Peter, you have recently published a book about Greenland and its people together with Mats Andréasson.
What sparked your interest in Greenland?
I came to Greenland for the first time almost 20 years ago and have longed to return ever since. Greenland is like nothing else I've seen or experienced in my life: an island five times the size of Sweden, 80% of which is covered by ice sheets that are three thousand meters thick in places.
My co-author Mats Andreásson, who also took most of the book's outstanding photos, had been there several times before. I immediately said yes, when he asked if I wanted to be involved in writing the book. Over the past two years, we have made three trips to Greenland, traveling north, west and east. For example, we have traveled on the ice with a dog sled as far north as you can go, to Siorapaluk where about thirty people live. I have never been so cold.
The book is a travelogue in words and pictures. We have written it because we love Greenland, the world's largest island: Our meetings with people. Our encounters with the magnificent and endless nature, often with extreme weather conditions. And our encounters with a culture steeped in stories and legends about how people once came across the sea ice from the west to settle on an island largely covered by the thick ice sheet. They named it Kalallit Nunaat, which means Land of the People.

The book is called 'Greenland, Journey in the Land of the People'. How were you treated during your travels in the country?
We were treated with great kindness and hospitality. I think that hospitality is deeply rooted in people in a roadless country where villages are isolated from each other. In my experience, Greenlanders are happy to stop and talk to strangers who bring news from outside.

The text touches on climate, culture and colonization. How do people see the future in Greenland?
Yes, it is a book that deals with climate change, among other things. It is so tangible for those who have lived close to nature and in interaction with nature all their lives. The sea ice that is necessary for hunting and for traveling between villages in the winter settles later and later in the fall and breaks up earlier and earlier in the spring. And the sea ice is not as thick as it was a few decades ago and does not extend nearly as far out to sea. This affects the living conditions for both humans and animals.
Nevertheless, I think many Greenlanders are quite optimistic about the future. Greenland, which has been part of Denmark since colonial times, is increasingly independent. The rich fishery is a good source of income and tourism is increasing. But at the same time, we faced poverty, overcrowding and unemployment among young people. There is no black and white in Greenland. But then, there isn't anywhere else either. Every society faces its own problems.

Who have you written for?
The book is aimed at many readers. Anyone who is curious about what it is like to live in Greenland, anyone who wants to know more about the country's history and culture, anyone who wants to know more about how the climate changes from year to year.
And simply put: we are addressing anyone who wants to read a travelogue in pictures and text - and which is beautifully designed by Per Kollberg.Travel to Greenland. It is an experience of a lifetime. We always long to return.
And we are now planning that the next book will be about what it is like to live in the Arctic. A book that stretches from Sápmi to Greenland, Canada and Alaska. Who knows, maybe we'll meet somewhere along the way...