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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 Health Gudlaugur Thór Thórdarsson said in light of the smoking ban in public places, which took effect in Iceland in June 2007, he believes the Althingi parliament should remove its special smoking facilities for MPs.
It is legal, with exceptions, for workplaces to establish smoking facilities for employees, but Thórdarson dislikes the idea of Iceland’s parliament having such facilities because MP’s should serve as role models for others, Fréttabladid reports.
“I think it is ridiculous for the parliament to have its own smoking room. The legislative assembly should provide a good example,” the minister said.
According to law, smoking is prohibited inside bars and restaurants, but some bar owners have permitted smoking indoors again in protest of the smoking ban. Baldvin Skúlason, owner of Barinn, Q-bar and Oliver said the ban is unfair and has requested a meeting with Thórdarson.
Skúlason has also criticized the law for being vague. Thórdarson said the smoking ban is clear enough and he does not believe that he will give his vote to a potential bill on a milder smoking ban, authorizing special smoking facilities inside bars.
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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The Icelandic pavilion which was designed for the 2010 World Expo in Shanghai was presented to the representatives of the Foreign Ministry and the committee preparing Iceland’s participation at the Reykjavík Art Museum – Hafnarhús on Friday.
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A water leak at the storage facilities of the Icelandic Institute of Natural History (NÍ) on Saturday night didn’t cause significant damage, thanks to an employee’s decision to come to work early on Sunday morning.
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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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