Travelreport Greenland – Pre Tour

When we got to know that Denmark would have its national AGM in Greenland, we were several who thought, Wow what a awesome and cool trip to do. We had a planning meeting and We booked us into the pretour + AGM

May 5 was finally here, and there was many excited ladies from Denmark, Sweden and Norway, boarding the plane in Kastrup towards Greenland.The first stop was Kangerlussuaq, which is located just above the Arctic Circle. The group I was part of had only stopover there in a few hours. We visited the about 5 stores that were found in the "village" and we also ate lunch at the airport. Time to board again and the flight took us to Ilulissat, which is a direct translation from the Greenlandic word for "icebergs". This village has less than 5000 inhabitants.

We were picked up at the airport by vans that took us to the hotel. Check-in was smooth and we chilled for a while at the hotel. We decided to go to the travel agency and check our tours that we had booked ourselves. We even had time for a walk in the village before we went back to the hotel for dinner. Later this evening on the agenda was an evening sailing.This meant we sailed among the gigantic icebergs and got some information about where they came from and where they were heading. Disko Bay, as it is called outside Ilulissat has a lower water level than further into the country, so the icebergs get stuck here before their continuing journey into the open sea, and when the ice either calved off or when it melts as it floats up and leave the Disko Bay. Most interesting, however, was when the guide told us about the icebergs turning over his face. This is probably completely impossible to imagine.... Exhausted, but with big smiles we fell asleep almost this evening.

The following day we were picked up early at the hotel and were headed for a helicoptertour. For me it was very exciting because I've never done it before.We were a bit worried that we wouldn't see so much, becouse when we woke up earlier that morning and went to breakfast, it wass all cloudy and it snowed in the village. But once it was time to lift off it was all clear skies. First we flew inland, where the inland ice is covering Greenland and then, past Ilulissat, to the Disco Bay where we hover over the magnificent icebergs.

After the wonderful tour was over, a couple of our girls decided to take a walk back from the airport, others took the bus to the hotel, and I chose to go to the village again. We had, after all, fantastic weather. I was planning to head back to the hotel, but run into two of my circlers, and we decide to have lunch at a small restaurant that had very mixed menu. Everything from pizza, to domestic food to thai. We got to know that a lot from the menu wasn't possible to order right now and I decided to try Thai and were really pleased with the choice.

Again at the hotel, we had time to sunbath for a moment on the porch, before it was time for the next tour. We would go on a hike to the old settlement which is now part of the UNESCO World Heritage. The guided tour was held in Danish, but wonderful Ida from my circle whispered translation to me during the tour. It was very exciting to hear how people lived there in the past and that. 

Also not too long ago, Illulissat had been forced to use the bay for deliveries. There had been this iceberg that had almost literally exploded and ice from it had clogged the harbor at Ilulissat. So they decided to go through this old area. Easier said than done, because when a area is listed by UNESCO there are are regulations i.e for use of vehivles and all transfers had to be done by dog sled.

It was now time for the last evening and it would end with a gala dinner. We took the opportunity to dress up and were happy to avoid all winter clothing.

The third and last day we had no planned activities. I felt that I wanted to be outdoors, so I went to the city center again and took a last look of this colorful village. Almost all the houses were painted in pastel colors they lit nicely in the sun. We had talked about meeting up for lunch downtown, but there had been a power outage since early morning, so all shops and restaurants were closed. However, the hotel had backup generators, and we could eat lunch there before it was time to head to the airport again and this time fly to Nuuk and the AGM.

LC 148 Stockholm Haga , Soili Vuolteenaho