*Crown Prince Frederik of Denmark, Wikimedia Commons Greenland is part of the Kingdom of Denmark. And despite the desire to become independent, the Danish royalty are enormously popular in Greenland. The Queen loves to visit and is popular wherever she goes, which has included most of Greenland. Likewise, Crown Prince Frederik and his foreign (formerly …
A couple of years ago, the Australian Ambassador to Denmark visited Nuuk and, through the grapevine, his office was put in touch with me. Because I’m Australian. His personal secretary suggested having an event where the Ambassador could meet the Australian community in Nuuk and asked whether I could help by getting in touch with …
Last Saturday was Culture Night in Greenland, an annual event in many cities or countries, when public and private institutions alike open their doors and show the public what they’re up to, what they do. Nuuk has embraced the idea. There’s always so much stuff you don’t know about even in your local environment, so …
People do all sorts of strange and sometimes dangerous things on their Hen’s or Buck’s nights. What was strange about this particular Hen’s Night I attended in Nuuk, is that it didn’t even occur to me that we were doing anything dangerous or strange. It was just one of those bizarrely normal experiences that happen …
*Photography by Samuel Zeller, Unsplash As we sailed seaward thin sullen clouds, hanging low over the water, slunk back into the fjord, driven by the stiffening breeze. Magnificent cliffed walls, draped in their glacial jewellery, gradually dropped away as if weary of their grandeur, relaxing their grip on our senses and making way for a …
Last week was Halloween, an American tradition that seems to have gained momentum in Greenland. The universal lure of sweets. Out went my son into the snow, his Batman suit wedged over several layers of thermal clothing, insisting he would be fine, only to come back ten minutes later for a winter jacket. Batman would …
This was my husband’s carry-on luggage for a recent internal flight in Greenland. A musk-ox skull, adorned with piece of remaining face, and a walrus penis bone. Yes, it’s a walrus penis bone. What’s weirder is that this is not particularly unusual carry-on. You encounter all sorts of interesting carry-on in Greenland. Much of it …
June 21st is Greenland’s National Day and the longest day of the year. It’s celebrated in every town and settlement in Greenland with cultural festivities. In Nuuk the celebration centres on the colonial harbour with events through the day – speeches, bands, singing, drum dancing, traditional kayaking. Women don their stunning national dress of fine …
*Walrus stew with Yorkshire pudding – a first? Today, when I did the following Google search: ‘How long should I boil walrus?’ I was reminded of some of the weird things that come up in conversation when you live in Greenland. At a high end pop-up restaurant in Nuuk recently (yes, there was one), …