Another day at the office
I was working on board Crystal Cruises through Northwest passage, Canada to Greenland <3
Foraging in the arctic summer..."But isn't the selections of food in Greenland ridiculously limited?"... Is something that I am asked pretty often. And yeah, perhaps if you are super picky or only eat by a very specific diet, you might get very hungry in Greenland. If not, you will (like myself) love the chance to go foraging for delicacies in the arctic summer. This weekend I spend a lot of time out in the fields, searching for a very specific mushroom. The Leccinum rotundifoliae or Arctic Bolethe as this mushroom is called, is quite common in areas with dwarf birch and is easy to recognize with its big light-brown hat. However, whenever foraging you can never be absolutely sure to actually find what you are looking for...is my experience. But we found so many, wuhuuu, makes it sooo much more fun! I love to forage and I think it is such a pleasure to spend time in the nature, gathering ingredients to make a great meal for my friends and family. However, unless you are a super-experienced-mushroomfinding-expert there are things you should be aware of whenever you go foraging for mushrooms: - Do some research on the different mushrooms, if possible bring descriptions or pictures for your tour, maybe in a book or on your phone just to compare when you find the mushrooms. - Find out which mushrooms are poisonous and which mushrooms look like them - avoid both. - If you have ANY doubt in whether or not the mushroom is edible, just don't pick it up. Better safe than sorry. When we had found enough of these amazing mushrooms, we headed on home. Usually when I go foraging for mushrooms, I have this little special-made mushroom knife with a little brush attached to it #nerd. This makes it easier for me to clean the mushrooms right away. But I forgot it this time, which meant that the cleaning started once we got home. I removed any dirt, cut of bruised parts and then it was up to my imagination (and the contains of the fridge) to start cooking. I decided to make two dishes with the mushrooms. The first one is ideal for snacks/starters and is best served with a crispy cold white-wine, outside whilst enjoying the beautiful arctic summer (as a matter a fact I think most foods are better this way). In case you wanna try out my "snacks ala arctic", the first thing you wanna do, is go out and find some delicious mushrooms in the greenlandic fields. Then chop up an onion and 1-2 garlic cloves and saute it in a bit of butter. Chop the clean mushrooms (both stem and top) into nice pieces and saute them along with the onions. Once the mushrooms have lost some of their water, burn some curry in the pan and add a bit of cream to it. Finish of by adding pepper and salt, and serve on which ever bread you prefer. And that's pretty much it. Tadaaaaah and bon appetit. /C
See the fastest glacier with Airzafari!An amazing excursion, unforgettable and as beautiful as it gets! This is Sermeq Kujalleq, the most productive glacier in the northern hemisphere and world´s fastest. The glacier calves around 46 cubic kilometers of ice every year and moves 40 meters per day along the 70-kilometer long icefiord. This area is on the UNESCO's World Heritage list and is by Ilulissat. It is only possible to see this glacier by air, either with a helicopter or a flight with Airzafari . This company is the only company which offers sightseeing with fixed-wing aircraft in Greenland. It is a 5 seat aircraft where everyone gets a window seat, so everyone gets to take amazing pictures to bring back home, to keep good memories and to show friends and family. Airzafari started in 2010 and is own by Bente Biilmann Larsen and Jens Ploug Larsen, wife and husband, who both have many years of experience in the aviation industry and are both operating as Air Greenland pilots today. There are many flights to choose from, and they fly in Narsarsuaq, Kangerlussuaq, Reykjavik, and Ilulissat. The tour I was on was their popular is a 1-hour flight that starts by flying over the amazing landscape with mountains and lakes, to fly over the dead glacier, that gives you a clear picture of a glacier front. Then you go to this unforgettable sight of life, the huge Sermeq Kujalleq glacier. After several different angles of the glacier the flight goes along the icefiord back to Ilulissat, and before landing back at Ilulissat airport you get to fly over the mouth of the fiord with its huge stranded icebergs with whales swimming among them.
A colorful August evening in IlulissatThe sun has started to set in Ilulissat, and we now get very colorful sunsets - whenever we have sunny days. This summer has unfortunately been more grey and rainy than usual. But that means fewer mosquitoes ;-) The land you see in the far back is the Disco Island, which is vulcanic created and is, therefore, a totally different sight. It's so greenly and pure, with many flowers and waterfalls. Definitely, a place I can recommend to visit while being in Ilulissat or Disco bay area. You can get there with the company Disko line by boats or by helicopter with Air Greenland. Many sailboats, ships, motorboats, tourists boat, kayaks, fisherman etc are sailing out there, and I bet they all take pictures on evenings like these. The icebergs keep moving and changing, so no pictures are the same. Some days we have lots of icebergs other days less, but it never runs out of them here in Ilulissat! The harbor picture above is an evening picture vs the next morning. This is how quick it can change, and this is how unpredictable nature can be. Every day, all year the icebergs are being pushed out from the Icefiord to the Disco Bay. Which make good sense with the name of the town "Ilulissat" which means "Icebergs." I love this bench! Once in a while, I go to the top of this mountain, just 10 minutes walk from the rood, and reset my mind. I can sit here for 5 minutes or 1 hour, it gives me peace and happiness every single time!
The Place that made me fall in love with photographyThe place... A hydro power plant in Buksefjorden near Nuuk Approx. five years ago working on a hydro powerplant outside the city, I've bought my very first camera just to try it out, now that I worked in the middle of nowhere amongst the wildlife and nature. I was so stunned by the place, especially how close the wildlife were. The shift was two weeks working at the plant with one coworker, no wonder I bought a camera. Took these two pictures the first winter I was at the plant.... I could walk for hours just looking at the stars and the northern lights in absolute silence. Season changes The seasons goes by very fast when you're spending a lot of time in the wilderness, the best time of the year for me at the plant was winter, the animals were calm and more tame than summertime. Here´s a few of pictures i´ve taken trough the seasons. Arctic Foxes One of my favorite objects are foxes, so curious and shy at the same time, tough little furballs...... here´s a few pictures i´ve taken through the years. Caribous the most thrilling objects to take pictures of for me are caribous, to be able to get really close and make eye contact are rare for me, the are very shy and elusive. I feel very lucky every time I get a closeup. here´s one of my favorite shots. These are a small sample of my first pictures that got me hooked to photography.... hope you enjoyed them.
I am sailing in Greenland......Out in the wild and back in time. I just came back from the most amazing boatride out to the abandoned settlement Assaqutaq - the ghost town of Sisimiut. Abandoned and beautiful I'll make this easy for you. This tour is full of adventure, majestic nature and history. I won't spoil it too much cuz really, you should see this for yourself. So sit back, check out my pictures and ask yourself how fast you can get onboard and straight ahead to Sisimiut and Assaqutaq. Evenings with this kind of view, makes me so happy! Seeing Assaqutaq is one thing - it is beautiful and sad at the same time. However, sailing there and being on a boat on a night like this, is really something. So if you are in Greenland and you get the chance to go sailing, DO IT!!! Spotting seals and feeling great Niels, the captain, made sure we went by all the most perfect whale-spots, but unfortunately the whales took a day off. We did however spot two curious seals - who suddenly remembered that the hunting season was on-going, at left in a hurry. This tour is for the nature-lovers, the historically interested, the culturally curious and for all those who enjoy being at sea just breathing in the salty, fresh air of wild nature. I''m gonna go again soon, cuz honestly, I'm addicted by now. /C
Hiking to the Nuuk IcefjordFrom Nuuk you can sail to Kapisillit , a small settlement, and from there it's a short hike on flat terrain to get to the amazing Nuuk Icefjord. There is so much ice on this fjord that it's impossible to get to this place by boat. The beach is just filled with these icebergs, giving a great opportunity for a closer look at these pieces of ice in all shapes and sizes!
Hiking in the Nuuk FjordMy Girlfriend and I recently went hiking between Qooqqut and Kapisillit, You can see the route in the drawing below; the hike takes about 3 days. We were dropped off by boat in Qooqqut during the evening, so we just immediately put up a tent near the restaurant and cabins, and went off hiking the next morning. You can easily choose to sail in the morning and then just immediately start hiking. The stars show where we camped as well as the final destination. Our camp near Qooqqut. The beginning of the hike. The hike starts off pretty easy, you just follow along the river throughout the valley. During our lunch break we actually saw 8 reindeers, and they came pretty close before they realised we were there. 4 adults and 2 young, running as fast as they can! At the end of the valley you start on a bit of an uphill climb, but still fairly easy, and get this wonderful view of this former glacial valley. When you reach the top you get a great view of another branch of the fiord, this time with lots of icebergs from the Nuuk Icefiord! Up there you can actually already see the final destination - the settlement of Kapisillit. We camped right by that lake, just before a nice descent. That day we walked approx. 18 km. Next morning on the way down to the beach. By the beach there were several small icebergs, and noticeably less mosquitoes and flies which was pretty great. We also chipped off some of the ice just to cool down with them. We joked around and called them our very own Eskimo Candy. On our next lunch break we were joined by a great northern diver as well as another reindeer! Climbing up from the beach to the lake was probably one of the most idyllic places i've ever seen in Greenland. Beautiful place! We ended our day in a place called Itinnera, where you see the second star. There is a sort of hostel/cabin that's free to use if it isn't already filled with kids on a weekend trip. We hiked about 20 km that day. We had pretty tired feet but it was only about 8 km the next day to Kapisillit. In Kapisillit you can get supplies, as well as a shower, but beware. They close at 4 pm. You can also just arrange to be picked up there although it might be worth your while to stay an extra night as it's an easy hike to the Nuuk Icefiord from there. There is also a ferry that goes to and back from Kapisillit every thursday.
Hotel Icefiord, IlulissatImagen this view from your hotel room! This is the amazing 3 star Hotel Icefiord. One of the three hotels in Ilulissat, just 15 minutes from the center on foot and a few meters from the icebergs This picture is taken from the hotels' restaurant in evening. This colorful view is seen throughout the summer. The kayaks , tourist boats , and fisherman are sailing past this amazing place all day and night, giving you a clearer picture of how huge the icebergs really are. Its possible to eat here both as a guest at the hotel or just as a visitor, many locals come too. The food is really tasteful and the "fish of the day" couldn´t be any fresher and are caught in the disco bay , the bay you see on the picture.
Eqi - IlulissatEqi - the calving glacier is one of my favorite excursions in Ilulissat area. This glacier lodge is owned by the tour operator World of Greenland, and has 15 huts, with the best view you could ever have, the calving glacier. All day and night the glacier is calving once every 5 minutes or so, and sometimes it even sounds like thunder. It is a unique experience, to have this as a view from your bed in these huts. This place is 90 kilometers north from Ilulissat, and you get there by ship duration 3-5 hours, depending on the type of the ship. After a steep welcome, you arrive at this amazing place like nowhere else, middle of nowhere. There is a café where all the meals are served, and there are a chef and tourist guides working here all summer. From the lodge, there are several hiking possibilities. To the moraine, to the delta, and it´s also possible to hike to the ice cap. It´s possible to reach the ice cap and back on a one day hike, but some decide to spend the night close to the ice cap in tents and spend more hours on the ice the following day, before heading back to the lodge. This place is a must-see while visiting Ilulissat.
Sunny IlulissatMy favorite place for meditation is right on top of this mountain with the view of the town Ilulissat and the big icebergs. So beautiful, so great and so much space. It is so quiet and the only noise is the mosquitos buzzing and your own thoughts. The best place for meditation and recharge. I love to come up here once in a while after a busy day at work. This is also the place I think of while listening to yoga music when I am sitting in a crowded train in Denmark or other places in the world. This is a great spot to go to if you visit Ilulissat. It only takes 10 minutes to the top, and here you get an amazing view! The Sun has now started to set in Ilulissat, so from now on whenever its not cloudy, we start having the amazing and colorful sunsets.
- Qaqortoq, the biggest town in South Greenland' Qaqortoq ' means 'white' in Greenlandic. South Greenland has more green fields and trees than any other places in Greenland, however ironically the name of this biggest town (population: 3,084 - Statistics Greenland 2017) in South Greenland is 'white'. Does Qaqortoq envy other towns in Greenland with a lot of snow and ice? Qaqortoq has been my favourite town in whole Greenland since my first travel to Greenland in 2010. So far, I have visited nine towns/settlements in Greenland and still Qaqortoq is my best. There are not only colourful houses like Lego on the hills towards the sea but also surreal sea fog. Everyday Qaqortoq shows different fantastic scenery. My travel style in my early 20's was walking around with my strong legs and seeing everything as much as I can, not to miss any small single things. Also I used to go out hostel early in the morning and come back late evening. However my trip to Greenland in my mid 20's was a turning point and it started from Greenland. In my first trip to Qaqortoq which happened 7 years ago, I stayed at a local house for 3 days. However one of 3 days, I spent a whole day sitting by the window. Someone might ask me how I could spend a day at home without going out while travelling! But, if you have ever visited Qaqortoq at least once, you would nod and agree with me. Most of houses in Qaqortoq are located on the hills and those houses are towards the sea. Luckily the house where I stayed was on the top of the hill and it was just perfect to look down the whole town. As a student, I couldn't afford to participate tours by a tourism company so I used to walk around the town alone and enjoyed hiking. Therefore I couldn't visit Hvalsey Churc h , which is the remain with the last record of the Vikings in Greenland , and Uunartoq, the hot spring . As an optimistic minded person myself, I made up my mind that, 'Alright, I will definitely visit Qaqortoq again to do things I haven't done yet!'. Since then, 7 years passed and I could have an opportunity to visit Qaqortoq again in 2017. Qaqortoq was still surreal Lego town as I remembered. Also I stayed at a local person's house and could enjoy the beautiful view. However I would've loved to do new things than just walking around the town. Finally, I made a plan to visit Uunartoq, the hot spring which I couldn't do last time. From Qaqortoq to Uunartoq , it took around one hour by speed boat and it was a never easy trip due to the high waves. I had had a hard time because of seasickness however after getting off the boat, I realised that it was worthy of waiting and pain. The sea sickness was disappeared as soon as I faced the hot spring surrounded by beautiful yellow flowers - buttercups with icebergs background. Different from blue lagoon in Iceland, hot springs in Greenland are not occurred from the activity of volcanoes. It comes from the friction of earth under Greenland. In fact, Uunartoq in South Greenland is the most famous hot springs for tourists however, these hot springs exist here and there in Greenland. If you go into the hot springs and sit on it, you could feel some parts are warmer than the other parts and those warmer parts produce some bubbles. This, South Greenland's Uunartoq is around 37-38 Celsius thus people can enjoy warm enough temperature. While travelling, we always face unexpected events and this time, I couldn't visit Hvalsey church again. Well.. if I did all things that I planned in Qaqortoq, there would be no regret. But yeah, now I remained another reason to visit Qaqortoq again. Summer is almost over. From September, the sunlights will start to disappear very quickly and from mid-september, snow and northern lights will visit again here in Nuuk where I live. Winter is coming.
Icefiord, Ilulissat GreenlandThis place is a balm for the soul and the best place for meditation! Sommer has come and this is one of my favorite places on earth! Facing the icefiord from the top of this mountain is really something. Here you can feel yourself and hear your own thoughts :-) There is a wooden walkway so everyone can go and see the beautiful view, even the ones in a wheelchair. The stone landmark on the right is an "Inussuk" and have ancient roots in Inuit culture. These structures are found from Alaska to Greenland. These were used for navigation, as a point of reference, a marker for travel routes, fishing places, camps, hunting grounds, or to mark a food cache. When we are out in the nature hiking or on a tent tour nowadays and see an inussuk we put an extra stone and the next one that comes by puts another stone etc, and that's how this gets bigger and bigger. The really big ones are even on the hiking maps.
The longest word in GreenlandicGreenlandic is a polysynthetic language which allows for the creation of really long words by stringing together roots and suffixes, and is therefore pretty well known for its long words, but which is the longest? If you go to a website called kalak.gl it claims the longest word is this: Nalunaarasuartaatee-ranngualioqatigiiffissua-lioriataallaqqissupiloru-jussuanngortartuinnaka-sinngortinniamisaalinn-guatsiaraluallaqqooqiga-minngamiaasiinngooq." Consisting of 153 letters . It means something along the lines of: "There were reports that they apparently – God knows for how many times – once again had considered whatever I, my poor condition despite, still could be considered to be quite adept and resourceful as initiator to put a consortium together for the establishment of a range of small radio stations. Now, being the curious soul that I am, and since there has never been an official statement made about the longest word, I thought I would ask the national department of language to see whether or not this was correct, and to my surprise, they had an even longer word: "Nalunaarasuartaatee-ra ARA nngualioqatigiiffissua-lioriataallaqqissupiloru-jussuanngortartuinnaka-sinngortinniamisaalinn-guatsiaraluallaqqooqiga-minngamiaasiinngooq" - the only difference is the capitalized letters: " ARA ", making the word 156 letters and simply changing the translation of "-small radio stations" to "-tiny radio stations". BUT , that is a word which would never actually be said out loud, it's simply a fun brain teaser, and you're free to try and come up with an even longer word, which isn't impossible, just quite difficult. The longest singular word accepted in the Greenlandic dictionary is "inuussutissarsiorsinnaajunnaarnersiutilik" consisting of 41 letters, which could easily be made longer, but now you know.- Eqi - IlulissatEqi - the calving glacier is one of my favorite excursions in Ilulissat area. This glacier lodge is owned by the tour operator World of Greenland, and has 15 huts, with the best view you could ever have, the calving glacier. All day and night the glacier is calving once every 5 minutes or so, and sometimes it even sounds like thunder. It is a unique experience, to have this as a view from your bed in these huts. This place is 90 kilometers north from Ilulissat, and you get there by ship duration 3-5 hours, depending on the type of the ship. After a steep welcome, you arrive at this amazing place like nowhere else, middle of nowhere. There is a café where all the meals are served, and there are a chef and tourist guides working here all summer. From the lodge, there are several hiking possibilities. To the moraine, to the delta, and it´s also possible to hike to the ice cap. It´s possible to reach the ice cap and back on a one day hike, but some decide to spend the night close to the ice cap in tents and spend more hours on the ice the following day, before heading back to the lodge. This place is a must-see while visiting Ilulissat.
- Colorful GreenlandThis picture is taken in south Greenland, but you see colourful houses in entire Greenland.
- Weekend trip in GreenlandWe have our own cabin inside Sisimiut hinterland, which we often resort to. When it comes to Friday, we'll go as fast as we can. We sail into the cottage in the summer. This Friday there were small white foam peaks on the waves, and it was a pleasure to throw anchor and go up to the cabin where everything was peaceful and idyllic. I'm sleeping very well in there. I wish I could go to the cabin and sleep every night. As soon as we get in there, we follow the natural daytime rhythm. There is no radio, tv or internet. We only have a bit of artificial light, from a few lamps. The power we get from a small solar cell, which my father set up a few years ago. Although I was a little skeptical at first, I'm really happy with the light now. That's life. To lay in the cabin in the evening, and read good books or magazines, in deepest silence, where only the water's trembling against the coast and the river broke far away. If I had no obligations, I could stay in there for a very long time. Alone in Nature I'm used to being alone and can entertain myself very well. Like so many other people in Greenland, I'm not afraid to be alone in nature. Of course, we Greenlanders have a lot of tales and public stories that tell us about "mountain goers", ghosts and many kinds of mystery and superstition that can even make the most hardened a bit unsafe and uncertain when they are alone. I have not yet experienced anything that has caused me to be afraid so far. I feel only joy and peace when I am in the silence of nature. The glass collectors Luckily we have filled our freezer with lots of meat. We may yet need a few cod for the winter, but we can enjoy the summer without stress and bustle. When you follow the natural rhythm of the day and go to sleep when it's dark, you wake up very early. Then my husband and I line our boots and go for long walks in the mountains where we can see mountain peaks and explore our "backyard". We collected bottles, glass slices and other different waste. Winter snowmobiles have lost things that appear when the snow disappears. The wind has also carried light plastic in there. Glass and bottled bottles can act as a magnifying glass and ignite dry grass and heather. So we do what we can and use our pockets and rucksacks as temporary garbage bags. We saw lots of different animals during the weekend. Arctic hares. Grouses. Geese. It was a lovely weekend. My shoulders fell into place and tics and other annoying things disappeared. We slept when it suited us. Eaten when we were hungry. Going for long walks, and even though I do not have a good condition, I reached the high mountain peaks that have a view as far as the eye reaches. Frost at night The first frost at night creates fine small crystals on the plants. As the sun rises, they disappear and form small drops that shine like thousands of diamonds on the ground. There are many berries, and I do not know if they grow bigger. Soon I will pick a bag or two full berries, for a cake and a little jam. Thanks for a lovely weekend
- The winter has been long in GreenlandFinally is the snow melting! This winter has been very long and many places we still see lots and lots of snow. The beautiful cemetery is slowly getting its winter duvet off and are welcoming the sun like the rest of us :-) The mouth of the icefjord is beautiful as always with its many icebergs, and the air is very cool and fresh! The tide line is showing very clearly down by the edge. Sermermiut has also still a lot of snow and even with the walkway, we had to cross some snow piles. The marking made by stones that you see on the right side of the picture is what we call Inussuk. This is marking the beginning of the Unesco world heritage area. From here and along the icefjord, to the glacier and further in the ice cap, got on the UNESCO list in the year 2004. It´s a must to go here while visiting Ilulissat, and you know what? It´s for free! ;-)
Greenlandic kitchenAngelicas are on the market now, fresh and delicious. As a kid, I used to eat these dips in sugar. What parents do to make the kids eat vegetables! :-D In Ilulissat they are selling them now for 50 DKK for 5 sticks. Expensive yes, but worth every krone. You can eat it raw, or put it in a salat or even in a drink. Try the Greenlandic tapas at Café Ferdinand in Hotel Arctic, it is snow crab, smoked halibut, and deep fried scallop. Very delicious and tasteful, and you get to try the best from the sea in Greenland in one wooden plate. This container ship comes from Denmark with food and wood and every time we get soooo excited because we haven´t had soja milk or cottage cheese for a while. These ships are coming every week during summer but very rare during winter, depending on the sea ice. Further up north and in East Greenland they don´t come during winter. In East Greenland, they only see the container ship twice a year, so after a long winter season with an empty supermarket, it is a big party day when it finally arrives!
How did Disko Island get its name?According to legend, Disko Island was pulled north from the south, by two strong kayakers, using a single strain of hair from a newborn baby. The kayakers were going strong until they reached the what is known today as Disko Bay , where a Witch from Ilulissat spotted them and put a curse on them, stopping them from going further north. Which isn't too far from reality, Disko Island did indeed come from somewhere else! It's a volcanic island, much younger than the rest of Greenland, which rose up from the continental split where you now find Iceland . The volcanic soil is rich in nutrients and therefore far greener than the mainland on the same longitude. It also means that the rocks and mountains differ greatly from anywhere else in Greenland. In Greenlandic, the island is named Qeqertarsuaq - “The big island”, which means that the word Disko has come from somewhere else. Some say that it is because the island is so rounded that the name comes from the Greek word Diskos - as in the disc you throw. Others are sure that it’s slang for Discovery Island, there is even an article from 1883 claiming that it is because the mountains with the flat tops look like the Danish desks. The name seems to have its first appearance on a Dutch map over Spitzbergen, first as Dusko, then later as Dicko. The precursor for this seems to have been from Ducke’s coue or Duck’s bay, named after an English explorer and whaler - Marmaduke. It is believed that the name has simply been copied from Spitzbergen to Greenland when whaling became more popular in those waters. In any case, the Disko Island and the Disko Bay have stunning natural landscapes, and I wholeheartedly recommend travelling there, even though we’re not quite sure how it got its name.
Very first blog...I want to give a little more insight on my life, introducing few facts so that you can (hopefully) get to know me better. I grew up with 3 other sisters almost my age, and I am a middle child. I come from a loving family with values so strong, and traditions like when we lived up north (they are a little more serious about traditions). I speak Greenlandic and Danish fluently, and my English is not that bad either. Right now, I have taken some years of my youth working in shops and cultural places, and last year, I found out that tourism is a big subject I really want to work with in my future. It leads me to my current education (tourism) and I am taking the education in Denmark, because I believe it is on higher level; studying abroad, and explore myself some more, getting a bigger network and to meet other ambitioned young people. Maybe some will think I am just like other people, I am. But at the same time, I like networking, sharing stories and experiences, learn from other cultures and teach them about mine. - So, maybe a couple blogs a day or a week, I will post about the life in this little society 460km North for the Polar Circle. Have a nice reading, stay tuned! - Bodil, Uummannaq
