On Sunday I left the ever-improving summer weather in my home region in souther Germany and arrived in the middle of winter in Longyearbyen. Although the meteorological summer is just around the corner, the maximum temperatures here lie around -3°C and the occasional wind can really make you to shiver. Despite having to swap my summer dress to a thick jacket, the breathtaking scenery makes it all worth it.

Longyearbyen, located at the 78°N, is the world's northernmost city and attracting quite many tourists yearly. A bit more than 2.000 locals call this city their home. For a scientists Longyearbyen is the ideal station for arctic research with hotels, a supermarket, bars and tax-free beer. In summer the only draw back is that the sun never sets, which makes it possible to do late night hikes but really messes up your sleep rhythm. For me Longyearbyen is definitely the northernmost point that I visited - and my home for the next six weeks.

A bit like in Colorado - but then not quite.