{"id":4754,"date":"2016-03-10T19:57:50","date_gmt":"2016-03-10T19:57:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/icelandic\/?p=4754"},"modified":"2016-11-28T07:16:16","modified_gmt":"2016-11-28T07:16:16","slug":"iceland-compass","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/icelandic\/2016\/03\/10\/iceland-compass\/","title":{"rendered":"Iceland-compass."},"content":{"rendered":"
\"1280px-Stanley_compass_1\"<\/a>

Stanley compass by Jaypee at Wikimedia Commons<\/p><\/div>\n

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, right? South Iceland is surely that “belly”-part that reaches from Hellishei\u00f0i to the underside of Vatnaj\u00f6kull? Top part surely is North Iceland? Haha, no!<\/p>\n

…or well, you’re not entirely wrong in assuming any of that, the problem is that Icelanders divide Iceland in far smaller pieces and that each piece has a directional name that may or may not sound logical, the actual physical location considered. Let’s have a look at the different parts and learn the Icelandic names for them.<\/p>\n

\"Map_of_Iceland2\"<\/a>

Map of Iceland by Max Naylor at Wikimedia Commons.<\/p><\/div>\n

The area borders are merely estimations here and in reality they may even overlap on occasion.<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Vestfir\u00f0ir<\/li>\n
  2. Vesturland<\/li>\n
  3. Reykjanes<\/li>\n
  4. Su\u00f0urland<\/li>\n
  5. Su\u00f0austurland<\/li>\n
  6. Austurland<\/li>\n
  7. Nor\u00f0austurland<\/li>\n
  8. Nor\u00f0urland<\/li>\n
  9. Nor\u00f0vesturland<\/li>\n
  10. H\u00e1lendi\u00f0<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
    \"3726361817_d42aac0565_b\"<\/a>

    Dynjandi \/ Thunderous by Sigur\u00f0ur \u00de Sigurj\u00f3nsson at Flickr<\/p><\/div>\n

    Vestfir\u00f0ir<\/strong> (= Westfjords)<\/p>\n

    Vestfir\u00f0ir, despite its name, is not a part of West Iceland.\u00a0It’s simply Vestfir\u00f0ir, a place so Vestfir\u00f0ir-y that it keeps its own name when people talk of directions here. The Vestfir\u00f0ir peninsula is best known for horrible winter driving conditions, unusually shaped fjords and mountains, L\u00e1trabjarg puffin cliffs and some really amazing hiking trails! Vestfir\u00f0ir\u00a0is also known as one of Iceland’s most beautiful areas.<\/p>\n

    \"218099381_7525a92446_b\"<\/a>

    Sn\u00e6fellsnes by Francois Marier at Flickr.<\/p><\/div>\n

    Vesturland<\/strong> (= West land)<\/p>\n

    Let’s not let Vestfir\u00f0ir hog all the space though, because right below it in the Vesturland\u00a0area is f.ex. Sn\u00e6fellsnes. The peninsula is called “Iceland in miniature” for the amazing variety of scenery you see here and there’s also a nature park, the most beautiful glacier of all Iceland and some excellent museums sprinkled around the coastline. If you only have a few days in Iceland, go see Sn\u00e6fellsnes. It’s not far from Reykjav\u00edk and due to its relatively small size you can experience it in 1-2 days (although there’s so much to see there that it’s easy to spend even more time there).<\/p>\n

    \"5967468793_639d3b3405_b\"<\/a>

    Reykjanes by Richard Gould at Flickr.<\/p><\/div>\n

    Reykjanes<\/strong> (= Smoky peninsula) (also known as Southwest Iceland but typically only called Reykjanes)<\/p>\n

    The Capital City area that includes Keflav\u00edk airport and possibly some scenery you may feel you’ve seen before… Reykjanes is often used as a movie background due to its alien landscapes that could as well be from the moon so if you experience any d\u00e9j\u00e0 vu there may be an easy explanation to it.<\/p>\n

    \"16468478024_d91db50a1e_k\"<\/a>

    Seljalandsfoss, Su\u00f0urland, Islandia by Diego Delso at Flickr.<\/p><\/div>\n

    Su\u00f0urland<\/strong> (= South land)<\/p>\n

    Possibly the greenest part of Iceland that includes lots of geothermal activity. This is a typical area for Icelanders’ summer houses although not as popular by tourists outside of the Golden Circle, \u00deingvellir, Gullfoss and Geysir. Eyjafjallaj\u00f6kull is at the south-most tip of this area, likewise the famous volcanoes Hekla and Katla are in the Su\u00f0urland area.<\/p>\n

    \"15540758905_8760f64a45_k\"<\/a>

    Vatnaj\u00f6kull by Andr\u00e9s Nieto Porras at Flickr.<\/p><\/div>\n

    Su\u00f0austurland<\/strong> (= Southeast land)<\/p>\n

    Right next to the green, fertile Su\u00f0urland area sits its polar opposite Su\u00f0austurland. Once you’re driven past the town of V\u00edk you’ve only various kinds of wasteland to look forward to for hours. Moss-covered lava fields give way to rock and sand and eventually to the huge meltwater plain underneath\u00a0Vatnaj\u00f6kull. All the bridges here have only one lane, according to a friend of mine that’s because it’s cheaper to rebuild them after each glacier flood. She may have been joking though. Maybe.<\/p>\n

    \"17177049300_57e80ac621_k\"<\/a>

    J\u00f6kuls\u00e1rl\u00f3n by Andr\u00e9s Nieto Porras at Flickr.<\/p><\/div>\n

    Austurland<\/strong> (= East land)<\/p>\n

    The plains and wastelands slowly give way to more green, and eventually a lot of it. We’re in Austurland, the area where you’d land if you traveled to Iceland by ferry via Faroe Islands. This is the home of Iceland’s only real forest (the others are tiny patches of trees, but this one not only has tree-sized trees, it has lots of them). The glacier lagoon J\u00f6kuls\u00e1rl\u00f3n is also here.<\/p>\n

    \"21608793929_c74b750fc1_k\"<\/a>

    Rau\u00f0anes point by Jennifer Boyer at Flickr.<\/p><\/div>\n

    Nor\u00f0austurland<\/strong> (= Northeast land)<\/p>\n

    Home to some of Iceland’s most amazing natural wonders such as the massive waterfall Dettifoss, Rau\u00f0anes point and the M\u00fdvatnssv\u00e6\u00f0i, M\u00fdvatn area, and one of the main whale watching areas, Nor\u00f0austurland is nevertheless sadly far away from Reykjanes and thus often forgotten from travel plans. However, if you happen to have the time for it it’s well worth the trouble!<\/p>\n

    \"2879535239_756fdf2197_o\"<\/a>

    Myvatn by genevieveromier at Flickr.<\/p><\/div>\n

    Nor\u00f0urland<\/strong> (= North land)<\/p>\n

    This is where Iceland’s other “Capital City” is located! At the bottom of Eyjafj\u00f6r\u00f0ur sits Akureyri, a beautiful, cozy little town that’s apparently rife with elf activity. By the way, since the borders between these areas are always that clear both Nor\u00f0austurland and Nor\u00f0urland claim the M\u00fdvatnssv\u00e6\u00f0i as their own. \ud83d\ude00<\/p>\n

    \"25328013726_8f02a31340_k\"<\/a>

    Hv\u00edtserkur by Vincent Guth at Flickr.<\/p><\/div>\n

    Nor\u00f0vesturland<\/strong> (= Northwest land)<\/p>\n

    A good place for seeing some Medieval saga locations! The famous Grettislaug is here to name one example, and naturally there’s no end to small museums of various kinds in this area. For sights I could recommend Hv\u00edtserkur (= white skirt), a huge rock formation that sticks out from the sea at H\u00fanafj\u00f6r\u00f0ur. Be sure to go on a jeep though, the road turns into dirt road very soon and the last time I was there I really wished for a better car.<\/p>\n

    \"14970356748_3761f8a6ee_k\"<\/a>

    Vatnaj\u00f6kuls\u00fej\u00f3\u00f0gar\u00f0ur Nation Park, Iceland by Veronique at Flickr.<\/p><\/div>\n

    H\u00e1lendi\u00f0<\/strong> (= The Highlands)<\/p>\n

    The centre of Iceland is mostly uninhabited and for a good reason: there’s very little there that could sustain human population and the weather can be merciless. That’s not saying there’s nothing to see however, there are amazing hiking trails and landscapes that’ll take your breath away. Remember to be well prepared and well dressed though, else the Highlands is very capable of taking your breath away in a permanent way!<\/p>\n

    Vocabulary:<\/strong><\/p>\n

    Nor\u00f0ur<\/em> = north
    \nVestur<\/em> = west
    \nSu\u00f0ur<\/em> = south
    \nAustur<\/em> = east
    \nNor\u00f0vestur<\/em> = northwest
    \nNor\u00f0austur<\/em> = northeast
    \nSu\u00f0vestur<\/em> = southwest
    \nSu\u00f0austur<\/em> = southeast
    \n\u00c1ttaviti<\/em> = compass, lit. transl. “directions-knowing”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\"\"

    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…<\/p>\n

    Continue Reading<\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"author":91,"featured_media":4774,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"content-type":""},"categories":[90791,91379],"tags":[91398,91386,2332,27676,11872,91396,91397,13],"class_list":["post-4754","post","type-post","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-icelandic-culture","category-icelandic-customs","tag-driving-in-iceland","tag-icelandic-lessons","tag-nature","tag-outdoors","tag-sights","tag-so-icelandic","tag-traveling","tag-vocabulary"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/icelandic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4754","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/icelandic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/icelandic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/icelandic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/91"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/icelandic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4754"}],"version-history":[{"count":11,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/icelandic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4754\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5280,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/icelandic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4754\/revisions\/5280"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/icelandic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4774"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/icelandic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4754"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/icelandic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4754"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/icelandic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4754"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}