We arrived this morning at Nuuk (formerly Godthab), the Capital of Greenland. We docked at the pier, which was convenient, though not especially pretty! We were surrounded by containers, and a very large machine moving them. Also, it was about 40 F, very overcast, and a nice light drizzle to accompany a steady breeze. Yes, this is the vacation most people only dream of having!
[Our beautiful first view of Nuuk!]
We took the bus to the city center, and then had a tour of City Hall, and sat in their chamber for a while. We saw the cultural center and mall as we walked to the Parliament. They established their own self-governance (though not complete independence) in 1972. Our Country Guide has a friend from about kindergarten, who now serves in Parliament, so he got her to give us access and information. It was interesting. They have no local constituency, as the whole nation votes for everybody, so it is sort of like a popularity contest, and the top 32 (I think) candidates become members. Two people are elected to go serve in the Danish Parliament, but that is wholly separate.
[The Parliamentary Chamber of Greenland, and a member telling us about it.]
We stopped at a cathedral build in the 1800s to replace three much smaller churches. This was held 200 people. The clock in the church is from Metro in Copenhagen.
[A monument to Hans Egede, the missionary that brought Christianity to Greenland, an unknown marker, and the Cathedral.]
[One of the waterlines used here, well insulated for obvious reasons!]
After Parliament we went to the museum. The feature of this museum was a small collection of “mummies”. Five women and two children died about the same time around 1470. They were buried in one place together. The bodies were laid out, and covered with stones under a small overhang, with a view to the sea. The cold and dry air, essentially freeze dried them. Their skin was taught and dark, and probably shrunk from the water loss, but the clothes were in nearly perfect condition. A couple of hunters came across them in the last 50 years or so, and they were moved to the museum.
[Qilakitsoq mummies.]
[Traditional ceremonial garb.]
Our initial plan was to then walk back to the ship, but we really didn’t have a map, and the weather was…Greenlandic! So, we hopped the bus, and got back a bit before noon. Theresa went up to the gym to get her steps in, and I am getting this blog ready to post before we leave and lose signal.
Tonight and tomorrow, we cross the sea to Canada, our fifth country on this trip (US, to Norway (very briefly), to Denmark, to Greenland, to Canada, and back to the US). We expect rough weather, and the wind and waves to be at our side, not to our back as it was on the way down to Nuuk yesterday. We’ll post again when able.
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