TASIILAQ 65°36’48.6”N 37°38’01.0”W
NATASCHA KLEIN
ever since i was a little kid , I have loved movies with dogs. My favorite, was “Balto” – a film about how the lead dog of a sled team, in Alaska, saved the children of an entire city by bringing the immune serum against the diphtheria epidemic through the wild nature of the north to Nome, Alaska. I always dreamed of riding a dog sled. Dogs have always been my favorite animals; their loyalty and commitment touches me profoundly. Now I have my own little sled dog at home, a Finnish Lapphund, my best friend, and my one-and-all! But my dream remained just that, nothing more than a dream. In recent years I just kept watching documentaries about the history of the Polar region and about Greenland and its sled dogs, over and over again. Qimmeq Qimuttoq – the Greenland dog is one of the oldest breeds of dogs in the world. For the Inuit, it has always been necessary for survival and is used for transport and hunting. Strength, robustness, toughness, and endurance are the qualities that this breed has been selected for. Throughout history, entire peoples have been dependent on such dogs for their very existence. Their nature has always remained primitive, and in many ways, they are a living bridge to the wilderness of the far north. They live their entire life outdoors. The Greenland dogs are very much a part of nature here, but they are neither wild, nor domesticated. In April 2022, shortly after our wedding, my husband Daniel and I were given the opportunity to go on an expedition ship to Greenland. We couldn’t believe our luck, so we postponed all our plans so we could join the expedition. From the first minute of the expedition, everything felt totally unreal and I still have that feeling in my stomach now, when I think back. We started in Reykjavik, Iceland, and sailed over the open ocean across the Denmark Strait until we finally spotted the first signs of icebergs on the horizon. The sky was in pastel colors of blue and pink, the water calm, and the first pieces of pack ice floated past us. Feelings of life and nature were so unreal, while at the same time, they were more real than anything I had experienced previously. We spent most of the night on deck watching the incredible scenery, but eventually went to bed, full of excitement for the upcoming day. The next morning, we woke up early, and far away on the horizon was a white line – GREENLAND. Our first destination was Tasiilaq, the largest city in East Greenland, with around 2,000 inhabitants. At this time of year, it is rare for ships to enter the eastern fjords of Green- land, since the pack ice is still much too dense. We were the first ship to break through the ice this year with the agreement of the people of Tasiilaq.
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MOTHER VOLUME ONE
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