BENTLEY NYC HOTEL

"WE WERE TOLD, THAT SHE WAS BURRIED HERE"!

Imagine the following scenario:

In the nineteenfifties several hundred US-AIRFORCE airmen were employed in the
Kangerlussuaq Area (SONDRESTROM AIRBASE - BLUIE WEST 8).

They soon got bored, and began to explore the area in which they lived.

Within a few days, they found these 2 natural geological formations!. Very soon this place was named: "THE TITS OF MARILYN MONROE" or later when she had passed
away "THE GRAVE MONUMENT OF MARILYN MONROE".

The american airmen soon started the tradition, that the youngest male person in the airbase should go there every spring to paint them, so they could look wonderful until next year.

Sondrestrom Air Base, code name Bluie West 8, was founded on October 7th 1941, under the supervision of Colonel B Balchen of the United States Air Force (USAF).

The USA set up a number of military bases and weather stations in Greenland during the 2nd World War, including the military base Bluie West 8 at Kangerlussuaq. During the war, Bluie West 8 soon became one of the most important stopover sites for flying missions between the USA ang its allies in Europe, owing to the fine flying conditions for which Kangerlussuaq became known.

In 1951 Denmark and the USA signed a new defence agreement, whereby the Americans opened Bluie West 8 up under the name of Sondrestrom Air Base.

In the period between November 15th 1954 and October 1st 1965, SAS (Scandinavian Airlines System) also began making use of Sondre Stromfjord for stopovers on the route between Copenhagen and Los Angeles.

The non-stop route linking Copenhagen and Sondre Stromfjord had thus been created and, besides being an American military base, the airport became the gateway to Greenland.

In 1960, the civil aspect of the base was established with at transit hotel as annex.

During the post-war period, which saw the onset of the cold war between the two world powers, the USA and the USSR, DEW (Distant Early Warning) radar stations were set up by the Americans from 1958 until far into the 1970s: the DYE-2 and DYE-3 stations on the inland ice, DYE-1 at Sisimiut and DYE-4 at Kulusuk.

When the disarmament between the USA and the USSR started in 1989, the Pentagon decided to close down the DEW stations for the period 1990-91 soon followed by the decision to shut down the American Base: SONDRESTROM AIRBASE (bluie west 8 - sondy).

Until the Second World War, the Kangerlussuaq area had never been populated, though the fjord has always been the Greenlanders summer sealing and fishing grounds.

"I'VE BEEN DOWN THERE, AND I CAN TELL YOU:

THERE ARE A LOT MORE HOLES THAN 18"! (Said Tage, the driver and guide from Kangerlussuaq Tourism).

SONDRE ARCTIC DESERT GOLF COURSE IS THE 2nd MOST NORTHERN PERMANENT (I repeat) PERMANENT GOLF COURSE IN THE WORLD.


Sondre Stromfjord has a golf course to the east of the airport. You won't find a single straw of grass, but you will get the chance to play on what must be the 2nd northernmost golf course in the world. reportedly the green fee is a mere 50-100 DKK, and clubs can be rented at a similar price.

The golf course at Tromso i Norway is now the most northern golf club. They took over from Sondre Arctic Desert when they expanded from 12 to 18 holes.

Golfbane
Verdens n?st nordligste permanente 18-hullers golfbane ligger i Kangerlussuaq. Men “Sondre Arctic Desert Golf Course” er ikke nogen helt almindelig golfbane. Mellem afrundede fjelde, pa en sandslette, flankeret af en elv, der brusende lober direkte fra indlandsisen og videre ud i Kangerlussuaq fjord, ligger en golfbane i et orkenlignende arktisk landskab.

De 18 huller er spredt i et umodificeret terr?n, hvor man har udpeget fairways, greens og tee-steder i landskabet, og derefter er begyndt at spille golf i et klima, hvor en god jakke, solide sko og en sikker hand i en varm vante ofte kan v?re en fordel.

Golfbanen er skabt pa gode ideer og et lille budget, og endnu i dag er de rustikke faciliteter en del af besoget pa banen. Klubhuset er saledes en trailer, og pa banen skal du ikke holde oje med golfbiler eller sta i ko til udslaget – du skal bare nyde fjeldene, isen og den s?rpr?gede natur i denne del af Arctic Circle Region.

Golfkoller kan lejes, hvis man kontakter Hotel Kangerlussuaqs reception i lufthavnsbygningen, hvor man ogsa betaler det beskedne green fee, der giver adgang til “Sondre Arctic Desert Golf Course”.