Unreal. Hardly a cloud mars the steel-blue sky. The sun reigns over the city as if it's the most normal thing in the world. The beautiful wooden houses on the shore of Lake Tjörnin are reflected crystal clear in the calm water. Mallards, greylag geese, seagulls, and swans are being tossed chunks of bread. The terraces of the old town are packed. In short, …
Half past five. We swiftly swing our legs out of bed. Being caught off guard like yesterday won't happen again. Fifteen minutes later, we stand together with a few dozen fellow travellers on the forward deck, staring westward. It must have been a hallucinatory experience for …
Seven o'clock. The Fram rolls and pitches a little on the rough sea, but our sleep is not affected. We are on the open sea, at the latitude of Nuuk, the capital of Greenland. The sun casts its warm glow over the silver sea. Visibility is excellent, with no fog, though there are some high clouds. And a certain haziness gives the countless small islands off the coast that touch of mystery ...
It feels as if we are approaching a glacier, so cold is the wind blowing towards us from the north. But apart from a solitary iceberg on the distant horizon, there is nothing to see. We are now in the middle of the sea, with no land in sight. Standing on the threshold of the unknown – that must have been the feeling that overcame explorers in these waters. For they knew …
Six twenty. An enthusiastic alarm rings out through the PA system. We don't hesitate for a second and jump straight out of bed. The Fram has entered the wide Lancaster Sound, close to the coast of Devon Island, and is now motionless, with its bow pointed northward toward the Cunningham Mountains. There, on the bare slopes of this steep coastal mountain range, …
Six o'clock. It's getting exciting now. Sailing into the Bellot Strait is quite a delicate manoeuver. This strait is very narrow; at its narrowest point, it is no wider than seven hundred meters. When the tidal current is forced through this narrow passage, it reaches very high speeds – up to 8 knots or 15 km/h. That’s definitely something to consider when …