Greenland from the Outside In

Nothing like what I expected

It was a still day, cold and quiet, as I walked alone over rocks and snow. My heavy boots crunched through the crisp…

Locked inside an icy world

The heavy afternoon sky reflected the lead-coloured sea. But nothing could dampen the glow of winter whiteness that blanketed everything – hills, houses,…

Winter solstice

When we first arrived in Nuuk it was only two weeks after the winter solstice. Our flight arrived in the mid afternoon twilight…

Fast car, slow car, no car

“We should get a car,” said my son, looking out the window at the morning snow falling on the dark, lamp-lit street. “Why?”…

Lost in other worlds

I have always felt a reverence for libraries. As a child, a favourite outing was the weekly visit to the local public library….

The distance between us

We stood side by side, watching the helicopter soar over the hill and out of sight. When it was gone, we continued to…

Touching seals

Trudging across the sea ice – three geologists, returning from a day’s work amongst iced-in islands in east Antarctica – we spotted a…

Should learning Greenlandic be required?

Two nights a week, I took the bus an hour across Copenhagen to the school where Danish classes were held. I arrived late…

Stranded

In Nuuk, people don’t worry too much about the weather. So last week, when I saw people preparing for an approaching storm, it…