Voyage 5 Log

A Love Story
Gregers Gjersøe, Snowshoe Master & Expedition Guide
Anna Charlier and Niels Strindberg were very much in
love in the spring of 1897. Their passion was music and
they often played together; Anna played the piano
while Niels played the violin. But, Niels also had
another passion – his dream to fly to the geographical
North Pole in a hydrogen balloon.
After many years of effort, Niels’ dream was more
than just a fantasy, however, it was an adventure
waiting to happen. Eventually, a three-man crew,
including Niels, Knut Frænkel, and August Salomon
Andree, were ready to set off on the expedition of a
lifetime in their trusty balloon, The Eagle.
In July of 1897, the trio sailed to Danskøya, a little
island in the northwestern part of Svalbard, and
prepared their balloon for the attempt. Although his
working hours were preoccupied with his upcoming
journey while waiting, Niels read a book to pass the
time. The bookmark he used was a card made by
Anna, which showed the three men flying in a balloon
and she had drawn herself. On the bottom of the card
she wrote: “To where I cannot follow”. In his pocket,
Niels kept her portrait and around his neck he wore a
gold heart, complete her picture and a lock of her hair.
On July 11, 1897, the trio took off from their little
island. After the takeoff, the balloon started spinning
and plunged toward the sea. Panicking, the crew
ejected more than 200 kg of ballast, causing the
balloon to fly too high and disappear behind the
clouds. No one heard anything from the trio for the
next thirty-three years…
According to Andree’s calculations, the hydrogen
balloon could stay afloat for at least 30 days, but the
journey came to an end after just 65 hours. The three
men had landed less than a third of the way to the
North Pole, and now had a long way to walk on the ice
back to Svalbard. The trio packed their sledges, but
they were very heavy, making it difficult to walk more
than a few kilometres at a time on the polar ice. Some
days they worked hard for more than 10 hours, but
they made no progress. In fact, they were moving
further and further north, despite their best efforts,
thanks to the drifting ice.
Along the way, Niels kept writing to Anna. On July 24,
1897, he wrote his last letter – a birthday
© Gaby
cardPilson
for
Anna. In it, he wrote that he was in the best of health
and that she didn’t need to worry about the
expedition.
23-30 June, 2019
Page 16
He promised that they would be make it home in
the end. But, due to the drifting ice, Niels was
constantly moving further away from Anna and
toward the North Pole he so desperately wished to
fly to.
Eighty-eight days after they started, the three men
finally made it to a small and isolated island called
Kvitøya by floating on an ice floe. After only a few
days on Kvitøya, all the three men died in October
1897, although no one knows why.There are many
different theories: carbon monoxide poisoning,
polar bear attack, and scurvy, among others.
But, it was only after ten years that Nils was
declared dead. Two years later, Anna married the
Englishman Gilbert Hawtrey, a 38-year-old French
teacher. At the wedding Anna told Gilbert that she
loved him, but her heart belonged to Niels.
Finally, after thirty-three years (1930), the remains
of the three explorers where found at Kvitøya, along
with all their equipment. Niels’ letters to Anna were
found in the camp and, after some examination,
were sent to Anna. The bodies of the three
explorers were brought back to Sweden, where
thousands of people came to welcome them home.
Anna died when she was 78 years old and is buried
in Torquaq. Although she shares the grave with her
husband, Gilbert Hawtrey, there is no heart in her
body.
The 4 th of September 1947 would have been Nils
Strindberg`s seventy-seventh birthday. In the early
morning, without seeking permission from the
authorities, Nils brothers secretly carried out Anna
Charlier’s final wish. After she died, her heart was
operated out of her body and cremated. Without
involving anyone, they opened Nils Strindberg`s
grave and lowered a small silver chest into it. The
chest held Anna Charlier’s heart, a final act
demonstrating the love she had for a wanderlustfilled
arctic explorer.
Volume 1, Issue 5