A glimpse of Greenland

Ted. Two days after leaving St John’s, Newfoundland we sailed into the harbor of Qaqortoq, Greenland. With a population of just over 3,000, this fishing village is one of the largest towns in the country (total population 56,000). 

We only had nine hours in port but, since we had chosen not to take any excursions, we had plenty of time to explore on foot. Since it was around 50 degrees Fahrenheit and drizzly, that would require ducking inside someplace to warm up every hour. 

As our tender pulled up to the city pier, we heard church bells ringing which reminded us that this was a Sunday so we walked uphill to attend the morning service at the new Lutheran church (the old one being closed). 

The lady pastor was just wrapping up communion so we figured that we had missed the service. Alas, they had communion first at this church with the Bible readings and sermon afterwards. I don’t know if that was a Greenlandic tradition or they inherited the liturgy from the Danish church. Either was possible as Greenland has been a semi autonomous possession of Denmark since the 19th century. The country has a fascinating history so check it out on Wikipedia one day. 

After church we explored the Qaqortoq Museum and the Norse Museum. At the latter, I asked a staff member (an English speaking Greenlander) if there was much interaction in the 11th century between the Norse (led by Erik the Red) and the indigenous peoples. He told us “We stayed away from those people and they eventually went away.” That was probably wise because the Norse, in those days, did not always make good neighbors. 

After wandering a bit more we enjoyed some hot chocolate at the pier served by shivering crew members, we returned to our ship. Once everyone was back on board, our ship cruised around the local waters for a while, giving everyone great up close views of the dozens of icebergs floating past. 

We ended the day with dinner at a specialty restaurant located at the stern of the ship. Seated along the huge windows, we enjoyed spectacular views of more icebergs floating past while savoring our wonderful food and wine. Like clouds, the shapes were fantastical and we had fun giving them names such as “the plane” or “the whale.” 

With a storm fast approaching, our captain made a wise decision to skip a planned visit to Prince Christian Sound the next day and we made a beeline east towards Iceland. That night we encountered 65 mph winds and 17 foot seas that night but it would have been much worse had we stuck around Greenland. 

It doesn’t happen much anymore but during this brief visit to a vast land, we were able to experience something for the first time. Judy and I now know, firsthand, that icebergs are cool (pun intended).