What to do in Aasiaat, Greenland I An Outsider´s Perspective
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 19 ก.ย. 2024
- What to do in Aasiaat, Greenland I An outsider´s perspective, or rather a person from Nuuk.. ;-)
About Aasiaat:
Aasiaat, a small town of 3.000 people lying in the Disko Bay area and actually placed on a small island! The name Aasiaat means “Spiders”, not sure why?
And people here rely on fishing for shrimp and snowcrabs, shipbuilding, tourism and professional fishermen/hunters.
The town is very spread out and is basically one long main road, with houses connected by staircases. Staircases is their thing here and in case you need some glute activation spending a couple days here will have you covered.
Being a person who works professionally with construction and maintaining properties, I must say the construction sector here also is quite busy and definitely employing quite a few people.
Not that it shows, the construction companies are busy, judging from the maintenance of the buildings, the houses could need some paint and just be taken care of.
Comparing this town to the capital Nuuk, you can tell fewer money are circulating, which is seen on the prices of the houses and the fact, that no mortgage company would give you a loan for a house here..
What can you do here:
For my little week here, I have been doing these things, bear in mind it changes during the season of what you actually can do.
But you can do the following:
1. Going to the gym fitness GL an almost nationwide gym chain has a pretty good gym and it is not very crowded, which I really like
2. Walking around town, seeing small cute houses, sometimes amazing staircases and really pacing down from any stress
3. Going on whale safaris as Aasiaat is supposed to be a good spot for humpbackwhales
4. Aasiaat Midnight Marathon in june. Basically run during midnight as there is sun all the time. Even in may I sleep like crap due to lots of daylight during night.
5. Visit the 2 supermarkets and two convenience stores and get almost anything you want, except the vegetables are a little blah..
6. Joining the locals for a beer or dance at Nanuaraq the local disco, placed in the city centre.
There was a skilift before, not as great as Vail, Colorado, but a close second. Unfortunately due to lack of interest and the combination of bad placement and climate change, makes the skilift not run anymore.
The ice melts away too fast now, as the design was ment for you to ski down to the water.
Good and bad:
1. Good thing is you feel safe. Unlike travelling to ex. Some parts of Egypt, Africa etc, where you feel a little unsafe when having camera and phone out. Aasiaat does not feel unsafe.
2. Internet is pretty stable as a seabound fibercable is located here, providing a steady stream of netflix and chill.
3. Accessible by airplane and ferry, so getting in and out is pretty convenient
1. Not much to do. It definitely doesn’t feel like a touristy town as options for tourists are pretty limited.
2. Eating out is on your own risk. As far as I know, there are only 3 places to eat out. One is a café, a burger place and a thai dining which also doubles as the disco Nanuaraq.
3. A lot of run down/empty houses, which gives you a vibe of “come on man, do something about that”.. But it must boil down to a lack of financing and generally not caring about the homes and instead getting a boat…
All in all, would I recommend going here?
I guess it depends, what you are looking for. If massive icebergs, good dining and more touristy options are your thing, definitely go to Ilulissat instead.
Luckily im going there next week, so stay tuned!
But, if you want to experience a town where life is slower paced, lots of staircases and a “real” Greenlandic working town, I would say Aasiaat is alright to spend a few days in.
Would you go here? Comment down below!
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This is a nice video.
I am a local and i really like that this video exist, good job.
Saw this on reddit, and i thought i might wanna add something.
I really like the phrase: "But, if you want to experience a town where life is slower paced, lots of staircases and a “real” Greenlandic working town, I would say Aasiaat is alright to spend a few days in. "
Aasiaat isnt a city like Nuuk nor Ilulissat, where the focus is on the tourists money.. Here you will be treated as any, not just as an tourist.
7. Going for a hunt with the locals (just try and ask people around the docks, or facebook group, they might take you with them for a small fee, might even let you shoot)
8. ASP a local sport club often hold activities for the sporty folks
9. The abandoned fish factory
10. The abandoned military barracks
11. A artificial grass football field
12. Whale cemetary
13. Trip to nearby villages (30min to 1hour boattrip to get there.
14. Anuni, a shop with the. Inuit Clothing line.
15. It's an high school area for young people all around the north. So you will meet people from further north; Ilulissat, upernavik, Uummannaq etc...
Thanks for the add on, I will pin the comment so people can read this😊
I actually spoke to some in Aasiaat and said it would be awesome if the old fish factory once a year got turned into a festival spot! It would be so awesome to have a festival there, since its very unique and doesnt bother any neighbors😆
It's real cool that you are showing us this part of Greenland I like to see things like this thank you
Thank you for your kind words😁
Interesting place to visit. I like slow and laidback
I'm glad I've found you're channel. You're very nice and talkative. Your English is excellent and pleasant. I've subscribed to your channel to support your wonderful initiative to show us these toens in Greenlsnd. A very exotic place for my Brazilian eyes and ears. Thank you, sweet boy.
Thanks! Glad you like them!
I just moved to Aasiaat from Denmark to get rid of stress. The weather is not that nice right now but I'm hoping that I'll have some great experinces before winther comes. Everything is slow here and right know that's kind of frustrating but that's the reason why I moved here.
Amazing vlog , make more videos , you are doing a wonderful job my promoting Greenland , regards from India
I will😊
This seems to be a very interesting place, I hope I can visit sometime in the future Seeing and sharing places like this is why I love traveling and make videos so much!
Glad you got something from my visit in Aasiaat😎
Definitely, I would visit. Hopefully someday.
Go for it😎
Nice hiking and possibility for whale watching
I always wait for your videos ...
I like this kind of slow town to live .. and once a month go for big towns ..
Aasiaat is a slow town, but it is very calming😄
Not seen your whole video yet but it's interesting to see a traditional Inuit turf hut! Edit: A historical parallel but it seems both Inuit and Vikings had turf houses
Yes, I just think vikings incorporated more wood in the construction.
The colorful houses are just so great. I love this video. I have a question that's a little off-topic, but have you ever been to Qaanaaq, Greenland (the northernmost town in Greenland)? If you every get to go to Qaanaaq, please make a video, as Qaanaaq is very unique, as it being one of the most northern towns in the world. Also would love more videos of nuuk. Thanks for this informative and great Content. :)
I have never been to Qaanaaq myself, but for sure I will make a video if I ever get a chance to go there😎
@@AlexAmasaOlsen Awesome!
love greenland from bangladesh🇧🇩
Your flag is like an inverted Greenland flag
So true, just need a line through..😂
😊
@@AlexAmasaOlsen lol yeah
Hi, have you ever heard anything about what is going on in central Greenland?
Is it true that Roman empire resides there since their faked death and that that area got tropical or Mediterranean Europe climate??
What?! If you mean central Greenland you are effectively talking about the icecap, which im pretty sure isnt tropical at all, its pretty icy😄
More of us may prefer quiet places than the hustle of big cities. I now live in a small city just a little larger than Nuuk, in population, surrounded by rural life. Aasiaat is likely the kind of place we'd like to visit for a bit. Perhaps some day.
May I ask which area you are located? I am making a video of Ilulissat, which still is a small town, but feels more lively, you can feel more optimism from the people and generally a better place to be a tourist. But Aasiaat is nice to be in for a couple days, definitely has a calm to it
@@AlexAmasaOlsen We live in eastern Oregon, east of the Cascade volcano chain in a city of 29,000 people, although 20 miles/30 km from a city of about 90,000 people. A town of this size is sufficient to support access to good stores, health care, and job opportunities, plus support public parks and other amenities. But without the complexities (and noise!) of big cities. Of course, we have spectacular outdoor recreation too with mountains and volcanoes.
Places off the beaten path may not have the glamor and obvious attractions of big cities, but they have their own uniqueness, charm and culture. An example is illustrated by the videos from Cecilia at Svalbard th-cam.com/users/CeciliaBlomdahl Enjoying this means slowing down with an open perspective!
@@coldstreams Oh yes Oregon.! I spent a christmas there some time ago (12 years ago), nice place and very green compared to Greenland:-) But have seen a lot of outdoors youtube videos of hikes in Oregon and around on the Cascades and looks very stunning!
Your town is a tad bigger than Nuuk, which currently has 18.800 people, but it is true what you say about the charm and embracing the slower pace.
A few of my subscribers also watch Cecilia Blomdahl, so I might take some inspiration from her, she makes really good videos!
Have a good day:-)
I want to know what the disco is like! I wish you had gone to it! Would love to see you go clubbing or some Greenlandic nightlife in future videos :) by the way, has the Manhattan nightclub in Nuuk closed? What clubs does it have now?
Thank you for the video. I like slow motion places. As long as there is a good internet connection and a possibility to fly away a couple times in a year, the place is perfect for an introvert like me.
A good business idea for a sleeping town like this for getting money injections outside is to prepare own craft beer. Why nobody does beer in Aasiaat? I am sure there is demand not only domestically but also as export product for craft beers.. It may not make the brewer instant millionaire (unless he is already close to be one) but I am certain it will give livelihood for 1-5 people.
Real estate deal videos are interesting of course.
Also, an interesting idea which I found on TH-cam is that there is some (small scale) agriculture in Greenland. That would be interesting topic on TH-cam as the sun is now more active and as result also the climate is warming up, there is probably even more opportunities in domestic agriculture sector.
Not sure why there are no brewery in Aasiaat, its a good idea. We have a brewery in Nuuk and they sell to the nearby bars. Most of the agriculture in Greenland is down south, far from the capital Nuuk, its a totally different world down there. But it is interesting with agriculture here in Greenland, since 99,99% of all fresh produce is imported..
How does one fly from Assiaat, Greenland to Vancouver, BC Canada
Either through Nuuk-》Reykjavik-》North America
Or Aasiaat-》Kangerlussuaq --》Copenhagen -》 North America
Greetings
I will be there in January 2024
I have a request please - if you are able? I've been curious to know of films and media that come from Greenland. I've only heard one called (and I probably can't spell it) tarratta nunaani
Edit: Anyway thank you again for another insightful video.
I have seen some, but forgot their titles..😅
@@AlexAmasaOlsen no worries then
Any reason why houses are colorful?
Yes, there used to be a colorcode determining who where living in the house. Ex. Hospitals and housing for nurses, doctors etc where yellow, police where black, fishermens homes where blue etc.
I guess now it is more of a choice if you wanna make your house colorful and unfortunately more exclusive buildings are now very, grey and blackish. I definitely prefer all the colors😁
This place looks cute
Its pretty nice yes😊
I’m an Alaskan, I’d live there.
Which part of Alaska?
Alaska also looks amazing!
Do you live there in Greenland?
I’m going there in november 😅
Good luck! We recently installed Greenlands largest solarpanel system on Tusass buildings, its pretty magnificent!😁😎
@@AlexAmasaOlsen one (huge) sustainable step at a time! Great!
God muligheder for at gå fra den ene ende af øen til den anden af markeret rute. Endvidere gode muligheder for hvalmsafari
Kendte ikke til vandreruterne.. Men hvalsafari er helt sikkert et hit!
4:13 only two supermarkets there and one of them is a SPAR??? 😍😍😍
Hehe, the supermarkets are called Pilersuisoq and Pisiffik, Spar is more of a convenience store😁
Alex Amasa Olsen aaaahhh got it 👌 Spar is my fave here in Vienna!
I guess there is no lodging or is there? Cost?
There is lodging, Sømandshjemmet and various other private hostels, a search on google for accomodation aasiaat should reveal some.
One night in Sømandshjemmet Aasiaat is about 1.500kr ($230) pr night.
@@AlexAmasaOlsen That's rather expensive and I doubt that it's a 5-star hotel 😳
Yup, it is expensive to be in Greenland and I think it is 3 stars🤔
Alex Amasa Olsen 3 stars, that’s more than enough for me. Imma google a little bit more. 🤔
I wouldn't exactly call a place that can only be accessed by boat or plane "accessible".
I guess fairly accessible...😅
It is better than other places, where it is only helicopter or boat😊
@@AlexAmasaOlsen I get what you mean.
By the way, how is the travel accessibility pricewise? I've glanced at the websites of Air Greenland and the Arctic Umiaq Line and the prices don't seem that affordable. Are Greenlanders generally able to afford travel between towns?
On another note, have you ever been to, or plan to go to the more remote parts of Greenland, like Tasiilaq or Qaanaaq?
@@2712animefreak In general it is pretty expensive to go from town to town, either by boat or plane.. And not everyone is travelling from town to town that often.. I might be able to go to the eastcoast with my job, hope to see it one day and also Qaanaaq.
Another banger.
Also, it's usually translated to "Sailor's home", not "Seamen"
Thanks Suulut :-)
Yes, but then you cant misunderstand it... If you know what I mean..😉