Tag Archives: history
Hiding in plain sight 2: more than a church. Posted by hulda on May 12, 2014
Continuing my little series of things that may interest a traveler yet are free and within your reach even in the capital city: the area between Hallgrímskirkja and Tjörnin, the ornamental pond downtown. But why see this area in particular? The statue park of Einar Jónsson Continuing your sightseeing route, the museum that hosts art…
Apples in the oak tree. Posted by hulda on Apr 24, 2014
Happy Sumardagurinn fyrsti, First of Summer, everyone! Easter is almost over now, the lamb’s eaten, Easter beer gone, the chocolate eggs opened and now the only thing left to do is to try to understand the proverbs that the eggs gave you. One of you, dear readers, asked me about a particularly difficult proverb which prompted me…
Staving off a disaster; magical tattoos. Posted by hulda on Apr 16, 2014
I’ve noticed a growing trend of people having Icelandic magical staves tattooed on them lately. Some of the choices, alas, range from weird to unintentionally funny and inappropriate. On its own having such a stave tattooed is not a bad thing at all. Icelanders themselves often get them as tattoos and it’s not considered insulting…
Hekla volcano – temperature on the rise. Posted by hulda on Mar 25, 2014
As spring approaches we begin to look at the volcanoes a bit more closely, especially the two that are overdue their eruption schedule: Katla and Hekla. In Iceland it’s actually very typical that eruptions begin in the spring or early summer because that’s when the snow and ice melt off the mountains and even subglacial…
Where the wild vikings are. Posted by hulda on Mar 17, 2014
Icelandic sagas are an unusual feature in Medieval literature for several reasons. The most obvious one is that they mostly take part in Iceland and tell of ordinary people who, although heads of the society of their time, still are little more than rich farmers. There’s an amusing way people describe sagas here in Iceland…
Hiding in plain sight. Posted by hulda on Mar 7, 2014
Traveling to Iceland but not enough time to go see the sights outside of the Capital City area? No need to worry – there are some amazing ones within your reach anyway! This entry will start a small series of Hulda’s tips on what to see in Reykjavík on locations that are accessible by biking…
The end is nigh (again). Posted by hulda on Feb 13, 2014
Bad news first, the end of the world has been announced for the 22nd of February. Then for the good ones, this time it will be Ragnarök so no need to repent your sins, just strap yourself in and enjoy the ride! To be expected: earthquakes, volcanic activity, possible sightings of a massive sea serpent…