Iceland review - 2016, Page 81

ICELAND REVIEW 79
SPECIAL PROMOTION
COLOURFUL CAPITAL
In addition to its bracing fresh air and
stunning natural vistas, Nuuk boasts the
best aspects of a modern capital city, with-
out the drawbacks. It has great museums,
including the National Museum of Green-
land, which tells 4,500 years of history in
beautiful detail and features the world’s
oldest skin boat and real-life mummies.
Nuuk is home to a wide range of restau-
rants with cuisine from around the world,
all taking advantage of Greenland’s fresh
local fish and meat. Greenlanders love
their coffee and cakes, which makes this
Arctic city a surprisingly good place to find
world-beating coffee.
Nuuk has a vibrant art, music and
theater scene—thanks in no small part
to the Katuaq cultural center, whose im-
mense wooden façade is designed to look
like a writhing blanket of northern lights.
The Nuuk Center is the largest building
in Greenland and has become the corner-
stone of the capital’s retail scene since
Greenland’s vibrant capital is the center of the
country’s cultural life, and it also enjoys
breathtaking natural surroundings.
Experience Colourful
Nuuk
opening in 2012. Its two floors of shops
sell a unique mix of international brands
and local designs drawn from Greenland’s
unique and colourful Inuit culture. And the
city’s pedestrian shopping streets are no
less of an adventure.
What you won’t find in Nuuk, however,
is smog, traffic jams, rampant street crime,
or overcrowded trains. In fact, you won’t
find any trains at all!
SEA, LAND AND MOUNTAINS
Visitors to Nuuk never fail to feel a con-
nection with Mother Nature, even from
the center of the city. Nuuk harbor is the
starting point for unforgettable trips on
Nuup Kangerlua fjord—one of Green-
land’s most beautiful (and most accessible)
natural attractions.
Nuup Kangerlua is one of the largest
fjords in the world and offers an array of
sights; from its ice-choked inner reaches
where bergs calve off the immense Green-
land ice sheet, to its dozens of islands and
skerries where the fjord meets the open
ocean—and Nuuk is nestled in between,
sheltered on the fjord’s edge and watched
over by the ever-present Sermitsiaq moun-
tain—a much-loved icon for the people
who live here.
Nuup Kangerlua fjord is your gateway
not only to sightseeing, but also to in-
credible hikes, fantastic fishing, kayak and
hunting trips, and intense nature spotting.
With any luck, you’ll see whales, seals, or
land mammals like Arctic foxes and rein-
deer!
GETTING THERE
Although you can’t get to Nuuk by train
or bus, Greenland’s capital is within easy
reach by air. Direct flights from Reykjavík
take just three hours and regular flights to
Denmark connect through Kangerlussuaq
Airport.
ColourfulNuuk.com
PHOTO BY CARLO LUKASSEN.
PHOTO BY DANIEL GURROLA. PHOTO COURTESY OF SERMERSOOQ BUSINESS COUNCIL.PHOTO BY LARS KLEEMANN-ANDERSEN. PHOTO COURTESY OF SERMERSOOQ BUSINESS COUNCIL.