Archive for 'Icelandic customs'
Menningarnótt, it’s a town-sized party! Posted by hulda on Aug 28, 2013
A little bit of rain does not keep an Icelander from partying downtown whenever the occasion arises. It drizzled lightly the whole day of Menningarnótt (= culture night) and possibly into the evening as well, but Reykjavík downtown was as packed as it could be. No wonder, since Menningarnótt is much awaited for each summer…
Traveling in Iceland – ghosts and hidden people. Posted by hulda on Jul 31, 2013
Near the Valahnúkur cliffs is a hot spring area called Gunnuhver, Gunna’s hot spring. It’s easily accessible so if you’re visiting the lighthouse you should definitely go see this place as well. There are two roads that lead there, one from the main road and one from the lighthouse. Something has once been built here…
Happy birthday, Iceland! Posted by hulda on Jun 18, 2013
Yesterday on the 17th Iceland celebrated its independence in the usual way: lots of noise, live music everywhere, street art, candy, flags in every form and shape and material, children running around and climbing on absolutely anything and everything they can hold on to, fierce chess matches in the rain, parades, circus shows, the selection…
The wonderful accident called Blue Lagoon. Posted by hulda on May 27, 2013
Sitting in the middle of an empty desert of lava and moss somewhere between Keflavík and Reykjavík is one of the most interesting sights to see in Iceland. You take a turn off the main road and then another one, and all of a sudden you see a thick column of white smoke rising up…
Iceland: the most successful loser of Eurovision? Posted by hulda on May 19, 2013
If there is one thing that the Icelanders always excel at without a single flaw it’s partying. Yesterday’s Eurovision song contest was therefore no exception, the partying started well in advance when Iceland’s representative made it into the finals and is still going on as I write this. Well, the aftermath is mostly bitter comments…
You say hello, I say excuse me I’m a woman. Posted by hulda on May 8, 2013
Greetings and goodbyes – the simplest form of any language? Not always and definitely not in Icelandic! To begin with Icelandic has roughly speaking three different levels of formality in greetings. These overlap generously and often the level you should be using may be difficult to figure out, so let’s look at them and the…
Parliamentary Elections in Iceland – who won? Posted by hulda on Apr 30, 2013
Icelanders fighting both on- and offline, faces of the politicians staring at you from all directions, our mayor Jón Gnarr dressed up as a Jedi knight – the Parliamentary Elections of Iceland just happened. By now you all know the end result as well: the right wing won, the same party that caused the economy…