Report about Greenland in German TV

The two-part travel report about Greenland, that was shot on MV FRAM last summer will be emmitted on ZDF, one of the biggest German TV channels on February 24th at 20:15 hours and February 28th at 18:15 hours. The report shows the life onboard FRAM, the Greenlandic culture and stunning icy landscapes.

Cuverville Island and Neko Harbour

This morning we landed at Cuverville Island and visited the Gentoo penguin rookery there. Hundreds of moulting birds colonized the beach, and those of us sitting quietly on a rock were approached closely by the curious chicks! As we had lunch, we sailed on through the ice-filled and very scenic Errera Channel. On our afternoon landing at Neko Harbour, we set foot on the Antarctic continent itself, not on one of its offshore islands. In bright sunlight and no wind at all, we climbed up on the hill behind the penguin colony. What a splendid view from up there over all the nearby glaciers!

The picture of the day was taken by Karen McAuley.

Half Moon Island

Large flocks of Cape petrels encircled the ship as we reached the South Shetland Islands and passed through Nelson Strait. We spent a quite calm and warm afternoon at Half Moon Island, a Chinstrap penguin rookery. The chicks had already fledged, and we saw mostly parents which after the breeding stay a little longer in the colony in order to moult. Additionally, many Fur seals were hauling out on the beaches. They invade the beaches in late summer when they come down to Antarctica on foraging trips from South Georgia, where most of them breed.

The picture of the day was taken by Karen McAuley.

Drake Passage

Wind and waves of the previous days have calmed down and we spent a clear and sunny day at sea observing sea birds. In our lecture halls, the expedition staff presented interesting talks on the history, geology and biology of Antarctica. In the evening, we were invited by our fellow passenger Antoine Braastad, who's family owns the Cognac destillery Braastad to a tasting of his fantastic Cognac!

Ushuaia

In the early morning, we waved good-bye to our last group of guests. For a change, we were not the biggest ship at the pier, the 'Carnival Splendor' was docked next to us. This ship has 3000 passengers and 1150 crew and made the FRAM look like a small tender boat! Streams of people were pouring onto the pier and into the streets of Ushuaia. Many of these guests came up to the FRAM and asked where we were going. Our answer was that we are heading to Antarctica. Many of these guests immediately wanted to book on the FRAM. But sorry guys, it is fully booked for this trip! Under their envious looks, our own guests arrived and we set sail south. Our trip to Antarctica has begun!

Drake Passage

Today Neptune showed his grace to the FRAM by sending us a nice gale, with waves up to 10m high! However, as the wind came full ahead, the FRAM hardly rolled, and thus most of us were ok. We continued with our lecture program and bridge visits, and in the evening, Captain Steinar Hansen hosted the traditional Captain's Dinner. As a surprise to our Chinese guests, he also delivered his welcome address in Chinese, so: kanpei (skål)!

Drake Passage

As we woke up, we had already passed the South Shetland Islands and we were heading out into the Drake Passage. Large flocks of Cape petrels followed the ship throughout the whole day, interspersed with some Giant petrels and every now and then, a majestic Wandering albatross soared by.

We were busy with bridge visits, where Captain Hansen showed us all all the important technical equipment there is for navigation and well-being of the nautical officers (coffee machine!). In the afternoon our lecturing program continued with diverse talks covering the history of Antarctic exploration, sea-ice and glaciers, fish and whales.

The picture of the day was taken by Daman Ranby.

Petermann Island and Vernadsky Station

Again, our day started early, with the passage of the pittoresque Lemaire Channel before breakfast. Right after breakfast, we landed at Petermann Island, where the famous French explorer Jean-Baptiste Charcot overwintered with his ship 'Pourquoi pas?' in winter 1909. The island is colonized by Adelie and Gentoo penguins. The Gentoo chicks wer just about to fledge and approached us curiously!

After a short lunch break onboard FRAM we continued with a landing at the Ukrainian Station Vernadsky. We got a thorough guided tour through the station by the researchers working there. In order to digest this large amount of information, many passengers finished their visit with a shot of home-made vodka in the southernmost bar in the world! Skål!

The picture of the day was taken by Ernst Gnodtke.

Gerlache Strait and Port Lockroy

What a day! The morning started off perfectly with several groups of feeding humpback whales directly in front of the FRAM. And even better than that, one of them started to jump out of the water several times when he finished his meal!! The weather was fine and we were a bit early on our way to Port Lockroy, and thus around lunch, we went on a spontaneous Polar Circle Boat cruise in between the icebergs in Gerlache Strait.

Later in the afternoon, we finally landed at Port Lockroy, the southernmost post office in the world. Many postcards were sent to all our dears back home, and of course we enjoyed the Gentoo penguins that are literally everywhere around this station! And nobody has told them about the 5m distance rules!

The pictures of the day were taken by Daman Ranby and Ken Tong.

Esperanza Station

We woke up in beautiful sunshine, however during our approach to Brown Bluff, catabatic winds down the glaciers picked suddenly up to 10 Beaufort. The winds did not decrease, therefore we decided to land at the Argentine Esperanza Station. We were received heartily by some members of this base and were shown around in their settlement: besides living quarters and workshops they have a nice museum, a church, and finally we were served coffee, tea and cookies in their cafeteria and visited the souvenir shop!

The picture of the day was taken by Julian Bastida.

Half Moon Island

The morning started out foggy, but as the South Shetland Islands came in sight around lunch, the weather cleared up. In the afternoon, we landed at Half Moon Island, a beautiful Chinstrap Penguin rookery. Most of the chicks have already fledged, but hundreds of adults were still present as they molt after the breeding business. In addition, several dozen young male Fur seals populated the beaches of the island, training the fights that they will have when they are grown up and establishing their own harem. The day finished with a memorable sunset!

The pictures of the day were taken by Christian Vinzens and Jane Lee

Drake Passage

Albatross around the MV FRAM the whole day! Great the see these majestic birds sailing by so effortless! In the evening, the water temperature dropped noticably, as we passed the Antarctic Convergence. Welcome to Antarctic waters!

Ushuaia

Another beautiful voyage has come to an end! We were blessed with fantastic weather, saw many whales, seals and penguins, and made it the furthest South this ship has ever been to! We hope to see you again soon, either in Antarctica, the Arctic or somewhere in between!
In the afternoon our new guests arrived on board. Check-in, get a cruise card, try the nice blue water-proof jackets that every guest gets for free… there is a lot to do at the beginning of a cruise of the FRAM. However, many guests are experienced in this, they are not on board for the first time. In the fading evening light we set sail southbound. We are on our way!

The picture of the day was taken by Margaret Byford

At sea

Also this day at sea was a very busy day: For the last time on this voyage, our university on sea opened their doors. Captain Steinar Hansen welcomed us on the bridge and everybody got all his or her questions about navigation answered. And this was the day to enjoy our sauna, Jacuzzi or gym for the last time!
The bird flocks became denser and denser as we approached Cape Horn in beautiful sunshine! Several kinds of albatross, shearwaters and petrels filled the air, and we had fantastic view of the lighthouse and the famous albatross statue at the southernmost tip of the South American continent! Welcome back to South America!
In the evening, we celebrated the traditional Captain`s dinner and watched the multimedia presentation that our professional photographer Tori Hogan had put together throughout the voyage. She brought back all these ‘golden moments’ of this voyage, that all of us will remember for a long time!