locks fussing this wide waterfall is one of many hurdles salmon must overcome in their struggle to reach their spawning grounds after another hundred kilometres through the salt Follette we cross the Arctic Circle between mo i rana and Narvik the passage from the moderate zone into the polar region is marked by an impressive Arctic Circle centre beyond this point the Sun does not set on the day of the summer solstice the Lofoten are located between 100 and 300 kilometers north of the Arctic Circle in late autumn North Atlantic killer whales find their way deep into the fjords of the island group small groups of these ocean mammals also called pods followed a huge swarms of herring on the way to their spawning grounds as they move through the water they can reach speeds of up to 55 kilometers per hour [Music] the Orcas come up for air about every 15 minutes or cos were given two commonly used name killer whales by whalers who observe these large creatures as they hunted other types of whales [Music] [Applause] [Music] the later it gets in the year the longer the night's get as the Winter Solstice approaches it remains dark for about two months only the aurora borealis or the Northern Lights illuminate two heavens this breathtaking natural light show is caused by so-called solar winds from the Sun colliding with various particles in the Earth's magnetosphere when the first rays of the Sun begin to warm the earth after the long polar night the reindeer herds begin to move the animals begin the migration to their summer pastures as soon as the animals reach their destination the large herds break up into smaller groups nature slowly awakens out of its winter hibernation rivers and strands shake off their icy fetters and the first young sprouts appear beneath the thinning blanket of snow the reindeer eagerly dig for the fresh greenery thanks to their white hooves they are able to maintain good footing even as the frozen snowpack begins to break up even though the herds range freely they are domesticated to a great extent the implementation of reindeer as beasts of burden spread from Siberia to Scandinavia around 1000 BC in Norway raising reindeer is the privilege of the semi-people also known as the Lapps the village of Calcagno with its population of about 3,000 people is the center of the semi-people the reindeer breeders have traded their sleighs in for snowmobiles long ago most of the inhabitants still make their living raising reindeer the laps hang the skins of slaughtered animals to dry on the walls of their huts [Music] the meat is hung to air-dry in special rooms reindeer meat is very lean but yet very tasty for quite some time already the reindeer trade has extended beyond the borders of Norway [Music] during the Easter season the semi celebrate the traditional Easter Festival in the region around Celtic I know an L Gow where's the traditional garb during the celebrations the costume is made nearly exclusively of reindeer leather and hair right down to the felt leggings today she wants to go fishing the altar flows through Celtic I know and her parents house is right on the shore the slow-moving alta is still covered with a metre thick layer of ice as do most summer a Nils family follows the reindeer herds they are half nomads who spend the winter on the coast and come to kautokeino in the spring an L carefully spreads reindeer hide on the cold surface she attempts to lure fish through the metre deep hole in the ice with a small handheld fishing line her grandmother made the particularly warm reindeer calfskin had herself it is tradition that each semi family makes their festive clothing from the skins of their own animals but as it has been since the beginning all reindeer products are also offered for sale business is especially good during a World Cup reindeer ski race the high point of the Easter Festival at the market stands the samaya offer the products for sale that they produce during the winter all the while the competitors wait patiently for their turn it begins the first reindeer enters the starting box the jockey holds two reins one to guide the animal and one to drive it on last year's winner Maud and Greg stata is the first to start the 800 meter long race [Music] she crosses the finish line setting a new track record [Applause] the reindeer breeders like to wear their traditional silver jewelry on festive days like this the semi people are spread over all of northern Scandinavia the style of their traditional dress reveals the region they come from the race goes on for hours try as they might the other competitors can't beat the time set by meirin groups Tata [Music] it is mid-april it will still take a few weeks before the Sun is strong enough to free the waterfalls of ice broad expanses of the coast on the other hand remain ice-free all winter long thanks to the warm Gulf Stream current but even the energy of the Gulf Stream is not sufficient in Spitsbergen the Svalbard Islands group often referred to by the name of its main Island Spitsbergen is located about 650 kilometres north of the mainland and only a thousand kilometers from the North Pole here the average temperatures rise above freezing for only a few weeks a year the frozen North Atlantic waters surround the islands in a belt of ice in spite of that nearly 3,000 people live here many of them are scientists dedicated to Arctic research the ringed seal is the Arctic's most common type of seal the estimated seven million animals always stay close to a hole in the ice that allows them to escape quickly into the water at any sign of danger after all nearly 3,000 polar bears make their home on Spitsbergen Norway still has room for large animals and enormous herds it is a fascinating country with its breathtaking landscapes and unique Nordic culture it is truly one of the last paradises [Music] you you [Music]

Channel: Free Documentary - Nature

Views: 30,570

Rating: 4.8461537 out of 5

Keywords: Free Documentary, Documentaries, Full documentary, HD documentary, documentary - topic, documentary (tv genre), nature documentary, Norway, fjord, Vikings, Norwegian Vikings, scandinavia, Norway Documentary, Lofoten Islands, spitsbergen, Spitsbergen Documentary, Oslo, Bergen, Polar Circle, Polar Bear, North Cape, Polar Light, Aurora Borealis, Northern Lights, documentary, Travel Documentary, Travel, Vacation, Norway Vacation, oslo norway, Harald V of Norway, europe documentary, europe

Id: Ap8R03CffZU

Length: 50min 50sec (3050 seconds)

Published: Fri Jul 03 2020