Archive for 'Icelandic customs'
Nauthólsvík, a little paradise Posted by hulda on Apr 14, 2016
Warm sea and golden sands don’t probably come to mind as the first thing when thinking about Iceland. Yet despite everything, mostly due to the Icelandic spirit of “why not?” we do have both… in one location. Both equally artificial too, since the north Atlantic is not warm by any standard at any time of…
Iceland’s Prime Minister scandal. Posted by hulda on Apr 4, 2016
By now I’m sure most of you already know what’s going on in Iceland right this moment, but for those who don’t, Reykjavík Grapevine has summed it all up really well here. Icelanders’ immediate reaction was of course anger and not just that, anger that called for action. Anger that called for pots and pans…
Easter proverb time. Posted by hulda on Mar 28, 2016
What’s Easter without the Icelandic tradition of people giving each other gigantic chocolate eggs filled with more chocolate, candy and proverbs? Not a proper Easter says I! The eggs must absolutely be of the Icelandic variety too, nothing else will do unless… unless the eggs meet a certain criteria. The chocolate itself is delicious but while…
Iceland-compass. Posted by hulda on Mar 10, 2016
Compass, what a wonderful, helpful tool… or so you would think until you come to Iceland and realize that the Icelandic idea of what’s in which direction and what it should be called differ somewhat from the rest of the world’s idea of directions. For example, West Iceland. That would be from Westfjords to Reykjanes…
Fin whales safe for summer! Posted by hulda on Mar 3, 2016
Whales are in the news now that one of the biggest whalers of Iceland, Hvalur hf., has announced there won’t be whaling of fin whales this summer due to problems in whale meat exporting to Japan (link). The Icelandic market is so tiny and whale meat is no stable dish here that it simply isn’t…
5 points to reading Icelanders right. Posted by hulda on Feb 25, 2016
As more and more tourists pour in run-ins with the local habits and culture are inevitable. One of the big issues I’ve seen foreigners take with Iceland is rudeness, or what’s perceived as rude. I say “perceived” because in many occasions I find the real problem is a culture shock rather than any real…
Don’t die at Reynisfjara. Posted by hulda on Feb 11, 2016
At the south point of Iceland, at the little town of Vík í Mýrdal, spreads Reynisfjara, an amazing black sand beach that includes the famous Reynisdrangar stone pillars and a huge basalt column cliff Garðar. It’s easy to reach, just a few hours drive south from Reykjavík along Ring Road 1, and one of the most…