The sunny skies that appeared overnight have stayed into the next morning.
Welcome to the largest city in Greenland with almost 19,000 people living here. Greenland is owned by Denmark. It happens to be the most northern most capital on earth. Inuit people inhabit the city to this day from when they first came here circa 1100, shortly after the Vikings abandoned the region.
As this is considered a tundra region you’re not going to see trees anywhere. Landscapes are harsh and dramatic. If you want a workout you’ll love the massive staircases to help get you between elevations.
Old Nuuk is pretty well preserved to this day. Homes are multi-colored to help break up the harsh winters.
They’re so advanced as to have their own duck pond.
Preschool in Nuuk contains actual rocks kids are supposed to play with.
The folks who built the staircases are amazing engineers.
I want to know how they managed to find the perfect drill spots for these anchors. There’s no visible concrete fillings nor drill misses in the stone.
View looking back towards the harbor and to the rugged mountains.
The controversial statue of Hans Egede. Egede arrived in Nuuk under Danish patronage to convert Norse settlers to Christianity. Egede’s arrival and subsequent stay was not welcomed by these communities. After roughly ten years of work, Egede returned to Denmark, in part due to smallpox nearly wiping out all inhabitants. Locals have made prior attempts to remove this statue in the past.
This statue happens to be a clone of the one which resides outside the church we hiked in Copenhagen at the start of the voyage.
I love old cemeteries. This one looks like some spirits wanted out badly.
It was a nice day so the local preschool brought class to the beach. Kids were encouraged to be kids by throwing rocks into the ocean, playing in the tide pools, playing their version of hide and seek.
A better perspective of the statue and local church from the beach.
Sadly, the 1848 Lutheran cathedral is temporarily, indefinitely closed.
Old Town waterfront is very pretty with the juxtaposition of modern condos on the distant ridge.
In a mild sign of defiance to the statue of Hans Egede, locals raised funds to create their own counter-statue. This is Sedna. She’s looking directly back at Hans.
According to Inuit mythology, Sedna is responsible for creating all the sea creatures that inhabit the oceans. It is said that she molds the animals from pieces of her own body, such as her hair and fingernails, giving life to whales, seals, and fish. These creatures are believed to be manifestations of Sedna’s power and serve as a reminder of her influence over the natural world. Inuit hunters and fishermen often pay tribute to Sedna before embarking on sea voyages to ensure a successful hunt.
In the modern downtown there are other great stone art pieces showing wildlife in the area.
A local dog was doing his best stone-seal impression.
For the baby that has everything – care for a full fur suit? Just $1400.
This guy was giving full Bear Country Jamboree vibes.
Desserts here were no joke. The scale isn’t properly captured in these photos.
This one pie / donut was 8-10″ wide and 6″ tall.
Brownie and carrot cake was 10″ wide and 4″ tall.
Yup, and that’s Nuuk. 6pm and it’s time to head out.
A Holland America ship lost their other two ports due to the ice and will take our place on the dock.
I imagine this would be quite beautiful on a clear day.
Hopefully tomorrow we’ll be exploring Paamiut.