Yesterday afternoon we reached Tiksi in northern Siberia. In comparison to the total travel it's only a stone's throw away from our final destination, the Samoylov Island in the Lena Delta.

"Tiksi, 3 degrees and rain", was what the boards promised at the airport in Moscow. And it proved true in the sense that our flight was almost completely over a densely cloudy Siberia. However, shortly before landing, the sky opened directly over the Lena Delta, giving a clear view of the polygons, ponds and lakes, which we will examine in the coming weeks. A good sign, inspiring us all finally begin the long-prepared work in the field.

The carrier with the majority of the expedition materials is also on its way to Tiksi, but unfortunately with somewhat slower progress than we have had, so that it may take a few more days until we reach Samoylov, the goal of our journey.

For the expedition, the team is now complete. The other participants of the first section - German and Russian scientists from Hamburg, St. Petersburg and Moscow - joined us in Moscow and in Tiksi.

The port city of Tiksi, is a slightly surreal sight. The wide gravel roads between the rows of houses, mainly prefabricated buildings that are built on concrete stilts, to not to sink into the permafrost soil, and otherwise a view of the surrounding tundra or the adjacent bay. When the sun appears every now and then between the dense fog, you can not deny that the gray sight of the city has a certain rugged beauty. The small shops that are available in this remote location are rather small and it will require a little more creativity in selecting recipes for dinner than back homw with Germany's well-stocked supermarkets. There are though a seemingly endless array of these small shops, so that at the end you can probably find almost anything here. Yesterday we had Pelmini for dinner, the Russian equivalent of tortellini with Smetana (sour cream). In contrast, we are having now a mixture of potatoes, canned fish, tomato sauce and beetroot salad.

The distances between the shops can be taken also as an advantage of course, since it is perfect opportunity for us to get to know more about the plans of the other working groups of the AWI-branch; Helgoland, Hamburg University and the Universities of Russia (Moscow, St. Petersburg and Yakutsk) for this summer experience while we travel back and forth. We are all looking forward working together and especially the free hours on Sunday evening to have good time together.

But now, everyone is waiting to be able to hear, "Hurry up, pack your things and get to the helicopter. We are going to the island! "

Max