temperatures are between 10 to 3 degrees F . Longyearbyen experiences midnight sun from 19 April through 23 August and polar night from 14 November through 29 January . Since I was there in July , there was 24 hours of sunlight , making for many sleepless nights . Longyearbyen is roughly 542 miles North of Norway , and about the same from Greenland . When we arrived , the scenery was absolutely beautiful , with blue skies and large white puffy clouds , snow-capped mountains , deep glacier-carved valleys , rivers , turquoise-blue lakes and white-capped oceans . The buildings in town are all rich earthy colors , in blues , golds , greens , reds and blacks and all have white framed ( triple-paned ) windows . There is no vegetation taller than 3-4 inches , and the land in town is carved with gravel roads and two main paved roads . All vehicles are serviced by one gas station with one pump .
The people who live here year-round are tough individuals to stand up to an arctic winter . Summer is the peak season , with summer cruises
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