- Cecilia Blomdahl sheds light on her life living in total darkness for approximately three months of the year on a small arctic island near the North Pole called Svalbard.
- She explains the positives and negatives of Polar Days and Polar Nights, the two seasonal phenomena of the year opposite of each other that involve 24-hour spans of time with and without sun.
- She describes the fairytale-like magic of life in Svalbard, between the frequent North Lights and “friendly” reindeer that roam around the Longyearbyen village close to where she resides.
Imagine a place where polar bears roam free across rugged, remote terrain of grand glaciers and frozen tundra mixed with sub-zero temps throughout a three-month period of zero sun. For an environment that many would assume ignites seasonal depression, Cecilia Blomdahl proves otherwise.
The Sweden native’s perspective on the faraway land, known as Svalbard, is straight out of a fairytale storybook characterized by “friendly” reindeer, “unreal” Northern Lights and for a place that’s situated near the North Pole, “magical” Christmastimes.
Blomdahl, who’s lived on Svalbard for the past 10 years, transported us to the enchanting island that’s nearing the end of its total darkness span known as Polar Nights, comparing its blacked-out aura as a “really, really long snooze” that actually feels like one long “dream.”
Cecilia Blomdahl and her dog, Grim.
Courtesy of Cecilia Blomdahl
Geographically, Svalbard is a Norwegian archipelago that lies between the northern coast of Norway and the North Pole. Its largest settlement is Longyearbyen, with a diverse population of approximately 2,600 residents native to a range of different countries.
There are no indigenous people in Svalbard, which is now one of the world’s northernmost inhabited areas. Blomdahl “hadn’t even heard” of the island prior to her relocation despite her fairly close proximity to it when residing in her home country.
Her initial move to Svalbard was intended to be a three-month stay in pursuit of a “fun adventure,” picking up work while building her brand on social media (now boasting five million-plus followers across Instagram, TikTok and YouTube) and operating as a content creator full time.
That three-month visit evolved into a 10-year residency for Blomdahl, who hasn’t lived permanently anyplace else since she first moved. “I love it more than ever I ever thought,” she tells PEOPLE exclusively of the snow-covered land she “never thought” one day would become her home.
However, the word “day” takes on a different meaning in Svalbard, where Polar Nights make it dark around the clock from about Nov. 14 to Jan. 29 each year. During this period, the sun is at least six degrees below the horizon.
“Oct. 26 is when the sun sets for the last time,” says Blomdahl, explaining how it gets “gradually darker” until mid-November when it becomes “pitch black 24-7” and you “see no difference in day or night” until the start of February.
Longyearbyen village in Svalbard.
Courtesy of Cecilia Blomdahl
Amid the darkness, Blomdahl finds light — both physically and emotionally — in other ways. “The Northern Lights is my happy vitamin,” she says of the “magical” display of auroras that color the night sky in vibrant shades of greens and pinks as a result of geomagnetic storms.
“Imagine opening your door. It’s a crisp day. It’s 1:00 a.m. or 1:00 p.m. and you have all of the stars in the sky,” she says. “You feel like you’re in the galaxy. You look up and there are Northern Lights. It really is unreal.”
With a sky full of stars up above and “chill” reindeer who “go say ‘hi’ to the kids” in the village when they roam, it becomes easier to understand Blomdahl’s comparison of Svalbard to “living in a fairytale” in real life.
But surely the frozen island situated north of the Arctic Circle’s negative temperatures and lack of sunshine must take a toll on her mental and physical health, right? Well, to a degree.
Reindeer roam in the snow in Svalbard.
Courtesy of Cecilia Blomdahl
“It definitely affects your body in a way where you notice a difference. Maybe you’re more tired, you move at a different pace,” Blomdahl says, though she attributes her upbringing in Sweden — where she’d experience “really dark winters” — to her ability to tolerate the extremity of her surroundings.
“Your mindset to a season like this is crucial… I wake up with a very happy disposition about everything,” she adds. The uniqueness of all that Svalbard encompasses is something that she “always found very enticing and exciting,” which makes her positive outlook on it effortless.
Svalbard at 4 p.m. in the afternoon during Polar Nights.
Courtesy of Cecilia Blomdahl
Also, the small population of immigrants who settle down in Svalbard makes for a “super diverse and also very welcoming” community within the Longyearbyen village near where she resides. “The average time somebody stays is like three years, so you always have people coming and going.”
Blomdahl says the cycle of visitors brings a “fresh vibe” to the village, in addition to “like-minded people” who come from “all over the world” in search of an adventure and to experience the “beauty” of Svalbard.
Cecilia Blomdahl and her dog, Grim.
Courtesy of Cecilia Blomdahl
Contrary to popular belief, the severity of enduring Polar Nights isn’t the hardest part about living in Svalbard for Blomdahl. Rather, it’s the opposite: Polar Days (and polar bears, too).
“When I compare the two, I really do think Polar Night is so much easier for me than 24-7 daylight,” she says of the phenomenon when the sun doesn’t set below the horizon for four months in the summer due to the high latitude location of Svalbard.
Blomdahl views Polar Nights as a “cozy winter day” that has you moving at a “slower pace” in comparison to its seasonal counterpart that’s “total daylight at all times,” which has her body feeling “very stressed because there’s no natural way to turn it off.”
Therefore, sleep is a challenge. “We go to bed with the sun in the sky. And when we wake up, it’s still there,” she says, noting that blackout window shades aren’t common in Svalbard and a sleeping mask “is best” to make it through the “difficult,” sunny nights.
Polar bear warning sign.
Courtesy of Cecilia Blomdahl
When it comes to safety on the island, especially during the periods of 24-hour darkness, Blomdahl says she’s “never felt safer” in the village. “The only thing we worry about is polar bears,” she reveals.
“They’re at the top of the food chain. So they roam. They’re the kings of this island,” Blomdahl explains of the bear native to the Arctic and considered one of the most dangerous bears in the world. “The village is deemed what we call a ‘safe zone.'”
She explains, “If you’re going outside [of the safe zone], you need to bring a firearm with you and know how to use it in case you need to protect yourself… Anything we do outside of the village, we are very prepared for weather and wearing polar bear protection.”
For example, if Blomdahl takes her dog, Grim the Finnish Lapphund, for a walk, she says she’ll wear a rifle on her back. That, and a “massive headlamp” during Polar Night since there are no street lights outside of the village where she resides.
“We stay out of the bear’s way if we need, we’re very in tune with nature here,” she says with pride.
Sunfest in Svalbard.
Courtesy of Cecilia Blomdahl
The appreciation the Svalbard community has for Mother Nature, which largely shapes their lifestyle day in and day out — and night in and night out — is why one of the most anticipated days of the year is Sunfest (“Solfestuka), an annual celebration of the sun’s return after the dark season.
“It’s one of my favorite things,” Blomdahl says of the week-long tradition in Longyearbyen filled with cultural festivities and concerts as the community gathers to welcome the first sun rays to hit the steps of an old hospital in the village on March 8 each year.
“It’s like 15 seconds and sometimes it doesn’t even show up… but we’re all there,” she says, as seen in photos on her social media pages and in her book, Life on Svalbard. “Then we sit there and we cheer when it comes around the corner… It’s still a really, really lovely tradition.”
When reflecting on her years spent residing in Svalbard, Blomdahl — who originally imagined herself living the “city life” before her move to the Arctic one decade ago — has learned, “You can find home in a place where you probably didn’t expect.”
Between Polar Days and Polar Nights, Blomdahl has also taught a lot, too. Above all, her mindset during the 24-7, pitch-black months has proved that there is, in fact, always a bright side to living in the dark.
