Sisimiut, Greenland

August 10, 2025

The town of Sisimiut is just above the Arctic Circle. It is the second largest town in Greenland. Like other Greenland towns, it has many colorful houses along the hilly streets.

We had a nice walk around Sisimiut. We enjoyed the quaint buildings as we made our way up the steep hill to the food tasting.

We also passed by many interesting older boats-- not a surprise in a town with only one road connecting it to Kangerlussuaq. Even that road can only be driven on by off road vehicles like ATVs.

Amazing rock art of whales decorated the cliffs as we began the trek up to the museum and tasting house.

We saw an Iceland gull. This gull is actually only seen in Iceland in the winter. It breeds in Greenland and Canada, so it is sometimes called the Greenland gull.

As is typical in Greenland, the church was painted red. It was striking sitting atop a hill.

Below the hill and across the street was the house where the food tasting was being held. It's roof was interesting with many of the shingles missing.

Musk ox soup, the national dish of Greenland, was my favorite choice on the tasting menu. There was also a prepared plate of delicacies such as seal blubber, whale meat, little dried fish called capelin, cod and shrimp.

The museum was interesting as well. It featured tools used to hunt whales whose blubber was a necessary source of food, Vitamin C (to prevent scurvy), and light for the Inuit of the past. The blubber was melted down to oil to light lamps.

The clothing was often made from reindeer (caribou) or seal skin. The caribou's hollow hairs held in the warmth and made it the perfect insulator for the below freezing temperatures in the winter. Seal skin also holds in the warmth and has the added benefit of being waterproof.

There were examples of Inuit art as well.