So now we had arrived in Ilulissat, the tourist centre of Greenland. After the transfer and checking into the hotel, the question remained as to what we wanted to do next. Our pre-planned itinerary included quite a few tours, so there weren't actually many gaps. However, one of the few was the first afternoon and we wanted to move around a bit.
Ilulissat, with its 4800 inhabitants, doesn't have an awful lot to offer and you usually stay overnight here to go on the various tours. There is one exception, however, and that is the Ilulissat Icefjord to the south of the town. This has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2004. And we wanted to see it.
So a quick rest in the room, a change of clothes (it's pretty cold) and off to the fjord. Shortly after we set off, we heard another "attraction" of Ilulissat: dogs howling!
Throughout the city there are hundreds, if not thousands, of sled dogs lying chained up in open fields or next to houses.
There is a serious reason for the fact that dogs must be chained from the age of 6 months: they are not pets, but working animals. They should not and must not be stroked, because in the past there have been various accidents, some of them fatal, involving dogs running loose. Children in particular have been severely bitten by dogs, so the rule with chains has been in force ever since. Even if all the little puppies do look cute.
But then our actual hiking trail began around the Sermermiut Valley along the Ilulissat Icefjord.
As mentioned, the fjord lies south of Ilulissat and is fed by the Sermeq Kujalleq glacier. At the glacier, the fjord is still about 10 kilometres wide and becomes narrower and narrower towards the mouth.
As seen from above during the flight, the glacier is one of the most active in Greenland and every day about 70 million tonnes of ice calve from the glacier, which is about 10% of the total volume of Greenland. The glacier has been observed and mapped for a long time. In 1851, the edge of the glacier was still 25 kilometres from the mouth. In 1950 it was already 46 kilometres.
We couldn't stop being amazed. The icebergs were huge, the pictures can't really show what it looks like in real life.
But our camera also did a good job. To give us a better idea of the size of the icebergs, a small motorboat came by from time to time.
And the boat was really tiny compared to the icebergs.
However, as it was a bit draughty, we continued on our way. Most of us just went back the way we came, but we felt like a bit more exercise. So the plan was to continue along the blue path until we reached the red path and then walk 1 kilometre back to the Icefjord Centre. That was the plan.
Unfortunately, the reality was that the path was closed a few weeks ago for a reason: It was very muddy and still icy from time to time.
The red trail should lead back to the starting point in one kilometre. The kilometre may be correct in normal circumstances, but we had to walk back in a zig-zag path, which made it a little longer. But it was better to walk a little longer than to end up with wet feet on the way back to the hotel. In addition to the puddles, the green moss patches were treacherous, as you could easily sink into them up to your calf.
When we got back to the hotel, we had a quick shower and rested up for dinner, which we planned to eat in the hotel restaurant. This had already been recommended to us beforehand and so we planned to spend most of our meals here. The Hotel Icefjord offers not only a wonderful view, but also a relatively modern and ambitious cuisine with a very interesting wine list. Just what we needed after a hike.
Musk ox tartare with fried capers and mayonnaise.
Marinated salmon with lumpfish roe, root vegetables and a cream and horseradish sauce.
Reindeer with beetroot and cauliflower.
And a Kölsch to go with it! Yes really, there is Kölsch from a Greenlandic brewery here. A little piece of home from Cologne in the middle of all the icebergs - what a crazy world!
