Saturday in Nuuk

Greetings from Greenland: Saturday

Today is a “culture day” celebration in Nuuk and the museums, galleries, fire station, airport etc. are all open for families to visit. My guide for the day called to postpone our 10am start because in her estimation it was too cold to walk around. If it’s too cold for a local, it’s definitely too cold for me!

So, for those of you who want to know something about Nuuk, here’s a short history:

Nuuk means “the promontory” and is located at the tip of the large peninsula by the mouth of the gigantic Nuuk Fjord. The city is the oldest in Greenland founded at Godthab (Good Hope) by the Danish missionary Hans Egede in 1728. Nuuk is also the largest city in Greenland with approximately 15,000 residents.

I spent the afternoon visiting the Katuaq Museum at the old colony harbor (the photos are from this area), and visited an outdoor meat market on the way to art gallery. As you can see in the photos, you can purchase seal (freshly shot and gutted), reindeer, and an interesting bug-eyed orange colored cod-like thing! I am told it is a very deepwater fish and that when it is quickly brought to the surface it’s eyes pop-out. Go figure.

There is a lot of construction going on in the city (a large shopping center and apartments) and there is a huge housing shortage. Folks here can be on a wait list for 10+ years to secure an apartment. Amazing the things we take for granted.

I have been struck by how expensive things are here. It shouldn’t surprise me because all produce comes by sea or air from Denmark (and elsewhere in Europe). It is very easy to spend $50+ for a simple meal, and my love for beer is being punished at $13 a pint in the pub! Fortunately, tipping is not expected.

Tomorrow (Sunday) will be another quiet day as I finish preparing for classes and then head to Ilulissat on Monday morning.

More soon.

Cheers

Geoff