Cruising Greenland and Northern Europe: Glorious Greenland

Entering the narrow Prince Christian Sound of Greenland

We accessed Greenland via the Prince Christian Sund (or Sound), and it was a truly glorious entrance. The narrow channel (62 miles long and less than 2 miles wide) is full of glaciers sliding down to the sea, waterfalls, craggy rocks on both sides, and best of all - icebergs!

Icebergs ahead!!! (In the Prince Christian Sound)

We were so lucky because the weather was spectacular, sunny with blue skies. One crew member said he had been through the sound 30 times and never saw weather like we had. Bad weather is the norm here, and cruise ships are often unable to even enter the sound because of the poor conditions.

Glacier along the Prince Christian Sound

Some quick facts: Greenland is the largest island in the world that is not a continent. 80% of the country is covered by the Greenland Ice Cap, making it totally uninhabitable. This ice sheet is the second largest in the world (Antarctica is #1), but Greenland as a whole has more ice than any other place on the planet.

All bundled up for iceberg watching

The size of these icebergs is staggering. One of the largest, was estimated to be 150 feet high. They float like cathedrals on the sea, glistening in the sun. They also have surprising color, some have blue stripes, and the area at the base of the iceberg gleams in greens and blues. Of course, it is sobering to remember that only 10% of an iceberg is visible. That's a LOT of ice underwater!

Our tender shuttles passengers to and from the cruise ship

Qaqartoq, Greenland

Because the harbors are much too small to accommodate a ship like ours, all of our ports in Greenland were accessible only by ship’s tender. We couldn't wait to hop a tender and finally set foot on Greenland. What a thrill and what a privilege!

The "Qaqortoq-ers"were ready for us!

We were blessed with another perfect day. We never expected temps in the high 50's in Greenland. We actually got warm walking around. A young Inuit girl who lives here told us this was the nicest morning of the entire summer.

Colorful homes of Qaqortoq, Greenland

Say whaaatt??? (unpronounceable street name)

The town of Qaqartoq (Greenlanders like the letter Q!) was cute and colorful with pretty houses sparkling in the sun. Small towns here like this have no roads in and out; the only roads are within the town. The only way to go anywhere else is by boat. Which made us wonder why there was so much traffic – surprisingly, lots of big trucks and even taxis roamed the streets.

We strolled down to the main square with a totally unpronounceable name and stopped by the local fish market to ogle slabs of seal meat. (We learned there are millions of seals, and they need to control their numbers to prevent overpopulation.) BTW this town is accessible only by boat, and the Inuit people have no fresh fruit or vegetables for eight months out of the year, making seal and whale meat an essential part of their diet.

Grocery store with supersized can goods

We dropped into the local grocery store and were blown away by the eclectic merchandise. An odd assortment of guns, skeins of yarn in every possible color, heavy duty boots, and lots of charcoal grills, fishing rods, et al. The food was mostly supersized cans of fruit and vegetables like the large quantities of food you would see in a Cosco, or Sams Place. Shopping here is a different operation than in our country; you really need to stock up for the winter!

Colorful Qaqortoq, Greenland

Our last stop was the Great Greenland Furhouse where they specialize in seal fur. Fishing and hunting are the primary occupations here, and seals are particularly valuable. The seal fur was surprisingly soft, and Anne had to admit the seal jackets were stunning and looked to be very warm.

Welcome to Paamiut, Greenland

Paamiut

Our next port of Paamiut required a lengthy tender ride, and we became frustrated by the long wait. But we were luckier than some - one of the tenders broke down, and those people were stranded for over two hours until another tender towed them in.

School girls wanting to practice their English with us

We finally got into this small town of 2,000 people and were surprised to find it had lots of personality and lots to see. We checked out the open-air museum and met a group of young Inuit women with a sign asking us to help them with their English by speaking with them.

Inuit English students gather for a group photograph

Of course, we gladly joined in the conversation, and it was lots of fun.

Pretty church in Paaimut, Greenland

The prettiest building in town was the church painted red and green with lots of gingerbread trim. The tiny cemetery of white wooden crosses was especially moving. So many died as children or in their teens. The longest living person we could find died at age 43.

Traditional Greenlandic sod house for winter living

The best site was a replica of a sod house, or sometimes called a turf house. It looked like a mound of earth, but it was actually built with embedded stones in the walls for strength, and a grass roof.

Frank exits the tiny sod house doorway

Inside was one tiny low-ceilinged room which would have held an entire family for the long winter.

Cheers from Paamiut, Greenland!

We stopped into a grocery store (lots more charcoal grills, fishing rods, packaged foods, etc.) and found a bottle of Greenlandic beer called Royal Export made in a brewery in the capitol city of Nuuk. We sat on a bench in the middle of Paamiut, drinking our beer and thinking how we never could have dreamed we would make it to Greenland.

Hunting icebergs in the harbor at Nanortalik

Nanortalik

Nanortalik was our last port in Greenland, and we could not turn down one of the few ship excursions offered here in Greenland called "Among the Icebergs." Our Inuit guides led us down to a small dock and had us pull on one-piece flotation suits (not as easy as it sounds -- Anne felt like the Michelin Man). They topped that off with a life preserver saying, "No matter what happens you won't drown." (Good to know!)

Multicolored iceberg floating in Nanotalik Harbor

We boarded a small open boat made out of aluminum, and soon we were thumping across the waves on a rough ride out into the harbor. Not the most comfortable ride, but so worth it when we pulled up next to our first iceberg. The boat got as close as possible and we were in awe.

Our guide Lisbeth explained that the icebergs break off from the Ice Cap and are a piece of the 110,000-year-old ice there. In the spring, sheets of ice arrive carrying seals and occasionally a polar bear, although she said polar bear sightings are rare as a result of global warming. The icebergs are constantly in motion with the sea water sloshing up and over them all the time. Lisbeth told us the icebergs we saw will be fully melted in just a week or two.

Lisbeth with chunk of iceberg ice

Lisbeth walked to the back of the craft, then suddenly appeared carrying a 30-lb. chunk of iceberg ice. She broke the ice chunk up with a metal tool and offered us cups of Glenfidditch Scotch served with the small bits of genuine iceberg ice.

Frank tips back some Glenfidditch with his iceberg ice

So, got the picture? There we were rocking to-and-fro among the icebergs in our rinky-dink 6-seater motorboat somewhere in the Nanortalik Harbor drinking Glenfidditch -- we say that it doesn't get much better than that!

Exploring the Nanortalik outdoor museum

After our boat ride, we had time to explore the small town which was not nearly as attractive as the previous two. However, the Nanortalik Museum was worth seeing and the views around town were lovely. We even managed to pick up two more bottles of Royal Export beer that Frank managed to smuggle onto the ship.

We never get tired of these icebergs!

The following day, our ship made the return trip though the Prince Christian Sound with more icebergs and more incredible scenery. We sat out on deck chairs with woolen blankets draped over us, feeling like passengers on the Titanic. We even got to see whales! No, not really the whole whale; just their spouts and a glimpse of a shiny black surface in the waves, but we were thrilled.

We were blown away by this whole Greenland experience. The tiny towns and amazing landscapes, and most of all, the icebergs and glaciers that were some of the most majestic sights in nature.

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