2012 Travelling Alone in Greenland: The Sunny Ilulissat @ 旅行は私の人生なのだ

3 o'clock in the night, I woke up because I worry about my lost luggage and I have to confirm again this morning before my flight to Greenland.

Leaving the hostel, I walk slowly toward the metro station.

On th way to Christianshavn st. sation, the night view of the canal catch my eyes.

Though my camara stand was left in my check-in luggage, I could put my camara on the bridge and take the photo.

My 24-hour city pass is still valid, and I come back to Copenhagen airport soon.

During the time before 7 o'clock, I think about my check-in luggage.

Maybe it would be easy to travel without my check-in luggage.

Actually, except for some warm clothes for the cold weather, shampoo and toothpaste may be the only things that should be put in the check-in luggage.

As for others, it seems not so necessary. If the cost in Northern Europe is not so expensive, I could buy them later.

Until 7 o'clock, the staff picks me up at the corner under the "Contact Arrival Service".

Passing the special gateway, I come back to the luggage claim and check for my luggage.

However, the luggage seems not to be delivered now. Maybe it would arrived later with the next flight from France to Copenhagen.

I really think that it's better than travelling without the check-in luggage. I hate to handle these things especially it's my vacation.

No matter how bad I feel, I still tell the staff about my next destination so that they could deliver my luggage correctly.

It's the third day since I left home, I'm finally on my way to Greenland. Ilulissat, the town with icebergs, is my first destination.

Flying from Copenhagen to Greenland takes about four hours, and you may see Iceland in the half way if there is no cloud blocking your view.

After Iceland, the next is the admirable snowy Greenland.

It's amazing that the view of Greenaldn from the high sky is so stunning.

I'm quite looking forward my first day in Ilulissat.

Due to the summer, some parts of thw snow were already melt and form special patterns on the land.

In the west, you could see the real Green Land with some crystal-clear blue lakes.

Greenland, the name is a trcik made by the pirate with its brother Iceland.

But it seems become a real greenland in the future gradually. (It would be magic if Iceland becomes a real Ice Land....)

The plane lands at Kangerlussuaq, the international airport of Greenland.

Basically, there are two international airport in Greenland: Kangerlussuaq and Narsarsuaq.

These airports were once the American airforce bases.

All the domestic flights to other towns will departure from these big airports.

For example, if you want to fly to Sisimiut from Ilulissat, you have to fly to Kangerlussuaq first and then take the connection flight to Sisimiut.

Sometimes, the waiting time is different from one hour to four hours.

Although kangerlussuaq airport is the international airport, it only owns a international gate and a domestic gate.

Yes, it's the "Gate", not the "Ternimal".

Kangerlussuaq is a very small international airport and you could look around the whole airport in less than 30 minutes.

If "Small" is a feature of this airport, no security check in the domestic flight should be another feature.

Maybe the Greenlandics and the tourists are all good people. They think it's not necessary to check the luggages.

Outside the building, there is a famous route mark demonstrating the flying hours to other contries and you could take photos of the planes while they are taking off or landing.

The flight to Ilulissat is one hour late and I order a strange meal that tastes like the goose liver.

Though I want to ask the name of this food, the staff seems unable to illustrate that to me in English and I also don't understand any Greenlandic.

Around 11 o'clock, I get on a small plane to Ilulissat at last. It's really a long trip but I will arrive the dream land soon.

It only takes about 30 to 40 minutes to Ilulissat.

Before landing at Ilulissat, the scenery from the sky is obviously different. You will see icebergs and flowing ice on the sea.

Arriving at the airport, my luggage doesn't appear magically, so I still have to contact the Air Greenland staff.

They will confirm my luggage with Copenhagen airport and sent my luggage to the hostel while it's delivered to Greenland.

The only good news is that I will stay at Ilulissat for a week, or my luggage may never catch my step.

By the way, the only transportation in Ilulissat is the Taxi. I takes the taxi to Ilulissat Youth Hostel and the price is about 125 DKK.

Ilulissat, the most famous place of Greenland tourism, is the 3rd largest town than Nuuk and Sisimiut.

Ilulisaat means "many icebergs" in Greenlandic, therefore, the features of this town is the icefiord, icebergs and glacier.

The YH staff introduces the facilities in this old building briefly and then I start my first walk along the icefiord right away.

By the way, the internet here is much expensive than Copenhagen. 30 DKK for 30 mins, 50 DKK for 60 mins and 90 DKK for 120 mins.

But the taxi fare is much expensive than accessing the internet.

Anyway, everything is expensive in Greenland. That is no doubt.

While walking on the street, I find another feature of Greenland soon: the Greenland dogs.

The Greenland dog, or Greenland husky, is a husky-type dog kept as the sledge dog in Greenland.

It's said that Ilulisaat with a population of 4600 people owns 9000 Greenland dogs, though the snowmobiles replace the dogs and the dogs become fewer.

Because these dogs are still wider than the pet dogs, you should keep yourself from them, especially if they are chained, unless you are the master.

However, you don't have to worry a lot. Most of these dogs will not bark at you if you keep your distance from them and don't do anything to them.

They've already got used to the tourists walking nearby.

If you really want to touch the Greenland dogs, you may join the tour or find the puppies that are unchianed.

According to the tracking map, there are three tracking routes along the beautiful icefiord.

These routes are well-marked with the related color. You don't have to print the map but could take a photo just like I do.

Except for the icebergs and icefiord, there is a area called Sermemuit which was the old Inut settlement.

Anyway, the tourists who come to Ilulissat will almost walk one of these routes at least.

Another must-do activity in Ilulissat is to join the day trip to Eqi glaicer where you could observe the collapse of the galcier. I've also booked that tour on Wednesday.

Since the weather today is so nice, I decide to walk the scenic yellow route from the power station.

Pisiffik is the biggest supermarket in Ilulissat and is not far away from the hostel while I go to the power station.

"9 - 19" is the opening hour. Besides, the football court and the post office are also around here.

If you turn left at the cornor of the football court, you will go to the start location both for yellow, blue and red tracking routes.

That should be my way for return and I walk straight along the road until I find the huge smokestack. Yes, the power station.

Passing the football court, there is a wide dog zone at the left and the opposite are the colorful houses built on the rock.

The style of the colorful house should be originated from Denmark or Norwey. Though it's not the traditional Inut house, it's lovely indeed.

Building the house on the rock, not on the flat ground, is probably under the consideration of the winter condition.

As for the nature in Greenland, most people may think it should be the wasteland if the snow is melt in summer.

Actually, there are many plants here. Except for the unknown grass, common cottongrass and chrysanthemum are common.

I think the common cottongrass is a special representative of Greenland. In Ilulissat, you could find cottongrass easily.

However, a nice-looking one is few. These cottongrass are not planted for any purpose.

Due to the nice sunny day, I take off my coat while I reach the powerstation.

The scenery along the coast is awesome. It's my first time to watch icebergs flowing on the sea.

I could not express how excited I am now. My first day in Ilulissat is such a good day.

Actually, the reason why I want to stay here for a week is that I worry about the changable weather in Arctic Circle, and the scenery is definitely different in a sunny day, cloudy day and rainy day. To make sure that I could take nice photo of these beautiful scenery, I decide to stay here for a week.

The beginning of the yellow route is the board stairs upward along the coast.

Therefore, it's a good position to watch the whole town with that huge smokestack.

In Kaohsiung, there are also many smokestacks but not painted as the smokestack in Ilulissat.

Along the coast, the first part of the scenery is the icebergs and ice on the sea.

If you have a telescopic lens, it would be easier to take photos of them.

While reaching the end of the stairs, the route becomes the original rocky track with some big yellow circles that are the directions you should follow.

In Greenland, these circles are the common way to mark the path. After all, it's quite easy and the staff don't have to carry the heavy signs.

Walking on the rocky track reminds me of the long walk in Westman Island of Iceland. The only differece is that there is no icebergs around Westman Island.

In the half way, there is an old turf house near the icefiord, and it means that the beautilful icefiord is already close.

When the icebergs become larger and crowded on the sea, the scene you watch is the end of the Ilulissat icefiord. Sometimes, you might see the ships sailing toward the iecberg here.

From this point, the view is different from the first part. Lots of icebergs in the icefiord is so spectacular that I'm stunned. It's the great reward for my tiring trip from home. The bad feelings of the flight connection and the delay of my luggage look like the sand blew by the wind and disappeared.

I'm quite looking forward to take the ship sailing to icefiord in the evening. It would be another awesome experience to watch big icebergs in a short distance.

At this moment, I just think that I'm in the Arctic Circle for sure with such a icy scene.

Finishing the yellow route, it's recommended to follow the board walk of the blue route right away.

This board walk leads to Sermemuit and is quite easy for the family, elders and baby carriages.

It only takes about 20 to 30 miniutes.

Before the end of the board walk is the Sermemiut, the old Inut settlement.

You may also notice the landscape in Ilulissat that most of the land are rocky hills.

Sermemiut owns a bay and therefore is a ideal place for kayaking.

Besides, this area is also good for hunting seals.

Even this settlement is abandon now, the locals also take a walk around here.

The scenery of icebergs always make them feel peaceful.

From the end of the board walk, it takes about 5 minutes to climb to the top of the hill.

It's the most scenic place for watching icebergs.

There are a bench and a picnic table for toruists to have a good time here.

Because the icebergs will change the location as the time goes by, the scenery you see is also changable everyday.

No one could take the same photo as others do, and you could always expect different scenes.

I think, that is the magic power of these attractive icebergs.

Especially today is a sunny day, I'm really lucky to enjoy this nice moment.

I also record a short movie to demonstrate how amazing the icefiord is. Photographs could only show you a part of the whole scene.

Though I could come back to the town via the board walk, the time is still enough and the tour guide of other tourists also tells me some information.

If I would like to finish the blue route, it may takes about four hours or more. But it would be easy if I turn to the red route in the half way.

Under such consideration, I decide to follow the blue route and turn to the red route.

Basically, there is nothing special along the red route.

It's only a shortcut for the long blue route and takes only about 20 mins.

Though Someone may thinks that the scenery of the colorful houses is nice when viewing in the high position along the route, that is just fine and not so surprising as the icefiord.

As for the rest of the blue route, I think I would have plenty of time to enjoy it in the last two days.

Finishing the red route quickly, I find a restaurant "Mamartut" on the way to the football court.

The information says that they provide Greenlandic buffet on Tuesday and Wednesday.

It seems to be a good idea to try Greenlandic food tomorrow.

According to the information on the web, the reindeer, musk ox, whale and seal are the ingredients of Greenlandic dishes.

Though I've tried the whale steak in Iceland before, others are strange to me, especially the seal.

For me, the whale steak doesn't taste so good as the beef. I'm a little curious about how Greenland prepare the whale.

I buy some ingredients for four days in the supermarket before 7 o'clock.

The meat tagged with Danish makes me worry a little.

It would be bad if the meat is not what I think, just as I made a mistake to buy the whale as the beef steak .

I could not image how I will handle if the meat I bought is seal.

Fortunately, Skinkesteaks means "Ham Steak" in Danish.

Therefore, the dinner today is the curry rice with pork.

You may think the food I cooked looks strange as the photo above.

Oh no, I cook the curry rice in the wrong way that I put the curry powder while the rice is still in the boiling water.

Actually, the curry source should be prepared in another pot.

Besides, it seems take a long time to cook the rice.

Anyway, I will try the curry rice again in the correct process.

Boat Trip

(The image is from：http://www.worldofgreenland.com)

After the dinner time, the day is still not finished yet. I'm ready for the tour I expected for a long time: Evening sailing among the icebergs

Due to Ilulissat is at the west of Greenland, the best time for watching the sun and icebergs is the evening (or the midnight when the sun never goes down).

The weather is also nice, so it would be very enjoyable.

Taking the small ship from the harbor, it would takes about one hour sailing toaward the icefiord and another hour for return.

Watching the icebergs on the sea is different from watching on the land. Icebergs become bigger as we get closed to the icefiord.

While the time passes by, the light on the ice also changes and makes the scene looks like a beautiful painting.

Of course, the sunset is also a must-see scenery.

Just as I expetced, a good weather and the sunset are the two main factors for taking photos of icebergs in the evening. It's amazing and spectacular.

I could not distingush whether it's real or just a dream. I'm glad that I'm not just satisfied with the scenery while tracking along the icefiord.

The feeling I have during the sailing is unique.

Though the wind on the icy sea is colder, I only wear a shirt and a coat and quite enjoy the coldness that could makes me beleive I'm really in the Arctic now.

Ha, I'm suitable to live in the arctic area indeed.

Because of the fog, we didn't get very closed to the icebergs like I saw in the afternoon along the track.

The staff also gets some ice for us. If you like the wine, it's perfect. But I only try the ice directly.

It's a perfect day I have never experienced before.