When thinking of a honeymoon, most of us probably imagine white sandy beaches, palm trees and beautiful sunsets. But some newlyweds dream of something completely different. PolarQuest has about two to three couples a year who chose to celebrate with walruses and polar bears in the Arctic. Being a bit nosy, we asked some questions to one of the newlywed couples.
In September 2015 Therése and Marcus travelled to Svalbard to enjoy their honeymoon on board the expedition ship M/S Quest.
How did you come up with the idea of spending your honeymoon in Svalbard?
As Therése already had been to the Cook Islands, which was Marcus dream destination, we started to look at other alternatives. Both South America and Africa were at the top of the list as we are both very interested in nature and fascinated of remote places. But one day Therése’s brother mentioned Svalbard and we really wanted to find out more about the archipelago in the north. We read about glaciers and polar bears and the other alternatives suddenly felt very bland. Svalbard was to be our honeymoon destination!
How was your honeymoon?
The honeymoon was wonderful, we couldn’t have asked for more! We both had very high expectations, but they were already exceeded on the very first day of the expedition. The Arctic may not be the most obvious alternative for a honeymoon, but the trip had everything you expect from romantic sunsets (being September), great food and a lot of time for one another. We could even check off sunshine and swimming in turquoise water – although the plunge in the freezing water did not last very long…
What is your favorite memory from the trip?
Oh, that is a tricky one! Maybe the first polar bear encounter, the fin whales or the Zodiac cruise in rain and storm along Karl XII-øya. Every day we were treated to new experiences, one even more overwhelming than the other. We will never forget the magnificent Arctic nature and all the wonderful wildlife encounters we had. It is probably the combination of it all that triumphs everything else and makes it so fantastic!