Nuuk - Capital of Greenland

Finally, after three long and weatherally challenging days at sea, we arrive in the port of Nuuk at night.

The morning after, we are greeted by the familiar weather of the last two days: low-hanging clouds, rainy weather, and a temperature of about 5°C. The weather report does not suggest that waiting for better weather would be worthwhile during the day.

The hope for a stable internet connection fades as we realize that although we are on or within Danish territory, the internet behaves as if we are outside. So, if you want to go on the internet, you have to buy a "Greenland package." We make the pact for each phone for 40 euros. Of course, it works for Thorsten directly, but for me it says right away: You have already used up your 100MB package. You are welcome to buy another package, or if you have any questions, please contact customer service... (funny when you don't have internet...)... and I haven't even loaded or viewed anything yet... We don't want to risk it again, so I leave it be ☹.

After breakfast, we put on our Greenland dress. Ski underwear, thick socks, hiking pants, and hiking boots. In addition, gloves, weatherproof jacket, and warm woolen hat. And off we go on land!

Nuuk is not only the capital of Greenland but also the northernmost capital in the world. About 20,000 people live here, which is the majority of Greenland's total population of 60,000. The island is six times the size of Germany with 84 million people. So, there is still plenty of space here!

Throughout the island, there are only roads within the settlements. If you want to go from one place to another, you can only do so by boat or plane. And another novelty for Nuuk: this is the only Greenlandic city that has two traffic lights. In hindsight, we wonder if we saw them? I remember that we once stopped at a pedestrian traffic light and waited for green... was that one of them??? If we had known, we would have taken a picture of them.

As usual, the cruise ship port is an industrial area and greets us with the smell of fish. You can immediately imagine how money is made here. Once again, we don't take the paid shuttle to the city center, but we are happy that we can finally walk again.

The rain and the low clouds don't make it particularly enjoyable, but we are still excited to see the city. We walk towards the water, the designated "Boardwalk of Nuuk," and pass through an area where you have to consider whether you are in the deepest Romania, in Siberia, or actually in Greenland??? Prefab buildings at their best... with small windows and everything somewhat or even quite rundown. It is certainly obvious that they have a real problem here with depression, a high suicide rate, and alcoholism. We learn from the internet that every fifth Greenlander once attempts suicide. And this happens more often in summer (which surprises us a bit) because people are completely exhausted since they don't feel a night that brings them restful sleep. We would have thought that they cannot tolerate the constant darkness in the winter months...

It's summer, the day is long and bright, but the weather is not suitable for being outdoors... so people go to work, which mostly takes place in the cold and inhospitable, at least from our perspective. As we walk through the streets and see the people, we wonder how one can live here for a whole lifetime... but we are not Greenlanders and cannot imagine that with our "civilized" way of life.

We visit some points that are said to be worth seeing when you are in Nuuk. There is the "Mother of the Sea," which, similar to the Little Mermaid in Copenhagen, is located at the edge of the sea and almost disappears in the water at high tide. She is the guardian of the sea creatures. The story says that she holds back the animals when they are not treated well (whatever that means) and the fishing is not sufficiently successful.

Or the Redeemer Church, built in 1846, in the middle of the colorful houses that are characteristic of Greenland or Iceland. The Redeemer Church, or "Annaassisitta," is the older of the two churches in Nuuk.

Otherwise, not much indicates that we are in Greenland. No snow, no igloos, no polar bears. Actually, we could also be in a Scottish or Norwegian harbor (or in bad weather in the Mülheimer Hafen in Kölle 😉)... If it weren't for the highlight (at least for us cruisers) in the harbor: an iceberg. Just like that: in the midst of the other smaller ships and a frigate... Question: how did it get here? Shouldn't it have melted long ago since it's raining and there are no below-zero temperatures? Is this an artificial object from the tourism office and is it here all year round?

Today, we will not be able to unravel the mystery because we have become completely soaked. After almost three hours of walking in constant rain and wind, despite our good clothing, we are now frozen and soaked and are looking forward to our sheltered and warming cabin.

Tomorrow is another day, and we will spend it in Nuuk as well. Let's see if we will go on the excursion to the mountain over 400 meters that we booked three days ago. If the weather doesn't change fundamentally, meaning the rain stops and the clouds clear, we don't have high hopes for the "climbing tour"...

We'll see!