ah, lives in the arctics is hard and freezing cold. welcome to pittsburgh and close up in on dw. we've got some hot tips for your bucket list. ah, magic corner, track hot spot for food, and some great cultural memorials to boot w travel off we go. ah fmr gato left the warmth of the philippines to settle an icy spot for me. no, it's okay. as long as i work and then they can and up that and on people for more

than 50 nations, live in the norwegian archipelago. just 1300 kilometers from the north pole in winter. it stays dark for months and in summer it's constantly light. citizens of any country can live and work and fall back without a visa, many a fascinated by life out here in the arctic blue. this is kinda nice if i says no 9 to 5 job, you're out in nature and feel almost humbled by this past experience with invited ah, filipino if i'm not, i runs a cleaning business here in fall bad on the nor the most edge. if europe he has plenty of work because tourists have finally returned

where work or job more money better morning housekeeping. ringback while still in the philippines, he heard that this remote location deep inside the arctic circle has well paid jobs and no visa restrictions. it's open to anyone who wants to work here. he set out to begin his new life 10 years ago. first thing in the early or i'm in there bought and then a sold the place and in what kind of business there's, there's no 3 1st time i didn't feel like the kind of call in the 1st time in a year out of the airport. and then called, it's called softball. in manila, he used to sell car insurance, but it was a struggle to feed his family.

now he cleans up after others. he says it's a good job. apart from when hotel guests behave badly. as the drunk something and then the bill and there's sometimes getting worse. leg broken tv or less. it's crazy. yeah. and problem is out that they and doing the great job with work. oh mm. okay. well he lives in long. yep. ian with just 2500 residence. it's the largest town ins fall bought. this footage was filmed earlier in the year when there was daylight. 247. after 2 years of karone, of ours pandemic,

and no tourists visitors of finally returning to sal bad. that's a relief to christian, brutal to he's a to a guide from germany and runs his own business, catering for germans speaking to a groups. he used to work as a school teacher in germany's black forest 10 years ago when he was about to qualify for a lifelong job guarantee. he took off for the arctic and state alex version of kind of i think on back then, i wasn't even 30 and yet, and i just couldn't imagine doing that same job right until i retire us. those for like, i'm a bit restless, done. but at 1st, this was more of an attempt to broaden my horizons, not just for a year. i need to plant the stuff. i never thought it would become a new life concept of offered his brother, mario, and sister in law, miriam, a visiting in a few days they'll embark on a one week expedition with other tourists to day. they're off to find a good place to camp on small bags, you need to carry

a weapon. residents here share the archipelago with around 3000 polar bears yet, and title is relevant here. every decision you make carries, wait, and given the sun, you're dependent on your equipment working good on knowing how to use it and having everything with you. you then tell you that any decision you make can have terrible consequences once fun, and the fact that every action counts in this also very harsh environment is something that really fascinates me here. the corona virus pandemic hit him and his company hard the lockdown, and the lack of tourists were both nerve wracking and costly due to the via the vanity. those 2 years were a huge challenge and dr. young at 1st we thought we'd lose one or 2 months of the season. and then in summer it would start up again. but then summer came on in the fall in the winter, and we realized that the following winter and summer would be canceled to wisdom. and we thought, how much longer can we do this shopping? because now he's now hoping for a bump

a year to get the business back on its face. but 1st, the 3 will need to invest many hours to find the right camping spot for the to a group. out here in the great white fastness. this capital also work is to god's l. e t and is from belgium and her husband lou slippery from france and they're preparing for the arrival of their baby daughter do in just 6 weeks systems. i think you miss maybe the key to having my hand. ah, being pregnant in the fall bad is a particular challenge with no maternity clinical pregnant women had to go to the mainland to give birth. i at some point when i got contractions in january, we go to a bit scared of and or the delivery. and we know that the system here is that you get, they've, i created with the plane, but it still takes a few hours. so if,

if you are after 24 weeks when the baby could survive, you still need to be if i created pretty fast, if you want to have a chance of keeping that baby life. so that's when i yeah, i realize the limitations of living here and definitely that's it's, it's not the usual place to say she plans to travel to the norwegian mainland 3 weeks before the birth. ellie's doesn't want to leave any sooner because the island has given her the pace she so desperately needed. her daily west. the huskies are a little more arduous right now. but then nothing compared to her previous job as a doctor working in emergency room in belgium. 3 years ago she suffered burnout. yeah, so many patients to see not enough doctors to see them. so you end up with

a crazy, broken on load. every day. i had never been kind of an edge all the time and that's not me. i fell asleep while driving and that scared me really a lot as well. at some point it was just not possible to keep on going or anything . so she decided to visit her boyfriend lou, who was already living on file bars, largest island sh, pittsburgh. and she was captivated by the island and extended her stay. and then during the 6 months i felt even martin was the wide life of landscapes, the community. when you need something, you just post a message on the group of town and i think it's pretty impressive to have such a tight community all that way. for nurse, she began a new life as a to guide until covered 19, almost forced them to abandon their dream. because here any one who can't work has a problem. ah,

meanwhile christian brutal has spent more than 3 hours searching for a suitable location to camp. off to driving 70 kilometers, the group sees the 1st place that looks like it could be suitable. they need good ski slopes and wind for snow carting. they've now reached an altitude of 500 meters . isn't fuckers niko ledger. now we're no longer on the glacier. and here, so they're there and their honda, we have sudden drops into the next valley, which i want to get his name satari with a vin for the. and the wind actually pushes you towards those precipices, for the snow, for dead and worth until the wind might not always come from that direction. wow, it's cold. but say it in style won't forget on the if the wind always loads towards those draw things can get dangerous. answering the especially for beginners. ok, because they'll be pulled by the wind to where it drops down suddenly up. so we have to be really careful hatched. either of those nodes waste your philosophies on

chinese programming ever had it on the no forget it has a look. it's not even 30 centimeters deep. i think that even though it's more, if often unmade though, we need about a meter depth of some, 2 meters will be better. but then you can easily dig down for the town in good standing height in your tent. so and build a nice igloo insurance eagle. bon con. they're planning to go camping with 10 visitors out here in the snow at minus 10 degrees celsius and without a warm shallow dies long's asthma hot off the stay. sure. on getting up in the morning is tough at wash. they don't even, but you're getting up in this landscape and this amazing view vague and you warm up quickly once you start moving, oscar vom done. it's just an incredibly intense experience in nature, nobly interviews that were neatness. ah

it's a beautiful garden. yeah. mesa, but then it dropped straight down like the view. yeah. yeah, beautiful with a crevice is back there either, but it's no good. both safety and the scenery are important. they're hoping for better luck on their next stop. the visit is a g to arrive in a few days. heading out into the wilderness is what most tourists come here for. but for efram regard, oh, that prospect holds no attraction. he doesn't have time anyway. i do wonder. because if it's i and i am busy again, i think the war war there busy working and then even if i'm off from the dell of work, i also helping me business to clean up that. so i don't have nothing dole over with there yet. he often work 6 days a week and still has to turn some jobs down. he's hoping to in

a lot of money by the summer. and he's going on his 1st trip back to the philippines in 10 years. not either will because it's been going there of you. you must the money, but i like the defendant and then it's good because i it's been a lot they may even go back to my country. okay. which one is ok? i don't like. and then close the door his last room for the day, while out he often live streams video for family and friends back home. whose comments show how otherworldly the snow covered landscape seemed to his relatives. there he gonna they hi. hello. how are you all heard that is your brace. nice brace, beautiful place, and then it's gold. and then alabama. i know we are a number of filipinos living in salvas lost their jobs during the pandemic without

an income or state help, they were forced to leave. now, more workers are urgently needed that way i going, but though my country, i just invite lays as to what we could. yeah, no, i don't accept private housing, meaning because i don't have enough people around a 100 filipinos currently live here, even though it's cold. this area by the sea is amazing place for impromptu barbie case. but me wanna get the saw f and also brought his 2 sons over 23 year old, a one and 18 year old jericho. since i've been here for 5 years, and i always see the same thing as every day when i go out. so basically most of my casino or my friends in philippines, they used to go out in the beach or like, go out in a mall like hanging out around like that. but here i just always have my room

playing of heater. it's still boring for it. i feel like fine now yet, but he says leaving here isn't easy. he'd like to go to university. but for the subjects he's interested in, he'd need to move to the mainland and be fluent in norwegian. so far he's made little progress with the language. ah, ah well does to hold over on the edge of town, there are number of facilities for sled dogs. huskies are only allowed to be let off the leash in compounds like these. the heavily pregnant elise is relieved to have her friend franka lighter a helping today. nathan looked like the big one. they're being

with us and years and temperatures as low as minus 30 and not for every one. then there are the many months of darkness. from late october to mid february, there's no sun or daylight here at all. oh, i would just listen to what my body wants to do that to sleep all the time that it wouldn't work. it that yeah, you mess up your rhythm, you take them, they really struggle inadequacies and depression wise or yeah, it is not easy. but usually we reverse our schedules and we are more awake during the nights and we go and sleep in the early morning and sleep until noon. well, it's night. i'm 247 so you know pretty change anything if you're awake up 7 in the morning or 7 and the night except of the shop is a really easy to forget about option from people who read the trouble

to handle the dark season. for me it's more of a summer season that is the difference because during the summer season it's too much lights on. i don't sleep enough and when i don't sleep enough, i get about has more than 4 months of non stop daylight. from late april to late august please and lou select peaches they took to hang another step in getting their apartment ready for their baby. their dream of living in the arctic was almost shouted when they both lost their jobs and their income joined the lockdown. they had virtually no state benefits with the cost of living is high. those are from jethro because for me i was not on any person's age contract, i was only on what we called free lunch here with so this kind of contract doesn't give me any unemployment benefits and away. so i was basically just getting nothing

wrong. so it was a lot of trying to survive and using whatever we had on the bank account and boring money and putting on the whole the loans that i had to take back as well. that too is part of immigrating to swell bought. when times a tough have to find a way elise and lou will on the verge of giving up when finally the restrictions were east. grew arthur almost 200 per cent. both of us. when every single company that could give us work, we took to work. so last summer i worked as well to run trucks in the same time, many, many hours in down. i didn't seem numbers of hours than in the hospital for doing something that they like, than you consider. okay, left, i dropped everything and i left everything to come here. and then if i have to go back, what do i do after that? it was a bit stressful i think it's

now 2 o'clock in the morning while hitting out to a 2nd location, chris john broke down. we had to replace a broken belt on his snowmobile. they drive for another hour and a half after a 170 kilometers and 11 hours on the snowmobile, they arrive at the 2nd location. this time it's a window of the let's see, looks beautiful, daughter ah, in addition to the spectacular view of the criteria or some feet like the depth of the snow, for example, dogwood over 90 centimeters. sure,

great dean can't perfect blood invitation. you'll never find the perfect spot gamma we don't want to nit pick the car and walk and it's definitely going to be amazing . does it gun to and get him for me. spell bar is the best place to live according to friend regard, towed. the most important thing to him is that his job is paid well. the fact that there's only one supermarket here doesn't bother him with a lot of things that even by his but you can even find is important tropical fruit. that's why i thought for hundreds got better and you can buy a fish and didn't give us a brice and prepare food for one building or for your full family. for the if any product fills out, the shelves can stay empty for

a while. the ship bringing fresh supplies only comes once every 10 days. the next one isn't due to the following monday. as for learns i am and there isn't a failure here. if it's i that i in the really big if you're working the bill prints, it's a salary of the, like a seen it or ranger all is in the middle of the road. another one, if you hit that is the animal police is over. be able to be for the past few months, he's had to manage household chores on his own. as he and his wife had separated, he mostly cooks filipino dishes to night. he's making chicken adobe boat with

ginger and garlic. todd now because the wife that my wife have another woman little dinner the they get better and then i forget and this is just a freeway. when i went back and then it you know, playing z. yeah, we're playing together. little blades again. they and again, with the, from, i don't know, different places from germany, home. so then from russia and engineering was thing a time for that is going well when because the one is for, oh, okay. that is, oh, well, yes. christian, brutal company bought

a house at the center of long year. been thanks to help from investors. it was a gamble. and shortly after the purchase the pandemic, it literally forgets goofy, obviously. but it's a huge amount of debt to pay us and we couldn't do that during cove. it was quoted house, the whole we needed, visitors, guessed it, it was never bought that, that it was no safety net here until coveted. then as an exception, businesses were allowed to claim state assistance, including those in the tourism industry, but that only applied to no wage in firms. then to defect a concordance. this will know when your direct competitors are getting up to a 100000 euros and subsidies of it. and you're getting nothing. just because one of the owners there is norwegian and you're not the social, it's certainly puts ident and the idea that's fall apart is international. and every one is equal and needs to be treated equally. in this life on the bottom,

it felt like major discrimination through to this coming. you'll following the locked downs they need to catch up. and thankfully things are busy. despite that they've decided to take some time out from work for being with friends for a year. and now we're getting blasted in real season again for me, it's like okay, one, it doesn't actually really season. yeah, it is a year from today to tomorrow it fully started again, but then as well, we have more people coming here. it more crowded. we never had the situation there, but it's 2 years of a situation where people not to be able to exactly they work here is very much seasonal. when the tourists here,

there's little time for friends, but they do value the relationships they have by them. what you really think about it, but the fact that we're in this super rough environment also brings it to be. this is people that not only are you friends with also, that actually could save your life when you're going on for. and that brings it to another level than a regular friendship with insulin. ricardo son find life on the island. less exciting. but they wouldn't want to be in the philippines either. it's just way too dangerous thing for me to face or to leave a lot of people on the side street that too bad. thanks to you. so they do it snatching people like that were while it and again my and your size and then ask for your money. you don't have any choice to but to get it instead,

getting hurt for me it's, it's a good place still bring making here because it's the same place and then there's no but people her and in. yeah, i think it's a good place for my kids here. the role i this is this good to month? yes. right now with long yep. yeah. normally gets around $70000.00 visitors a year. it used to be mainly a coal mining town. many believe tourism has a bright future here at least included during this film. shoot. she was working hard on a new project. the magnus, to will, will really will live together with 3 friends. she was preparing to open a rather unusual cafe. so this is bank

via fest kinda coffee. so basically it's a place where people can meet the huskies. we have a lot of people in town, but usually ask where they can meet dogs without taking a dog sledding turn. it looks almost ready, but we still see everything through bought. they made it. and the cafe has since opened to the public places dream of living in small bod, where she recovered from burnout almost didn't work out. now she has a new challenge of living with a baby in the difficult environment of the arctic. but i still think weaken my mistress ruled of it them. yeah, find solutions for every single thing that come away right will with it. i will adapt but happy about it. i am

when a friend regards her visits, the philippines, he plans to go to some of the countries popular beach resorts, something he could never afford to do before. his family now sees him as a wealthy businessman from europe. it needs that i have all the money and the gun it some are fancy restaurant and then with other bits to research like that and have been a birthday party ended and they were north lake. i'm in church lake expenses. ah, i don't want to stay as long in the philippines because for me, it's hard, you know, warm it's warm in the philippines. you know may, may, may, lead east is a dot here goal and didn't maybe bagel, but for the good is as long as a calling to a vacation. it might be late on maybe a m. c for that. ah, yes. once you're here. last week we may christian, brutal,

one last time before his departure to the snow camp, his timber group has arrived. i said, i'm glad us eat fulton yet, and i'm very thankful that it's working again that we have tourists coming and it will me and that we don't have to bid farewell to the livelihood that we built up here. august under insufficient for a long time. we just didn't know in a long time it feels like the worst of the crisis is now behind them. abba of the state of evie. huh. that's what i very much doubt that i'll do this forever, is often because it's a very busy life and it's hard work. what's in? it's like you have no roots to think i would need to, so i don't think it will be forever. but for the time being, we're here, cynthia, fall bad is open to all those who are willing and able to work hard and cope with the extremes. most migraines move on after a few years for them. the archipelago in the arctic is a beautiful but temporary hon.

power games on the melting ice. a reporter tracks down the arctics. major players with urine folded. there is russian warships and alan dice. version. oh, any guns? rover shadow. arctic blue. 15 minutes on d. w. innovation is ready to lift all progress and science will turbocharged the economy with lightning fast quantum computers and climate change resistance super plans. we take

a look at high flying technologies in our review of everything that matter is not made in germany. 90 minutes on d. w ah ah, this is the w news live from berlin. the death toll from north america's blizzard of the century, climes and as americans are digging their way out off for us, no small that holiday weekend. we look back at a year of extreme weather events, hot and cold, that experts say are a sign that climb.