Greetings from the Tundra.

Monica sends us a few snapshots from Ny-Ålesund, Svalbard — one of the northernmost permanent settlements in the world.

Roald Amundsen is still here.

Norwegian explorer Roald Amundsen was the first person to reach the South Pole, in 1911. In 1926 he also flew over the North Pole aboard the airship Norge. Ny-Ålesund was part of that story. His bust now stands outside, looking suitably unimpressed by the weather.

Stay on the roads.

The tundra is vulnerable, the cultural heritage is fragile and the birds would prefer not to be disturbed. In other words: please behave as though humans have only just arrived.

Ice cream, obviously.

A bicycle, a surfboard and an ice-cream vehicle at 79° North. Apparently nobody told Ny-Ålesund that Arctic settlements are supposed to look relentlessly serious.

A slightly different sort of warning sign.

Elsewhere, signs tell you to watch your step. Here, they tell you not to leave town without a firearm because of polar bears. Context is everything.

Something has come ashore.

A large green prehistoric-looking creature has taken up residence in the playground. Possibly a plesiosaur. Certainly easier to photograph than a polar bear.

Four simple rules.

No dogs. No guns. No smoking. No outdoor boots. One gets the impression somebody has learned these lessons individually.

Suburbia, Arctic Edition.

Colourful houses, gravel roads, no trees and a mountain rising directly behind the neighbourhood. The estate agent’s phrase “close to nature” would be difficult to improve upon.

The old tower.

Ny-Ålesund began as a coal-mining settlement before becoming an international centre for Arctic research. The old industrial structures are still there, presumably to remind the scientists that every generation arrives believing it has the important job.