Toodle-oo from Antarctica!
We bid farewell and say thank you for a wonderful time together here at the end of the world.
Christian
What was your personal highlight during the overwintering period?
The penguins.
What did your typical daily routine look like during winter?
In the morning, I walked to the measurement field to level the sensors and, if necessary, clear them of ice or frost. Back in the office, I then validated the measurement data. After that, I did a roof inspection, checking the remote sensing instruments on the roof and clearing ice from the roof vents and balloon launch hatches. Then I prepared and launched the radiosonde or ozone sonde. In the afternoon, I carried out maintenance work, repairs, debugged scripts, troubleshot problems, and prepared ozone sondes, etc. In addition, from 8 a.m. to 9 p.m., I went outside every three hours to check the weather and make a weather report.
How do you spend your free time at the station?
Sleeping, listening to music, making phone calls, reading, exercising, …
What do you miss most from home?
Trees. And finally having a day off, or being able to sleep in again.
What advice do you have for future overwintering teams?
Don’t get sick.
Johanna
What was your personal highlight during the overwintering period?
Experiencing Antarctica in all its shapes and colours. Whether on the way to work at the observatory or on an excursion to see the penguins. Every time I was outside, it was different, beautiful and impressive.
What did your typical daily routine look like during winter?
I got up in the morning (really every single day), usually sometime between 8 and 10 a.m. Then I checked what was scheduled for the day, what emails had come in, and whether everything was still running as it should. After that, I already took care of the first small routine tasks. Next came a coffee and a short meeting with my geophysics colleague Jozef. This was followed by more routine tasks, which mostly meant going through our seismometer data for earthquakes or carrying out measurements at the magnetic observatory. After lunch, I usually tried to find more physically active tasks, such as reorganizing our storage area or preparing equipment for the summer. At 5 p.m., there was a workout session—either Tabata, running, or rowing—and at 6:15 p.m. it was time for dinner. Evenings often varied a lot, ranging from outings to watching TV series, taking (and sorting…) photos, or simply relaxing in the hammock.
How do you spend your free time at the station?
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What do you miss most from home?
My friends and family, of course, but also simple things like being able to open the window and let some fresh air into the room, or being able to go outside without having to think about what to wear and how many gloves to pack. I’m also looking forward to seeing a bit more green, although I’m not bored of the white yet.
What advice do you have for future overwintering teams?
Look forward to Antarctica, it really is a special place, and take a hammock with you. ;)
Jozef
What was your personal highlight during the overwintering period?
Both my lowlight and highlight at the same time was the polar night. On the one hand, getting up was exhausting, there was very little daylight, and often biting cold. But in the end, the months spent in the eternal ice, far away from everything previously familiar and under the fascinating auroras, were absolutely worth it. I think that over time, it will mainly be the good experiences that stay with me in my memories, and they will continue to cheer me up in the future.
What did your typical daily routine look like during winter?
First thing in the morning: coffee, coffee, coffee! After that, things always worked out. I overwintered as a geophysicist, so there was a daily check of the collected data and some basic data processing. Every few days, we had to go outside, either to an underground observatory or sometimes to work on the sea ice in “our” Atka Bay. Otherwise, I always checked whether everything was running properly or if there was anything that could be improved.
How do you spend your free time at the station?
I had planned to read the Bible during the winter, even though I am an atheist. But I have to admit right away that I wasn’t successful with that plan. Due to the darkness, isolation, workload, and the occasional opportunities for small excursions, I lacked the motivation to take on something “bigger,” such as reading and fully understanding a thick, profound book. Instead, after several hectic years, I often allowed myself some time for calmness—simply looking out of the window and thinking.
What do you miss most from home?
Overall, I missed the entire “environment” and everything that comes with it: the feeling of nature and familiar streets, the way people react to all kinds of different impulses, and so on.
What advice do you have for future overwintering teams?
Don’t dwell too much on thoughts that may be hard to deal with during total isolation but are of very little importance in the long run. Just think about the time afterward whenever a difficult hour comes.
Julia
What was your personal highlight during the overwintering period?
The penguins. They never lost their fascination for me. Being able to accompany these animals throughout the entire year and experience the complete cycle was simply wonderful. From their return to the frozen sea ice, through the mating season, egg laying and incubation, to the hatching of the chicks and their first independent steps.
The colors during the polar night were also breathtaking, as were the starry sky and the auroras.
What did your typical daily routine look like during winter?
I got up at around 7:40 a.m. to have breakfast with Thorben, Regine, and Tom. After that, every day was a little different, depending on what needed to be done. Over the course of the month, there were many tasks: drinking water checks, inspections of survival and mountain boxes, conducting fire safety drills (once a month), equipment checks in the hospital, regular blood sampling as part of studies by LMU Munich and Charité, maintenance of the routes on the ice shelf, communication with Bremerhaven, and so on. And of course, from a medical perspective, I was always available as a point of contact.
How do you spend your free time at the station?
I had brought quite a few things with me (many books on my e-reader, painting supplies), but in the end I used very little of it. Whenever the weather allowed, I went outside to take photos, because I thought I could always do the other things again back home.
What do you miss most from home?
Seeing friends and family again. Even though we can do video calls from here, they obviously can’t replace actually being together and spending time with one another.
What advice do you have for future overwintering teams?
Don’t take yourselves too seriously, laugh a lot together—and also at yourselves. Address emerging conflicts early instead of letting them grow. Enjoy the time and remind yourselves every day what an incredible privilege it is to be here and to experience something that only very few people ever get to experience.
Lukas
What was your personal highlight during the overwintering period?
Nature in all its different facets, from wildlife such as penguins, seals, and numerous birds to incredible ice formations, vast open spaces, and a fascinating play of colors created by twilight, auroras, and the dark night sky.
What did your typical daily routine look like during winter?
I got up fairly leisurely in the morning and then walked to the Air Chemistry Observatory. If necessary, I made a stop at the meteorological measurement field along the way. At the “Spuso”, all instruments were checked, samples were taken, maintenance and, if needed, repairs were carried out. Depending on the workload, I returned either in time for lunch or later in the afternoon. Back at the station, there was still laboratory and computer work to be done. At midnight, I went outside once more to make the weather report.
How do you spend your free time at the station?
Taking photos, editing photos, going on excursions in the surrounding area, game nights, and relaxed social gatherings.
What do you miss most from home?
Family and friends, mountains, forests, rain, and smells.
What advice do you have for future overwintering teams?
Bring enough hard drives. ;) And a camera is definitely worth it.
Thomas
What was your personal highlight during the overwintering period?
There were many, but most of them were directly connected to the polar night. The twilight, the cold, the silence, the auroras, the splendor of the stars. The brutal, merciless, and yet fragile-seeming nature often completely absorbed me.
What did your typical daily routine look like during winter?
As a technician, there was always plenty to do. Roughly half of the work consisted of routine maintenance, while the rest involved unforeseen repairs to all kinds of systems and vehicles at Neumayer Station, which made each day very varied.
How do you spend your free time at the station?
Sport was important to me, and I sought balance through physical activity almost every day. In addition, the evenings were often filled with a wide range of group activities.
What do you miss most from home?
Besides the people closest to my heart, I look forward to summer thunderstorms, the smell of earth, birdsong, children’s laughter, mild summer evenings, and cheese that does not crumble. 😊
What advice do you have for future overwintering teams?
A fellow overwinterer once said: overwintering is what you make of it. That sentence has stayed with me. So, dear future overwinterer, take a close look at every snow crystal and every iceberg, listen to the icebergs breathing and the seals singing, let Antarctica work its magic on you, and embrace with your whole body and soul and with childlike curiosity the wonders that await you here. You will not regret it.
Thorben
What was your personal highlight during the overwintering period?
The polar night, with all its colors, the deep silence, and the glowing auroras that sometimes danced already at breakfast. And then, of course, our majestic neighbors, the emperor penguins. The storms were also impressive; they repeatedly reshaped the landscape around the station and reminded me how alive and changeable Antarctica is.
What did your typical daily routine look like during winter?
My day usually began around 7:30 a.m. with preparations for breakfast, which I often enjoyed from 8 a.m. onward together with Regine, Thomas, and Julia. After that, I spent the morning in the kitchen, preparing lunch and dinner, and several times a week fresh bread was baked. Occasionally, there was also a cake. Daily routines also included cleaning work in the storage rooms and inventory checks. Lunch was at around 12:15 p.m., followed by meeting up for coffee in the lounge. In the afternoon, I regularly supported the technical team or the scientists before a workout session in the late afternoon. This was followed by dinner and my last kitchen duty of the day. Around seven or half past seven, the well-deserved free time began. In the evenings, there were various activities, ranging from movie nights to extended sauna sessions.
How do you spend your free time at the station?
In my free time, sport was an important balance, as were short visits to our neighbors, the penguins or seals, or trips to nearby icebergs. After the cold exploration tours, the sauna was the perfect place to warm up and relax.
What do you miss most from home?
An open window and the scent of a forest. Something so ordinary, and yet so far away.
What advice do you have for future overwintering teams?
Enjoy the here and now. Time passes faster than you think, and every single day here is a unique piece of life at the end of the world.
Regine
What was your personal highlight during the overwintering period?
Definitely the trips onto the sea ice and the surrounding area of the station. I was especially fascinated by the icebergs and the ice shelf edge, which always looked different and often completely surreal. Added to that were the encounters with penguins and seals. Overall, it was impressive to witness these changes over the course of an entire year.
What did your typical daily routine look like during winter?
The day usually began with breakfast, together with Thorben, Tom, and Julia, and occasionally with others from the overwintering team. Mornings were often dominated by routines: shoveling meltwater, morning rounds, and maintenance work. At the same time, the daily plan was usually obsolete by mid-morning because the station and the vehicles dictated what needed to be done. I really enjoyed always having something to do, rarely knowing what the week would bring, and experiencing something different every day. Added to that was the freedom to organize my time largely independently, which I always considered a privilege.
Fixed times were only for lunch and dinner, during which we almost always came together as a group. After lunch, we often sat on the couch with a coffee. Evenings, if the weather was good, were spent on excursions; otherwise, they included movie nights, games, or simply relaxing together.
How do you spend your free time at the station?
In good weather, we spent a lot of time outside, going on excursions or small exploration trips. Otherwise, I exercised almost daily and spent a lot of time in the evenings on communal activities.
What do you miss most from home?
The freedom to have a larger range of movement than just the area around the station. And of course, friends, family, and a bit greener nature.
What advice do you have for future overwintering teams?
Enjoy the time! Find activities you can do together and that you genuinely enjoy. Above all, try to keep your sense of wonder and amazement about this special place.
Alexander
What was your personal highlight during the overwintering period?
Experiencing the unique Antarctic nature and wildlife, and making several thousand very special radio contacts from Antarctica to all around the world.
What did your typical daily routine look like during winter?
I usually slept in, checked my emails in the morning, and made sure all systems were running. If needed, I carried out repairs on IT or electronics. Occasionally, I went on trips to the observatories and made contact with school classes via the amateur radio satellite QO100. I didn’t really have a fixed daily routine—only lunch and dinner were at the same time every day.
How do you spend your free time at the station?
I spent a lot of time in the workshop—soldering, turning, milling, and welding. In the office, the 3D printer ran almost continuously. Besides antenna building and amateur radio, I exercised a lot, either with the group or alone on the treadmill, almost every day. As a team, we spent many evenings together, doing puzzles, playing games, and going on excursions.
What do you miss most from home?
Friends and family, but also forests, lakes, and my hobbies, which aren’t really suited to Antarctica.
What advice do you have for future overwintering teams?
Make things easy for each other. Be there for one another and find constructive solutions to problems quickly. Living together for a long time as a team of nine, having a well-functioning group dynamic is a huge benefit to being able to fully enjoy this unique experience.
We wish the 46th overwintering team a wonderful winter and great experiences. Take care of each other and enjoy your time!
