All Greenlandic children receive free and compulsory education between the ages of 6 and 16, where they are taught the West Greenlandic Kalaallisut language (the country's official language), Danish, and often English. Most classes are taught in Kalaallisut, but a shortage of teachers and teaching materials has resulted in some classes being taught in Danish. Generations ago, people saw Danish as being superior to Kalaaillisut, but now children learn both and even speak both languages in the same sentence. I was surprised to read that East Greenlandic is not taught in schools in East Greenland, but this may be due to its very sparse population and limited number of settlements.
As only four towns in West Greenland have high schools, students beyond the age of 16 typically study in one of them or travel to Denmark to pursue further education. Only one in seven students stays in any form of education beyond the age of 16. There is only one university in Greenland, located in Nuuk, the capital. The lack of advanced education is a factor hindering Greenland's progress toward achieving independence from Denmark. Again, more on that will be discussed in an upcoming post.
Narsarsauk's former community center:
I don't recall seeing a sign for this more modern building.
Shopping in Greenland: Every settlement in Greenland with more than 50 people has at least one supermarket and a post office, with larger towns having a choice of supermarkets. Government-run combined Pilersuisoq supermarkets and post offices are found in smaller settlements, such as Narsarsuak. We were too early to check out the store here. Still, as you will see in upcoming posts, the selection of items, including fresh produce and baked goods, was quite extraordinary, even in communities with such limited populations.
When we arrived in Narsarsuaq just 36 hours earlier, there had been plenty of icebergs in the fjord. Today, none were visible.
It was sad to see a cruise ship across the fjord in the tiny community of Qassiarsuk, our next port of call.
After inquiring the previous day about taking a short boat ride to visit the community for several hours to see where Eirík the Red had arrived in South Greenland in 982 after he was banished from Iceland, we had been told that the weather was too chancy to risk a boat traversing the fjord. We had also inquired months earlier about taking a boat to the nearby Uunartoq Hot Springs, but had no luck. We settled on making arrangements for a small boat to take us from the harbor in Narsarsuaq for the ten-minute ride across to Qassiarsuk. We didn't realize then how tough it was to travel around Greenland, and that we'd always be at the mercy of the weather gods and the local boat line, which acted like a taxi service!
We were very happy that our plane from Reykjavik hadn't overshot the runway when it landed in Narsarsuaq!
The water this high up in the fjord comes from two glaciers, which makes it almost fresh and not salty. The result is that it freezes more easily, making it possible to walk or drive across the frozen fjord some winters from Narsarsuaq to Qassiarsuk!
Approaching Qassiarsuk for a good chunk of the day before heading further up the coast:
Our first taste of strikingly colored houses, which we soon discovered were commonplace throughout western Greenland, was a pleasant surprise. Again, more on the country's colored houses to come!
A rubber zodiac from the cruise ship was ferrying passengers to the shore.
The Norse Greenlanders were descendants of Vikings, such as Eirík the Red, and had established two settlements: one in South Greenland and another in the Nuuk fjord, much further north. They were both farmers and hunters, raising cattle, sheep, goats, and pigs. Livestock were moved to mountain pastures in the summer to graze. The Norse made expeditions to North and East Greenland to hunt for walrus and narwhal ivory, as well as polar bear skins, all of which were traded on the European market. Scientists do not understand why the Norse settlements were abandoned after 1450. Was it due to changing climate, economic, or cultural isolation, or the advance of the Inuit people from the north? Each of these reasons is thought to have played a part.
When we arrived mid-morning, the only cafe, below, and the Pilersuisoq supermarket were both still closed. Steven said they needed a huge Sharpie marker to advertise that this building was the cafe!
The village of Qassiarsuk was home to just 40 inhabitants, with its homes strung along the shore like multi-colored Christmas lights.
Steven and I had a big chuckle when I realized he needed help getting dressed in the morning - he had zipped his fleece to his outer jacket by mistake!
When Eirík the Red landed in the greener and more fertile land than the barren West Iceland he had come from, he chose to name the new country, Greenland, for obvious reasons. According to the Icelandic Sagas, Eirík the Red built his farm Brattahlíð on the slopes of present-day Qassiarsuk. Archaeological findings at Qassiarsuk support the Icelandic sagas' accounts of Norse structures and burials in the area.
ATVs were a common form of transportation on the village's gravel roads in the summer.
It was unexpected to see the Leifur Eiríksson Hostel in such a tiny community. The monument in front of the hostel honored his father, Eirík the Red, but the large statue atop the hill in the background commemorated Leifur. He received the moniker Leif the Lucky because, after losing his way from Norway while attempting to bring Christianity to the Greenlanders in 1000, he became the first European to discover North America, and he rescued the crew of a wrecked trading vessel.
Medieval sources state that the Law-speaker, the highest legal authority in Norse Greenland, also resided at Brattahlíð. Large estate farms, such as Brattahlíð, were centers of law, trade, commerce, and religious life, overseeing several smaller tenant farms in the surrounding fjords. Tenant farms were required to pay taxes to the larger estate farms in the form of goods and labor. Residing chieftains of large estates also owned ships made for sailing the country's coasts. Men from the tenant farms were required to participate in long-distance hunting expeditions for walruses, narwhals, and polar bears.
A stunning view overlooking the hostel and the fjord from near the statue:
The bronze relief was made by Sven Havsteen Mikkelsen in 1970.
It was unbelievably peaceful and serene sitting on the hill, looking out over the water, except when we clearly heard announcements being made on the cruise ship.
As vivid as the colors of the homes had been, the combination of the cloud-filled sky, the azure waters, and the vibrant green hills with blooming wildflowers was even more sublime.
Behind the statue was the Qassiaruk Cemetery nestled in a valley above the village.
I had read that sheep farming was a substantial industry in southern Greenland, due to its more temperate climate, but these were among the only sheep we saw.
The house featured a memorial to Otto Frederiksen, a significant figure in Qassiarsuk, known for establishing sheep farming in the area in 1924. The village was part of UNESCO's Kujataa World Heritage Site, recognized in 2017 for its historical importance and as a unique testimony to Greenlandic farming.
After Leifur was baptised in Norway, he brought Christianity with him to the Greenlandic Vikings. Once Tjodhilde, Leifur's mother and Eirík's wife, converted to Christianity, she was responsible for the construction of the first Christian church in Brattahlíð. This was the replica of Tjodhilde's Church.
Between 1961 and 1964, archaeologists excavated the remains of a small Christian church dated to 1000AD. While excavating the site, the traces of a turf wall enclosing three sides of a church room were found. The turf wall was built to protect the wooden church building. The church was most likely surrounded by a circular enclosure or fence, inside of which were the remains of 143 burials and a mass grave that had been excavated.
Hanging from the ceiling was a small ship, an adornment we were also to find in other churches as we traveled up the west coast.
Most Greenlanders identify as being part of the Church of Greenland, a Protestant Christian Evangelical Lutheran church. It is Greenland's official religious institution, led by the Bishop of Greenland. Like so many Greenlandic institutions, it is governed by, but largely autonomous from, the Church of Denmark. Each of Greenland's 17 parishes should have a resident priest, but it has been challenging to find enough Kalallisut-speaking priests for many years. Since there are unreliable transport links among the parishes, some settlements' churches are only visited by priests two or three times a year. In their absence, many services are led by lay volunteers.
Though Lutherans split from the Roman Catholic church in the 16th century, there are still many similarities between the practices of the two faiths. One substantial difference, however, is that Lutherans do not accept the authority of the Pope. They also have different beliefs on how salvation is achieved and on the sacraments.
Other traces of Greenland's earliest Viking Age architecture at Brattahlíð included foundations of a longhouse. We peered inside, but with no information, we were unsure of the home's details.
I knew that in this area, there were both Norse ruins and those of the Inuit people who had lived there during the mid-18th century. However, with no signage, we didn't know which of these were.
We later found out that the impression was from a (presumably Norse) feasting hall.
Less than a mile from the harbor was a replica of Tjodhilde's Church as it would have looked in 1000. There was only room for a couple of people inside the minute church. Notice the adorable heart-shaped doorway and the turf wall built to protect the church.
Since Steven and I began traveling overseas together in 2013, I've been drawn to unusual signs. This "No walking on turf walls" was one I'd remember for a good long while!
The sides and rear of the turf church: Notice the minuscule window high up on the back wall!
Almost adjacent to the church was a reproduction of a longhouse. As there were no descriptions, however, I hope my photos will suffice.
A sign by the ruins of an Inuit dwelling stated that artifacts found below the ruins indicated that they had settled here as early as 1000-1500 BC. The people were referred to as the Saqqaq culture.
The earliest known settlers in Greenland were the Inuit, a semi-nomadic people who traveled in extended family groups to hunt and gather. They lived in transportable camps after coming to the island of Greenland in small boats and sleds from northern Canada, and settled on Greenland's northwest coast. At least five waves of Inuit people came across Baffin Bay before Europeans were aware that Greenland existed.
Over 80% of Greenland's population identifies as Inuit, with nearly 90% born on the island.
On our way back to the harbor, Steven and I stopped by the Frederiksen house again and found that it was open, but no guide or volunteer was present.
Much of the information we read inside was about how the community had qualified for part of the Kujataa UNESCO designation, which focused on Norse and Inuit Farming at the Edge of the Ice Cap. After the Norse left Greenland in the 15th century, agriculture remained stagnant for approximately 300 years. In the second half of the 19th century, the Danes sent someone to Greenland to map the number of Norse ruins and to document how Greenlanders used the land. That was when the idea of introducing sheep farming came up. A 52-year-old pastor traveled to the Faroe Islands, located north of Iceland, in 1905 to study sheep husbandry. The following year, he received permission to bring 11 Faroese sheep to Greenland. Sheep farming was also attempted in 1908 near Nuuk, much further up the western coast.
One hundred and eighty sheep were introduced from Iceland in 1915 because it was thought they could better adapt to the climate in Greenland. When the Icelandic and Faroese lines were crossed, it led to the introduction of the Greenlandic sheep, which are still found in Greenland today.
Greenlandic hunters found they were more economically self-sufficient and less reliant on aid from the Danish colonizers, raising sheep in addition to hunting and fishing, particularly when the catch was poor. After it became clear that Greenlandic hunters needed education on raising sheep, sheep farming stations were established. One of the first students was Otto Frederiksen, the owner of the home we were visiting, who decided to begin farming in Qassiarsuk. Within five years, he was regarded as essentially one of the pioneers of Greenland's modern agriculture.
One hundred years and five generations later, agriculture has become an intrinsic part of the country's identity. South Greenland is the first and only place in the Arctic region where agriculture was introduced. The Inuit in South Greenland are the only ones who have stopped hunting commercially to become farmers instead. However, Greenland is a country where the only real agriculture is sheep farming, and this occurs on less than one percent of the land.
A local man saw that we were curious about his village and kindly told me that this had been its "sheep stable."
He thought that this might be the world's smallest fire station!
Not far away was the village's water pump. Remember its blue color for an upcoming post on how Greenlanders used specific paint colors to represent certain types of buildings.
The combination cafe and gift shop was finally open, so we relaxed in there before a boat was due to arrive to take us to Qaqortok, further up the coast.
Steven was quite content with its selection of IPAs and other beers!
Other views of Qassiaruk before we left the charming community:
Small covered boats operate between many fjord and coastal settlements. The largest operator is the Disko Line, which handles passenger traffic in South Greenland and in the Disko Bay area, much further north. Because the boats only have room for 16 passengers and their gear, reservations were mandatory far in advance.
For the first half-hour, I was more than content staying outside watching the world go by, rather than in the cramped interior. When I did go inside, I made sure to sit at the back, so I could pop outside if I saw anything of interest!
Photos from the two-hour boat ride, where the captain had to often dodge icebergs!
Sarah: This iceberg reminded me of the whales' tails or flukes we'd seen in northern Iceland!
We only passed a handful of homes on the trip. I wondered how they eked out an existence, so far removed from what I'd think of as 'civilization.'
We didn't realize that we'd be stopping en route at the village of Narsaq. It was well known among Greenlanders for its locally brewed Qajaq beer, made with water from thousands of years-old icebergs. That was the beer Steven had just sampled in Qassiaruk!
Narsaq is believed by some people to be the location where Eirík the Red initially settled before relocating to Brattahlíð, now known as Qassiarsuk. It was interesting that there was certainly no mention of this anywhere in Qassiarsuk, as they claimed their village as Eirík's first home in Greenland!
While waiting for four passengers to disembark, I watched as this man, likely the boy's father, supervised the very young lad who was swabbing down the deck, possibly after a day of fishing.
I remember that Steven and I also saw this same Danish military ship later on our trip as we ferried up the west Coast.
This was the largest iceberg we saw to date.
The outskirts of Qaqortoq, our 'home' for the next two nights but three full days:
Sitting in the sealskin chairs in the lounge was a perfect spot to watch all the activities in the harbor.
The Land of the Midnight Sun could not have been any prettier late at night in Qaqortoq!
Next post: Learning about Qaqortok at the town's museum and going on a sculpture hunt!
Posted on September 24th, 2025, from Denver, a day after it seemed to rain for 40 days and 40 nights, but in reality, only enough to set a new record for the rainiest day in several years! These are challenging and disturbing times in our neck of the woods, with every day seeming to bring another piece of scary news about the state of this country, and by extension, much of the rest of the world. Please take care of yourself and hold your loved ones close.
