In the International Polar Year, many people try to help with focusing on polar science. On June 26, we had a visit of Royal ambassadors, the heirs of the Scandinavian thrones: Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden, Crown Prince Frederick of Danmark and Crown Prince Haakon from Norway. They were on a boat trip with the Swedish ice breaker Oden and arrived per helicopter.

There was a program with informal presentations and an excursion to the Zeppelin and marine station. During the city walk, they visited the Netherlands Arctic Station. Victoria immediately noticed my wooden shoes. On the picture from left to right: Crown Prince Haakon of Norway, the Governor of Svalbard (Sysselmannen), Oddvar Midtkandal (director of Kings Bay),
Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden, Kim Holmén (director of research of the Norwegian Polar Institute), Crown Prince Frederik of Denmark and me. More photos on http://www.arcticstation.nl.