The best laid plans of mice and men … . This line from the Scottish bard, Robert Burns, contains a universal truth. Our cruise on the oceans blue has not exactly gone as planned. Three stops were canceled because ice buildups at their harbor entrances made them too risky. So, we have spent more time on the open seas on our Viking cruise as we have ventured further and further north. I realized that when it was yet light out at 1 AM last night.

Our new destination was Nuuk, the capital city of Greenland. That may sound impressive but we are talking about a metropolitan area of some 20,000 hardy souls, a milestone just reached this past year. By the way, the word Nuuk means the tip of  as in the tip of land jutting toward the sea. It was also apparent that we had ventured into wilder, northern waters. Navigating around even this large ship proved challenging as the seas became increasingly tempestuous.

The community of Nuuk can trace its history back to Eric the Red who, after being chased out of Iceland by his Norse brethren, founded several colonies in the land he called Greenland as a clumsy marketing tool. It worked for a while as the Vikings prospered in several communities that clung to the shore of this mostly ice packed island, the 2nd largest island in the world (after Australia). One of these colonies was in the very fiord in which Nuuk is situated. By the way, if the ice pack that covers some 80 percent if Greenland were to melt away (which it is doing at an ever faster rate) the global sea levels would rise by over 20 feet. Goodbye Florida!

Leif Erickson, one of Eric’s sons, ventured further west and south. He stumbled across what we now know as Canada, which he called Vineland after grapes he found growing wild. That is, Leif discovered North America 500 years before Columbus. Eventually, though, the Vikings retreated from Vineland and Greenland as another climactic fluctuation made farming virtually impossible. They were gone by sometime in the 1400s.

Today’s, the most common stock in Nuuk, and Greenland as a whole, are the Inuits. They are a hardy, resilient people who probably migrated out of Mongolia at one time in the past when a prior ice age made it possible to walk from Eastern Russia into what is now Alaska and Canada. They yet retain an Asian countenance. At the same time, Nuuk is growing with an influx of immigrants, especially from the Phillipines and Thailand.  One attraction may be the very low unemployment rate.

Greenland has evolved into a semi-independent jurisdiction, and sees itself as a completely independent nation someday. Older residents can recall when it was a mere colony of Denmark. That began to change a while back and home rule was granted earlier this century. Denmark remains in control of a few areas … security and foreign relations being the most important. It is through that remaining connection with the Danes that Greenland enjoys the benefits of EU and NATO membership.

That brings us to the elephant in the room. Donald Trump has said he would absorb Greenland as an American controlled jurisdiction one way or another. Visits by J.D. Vance (and wife) and Donald Jr. were ignored by Greenland officials. It has been reported that 86 percent of Greenlanders reject the prospect of becoming part of the U.S. partly because Trump is viewed as a clown. Only 6 percent support this possibility, probably because they misunderstood the question. Apparently, only Americans are backward enough to fall for this con man’s obvious BS.

Though small, Nuuk has the feel of a growing and vibrant metropolis. The buildings are new and modern. Moreover, it is an area that might be helped by climate change. The summers already are longer, the winters less severe. Who knows, perhaps this would be a place to set down roots if one were younger. The air is pure, there is low crime, and a promising future lies ahead. At least one wouldn’t have to put up with the nonsense that passes for rational politics in the States.

And there is the beauty of the place. That cannot be denied … it is all about you.