Review of Visits to Norway/Iceland/Greenland on Fall 2018 Cruise.

[Krazy Kruizers]

Wonderful reports, pictures and videos.

 

We were on the original Royal Princess in the Baltic when we hit rough seas.  I was literally thrown out of bed we hit a wave so hard.

[BarbinMich]

On 11/1/2018 at 11:34 AM, GeorgeCharlie said:

We didn't get into Tivoli Gardens, as it was very crowded both times we went by. Understand it's a very nice experience - maybe next time.

We've been to Copenhagen five times (pre- and post-cruise) and usually stay in the vicinity of Tivoli and the RR station.  We had dinner in Tivoli at a nice open-air restaurant (in May) on our first visit (2003) and then walked around the park--it was dusk and very lovely there with small lights in the trees/shrubbery and the rides are lit.  On another visit post-cruise we stayed at the Marriott which is a few blocks east of Tivoli and had nice views of it from our room on the top floor.

[GeorgeCharlie]

By lunchtime we had made it to the southern tip of Greenland. Weather had improved, although still a little windy, the sea were much smoother.

 

 

Once we got into the Sound it was smooth sailing, with only a few icebergs.

 

 

The Crow's Nest is always one of the most common viewing spots, especially when it's cold out.

 

 

People were seated several rows deep.

 

 

Ship's information monitor located in the Crow's Nest.

 

 

Of course, some intrepid people were out on the decks braving the weather.

 

 

 

Edited November 17, 2018 by GeorgeCharlie

[GeorgeCharlie]

The best I could tell we sailed about half ways through the sound, the sound is about 100 km (60 miles) long. We then turned around and retraced our route.

 

This is a snapshot of what was showing on our tv. It shows how far we went before we turned around.

 

We turned around once we got to this head of a glacier.

 

It seems if we had sailed a little further east, we would have seen this glacier (internet picture).

 

Likely was weather concerns which caused us to turn around, as it was starting to get socked in.

 

There is only one settlement along this sound, the village of Aappilattoq, first inhabited in the 1800's. It is a fishing/hunting village of around 100 people. It has a heliport and the only access is by water.

 

By early evening we were back out of the Cape Farewell Archipelago and on our way to Qaqortoq. 

 

Edited November 17, 2018 by GeorgeCharlie

[Krazy Kruizers]

Love sitting back and reading your wonderful reports and viewing your great pictures.

[GeorgeCharlie]

Qaqortoq was our first port in Greenland. Our first stop was originally to be in Paamiut (Frederikshab) which is farther north on Greenland's west coast. The Paamiut stop was cancelled because of having to stay an extra day in Akureyri due to the weather.

 

With a population of just over 3,000, Qaqortoq is the most populous town in southern Greenland and the fourth-largest on the Island. The earliest sign of human population presence are a few of the Saqqaq culture from roughly 4,300 years ago. The Dorset people arrived in the area around 2,800 years ago. Written records of South Greenland history began with the arrival of the Norse in the late 10th century. The present day town was founded in 1775 by the Dano-Norwegian trader Anders Olsen, on behalf of the General Trading Company.

 

 

[GeorgeCharlie]

Over the last several days I have been having a lot of problems trying to post anything to this review. The system seems to just keep hanging up when I try to post pictures. I've been using CC's new storage site and either it just locks up, or it return a 502 Bad Gateway error (which I understand comes from their Cloud Host - Amazon). Sometimes it is like what happened with the above post. It will only let me post one picture. I can enter text, but when I try to post another picture - nothing happens@!@!

 

Open to any suggestions anyone may have.

Edited November 18, 2018 by GeorgeCharlie

[GeorgeCharlie]

Qaqortoq likely represents a typical town in Greenland. It is primarily accessible by water and has regular ferry service to other parts of Greenland. The heliport allow air transport for passengers and freight to Narsarsuaq airport, which is 60 km (32 miles) away. The Narsarsuaq airport is an old World War 2 airport with a 6,000 foot concrete runway. Feasibility studies have been going on for years to build a new airport near Qaqortoq and close the Narsarsuaq airport, which would eliminate the need for helicopter transfers from Qaqortoq.

 

Although Qaqortoq is a seaport, with fish and shrimp processing, tanning, fur production, and ship maintenance being important activities - the economy is primarily based on educational and administrative services. Tourism is becoming a significant contributor to the economy of the town, with roughly two-thirds of all tourists coming from Denmark.

 

The town presents a colorful picture of brightly painted buildings.

 

The dock area and if you look closely, you will see two tenders already docked a pier.

 

The town is home to the oldest fountain in Greenland, dating from 1932 and is located in the only town square in Greenland.

 

[GeorgeCharlie]

Located near the square is the Our Saviour's Church, built in 1932 and is no longer a working church. Not sure what the purpose of the cute little building beside it is for.

 

 

There is a small museum, but it wasn't open yet when we went by.

 

 

When you walk around the town, you cannot help but notice many works of stone art. In 1993/94 a local artist (Aka Hoegh) gathered 18 other Nordic artists to join him in leaving their mark in town by turning stone into art. Today there are over 40 sculptures in the town, all part of the 'Stone and Man' exhibit. 

 

 

And no, it's not a headstone - it was just standing alongside the roadway.

Edited November 20, 2018 by GeorgeCharlie

[GeorgeCharlie]

Visited a dry goods store which was in the harbour area.

 

 

There was also a small deli in the store.

 

I took a picture of the firearms display.

 

Whereas, Lynne took a picture of the fabric section.

 

We also came across a couple of fair sized grocery stores.

 

The iceberg lettuce (kind of appropriate name for the area) at 35 DKK or about US$5.50.

 

Container with 1 kilogram of mixed candy cost 150 DKK (US$23).

[GeorgeCharlie]

In the entrance of one of the grocery stores was a automated bottle return machine. This was something new to us, as we don't have them in our area, but now realize they are common in other countries. 

 

 

One of the grocery stores.

 

Edited November 20, 2018 by GeorgeCharlie

[GeorgeCharlie]

We also met a couple groups of what appeared to be kids from a daycare. Besides being cute and inquisitive, the other thing which stood out about them was that each group had a different colour of safety vest on.

 

 

 

Not sure if these were twins, or just the real young ones from the daycare, being taken out for some fresh air.

 

[GeorgeCharlie]

We also visited the Great Greenland Furhouse which is a tanning and production company that processes furs and sells clothing, fashion wear and other products made of Greenland fur and seal skin. About 50 people work at this location.

 

They make note of the fact that it is illegal to import seal fur into the United States. Although the European Parliament approved an EU-wide ban on seal products, they provided an exemption on Greenland products. The primary target for the ban was Canada.

 

They have much more than just coats and jackets. They also have many different styles of bags and cases (including phone and tablet), along with many other accessory pieces. They have even made sealskin bikinis!

 

 

The artwork on their building.

 

They also have small pieces of seal skin laced into a framed depicting how seal skins are stretched for drying.

 

One of the full-sized seal skins on display - which where available for purchase. The saddleback (or harp) seal is considered the true seal and is native to Atlantic Ocean and Artic Ocean.

 

 

Edited November 20, 2018 by GeorgeCharlie

[GeorgeCharlie]

There was a number of handicraft display tables set up in the area where the tenders docked. They mainly contained stone and ivory carvings, along with various bead works.

 

 

 

Edited November 20, 2018 by GeorgeCharlie

[GeorgeCharlie]

I end our review of Qaqortoq on a happy note.

 

It is about the guy who got the most attention the day we were there. He was with the public works service attendant and he brought smiles to the faces of everyone who saw him.

 

 

Got to love the sunglasses! Didn't seem to bother him at all.

 

 

Edited November 20, 2018 by GeorgeCharlie

[puppycanducruise]

I'm loving your pictures and comments.

Thank you.

[Krazy Kruizers]

Having a cocktail while I read your reports. do the videos and pictures.

 

I wonder if that dog has an eye problem and has to wear the sun glasses.

[GeorgeCharlie]

Nanortalik was our second (and last) stop in Greenland. Nanortalik is the southernmost town in Greenland and has a population of about 1,300 people. It is located on a small island (also called Nanortalik) and was founded in 1797. The name Nanortalik means "Place of Polar Bears" or "Place Where the Polar Bears Go".

 

A unique feature of this area may give the remote possibility of an answer as to why Greenland is called Greenland.

 

Early Islandic sagas say Erik the Red used the Greenland name as a PR move to attract more settlers to Greenland. But this area was one of the first parts of Greenland settled by the Norse and, while Greenland is almost completely without trees, there is a nearby valley which has the only forest in Greenland and apparently presents an impressive vista of green landscape. Birch trees grow up to a height of several meters and the valley has some 300 species of other plants. There are also several sheep farms in the area.

 

The town itself is not quite as colorful as Qaqortoq, but it is still a pleasant place to visit. We were only there for half a day (7am - 1pm), so other than a walk around the town to take in the sights - there wasn't much else to in the area to see.

 

 

 A view looking down the main street. The town became fairly crowded once passengers came ashore.

 

View of a residential area.

 

Looking out over the graveyard.

 

Edited November 25, 2018 by GeorgeCharlie

[Turtles06]

12 hours ago, GeorgeCharlie said:

The town itself is not quite as colorful as Qaqortoq, but it is still a pleasant place to visit. We were only there for half a day (7am - 1pm), so other than a walk around the town to take in the sights - there wasn't much else to in the area to see.

 

 

Bill, did you listen to one of the choir performances in the church, or visit the Open Air Museum? (We thought the latter was particularly fascinating.)  I didn't want to post any photos if you are going to, I just couldn't tell from your comments whether you had.

 

Thanks, and thanks again for this great review,

Judith

[GeorgeCharlie]

2 hours ago, Turtles06 said:

Bill, did you listen to one of the choir performances in the church, or visit the Open Air Museum? (We thought the latter was particularly fascinating.)  I didn't want to post any photos if you are going to, I just couldn't tell from your comments whether you had.

 

Thanks, and thanks again for this great review,

Judith

Hi Judith,

 

Yes, I plan on posting info/pictures on the choir and the museum - hopefully within the next couple of days. Totally agree with you, the museum was the best part of Nanortalik.

 

You are welcome to post any pictures you feel people would like to see, but please wait until I have finished my review of Nanortalik and you have had the chance to see the pictures I have included.

 

Cheers,

Bill

[Turtles06]

5 minutes ago, GeorgeCharlie said:

Hi Judith,

 

Yes, I plan on posting info/pictures on the choir and the museum - hopefully within the next couple of days. Totally agree with you, the museum was the best part of Nanortalik.

 

You are welcome to post any pictures you feel people would like to see, but please wait until I have finished my review of Nanortalik and you have had the chance to see the pictures I have included.

 

Cheers,

Bill

No problem, Bill.  I didn't post any pix because it wasn't clear from your comments whether you'd visited those places, which is why I'd asked.   This is your review!   

[GeorgeCharlie]

As a crossroads of Inuit and European cultures, Greenland is a place where different traditions meld to create something truly unique. The music has evolved to encompass choral music with a uniquely Greenland sound.

 

This choir singing is something Nanortalik is noted for and one of the local choirs sang some of these famous multi-vocal songs.

 

They performed in the old wooden Nanortalik Church, which was built over 100 years ago.

 

 

The church was packed by the time we got there, so we carried on to the local museum.

 

[GeorgeCharlie]

 

One of the choir singers in their traditional costume.

 

 

[GeorgeCharlie]

Nanortalik Museum is beautifully situated in the old colonial port area as an open air museum, covering almost all the buildings in the area, most of which are used as showrooms. The various buildings are dedicated to preserving the history and customs of the Inuit people, along with presenting a good insight into the influence Norse culture had on the development of this region of the world.

 

The museum showcases traditional Inuit clothes with detailed needlework and beads, handmade kayaks, weapons, along with medical equipment and industrial tools brought in by the Europeans. 

 

It cost $5 to visit the museum, which was a small fee to pay for such a well presented gem of a museum.

 

The Outlook Rock viewing point.

 

Some of the museum's stone buildings.

 

Zuiderdam at anchor.

 

Various pictures of some of the displays.

 

 

 

 

[GeorgeCharlie]

 

More pictures of the museum displays.