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Tag Archives: living in iceland info

Buns, explosions and ash. Posted by on Feb 18, 2015

There are three days in February that are far more important than Valentine’s Day, at least if Icelanders are asked: the Bun Day, the Explosion Day and the Ash Day (also known as Ash Wednesday but with some Iceland-specific traditions and nowadays almost no religious meaning). Originally they were the days right before the Lent and…

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How to romance a viking. Posted by on Feb 11, 2015

You know what day is just around the corner, so let’s get prepared with some relevant vocabulary! The important days Valentínusardagur = Valentine’s Day. The tradition caught on in Iceland perhaps a little earlier than the rest of the Nordics, but since the country was occupied by the USA since the WW2 it may not be too surprising…

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An Icelander walked past a bar. Posted by on Jan 29, 2015

It happened years ago on an evening in May. I had just met my SO and we were sitting together in a garden swing talking of this and that, and eventually started telling each other jokes. This was the first one he told me. (To understand the following you’ll have to know that reipi means rope, and…

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Elves, fire, explosions: New Year in Iceland Posted by on Dec 30, 2014

New Year is fast approaching. For Icelanders it begins tomorrow, or perhaps right after Christmas, depending on whether you use the official definition or the start of the partying. Officially we’re beginning tomorrow, however, the party is already on. We’ve had fireworks every day, some quite flashy since that’s the way the fireworks sellers here…

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Icelandic Christmas calendar Posted by on Dec 11, 2014

Welcome to count the days with the Icelandic blog, dear readers – I’m going to follow the Icelandic tradition of Christmas calendar in which the count-down does not begin on the 1st Dec but the night before the 12th.  There will be a new part added to this post every day, so stay tuned! Today it’s… Kertasníkir (= Candle-Stealer)…

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Bárðarbunga eruption just hours away? Posted by on Aug 18, 2014

Bárðarbunga volcano woke up on the night of the 16th August and by six in the afternoon it had had over 300 earthquakes. Today there’s been more than 1200 of them, the strongest one that happened last night being strong enough to be felt all the way to Akureyri. Icelanders are keeping a careful eye on the…

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A Love Letter to the Icelandic disregard of time. Posted by on Jun 24, 2014

Dear Iceland, When I first moved here four years ago I almost didn’t have a culture shock. Iceland and Finland seemed so similar, though one had trees and lakes and the other one mountains, volcanoes, waterfalls and glaciers, I very nearly felt at home right away. Except. Whenever I arranged to meet with my local…

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