Amazing Places: Greenland

There are few places on this planet that are as large and as  mysterious as Greenland. Ask the average person on the street what Greenland’s capital is, and they probably won’t even be able to answer you. However, Greenland is a very welcoming, if distant country, who until recently was considered to be part of Denmark.

Greenland is the largest non-continental island in the world, and it is about the size of Mexico. It is no small country by any standards, but it still has the lowest population density on the planet. There are a lot of things for a tourist to do on this amazing island: hiking, sports, animal watching and general sightseeing. So here is some useful information about Greenland.

One interesting fact about Greenland is that it amounts to about 97% of the size of Denmark, and well, it’s not difficult to guess that it is not green at all. Most of the island is covered in snow and glaciers, and the name is a misnomer that was supposed to entice Icelanders to settle in Greenland, given by the legendary Eric the Red.

However, some of the areas are indeed green in summer, so if that’s when you’re planning to go, don’t expect a vast expanse of ice and nothing else.

Not much is discussed in the mainstream about Greenland’s cities, not even about its capital, Nuuk. Also known under the Danish name of Godthåb, the capital has a mere 15,000 inhabitants, no more than a very small city in on the continent. The old colonial town is very interesting, and there are plenty of things you can see there, for example statue of Hans Egede (a famous Lutheran missionary), his house and church, the national museum and Santa Claus’s post office and mailbox.

Brædtet, the fish market, is vibrant and full of fresh, delicious fish and seafood. When stepping out of the capital, you’ll be greeted with the sight of some of the most beautiful landscapes on earth.

Most of the lands in Greenland are not privately owned, so you can go wherever you want, whenever you want. With such a small population, there is no crime rate to speak of, so you can wander off the beaten path without worrying (about humans, at least). The most exciting part about exploring on your own is that you can never know whether you’re the first person to set foot there (Greenland is probably one of the only places on earth where you can actually wonder about that). In the northern parts of Greenland, you can actually see the sun at midnight in summer, and the sky never actually becomes completely dark.

Cuisine in Greenland is not radically different from what you might ind in Europe, but despite the growing number of small supermarkets, you can find local dishes such as suaasat, a soup made of made from seal, or from whale, reindeer, or sea-birds, or mattak, raw whale meat and blubber, a dish that might take some time to get used to. Don’t miss the special Greenlandic coffee, which might actually contains more alcohol than caffeine (it is generously laced with kahlua, whisky and Grand Marnier).

You might also like