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As a kid I thought airports were the most romantic places in the world. Now, while other airports destroy my jet-setting romanticism, Keflavík aptly revives it.
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Click on the picture to observe how to prepare a traditional Icelandic meal of roe and liver (hrogn og lifur). At this time of year, egg pouches are harvested from female fish, mainly cod and haddock, and sold in fish stores around the country along with the liver. The egg pouches may not look appetizing; just remember that caviar is fish eggs too.
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Fjallabyggd (“Mountain Settlement”) is a skier’s dream. Its slopes are perfect for slaloming and there are also tracks for telemark skiing. Winter sporting enthusiasts can also go ice skating or rent snowmobiles. In summer, Fjallabyggd turns into a paradise for hikers. Read this special promotion about one of Iceland’s best hidden gems.
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Minister of Transport Kristján L. Möller decided yesterday to follow the advice of the committee supervising the finances of municipalities and appoint a three-person board to reorganize the finances of Álftanes, a neighboring community of Reykjavík, which has gone into insolvency.
Álftanes. Photo by Páll Stefánsson.
“I believe this is the way that we have to go to turn this development around,” Möller said during a press conference, Morgunbladid reports.
The town council of Álftanes has submitted proposals on savings measures but the board has yet to work on its action plan. “Many different measures must be undertaken,” the minister said.
The municipality owes ISK 7 billion (USD 54 million, EUR 40 million) but is only capable of paying ISK 2-2.5 billion (USD 16-19 million, EUR 11-14 million) of that amount.
One of the reasons for this heavy debt load is a new and technologically advanced swimming pool, which opened in Álftanes last year.
It has not been revealed whether the state will give the municipality additional financial support, whether debts will be written off or whether the inhabitants of Álftanes will be subject to extensive cutbacks and additional taxes.
“The high debts are the largest problem and it has to be fixed,” said Ólafur Nilsson, chairman of the committee supervising the finances of municipalities. He said selling Álftanes’s assets is a possibility; this measure has been undertaken before to solve the financial difficulties of municipalities.
Mayor of Álftanes Pálmi Thór Másson said the minister’s decision was not surprising. “It was clear that the municipality couldn’t work its way out of its financial problems without outside help.”
The municipality has discussed a merger with Gardabaer, a neighboring municipality, and Másson said the latest developments will not affect the merger talks. “We just have to look at what is in the best interest of the inhabitants.”
Mayor of Gardabaer Gunnar Einarsson confirmed that discussions have taken place and that Álftanes’s debt situation and merger ideas have been mentioned. Now further talks will await the board’s proposals for financial reorganization of Álftanes.
It has only happened once before that an Icelandic municipality has lost financial control to a government-appointed board.
In 1998 a board was appointed to reorganize the finances of Hofsós in north Iceland. Its inhabitants then decided to merge with two other municipalities.
Click here to read more about Álftanes’s troubles.
Norwegian lawyer Morten Furuholmen is preparing a lawsuit against Icelandic authorities for what he calls an unfounded arrest of Leif Ivar Kristiansen, the leader of the Hells Angels motorcycle club in Norway, at Keflavík International Airport yesterday.
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The government of Iceland and the opposition in Iceland’s parliament reached an agreement yesterday on a discussion point to use in renegotiations with British and Dutch authorities on the Icesave obligations.
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Icelandair has submitted a request to the Ministries of Justice and Industry that operating casinos be legalized in Iceland. The company is interested in opening a casino at the Hilton Hotel Nordica on Sudurlandsbraut in Reykjavík.
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Icelandic stamp collector Magni R. Magnússon recently found a rare stamp sheet from Liberia portraying President of Iceland Ólafur Ragnar Grímsson in a collector’s store in Belgium. Liberian post authorities issued stamps with almost 200 world leaders in 2000.
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New subscribers to the quarterly Iceland Review magazine will receive the photography book Puffins, which contains a wealth of information about this colorful bird, as a gift. Additionally, all subscribers will enter a draw to win a trip to Iceland. Click here to subscribe to Iceland Review. The new issue will be out next week!
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REVIEWS
When I first heard of the photographic book Legend by Fiann Paul, portraying people dressed in Viking-style in Icelandic landscapes, I imagined it would depict scenes from Norse mythology. However, the idea with the book is to tell a story of how “The Seeker” finds “The Legend” and it feels like a wishy-washy self-help book.
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Fresh back from Brazil, where she was one of 28 international judges at the ‘Cup of Excellence’ awards, Kaffitár founder and owner Adalheidur Hédinsdóttir sat down with Atlantica’s Mica Allan in Kaffitár’s Bankastraeti cafe to talk about her passion and delight: coffee.
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“Lucy” is a video and music installation by Dodda Maggý (1981), the 15th artist to exhibit in Reykjavík Art Museum’s D-gallery project in the Hafnarhús exhibition hall. In “Lucy” the artist explores the idea of the “acousmetre,” a film character portrayed only by voice, never in body, omniscient and ubiquitous.
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