Venture, Majestic Fjords of Greenland ex Reykjavik to Kangerlussuaq

Details

14 Night Cruise sailing from Reykjavik to Kangerlussuaq aboard Seabourn Venture.

14 Night Cruise sailing from Reykjavik to Kangerlussuaq aboard Seabourn Venture.

Sail deep into breathtaking fjords bright with vivid autumn colors, where glaciers calve immense icebergs and musk oxen, reindeer and whales feed in the last long sunlight.

Highlights of this cruise:

Reykjavik
Reykjavik, Iceland’s capital, is the northern-most national capital in the world. Its name translates as ‘smoky bay’, referencing the geothermal nature of the surrounding area. The city benefits from astonishing landscapes shaped by glaciers, earthquakes, and volcanic activity throughout the centuries. An amphitheater of mountains encircles the greater Reykjavik area, a coastline indented with coves, peninsulas and islands. Most of city’s growth came during the early 20th century, and the majority of its architecture is typical of that era. Colorful rooftops and the elegant spire of Hallgrímskirkja Church dominate Reykjaviks’s skyline. Known for its arts, Reykjavik hosts a number of internationally recognized festivals, most notably the Iceland Air music festival, Reykjavik Arts Festival and the Reykjavik International Film Festival.

Heimaey
Heimaey Island is the largest in the Westman Islands located four miles off the south-west coast of Iceland. One of the most visually impressive islands in Iceland, it is ringed by tall, vertical sea cliffs many hundreds of feet high. Heimaey is also the home to over eight million Atlantic puffins, more nesting puffins than anywhere else on earth. A local story tells that puffin chicks, taking their first flights at night, often become stranded in the village streets, where the local children rescue them and set them free the next day.

In January of 1973 the island received the nickname, ‘Pompeii of the North’ when a volcanic eruption and lava flow destroyed half the town. This caused a crisis when the town’s only harbor was nearly blocked by advancing lava. Nowadays it is a lively place with a vibrant culture and over four thousand residents. Archaeological excavations suggest that people lived on Heimaey as early as the 10th Century.

Sermilik Fjord
Sermilik Fjord in southeastern Greenland cuts from the Denmark Strait into King Christian IX Land between Kitak Island and Cape Tycho Brahe, near the town of Tasiilaq. Its name means ‘place with glaciers’ in Greenlandic, and it culminates in multiple glaciers including Helheim, Fenris and Midgard glaciers, which feed a steady flow of icebergs into the fjord. Surrounded by steep mountainous shoreline and filled with sculpted icebergs, it makes a spectacular setting.

Fridtjof Nansen hoped the fjord might offer a route to the icecap for his 1888 expedition to cross the island. But his attempt to enter the fjord was thwarted by the outflow of ice, which pushed his team hundreds of miles southward before they managed to land. Eventually they did cross from Umivik Bay to Godthab.

Qaqortoq
Qaqortoq is the largest city in Southern Greenland with 3,300 inhabitants. The town occupies steep rises above the natural small-boat harbor bounded by fish, shrimp and fur processing plants. It was founded in 1775 by the Dano-Norwegian trader Anders Olsen, working on behalf of the General Trading Company.

Qaqortoq is perhaps best known for its open-air art exhibition, The Stone & Man project, designed to transform the town into an outdoor gallery. The project enrolled the participation of 18 Nordic artist from Iceland, Sweden, Norway, Finland and Greenland. Initially 24 stone sculptures were created, utilizing existing rock faces and boulders in the town. Now, over 40 sculptures celebrate Greenlandic culture.

Other points of interest include Mindebrønden, the oldest fountain in Greenland, the Qaqortoq Museum and The Saviors Lutheran Church. Eighteen kilometers northwest of town are the famous remains of the Viking church of Hvalsey. It is the most prominent Norse archaeological site in Greenland and represents the last written record of the Greenlandic Norse, who attended a wedding here in 1408.

Nuuk
Greenland’s capital, Nuuk, is a city of vitality and Greenlandic culture. Here old traditions and modern influences combine to create a diverse population. Nuuk is the home of the University of Greenland, with 650 students, and the Greenland National Museum with extensive historical archives and cultural displays. Also of interest are the Nuuk Art Museum and the Kayak Museum. The Art Museum holds a collection of 300 paintings, primarily featuring the work of traveling European artists, while the Kayak Museum houses a very impressive collection of sealskin kayaks and traditional hunting artifacts. The modest wooden frame of the Nuuk Cathedral, built in 1849, is a recognizable landmark on Nuuk’s skyline.

The site of Nuuk was occupied as far back as 2200 BC by ancient pre-Inuit peoples from Canada. It was settled again in the 10th century by Viking explorers. The current city was founded in 1728 by the Danish missionary Hans Egede, whose statue stands adjacent to the cathedral.

Maniitsoq
Maniitsoq means ‘uneven place’ in Greenlandic, referring to the many rocky knolls and small mountains that shape the geography of the town. Greenlanders like to compare their small towns with world-famous cities. Maniitsoq, intersected by small natural canals, has been dubbed the ‘Venice of Greenland’ by the locals. Colorful houses reflected in the calm water, stunning mountain scenes, smiling and friendly people and the occasional Greenlandic sled-dog are just a few of the photographic opportunities in Maniitsoq. Nearby, awe-inspiring Eternity Fjord is considered by many to be the most scenic fjord in all of Greenland. Glaciers descending from the high peaks are heavily crevassed, resembling the cracked skin of a giant white elephant. The water is dotted with ice of all sizes, most having broken free from the glaciers and calved into the sea. This is a grand landscape, remote, secluded and a treasure for those fortunate enough to explore it.

Sisimiut
Located 24 miles (40 km) north of the Arctic Circle, Sisimiut is “rough, real and remote.” These three words cut to the core of Sisimiut’s reputation as an outdoor adventure-travel hub. It’s the second-largest city in Greenland with 5,600 inhabitants and was founded in 1756 under the leadership of the Danish missionary, Hans Egede. The name is Greenlandic meaning ‘place of fox dens.’ The area has been inhabited for 4,500 years, first by the Inuit peoples of the Saqqaq culture, Dorset culture, and then the Thule people, whose descendants comprise the majority of the current population.

One of the most picturesque towns in Greenland, Sisimiut is set in a tranquil fjord perched on bare outcrops of rock. Mount Nasaasaaq, 2,572’ (784 m) tall, is the backdrop for the town, where colorful houses of bright red, yellow, green and blue stand out in stark contrast to a landscape of gray and white. The Sisimiut Museum hosts a traditional Greenlandic peat house and the remains of an 18th century kayak.