Ever since I can remember, I’ve always been fascinated by Greenland.
Well, to be honest, I thought Iceland was the coolest country in the world — until I discovered Greenland in probably the World Book Encyclopedia.
There was just something dazzling about the world’s largest island smack between the Arctic and Atlantic oceans. It’s mostly ice — in fact, more than three-quarters of it is covered by the only contemporary ice sheet outside of Antarctica. And yet, more than 56,000 people live in this autonomous country within the Kingdom of Denmark.
And I have no idea why.
The fishing should be good, I suppose. And according to the official tourism site of Greenland, the country is a “land of milk and honey when it comes to food and drink,” with numerous gourmet restaurants that combine Greenlandic ingredients with French, Thai and Japanese cuisines. There’s “brættet,” or local game and fish markets, found in all towns. And the “boards,” or supermarket freezers, are full of meat from whales, seals, reindeer, muskoxen, lamb and fish.
I’m not kidding when I say this: I’m dying to go.
Yes, the average temperature in Nuuk, the country’s capital, ranges from 18 to 45 degrees. And yes, there are dangerous land mammals about, including polar bears, musk oxen, wolves and the arctic fox.
But it just seems like a place you need to visit to figure out.
I’m curious about the Greenlandic Inuit, which make up about 88 percent of the population. I’m interested to see how far-reaching Dutch culture is. (I happen to be part Dutch.) And I can only imagine the hiking and kayaking here are mind-blowing.
So what country are you completely fascinated by? And are you putting it on your 2015 travel list like I am?
9 Comments
Iceland! and we just made reservations to go in August 🙂
Do you mean Danish? The Dutch are from the Netherlands, and I don’t think they have much history influencing Greenland.
I was wondering the same thing.
The ol US of A. So much i’ve never seen and don’t know about (the mid west, northwest, old highways like route 66 and Lincoln Hwy.). I find it fascinating to see/read about history of places I’ve been to like NYC, LA, or SF. My bucket list still has a cross country trip on it.
2015- San Francisco for my son’s wedding! S.F. Is my home away from home via Las Vegas. I’ve never visited the other half of my heritage- Korea. I’ve been to China twice and also Inner Mongolia.
Just did the Milford Track, South island NZ. Mind blowing! Everything I was hoping for and more.
https://ultimatehikes.co.nz/en/guided-walks/the-milford-track?gclid=CM3Lu_72sL0CFYqIfgodCrEANQ
Now I need a new bucket list spot. I too have been fascinated by Greenland and Iceland. The imagery always looks like its from another world. One I may do soon is the Tour du Mont Blanc.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tour_du_Mont_Blanc
Im not really into sightseeing unless there is some adventure involved, which is why I have kind of avoided Europe, waiting for the right thing to do. This might be it.
Hello Cat,
I can’t just pick one country or even several. All the countries fascinate me, each one is different and interesting. If I could I would travel to every country.
Seeing all of the United States first was always my goal and it took me over 40 years but I was able to visit all of the 50 states. I would like to visit Scotland, Australia, France and maybe Ireland. Cant think of too many other places that would interest me enough to visit them.
I took a photo of Greenland from the window of an airplane at 30,000 ft on a flight from Copenhagen to Chicago in late June three years ago. Brilliant sun, clear blue sky, nothing but snow down there, as far as the eye could see. Ice crystals on the outside of the window look like falling snow. It’s much as I have pictured the North Pole to look since I first heard of Santa Claus when I was a little boy.
Travel that June day began in Barcelona. Copenhagen was just a connection. Honestly, I’d rather be in Barcelona than Greenland, no matter what. I took a beautiful picture, but I’ve lived througth enough cold and snow to last me several lifetimes.
I haven’t been to Paris in 30 years, and my family are traveling there this June. With my daughter going off to college next fall, this may be the last vacation we take as my immediate family as it is now composed (two parents plus two children, no longer little). My wife loves Paris and has been there twice without me. I expect the highlight of this trip for me to be a side trip to Bruges, Belguim, which I’ve always wanted to visit. I’ll go solo if I can’t get the others interested.