Monday, August 29, 2022

Watching “Borgen” and Remembering our Visit to Ilulissat

The harbor of Ilulissat was blocked by an iceberg the day we visited, so the ship couldn't dock.
We had to use the zodiac boats to get to land. This is the site of much of the Greenland action in “Borgen.”

Since our return from our long trip, we have been watching Season 4 of the Danish TV series “Borgen,” recently released on Netflix. The action takes place partly in Greenland, which is an autonomous region of the kingdom of Denmark, from which it receives an annual grant. Thus the government of Denmark plays a large role in Greenland, so the Danish politics in the earlier parts of the series continue in this season.
Credit...

The main action in Greenland takes place specifically in one area that we visited: in the town of Ilulissat, the Ilulissat Icefjord, and Disko Bay with its huge icebergs that come from the Sermeq Kujalleq glacier. This is a real place -- and is also the site where, fictitiously in the TV series, oil is being found. There are also a few scenes in Nuuk, the capital of Greenland set in places that we also visited. And a sequence in the extreme North, where no tourists go. The filming was done in the exact locations that we toured.

In “Borgen,” the Danish Arctic Ambassador is taken hiking up this steep slope in sight of the Icefjord.
Here you see our fellow-passengers climbing the steep rocky slope.

The Arctic Ambassador in Borgen: Asger Holm Kirkegaard, played by Mikkel Boe Følsgaard (source).

The political characters in Borgen, both Danes and Greenlanders, have many issues with oil drilling, including the general issues of climate change and the specific concern that a fragile and valuable environment will be disturbed. The plot centers around the global and local risks of oil drilling, and the aspirations of Greenlanders to obtain enough money from their natural resources to be independent from the government of Denmark and no longer dependent on the large annual grant. Watching the series is making me think more about the economic and cultural challenges faced by the native people of Greenland.

Borgen Season 4: Nivi Pedersen as Emmy Rasmussen. (source)

Our local guide on the boardwalk to the Icefjord,
the area where the Greenland scenes of Borgen are set.

One thing I do know: Greenland has oil and many other valuable mineral deposits such as copper, and there are indeed controversies over the risks of drilling and mining, as portrayed in the TV series. In 2021, in fact, Greenland's government decided to ban oil drilling, which wold be a substantial source of cash if exploited.  

"Greenland’s west coast alone is estimated to contain about 18 billion barrels of oil, according to a recent study from the Geological Survey of Denmark and Greenland. The U.S. Geological Survey has previously estimated that there may be double that volume in crude and natural gas in the east." (source: Time Magazine)

I'm enjoying the Greenland scenery shown in the series. As I said, it's in exactly the area where we visited. It’s impossible to imagine the awesome beauty and sheer size of the icebergs and ice formations there, so I like viewing the scenes in which the characters in the series are seeing what I remember. In the final episode, there’s even a trip to the Icefjord in a small boat that looked just like the one that took us out, but they only mentioned whales, and we actually saw them.

An iceberg in the Icefjord, as we saw it from the little boat.

Food Scenes in Borgen

When viewing TV shows, I'm always looking for any food the characters eat: Borgen has people at the table in homes and restaurants, but the details are vague — a piece of cake here/a sausage there. The main character, the Danish Foreign Secretary Birgitte Nyborg, seems to always say "Thanks, I'm not hungry." Or she has the waiter clear her untouched plate of food, which isn't shown or described. When a colleague brings in a meal from McDonald’s she says she never eats food like that — so he eats her burger as well as his. 

In another scene, which was sort of amusing, a couple have spent the night together and the man makes his partner a beautiful breakfast (which we viewers don’t see close-up). She has had only a glass of OJ, when they are urgently called into a high-level meeting. As they rush out of his apartment she says Thanks Anyway.

But the characters do drink a lot of coffee! And beer! And wine! And Perrier!

Episode 2: A Greenland official offers a Danish rep cake and coffee.
 

Borgen characters at the table -- with coffee. (Publicity photo).
The one Danish person who was traveling with us on the Explorer was the photo rep from NatGeo. She recommended the series enthusiastically, and our impression is that it has been quite popular in Denmark. 

It's a fun series even if you haven't been to Greenland! The plot and the pace are  good, the characters are interesting, and the actors are skillful and effective.



More Places Featured in Borgen (that we visited)

Zodiac landing on the shore of Disko Island where the fictional oil was found.
(I've posted this photo before.)

Here's Len in the incredible, unspoiled landscape of Disko Island.
The proposed oil drilling efforts in Borgen Season 4 are a threat to this area!

Another town beside Disko Bay.

UPDATE: Headline in the Washington Post on Aug. 29, 2022:

Greenland ice sheet set to raise sea levels by nearly a foot, study finds


Blog post © 2022 mae sander


23 comments:

eileeninmd said...

Hello,
I have been enjoying your Greenland photos. I love seeing the icebergs and the landscapes are beautiful. I will look for the Borgen show on Netflix. Take care, have a happy new week!

R's Rue said...

Beautiful photos. The world sure can be full of wonder and delight.

Yogi♪♪♪ said...

That television series sounds very interesting. I love your photos.

I hope that if Greenland ever does produce oil that they do so carefully, not just environmentally but protect their culture also.

Jeanie said...

People get really hooked on Borgen. I haven't seen it. But I loved the photos you shared, especially the glaciers and the one of Len!

Heather G. said...

Wow! Borgen has been on my list for awhile. I didn't know it was filmed in Greenland, though. Fascinating. What an amazing tour.

Sallie (FullTime-Life) said...

Just caught up on the Greenland posts and certainly enjoyed all of the virtual travel -- and as well your thoughtful comments. This comment is about all of the posts not just this one, but I did tell my husband about the show as it sounds like one for his queue. -- we aren't widely traveled, but I've certainly had similar thoughts about being a tourist in Caribbean countries and Mexico (but at least some things grow easily in those places as opposed to where you were .) I knew almost nothing about Greenland (except that it was a territory of Denmark); did not know that Indiginous people made up the majority of the population, nor really about the food growing difficulties (although that should have been more obvious).... Those colorful villages were like something out of a picture book! It would be easy to spin a story that all was well! Thank you for sharing this fascinating trip!

Carola Bartz said...

No wonder Trump wanted to buy Greenland - and thankfully didn't succeed. They would be drilling right now...
We don't have Netflix, but if we try it again, I will certainly look for this series. It sounds very interesting. I enjoyed your photos and your descriptions; it does look very cold, but the icebergs are fascinating. I remember the first icebergs I've ever seen, I was in awe, and they were much smaller than what you saw. Just imagine having your coffee in a warm room and there's an iceberg casually floating by... Thanks for taking us on this trip with you.

Bleubeard and Elizabeth said...

I'm enjoying your photos of Greenland an how beautiful the area is. I don't get Netflix and I don't get the Washington Post which I can't read. However, I loved seeing scenes from that show and also how you linked them to T this week. Thanks for these lovely photos of the area you visited. It's nice to know that tourists don't get the opportunity to visit there.

My name is Erika. said...

As I finished reading this, the Greenland ice sheet news came on the tv. The timing was perfect with your post Mae. Greenland looks fascinating, and I need to check out Borgen. Have a wonderful T day and week ahead. hugs-Erika

Kate Yetter said...

I have never heard of this show but I can see why people like it. The pictures of the area are beautiful!
Happy Tea Day,
Kate

Sharon Madson said...

How neat that you are seeing scenery in your show that you have seen in person. I am not familiar at all with that show. Thanks for sharing and for the beautiful photos. Happy T Day.

DVArtist said...

Every time I see one of your post about Greenland I have this feeling that I belong there. Strange right? Thank you so much for sharing.

Amy said...

I'm always on the lookout for a good scandavian tv series especially on Netflix so I will check that one out.

Iris Flavia said...

Very nice to see. Sundays the children´s program "Die Maus" is on and the last three weeks they documented how icebergs disappear.
But, to be honest... that would a trip way too cold for my liking, I enjoy the beauty through your pics :-)

Tandy | Lavender and Lime (http://tandysinclair.com) said...

What a tough decision in real life to not drill for oil. Just looking at the icebergs make me cold.

Valerie-Jael said...

Thanks for sharing the wonderful photos, so beautiful. I hope its stays that way and will not be spoiled by oil drilling. Happy T Day! Valerie

nwilliams6 said...

Wow, the pictures and information here is wonderful, Mae. Such beauty and bravery. Glad they have decided not to drill. If they decide to later, it will probably be more valuable anyway. Seems a shame to do any damage to that beauty so hopefully they will not.

Looks like a wonderful trip!

Happy Tday and hugz

Jackie McGuinness said...

I saw that headline yesterday and immediately thought of you!

Divers and Sundry said...

Thanks for the recommendation. It sounds like a series I'd enjoy :) That landscape is both gorgeous and forbidding. It must be exciting to see it in person.

I love seeing the food and drink on offer in foreign tv series... the espresso in the Italian series, the French roast in the British ones... And I love it when you can actually tell what folks have on their plates. Too many of those people never seem to actually eat lol

Happy T Tuesday

David M. Gascoigne, said...

Why we are even considering drilling for oil in Greenland is a mystery to me. Are we not doing our best to wean ourselves off fossil fuels? Exploring for more seems counter-productive, and the fossil fuel industry is moribund at best. Your pictures, and you narrative, make me want to visit Greenland, Mae!

Jenn Jilks said...

You've had such marvellous adventures.
We watched this one. I quite liked it.

pearshapedcrafting said...

BBC showed Borgen here-Saturday nights are foreign series nights! Borgen was one of the best! I will be coming back to see your photos - Greenland must have been amazing. Belated Happy T Day, Chrisx

CJ Kennedy said...

Always fun to recognize places you've visited in television shows. The series sounds interesting so I'll have to check it out. Your photos are amazing. Happy T Day