A world of ice

Lisbeth's job once again brought her to Greenland but since this second trip was much shorter, the camera didn't make it out of the bag until the flight leaving Greenland - this time from the international airport at Narsarsuaq in the South.

As you can see above, there is rather little snow and ice in the Southern part but before getting a chance to capture the lovely fiord scenery, the plane hit the cloud level.

However, it was worth keeping out the camera since it was an amazing 'trek' across the ice further to the East.

The clear conditions made it possible to see some of the flow patterns in the ice and above it is even possible to distinguish the ice shelf of the glacier.

Amazing, eh?!

The centenary of the matriarch

On Friday, March 18^th 1910, the proprietor of Brændeskov Dairy in the southern part of the Danish Island of Funen got a daughter. This daughter who got the name Rigmor (and who - many years later - got a grandson called Tue) would prove to be made of sterner stuff than people are most. At first it might not sound like she ventured very far into the world when we tell you that a hundred years later one finds her living on her farm just outside the village Brudager, less than 3 miles from where she was born. But the number of people that showed up for the reception, and the abundance of flowers they gave, bears testimony of a life spent being active.

About one third of the flowers

Even though the number of centenarians in Denmark is increasing more rapidly than the population in general, one still receives a note of congratulation from the Royal Court - and Rigmor also made the front page of the county news paper. But when one of the Danish television channels called to ask if they could come by and ask a few questions she declined - she didn't have time for that on her birthday. We originally thought that she would take an afternoon nap after the reception and before the evening dinner with the more immediate family, but she was far too busy looking at the many flowers and the corresponding cards...

Tue and his maternal grandmother, Rigmor

We admittedly felt a little weak after the big dinner when we realised we had to give in and go to bed before the birthday girl - and it didn't help one bit that she was up and about earlier than the rest of the next morning.

Swedish spring preparations

This weekend we have been able to watch a team of workers removing the snow from the building next to ours - a task that takes a surprisingly long time.


Snow on roofs is in general taken much more seriously here in Sweden than it is in Denmark - perhaps there's a lesson to be learned for Danish farmers before more innocent livestock is caught under a roof caving in to the snow masses..

The last ice

As the pictures show there is still lots of ice on the Stockholmian waters - but since the days are rapidly getting longer and we have had thawing conditions during the daytime for the past week or so, it can't last much longer now.

Greenlandic Mailboxes

It comes as no surprise that Greenlandic mailboxes are quite similar to the Danish ones, but interestingly they are found with a couple of different logos on them.


Greenland too has - which is obvious from a Danish and/or Greenlandic perspective - a Christmas mailbox. As anyone should know, Santa Claus lives in Greenland - not in Finland.

Arctic signage

Road signs are just different when sleds and snowmobiles outnumber cars (and bicycles for that matter).


For our non-Danish-reading readers we should explain that the signs above give directions for Police, Apartment Building K (charming name, isn't it), and Shop, respectively. Doesn't exactly give the impression of a bustling metropolis, does it now..

Sled dogs

Being located above the Arctic Circle, Sisimiut is dotted with groups of sled dogs being kept between the houses. Planning has a quite different context when discussions on housing issues include discussions on where to keep the dogs!


As Air Greenland doesn't fly on weekends, one must fly in Friday in order to be ready to start working Monday morning. This provided time for more leisure-like activities, such as a long dogsled ride Sunday. Above Lisbeth - all dressed up in sealskin on top of her usual winter attire - and apart from the inconvenience of almost not being able to move, it did keep her warm through the whole trip. And below is the lovely ride...