Kangerlussuaq - Gateway to the Ice Cap

Hotel Kangerlussuaq is located in the same building as the airport. The hotel hallways were the most confusing I've ever seen. There is no elevator. Therefore, to get to our room, 3012, I carried our two 50-lb suitcases in each hand up two flights of stairs, rolled them through long corridors, and then carried them down a different set of stairs. The numbering scheme did not seem consistent. On the floor with the 3000's was a room labeled 1001. I also noticed a sign pointed up a set of stairs to get to the 2000's from the 3000's. I felt like we were walking through a fun house maze. The funny thing about our convoluted journey up and down staircases and through hallways was that the net result was that our room ended up being on the ground floor. Unfortunately, we had to travel the whole maze again because I forgot to specify we wanted a non-smoking room. The receptionist made the switch with no hassles.

The room was rather spacious. It had a king-size bed, refrigerator, table, chairs, a closet, and a television containing English, Danish, and Greenlandic channels. Although the room had a trouser press, it did not have an iron and ironing board. I had my small travel iron and electricity converter, so this was not a problem for us.

Kangerlussuaq is situated above the Arctic Circle and thus receives 24-hour sunlight in July. Even with the curtains closed, enough light still shined around the edges to prevent our room from becoming totally dark. Despite this, I did not have any problems sleeping in the comfortable bed. I just had to remind myself to go to bed at night.

As was the case in the other Greenlandic hotels in which we stayed, there was a slot near the entrance of our room in which our key needed to be inserted to turn on the electricity – so we thought. We later found out that the slot only controlled one of the lamps in the room. The rest of the appliances worked regardless of the key.

The hotel contains two dining venues: the cafeteria and Hotel Kangerlussuaq Restaurant. The cafeteria sold fast food items such as burgers, hot dogs, fish and chips, etc... Breakfast at the cafeteria was included in our stay. We just needed to pick up our breakfast voucher from the reception desk each morning. The Hotel Kangerlussuaq Restaurant had more sophisticated cuisine but we only dined there for dessert.

The hotel is surrounded by conveniences such as a grocery store, pizza shop, and tour offices. The other major convenience is that the hotel is attached to the airport. After we checked out, we simply walked a few feet to the flight check-in line and then walked outside to board our flight.

We had heard from several people that Restaurant Roklubben overlooks the water and was the best restaurant in Kangerlussuaq. Anticipating a great dining experience, we went to the tour office in the airport and made our dinner reservation.

The restaurant is approximately a 15-minute ride outside of town; therefore, a motor coach is sent to the hotels to pick up its patrons at 6 o'clock every evening. The restaurant is situated in a remote area next to a lake. The interior of Roklubben reminded me of a down-home country dining place with its plaid table clothes and blue paper place mats.

Guests are assigned tables with other guests. My wife and I thought we had been assigned a table to ourselves maybe because we were not Danish-speakers like everyone else. We eventually met our tablemate who was speaking Danish to the hostess. I thought we were going to have an awkward dinner because of the language barrier; but to my surprise, our tablemate was fluent in five languages - including English!

When traveling to somewhere as off the beaten path as Greenland, you end up meeting some very interesting people. Our tablemate was certainly no exception. He was a tall, rugged Finnish man with a hunting knife strapped to his waist. He travels the world for his job but was in Greenland on a week-long fishing trip. He kept us entertained with his travel experiences - everything from spending time in the Mongolian countryside to getting into a fist fight with muggers on the streets of Chile. He had a flask of vodka in his pocket that he would pour into his water glass when the waitress wasn't looking. He was quite an interesting fellow.

It turns out; there is no menu at Roklubben. There is only a plate of the day. The hostess announced the entree in Danish first which generated applause from the Danes. She then made the announcement in English to my wife and me that went something like: "This evening, we are serving ground musk ox with gravy and potatoes."

Yikes! My wife doesn't eat red meat. Before giving into our urge to leave the restaurant and ask the bus driver to make a special trip back to the hotel for us, we decided to ask the hostess if there was anything other than red meat available. She said she didn't think so but said she'd ask the chef. Fortunately, the chef found some fish from somewhere and said he would prepare it for my wife. Whew!

My wife was satisfied with her fish as was I with my ground musk ox which tasted like meatloaf with gravy. There was a dish of beets on the table. I hadn't eaten beets in many years but these were very good. Our tablemate and I devoured them.

As was the case with most of the restaurants we visited in Greenland, the check is not brought to the table. You pay at the register on your way out. I'm not sure where the extra people came from at this remote location but our bus ride back to the hotel was standing room only.

My wife and I were used to sharing a dessert after dinner but Roklubben does not serve dessert. We decided to visit the Hotel Kangerlussuaq Restaurant before heading back to our room. Our Finnish friend joined us and entertained us with more great conversation.

The food was pretty good at Roklubben. The total bill for my wife and me converted to $62, which is reasonable for this type of dining in Greenland. My advice is to make sure you find out the plate of the day before making your reservation.

Our final excursion in Greenland was the 5-hour Ice Cap and Barbeque Excursion offered by the Albatros tour company. My wife and I were on a bus with a large group of Danish tourists. Fortunately, our driver narrated in English as well as Danish.

It was approximately a 20-mile ride on a bumpy, dirt road from Kangerlussuaq to Greenland's massive ice cap. The ice cap covers 80% of Greenland and is as much as 2 miles deep in places. The ride took us through beautiful wilderness with green tundra, rivers, lakes, and glaciers. Our guide pointed out and made stops at a few interesting sites. Some of these places were embarrassments to the U.S. government. Our guide certainly didn't miss an opportunity to take a jab at the U.S. during these stops.

We passed by one area where there was a sign warning hikers and others to keep out. We were told the U.S. lost a nuclear missile somewhere near Kangerlussuaq. It has never been recovered.

Our driver made another stop at the remains of a U.S. military plane crash. The crew had safely ejected before their plane crashed in a bad snowstorm in the 1960's. The airplane parts remain strewn along the side of hill. After explaining the crash, our guide added, "The Americans are not known for cleaning anything up." - Ouch!

We continued on through the wide open wilderness with cameras snapping away. We stopped a few times when musk oxen were spotted. They were really far away. Even through binoculars, they looked like moving brown or black dots.

Dressing in layers was very good advice for this tour. It was warm enough to wear a short-sleeve shirt when we left town, but as we got closer to the ice cap, I needed to put on my hoodie, wind breaker, gloves, and anything else that would protect me from the cold wind blowing off the ice.

We were let out at the end of the dirt road where we had to walk over a ridge to get to the ice cap. I initially thought we were walking on dirt until I slipped a few times only to realize the dirt and rocks were covering solid ice. The ice cap appears dirty, especially at the edges, from all the rock debris it collects as it slowly retreats. We had to cross a crevasse using a makeshift plywood bridge to get to the rest of the ice cap. The crevasse was not deep enough to cause serious injury if we fell in, but the remainder of the tour would have been quite cold and miserable if we would have gotten soaked by the rushing stream below. The bridge wobbled just enough as I crossed to send my heart rate up a bit.

It was an incredible experience to walk on the ice cap. I felt so microscopic as I gazed out over the horizon and saw nothing but ice. We were not given glacier boots as we were when my wife and I walked on Mendenhall Glacier in Alaska several years ago; therefore, in our tennis shoes, we did our fair share of slipping and sliding.

We spent about a half hour on the ice cap before heading back to the bus. Upon our arrival back in town, the guides began the barbeque portion of the excursion outside the Albatros tour office. It consisted of grilled fish and musk ox burgers. The food was okay but had we known the barbeque took place after the tour and not at the ice cap as indicated in the documentation, we would not have paid extra for the barbeque. We would have just grabbed lunch at one of the local eateries where there are more choices. Despite the misunderstanding, the ice cap excursion was our favorite tour in Greenland.

Kangerlussuaq is not like the rest of the towns we visited in Greenland. The town exists because during World War II when Denmark was occupied by the Germans, Denmark could no longer protect Greenland. The U.S. agreed to protect the island and built a military air base there. In those days, the base was known by its Danish name, Sondre Stromfjord. The U.S. held onto the base after WWII as a strategic location during the Cold War. In 1992, the U.S. sold the Sondre Stromfjord base to Denmark for the equivalent of $1. It is now known by its Inuit name, Kangerlussuaq. Today, it contains the only runway in Greenland long enough to accommodate large international jets.

During our stay in Kangerlussuaq, it was not uncommon to see military aircraft. For example, we often saw the large U.S. Air Force C-130 Hercules planes sitting on the runway. They are equipped with skis and are used to deliver supplies to scientists living on the ice cap. There was one afternoon when I joined other curious guests in the hotel lobby to watch two fighter jets roar in for a refueling stop. I couldn’t tell from which country they came but their loud landings and take-offs certainly had the attention of the whole town.

We had a considerable amount of down time in Kangerlussuaq. Despite our choice to nap during our down time, there are several things to keep guests busy when not away on an excursion. Hotel Kangerlussuaq has a handful of slot machines. Bicycles can be rented. There is a bowling alley on the other side of the runway as well as an indoor swimming pool. There is even a sandy golf course a short drive away from the airport.

There is a museum dedicated to the history of the base. It is located on the opposite side of the runway from Hotel Kangerlussuaq. Since it is dangerous and illegal to hop the fence and walk across the runway, we had to walk all the way around it. There is a "city" bus that we could have taken but we decided to walk since we had time to kill. It took us 45 minutes to walk there due to wrong turns. Unfortunately, when I went to the window to buy admission tickets to the museum, I was told they do not accept credit cards. I had no more cash because I got rid of it at the local grocery store when we bought sodas and snacks for our room. We wouldn't have time to go back to the hotel, exchange currency, and make it back to the museum before closing. Therefore, we just walked back to the hotel and chilled out until our 6 PM dinner reservation.

Two days in Kangerlussuaq was more than enough time for us. We only had interest in doing the 5-hour ice cap excursion. Although there were other activities to keep us busy while not on the tour, most of them were things we could do at home. Therefore, rather than spend money on those activities we opted to take walks and relax instead.

Ice Cap Excursion Without the Barbeque: We paid extra for the barbeque option of this tour thinking it occurred during the tour. Instead, it occurred when were returned to town. Had we known this, we would not have paid for this meal. We would have gotten lunch at one of the other eateries where there are more choices.

Know The Cash-Only Attractions: We walked 45 minutes to the museum only to find out they do not accept credit cards. I did not have any of the local currency (Danish kroner) with me at the time; and thus, could not enter the museum.

Know The Plate Of The Day Before Dining At Roklubben: We weren't aware there is no menu at this restaurant - just the plate of the day. Because of the remote location, everyone is shuttled there and back at the same time. This could be a long evening if the plate of the day is not your preference.

Mosquitoes: The arctic is plagued by these pesky, biting insects in July and August. Although they were not as bad in Kangerlussuaq as they were when we were further north in Ilulissat, you should still be prepared with insect repellent containing DEET and/or a mosquito head net (especially if you plan on hiking). These items are sold in Greenland but I'm glad we bought them at home and not at the outrages Greenlandic prices. I paid $1.68 per mosquito head net at the Wal-Mart up the street from my house. Mosquito head nets were being sold at the equivalent of $14 in Greenland.

CITES Requirement: Common souvenir items in Kangerlussuaq are rugs and clothing made from furs such as seal, fox, reindeer, and polar bear. There were also carvings (tupilak) and jewelry made from animal bones and tusk. Some of these items such as those made from walrus, polar bear, and whales are prohibited from being brought into the U.S. unless you show proof that the animal was not poached. Therefore, if you are considering purchasing these items, ask for a CITES certificate at the shops to verify the product will pass U.S. customs. There are some items made from certain species of whale that are flat out banned. The CITES documentation can help you determine which ones.

Dress in Layers: We visited Kangerlussuaq in early July. It was warm enough in town for me to wear a short-sleeve shirt (at least while the mosquitoes were not out). However, as one would expect, it was quite a different story when we did the ice cap excursion just 20 miles away. The weather became cold and windy. During this tour, a fleece layer covered by a windbreaker is recommended along with gloves and a cap. Also, it is a good idea to wear boots or shoes with good traction for your walk on the ice cap.

Language: The official language of Greenland is Greenlandic; however, since Greenland is a territory of Denmark, Danish is also widely spoken. Fortunately for us Anglophones, most of the people also speak English because it is a required language in the Greenlandic school system.

Currency: The local currency is the Danish Kroner (DKK). There are no ATM machines in Kangerlussuaq but money can be exchanged at the reception desk of Hotel Kangerlussuaq.

Credit Card Usage: I used my credit card for most purchases but I normally had to warn the merchants that my purchases require a signature as opposed to a PIN required by European credit cards.

Musk Ox Safari or Not: There is no need to sign up for this tour if you are doing the ice cap excursion. Your chances of seeing musk oxen are just as good on the ice cap tour – especially in July when the weather is too warm for the animals. We spoke to several tourists who told us they did not see any musk oxen during the 4-hour safari; however, we saw several on the ice cap tour. In either case, bring a good pair of binoculars.