Reykjavík Grapevine - 14.08.2009, Page 39

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The Reykjavík Grapevine
Issue 12 — 2009
pressive, if ever such a descriptor could
be sensibly used.
The block apartments throughout
Nuuk, like many things in the capital,
serve as a reminder of Danish rule. In
the 1950s, when the Danish government
caught wind of the cod boom and the big
money that could be made from com-
mercial fishing in Greenland’s waters,
they ceased support to the Greenlandic
villages surrounding the capital, thereby
forcing their inhabitants to relocate to
the city and take up employment in the
newly constructed fishing factories, tak-
ing residence in the apartments. Whole
villages were moved into these blocks,
leaving behind their village lifestyles
and Greenlandic tradition of sharing a
family home with multiple generations
so that grandparents could pass along
their knowledge to younger generations;
something that apartment life no longer
facilitated.
These blocks are unsightly, bring-
ing to mind images of Soviet times, all
concrete, gloom and decay, but since they
are the most dominant style of housing
in the city centre a mix of people inhabit
them. Theresa, a woman of Faroese de-
scent who is married to a Greenlandic
man, told us of when she first moved to
Nuuk and was invited to a girlfriend’s
home. When she heard that her girl-
friend, a nurse by trade, lived in one of
the apartment blocks she was sceptical
about the visit. “When I arrived in the
building, the hallways were dirty and
covered in graffiti, but the apartment was
so nice! Many different kinds of people
live in those buildings, because it’s more
affordable,” clarified Theresa.
IT’S NOT ALL POLITICAL
The residents of Nuuk are shockingly
physically active, to the point of instill-
ing shame in onlookers, such as myself,
who huff and puff their way up an in-
cline while impossibly fit locals jog past
barely breaking a sweat. While gearing
up to hike up a mountain not far outside
the city centre, we passed several people
jogging along the side of the highway
(something they apparently do all year,
regardless of plummeting temperatures)
and, while descending from the bus to
the base of the mount, witnessed some
aerobically inclined Greenlanders run-
ning down the mountain.
Physical fitness was one common
activity that all the young people I spoke
with touted as one of the leisure pursuits
they engage in most often with their
friends. Marie, a local artist, listed run-
ning, hiking and going to the gym as
three of the main activities that she and
her friends get together for. “There are a
lot of health nuts here, but then, there are
also a lot of really unhealthy drunks to
even it out,” she joked.
Others share Marie’s affinity for car-
diovascular outings. Ruddie Motzfeldt,
21, goes to the gym with her friends to
lift weights and play sports. Piitaaraq,
our trusted Nuuk guide, is the epitome
of physical activity, playing handball in
the world championships and coaching
two handball teams.
Making a stop beside a massive grav-
el field, Piitaaraq explained how excited
all of Nuuk gets every August when the
football qualifiers take place in that field.
Though devoid of an actual football pitch
or stadium seating, people come out in
hoards to sit on the sloping rock face ad-
jacent to the field and watch players from
all over Greenland compete for a spot in
the championship game. The rest of the
year Nuuk is engaged in a bitter rivalry
between Liverpool and Manchester Unit-
ed fans, marking their turf with flags
and posters in their windows.
Social life in Nuuk also revolves
around the handful of clubs and bars,
with the most popular without a doubt
being Manhattan. This bar is massive
and the music is loud. Manhattan is
the only place in town where the young
people can get their dance on and is said
to be packed on the weekends, though
nobody goes out until one a.m. and the
bar closes at three. No matter if you only
get two hours in at the club, because the
after party is where it’s at, with many
revellers continuing to get their drink on
while driving around the city in search
of a house to spend the wee hours of the
morning.
Nicolas, a former bouncer at Manhat-
tan, says that he rarely even makes it out
to the bar these days since he and his
friends opt to pile into his car and drive
around in circles. “It’s so damn easy to
take the car everywhere I go so when I go
to the nightclub I don’t drink,” explains
Nicolas, ever the responsible student.
WHAT DOES THE FUTURE HAVE IN
STORE?
“Nuuk is pouring over with new possibil-
ities every day, like a developing country,”
Theresa espoused optimistically while
taking in the city during a drive to her
quaint blue home perched high above
the city. She’s right. There’s no saying
where Nuuk will be in a year or two, or
five, or ten.
This is a place unlike any other I have
visited. A place where tradition clashes
with politics and where intensely differ-
ent cultures are trying to find balance
amongst themselves. Life in Nuuk is in
transition, both political and cultural. It
is undergoing a shift and it will be inter-
esting to see how this northernmost of
national capitals develops and grows in
coming years as it continues to gain in-
creased independence from Denmark.
www.airiceland.is
ÍS
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IA
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4
65
67
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6.
20
09
Contact Air Iceland or
travel agent for reservation.
Nature’s Hot Spot
Vestmannaeyjar
8 hour Day Tour
Lake Mývatn
Mývatn
12 hour Day Tour
In the Footsteps of the Fishermen
Eskifjörður
10 hour Day Tour
Highlights of the North
Mývatn
12 hour Day Tour
Beyond the Arctic Circle
Grímsey
2 or 5 hour Evening Tour
A Different World
Greenland – Kulusuk – Ammassalik
2 night Hotel Package
Remarkable Greenland
Greenland – Kulusuk
8 hour Day Tour
Birds and Blue Waters
Ísafjörður
12 hour Day Tour
CATHARINE FULTON
JULIA STAPLES