When we returned yesterday from Disco Island, we saw a danish military ship heading towards Ilulissat. This ship, we learnt during breakfast from a waitress, is here every few weeks to train the new officers in the northern waters. This means that it turns up every few weeks, sails back and forth in the bay for a while and then disappears again into warmer waters. Or as the waitress said: "It's always in the way when I take my sailing boat out ..."
The rest of the morning was rather quiet, we walked around and drank coffee. Around midday, we were picked up by a bus and driven back to the harbour to board a boat to the restaurant for the evening. The restaurant which was a huge factor in choosing Greenland as our destination.
Why the boat? Because it's the only way to get there in summer, which was one of the original reasons for our trip to Greenland. Namely, nothing less than one of, if not the most remote gourmet restaurant on the planet: The KOKS restaurant in Ilmanaq. 2 Michelin starts, famous for including local herbs and taking the "modern nordic cuisine" to another level. Voted the second best restaurant in Denmark.
The head chef, Anders Ziska, was also awarded as the chef talent of the year, given to one up-and-coming chef under 30.
The restaurant is normally located on the Faroe Islands, but has moved here to Greenland during the summer months for the past two years because their restaurant is being renovated. And you can only get to KOKS by boat and only in combination with an overnight stay, as the boat only sails once a day.
On board were some of the restaurant staff who had a day off (including the sous chef), an escort for our trip and a few locals. And everyone who wanted to dine at Koks tonight, including some familiar faces from previous trips.
Oh, and the outward journey raised the "iceberg watching" bar a few notches higher.
The ship took a little sightseeing route through the Ilulissat Glacier and especially with the dark cloudy sky and the very calm water, this resulted in fantastic views that photos don't really do justice to.
During all this we saw two employees "fishing" for some ice ...
Which was then processed into the first greeting from the kitchen in the boat, because the outward journey is also already included to set the mood for the visit at KOKS.
And somehow the mood changed, because the ice, the landscape, the environment that was becoming more and more distant from civilisation - everything contributed to the fact that we became calmer and calmer and simply let everything sink in.
As we crossed the fjord, the ship picked up a little speed and headed for the settlement of Ilmanaq.
Ilimanaq was founded in 1741 and is located about 15 kilometres south of Ilulissat. Three small islands lie just off the coast of Ilimanaq and the village itself was built on a small strip of land about 160 metres wide. The village is one of the oldest modern settlements and the Danish name was Claushavn. 51 people live here and are connected to the world by boat once a day, otherwise there is nothing here.
We docked at the harbour and dragged our luggage up the steep steps onto the jetty and to the second oldest house in the settlement which functions as a reception for the lodge and the restaurant. And of course we got coffee, some cakes and a warm welcome from our hosts.
About 5 minutes' walk away, once all the organisational work was done, we found the Ilmanaq Lodge, which consists of 15 huts built on a small bay.
The lodges were fabulously cosy. The musk ox fur, the super comfy couch (on which we took a nap), ... everything was very nice and calming.
The beds on the top floor have a really beautiful view. However, there are no curtains here, so if you're sensitive to light when you're out sleeping, you should bring a good sleeping mask. It was also warm in the hut, so we had to deal with the complicated thermostats for the heating during the night.
Googling was not an option, as the lodge was deliberately designed as a "WiFi-free zone". So you are supposed to just sit and relax.
Works for us! And what you can also do quite well here is: Enjoy yourself! And that started in the minibar with a beer prepared by the KOKS staff.
And after some time for ourselfes, we got ready for the dinner. It was my partners birthday, so we were pretty exited to see what will happen. We walked to the restaurant, saw a few of the waiters standing outside smoking.
So we walked right past them not to rush them - we were way to early anyway. But after the last cigarrete was finished, one of them walked after us to ask us to come in.
And yes, this level of hospitality was "the new normal" now - we were amazed and still are!
And I think it might be appropriate to post this menu in total.