When people set up a blog, they usually have some kind of agenda. I haven't really succeeded in this so far - well, only regarding hating on Mr. Niemann (yes, I'm still bitter. Sorry).
But.
During the next couple days I will try to serve you a guide on what you should do and what you should leave be in Greenland (of course based on my experiences here)
Doesn't that sound exciting?! Yeah!
lørdag den 31. juli 2010
mandag den 26. juli 2010
Veni, Vidi, enjoyed
It is actually incredibly simple. I couldn't be more happy. Well, I could; but that would require a special someone getting on a flight to Greenland.
Ever since I landed in Ilulissat and saw Kasper's beautiful face at the airport, I've had the time of my life.
Every morning you wake up to a different day. Some mornings are quiet, some mornings are hectic. Some days you only have to be at the airport to meet new guests, some days you are going on a helicopter-ride.
It's surprisingly difficult for me to describe in words, therefore I'm posting some snapshots from the time spent in Ilulissat. Maybe that will give you an idea of what it is like here?
Presenting: Kasper, AnneKatrine and Hannah. Chilling and waiting for one of the cruiseships
Almost every day we go by the local fish market (Brættet / The Board) where the fisherman sell what they catch. This day a minke whale had been killed. We got 1,6 kg of fresh whale-meat for just 80 kr. The fish and whale is unbelievably cheap :-)
Hannah and I enjoying whale burgers!
Lyngmarksbræen. Of course the picture is taken from my seat in the helicopter
Yours truly on Lyngmarksbræen
Lyngmarksbræen is the only place in the area where you can go dog-sledging in the summer.
Vuf
The helicopter went back and forth between the glacier and Qeqertarsuaq with the people that were going on the sledges
Taken on last nights midnight cruise. The sun is now gone for an hour during the night.
The ice is partly black ice, partly white ice. Anybody know the difference?
Schüss!
Ever since I landed in Ilulissat and saw Kasper's beautiful face at the airport, I've had the time of my life.
Every morning you wake up to a different day. Some mornings are quiet, some mornings are hectic. Some days you only have to be at the airport to meet new guests, some days you are going on a helicopter-ride.
It's surprisingly difficult for me to describe in words, therefore I'm posting some snapshots from the time spent in Ilulissat. Maybe that will give you an idea of what it is like here?
Presenting: Kasper, AnneKatrine and Hannah. Chilling and waiting for one of the cruiseships
Almost every day we go by the local fish market (Brættet / The Board) where the fisherman sell what they catch. This day a minke whale had been killed. We got 1,6 kg of fresh whale-meat for just 80 kr. The fish and whale is unbelievably cheap :-)
Hannah and I enjoying whale burgers!
Lyngmarksbræen. Of course the picture is taken from my seat in the helicopter
Yours truly on Lyngmarksbræen
Lyngmarksbræen is the only place in the area where you can go dog-sledging in the summer.
Vuf
The helicopter went back and forth between the glacier and Qeqertarsuaq with the people that were going on the sledges
Taken on last nights midnight cruise. The sun is now gone for an hour during the night.
The ice is partly black ice, partly white ice. Anybody know the difference?
Schüss!
mandag den 19. juli 2010
BTW
A gigantic thanks to Kun, Hack, Joan, Michelle, Birthe, Louise, Quincy, Renato and Ramiel for giving me something to look back on with great great joy.
I wish you all the best!
I wish you all the best!
Me, Myself and Arne
So, arrived in Ilulissat 2 days ago. To begin with I wasn't supposed to go to Ilulissat until mid-August, but then everything turned crazy.
My boss in the hotel in Uummannaq was never an easy guy to work for. In fact, I have never (and I mean NEVER) met a worse boss and/or personality. No trust, no people skills, no boundaries, no nothing.
I consider myself a fairly tolerant and patient person, but still I got stomach aches every time he walked in the door.
It's no secret that I was doing a lot of (hotel)work which wasn't what I had signed up for back in CPH. But slowly it was ok; I was focusing on the fantastic people and the amazing nature, trying to ignore the fact that Arne was there.
Then, out of the blue, I got a call from the Arctic Adventure Office in CPH. It was Hannah asking how I was doing.
I told her that everything was the same (I had send the office a mail about how I was doing in Uummannaq - not withholding anything). Hannah then asked if something had happened between Arne and I. Not really. Same same every day. He's a dick - I avoid him as much as possible.
Then she told me that Arne had called the office earlier that morning asking for a replacement. Apparently he was not satisfied with my work, but he had not given more specific details as to what I had done wrong. Still, Arne has not said anything to me about all of this. All of the information I've received is from co-workers in Arctic Adventure (AA) and in Hotel Uummannaq.
Arnes wish to get a replacement combined with my willingness to leave him triggered the office in CPH and the coordinator in Greenland, Kasper, into getting me out of there as fast as possible. Unfortunately I couldn't get on a helicopter before saturday, so I had to stand up with this crazy man for 4 days.
I didn't see much of him (he was avoiding me big time. Each time I stepped in a room, he hurried out), and he never gave me an explanation of why he didn't want me around.
I've been told by the office in CPH that he said that I wasn't working enough and the things I did, I didn't do well enough.. That I was disturbing the guests on the tours, overloading them with talk about myself and not about Greenland.. That I was telling the wrong things about Greenland..
Everytime I think about it, it just stuns me. I have a real hard time seeing where he's coming from.
But now I'm sitting in a house far far away from him. So fuck him.
By the way, nobody wanted to take my place (not even the other guide companies in the area). Maybe he will do the work I wasn't doing then?
My boss in the hotel in Uummannaq was never an easy guy to work for. In fact, I have never (and I mean NEVER) met a worse boss and/or personality. No trust, no people skills, no boundaries, no nothing.
I consider myself a fairly tolerant and patient person, but still I got stomach aches every time he walked in the door.
It's no secret that I was doing a lot of (hotel)work which wasn't what I had signed up for back in CPH. But slowly it was ok; I was focusing on the fantastic people and the amazing nature, trying to ignore the fact that Arne was there.
Then, out of the blue, I got a call from the Arctic Adventure Office in CPH. It was Hannah asking how I was doing.
I told her that everything was the same (I had send the office a mail about how I was doing in Uummannaq - not withholding anything). Hannah then asked if something had happened between Arne and I. Not really. Same same every day. He's a dick - I avoid him as much as possible.
Then she told me that Arne had called the office earlier that morning asking for a replacement. Apparently he was not satisfied with my work, but he had not given more specific details as to what I had done wrong. Still, Arne has not said anything to me about all of this. All of the information I've received is from co-workers in Arctic Adventure (AA) and in Hotel Uummannaq.
Arnes wish to get a replacement combined with my willingness to leave him triggered the office in CPH and the coordinator in Greenland, Kasper, into getting me out of there as fast as possible. Unfortunately I couldn't get on a helicopter before saturday, so I had to stand up with this crazy man for 4 days.
I didn't see much of him (he was avoiding me big time. Each time I stepped in a room, he hurried out), and he never gave me an explanation of why he didn't want me around.
I've been told by the office in CPH that he said that I wasn't working enough and the things I did, I didn't do well enough.. That I was disturbing the guests on the tours, overloading them with talk about myself and not about Greenland.. That I was telling the wrong things about Greenland..
Everytime I think about it, it just stuns me. I have a real hard time seeing where he's coming from.
But now I'm sitting in a house far far away from him. So fuck him.
By the way, nobody wanted to take my place (not even the other guide companies in the area). Maybe he will do the work I wasn't doing then?
fredag den 16. juli 2010
Saying goodbye to Uummannaq - apparently
Yep. It's true. I'm being shipped off to Ilulissat on Saturday already.
I will get back to you with the sleezy details once I arrive in Ilulissat - and I promise you, it's ok sleezy.
Og så på dansk:
Et godt stykke tid før tid, bliver jeg lørdag fløjet til Ilulissat, hvor jeg skal være resten af sæsonen.
Jeg venter med at gå i nærmere detaljer til jeg befinder mig i Ilulissat, men jeg kan sige så meget, at der er dømt sladder - og bagtalelse :-)
I will get back to you with the sleezy details once I arrive in Ilulissat - and I promise you, it's ok sleezy.
Og så på dansk:
Et godt stykke tid før tid, bliver jeg lørdag fløjet til Ilulissat, hvor jeg skal være resten af sæsonen.
Jeg venter med at gå i nærmere detaljer til jeg befinder mig i Ilulissat, men jeg kan sige så meget, at der er dømt sladder - og bagtalelse :-)
fredag den 9. juli 2010
Done and done
Ever since I realised that the town of Uummannaq is placed on an island, I've been wanting to do a trip around the island.
I'm not sure how long it is, but I had heard that the east side of the island would be the worst part mostly consisting of loose rocks of shales.
So today was the day where I went on the east side of the Uummannaq Mountain to see for myself, if it it as bad as the rumours says.
There was nothing much to do in the hotel and my guests didn't need my help, so I got the rest of the day off, packed some water, raisins and my cap (this turned out to save my day later on) and headed of towards the east of the island.
Just so you all have an idea of the geography of Uummannaq Island. The island is actually one big mountain; the top of the mountain is placed on the middle of the island meaning that there are hardly any nice flat areas to walk on. But. On the west side of the island the mountain side is not at all as steep as it is on the east side – and on top of that the surface materials you walk on changes with every stone you cross – today I have been walking on huge rocks, in sand, in shales, in turf, on hard rock, in water, on loose loose rocks.. And almost all of it was on the mountain side with a declination of 25-70 degrees.
I started off at 12:00 and had the plan that I would turn back at 14:00. In that way I would be back for the semifinal between Germany and Spain :-)
The slopes on the east side was everything I had imagined and a bit more. I was struggling in the loose material and for every step I took, I lost at least 75% stepping through the gravel. But it was beautiful and silent. I was loving it – and because of that, I continued further and further away from the town.
Suddenly the time had reached 14:00 and I had come a much longer way than I would have expected. I was still fresh and believed that the north end of the island wouldn't be that far away – besides from that, I would never ever go back the same way I came.
Therefore Mr. Rolvsen continued along the high mountain sides determined to do the Tour de Uummannaq today.
My high moods caused by the anticipation of seeing the northside of the island quickly turned into a more limited joy. I was getting a bit tired and the shales and loose rock just continued on and on.
Apparently I was nowhere near the north end, but when I eventually found out I had gone to far to turn back.
The goal was now to find that north point and to find some more water (I knew that the trip would get a bit (danish understatement) longer than I originally had expected and my water supply was running out).
Finally the steep slopes of loose rock and sand turned into a more rocky surface. The mountain side was still very steep, but at least now I could count on the surface not underneath my feet.
Since the north side is as hard to get to as it is, it's a very unspoiled and pristine place. And more importantly: since the sun isn't that hard on this side of the island, the moss, flowers and herbs bloom here in abundance. It's one of the most beautiful sites I have ever seen. Hands down.
Of course I had forgotten the memory card for my camera in my computer (how stupid can you be..), so you will just have to take my word for it.
But just as beautiful as it was going around the north end of mountains, just as hard it was.
The mountains have arisen in such a way that the ledges all go up and up until you find yourself looking down 200 m of shear vertical rock. Because of this I had to climb down seemingly unclimbable walls to get to the bottom – all of this just to go around the wall and walk up again through one of the gullies.
Slowly I was making progress and little by little I could recognize the view to some of the surrounding islands.
But I must confess that when standing on a ledge 200 m up looking for, but not finding a way back or down... I felt like just sitting down and wait for something to happen. Fortunately I got my head together again and climbed/jumped/crawled my way down.
After almost 6 hours of struggling I made it back to the hotel and the last 15 minutes of the football game. A lot of scratches, bruises and experiences richer.
It truly was a huge experience, but I'm not sure if I want to do it again. The reason: That goddamned east side of the island. The rest of the trip I would love to do again, but there's no way I'm going back to those steep, treacherous slopes.
Getting back to the hotel I also found out that the Danish Ultimate Frisbee team Ragnarok ended up 12th at the World Championships for Clubs in Prague.
Therefore; this one goes out to you guys! Well done!
/ Aslak
I'm not sure how long it is, but I had heard that the east side of the island would be the worst part mostly consisting of loose rocks of shales.
So today was the day where I went on the east side of the Uummannaq Mountain to see for myself, if it it as bad as the rumours says.
There was nothing much to do in the hotel and my guests didn't need my help, so I got the rest of the day off, packed some water, raisins and my cap (this turned out to save my day later on) and headed of towards the east of the island.
Just so you all have an idea of the geography of Uummannaq Island. The island is actually one big mountain; the top of the mountain is placed on the middle of the island meaning that there are hardly any nice flat areas to walk on. But. On the west side of the island the mountain side is not at all as steep as it is on the east side – and on top of that the surface materials you walk on changes with every stone you cross – today I have been walking on huge rocks, in sand, in shales, in turf, on hard rock, in water, on loose loose rocks.. And almost all of it was on the mountain side with a declination of 25-70 degrees.
I started off at 12:00 and had the plan that I would turn back at 14:00. In that way I would be back for the semifinal between Germany and Spain :-)
The slopes on the east side was everything I had imagined and a bit more. I was struggling in the loose material and for every step I took, I lost at least 75% stepping through the gravel. But it was beautiful and silent. I was loving it – and because of that, I continued further and further away from the town.
Suddenly the time had reached 14:00 and I had come a much longer way than I would have expected. I was still fresh and believed that the north end of the island wouldn't be that far away – besides from that, I would never ever go back the same way I came.
Therefore Mr. Rolvsen continued along the high mountain sides determined to do the Tour de Uummannaq today.
My high moods caused by the anticipation of seeing the northside of the island quickly turned into a more limited joy. I was getting a bit tired and the shales and loose rock just continued on and on.
Apparently I was nowhere near the north end, but when I eventually found out I had gone to far to turn back.
The goal was now to find that north point and to find some more water (I knew that the trip would get a bit (danish understatement) longer than I originally had expected and my water supply was running out).
Finally the steep slopes of loose rock and sand turned into a more rocky surface. The mountain side was still very steep, but at least now I could count on the surface not underneath my feet.
Since the north side is as hard to get to as it is, it's a very unspoiled and pristine place. And more importantly: since the sun isn't that hard on this side of the island, the moss, flowers and herbs bloom here in abundance. It's one of the most beautiful sites I have ever seen. Hands down.
Of course I had forgotten the memory card for my camera in my computer (how stupid can you be..), so you will just have to take my word for it.
But just as beautiful as it was going around the north end of mountains, just as hard it was.
The mountains have arisen in such a way that the ledges all go up and up until you find yourself looking down 200 m of shear vertical rock. Because of this I had to climb down seemingly unclimbable walls to get to the bottom – all of this just to go around the wall and walk up again through one of the gullies.
Slowly I was making progress and little by little I could recognize the view to some of the surrounding islands.
But I must confess that when standing on a ledge 200 m up looking for, but not finding a way back or down... I felt like just sitting down and wait for something to happen. Fortunately I got my head together again and climbed/jumped/crawled my way down.
After almost 6 hours of struggling I made it back to the hotel and the last 15 minutes of the football game. A lot of scratches, bruises and experiences richer.
It truly was a huge experience, but I'm not sure if I want to do it again. The reason: That goddamned east side of the island. The rest of the trip I would love to do again, but there's no way I'm going back to those steep, treacherous slopes.
Getting back to the hotel I also found out that the Danish Ultimate Frisbee team Ragnarok ended up 12th at the World Championships for Clubs in Prague.
Therefore; this one goes out to you guys! Well done!
/ Aslak
torsdag den 1. juli 2010
Videopost
Ja, så er der nyt videoklip :-) Det tog mig også kun 3,5 timer at uploade det..
I øvrigt var gæsterne meget søde og var meget spendervillige :-)
Ud i det blå from Aslak Lau Rolvsen on Vimeo.
I øvrigt var gæsterne meget søde og var meget spendervillige :-)
Abonner på:
Opslag (Atom)
