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Tag Archives: culture

The trolls. Posted by on Jul 16, 2012

Perhaps the most variable of all supernatural creatures of Iceland is tröll, a troll. Stories of them describe their size alone ranging from the size of a mountain to something resembling a very large human. Their behaviour varies likewise from friendly and loyal to solitary, hermit-like sages to beastly and violent man eaters. Sometimes trolls…

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Where the wild Moomins are. Posted by on Jul 5, 2012

One thing you’ll notice quickly when you live in Iceland is that when the locals talk about something they’re much more prone to using a nickname than a real name. This is perhaps related to the way some names tend to be extremely common throughout the history: if you want to talk about Jón instead…

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Beware the sheep. Posted by 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…

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Is this person a drusla, a slut? Posted by 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…

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Is your neighbour an elf? Posted by 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…

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Happy Birthday, Iceland! Posted by on Jun 17, 2012

“Hæ, hó, jibbí, jei og jibbí, jei – Það er kominn 17. júní!” In other words, happy Independence Day Iceland and Icelanders! Today’s a big fest downtown that began in the morning and will go on until at least seven p.m. We have been lucky with the weather today, it’s been sunny and warm with…

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Beautiful and dangerous. Posted by on Jun 5, 2012

Elves in the Icelandic lore are quite different creatures from what people have come to think of after reading Tolkien. Depending on the tale they can be either a little too interested in humans, kidnapping people or trying to lure them to live in their homes, which are built in rocks and cliffs, or even…

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