Archive for 'Icelandic customs'
There once was a puffin, just the shape of a muffin Posted by hulda on Jul 19, 2012
…And he lived on and island in the bright blue sea! ~Florence Page Jaques Few birds are as iconic to Iceland as lundi, Atlantic puffin. They live in large colonies all around the shorelines of Iceland but especially in the Vestmannaeyjar (= Westman Isles) where the largest puffin colony of the world is located. Often they…
Falling Fall and Mountain Moo. Posted by hulda on Jul 13, 2012
Despite that it’s föstudagurinn þrettándi (= the Friday 13th) I hope you’re all doing well! One of the quickest and the most effective ways of widening your vocabulary in any foreign language is to pick up a map and begin to translate the names of places. It’s not only easy – the repetition of certain…
Reading Receipts Posted by sequoia on Jul 10, 2012
If you ever go to Iceland, a fun souvenir is your shopping receipts. They’re almost always in Icelandic and there are two main types with slight variations. You can also get other receipt types from various more unique events and places. The first type is the real receipt. This shows the items that you bought…
Beware the sheep. Posted by hulda on Jun 27, 2012
For those who only see Reykjavík during their stay in Iceland they probably only show up on a menu on every restaurant you go to, but once outside the city they’ll become a regular feature. On hills, mountains, meadows, they’re everywhere. Even in places where you’d think no animal or even human could venture unless…
Is this person a drusla, a slut? Posted by hulda on Jun 24, 2012
You may be wondering why on earth am I so keen on teaching you rude words of Icelandic today with such a provocative image attached, but I have an excuse, I swear! The annual Drusluganga (SlutWalk) parade crowded up the downtown area yesterday and by a lucky accident I happened to walk right into it. The answer…
Is your neighbour an elf? Posted by hulda on Jun 22, 2012
Happy Midsummer/Solstice everyone! Unlike many European countries, this time of the year is not celebrated very much in Iceland, at least in comparison. There’s Þórláksmessa (the summer version of it – one is held on 20th June and another on 23rd December) held in the memory of Þórlák hinn helga Þórláksson, the patron saint of…
Looking over Reykjavík. Posted by hulda on Jun 20, 2012
Now for that final leg of the climb to the very top of Esjan! The day we began our climb was a sunny one and even though we started out during the early hours of the morning we were feeling a little bit uncomfortable in our warm clothes for most of the time. This quickly…