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Click on the picture to watch an audio slideshow of a hike to Hraunsvatn lake in Öxnadalur valley in north Iceland, which lies at a height of 490 meters, interlocked between two steep mountains and a small glacier with a view of the majestic Hraundrangar peaks.
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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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The Icelandic negotiation committee was in London last weekend to exchange information with the British committee, which is allegedly calculating the impact of the Icelandic offer. The Dutch finance minister said they are always open for discussions.
“People have been exchanging ideas but there are no real negotiations going on,” Gudmundur Árnason, who is a member of the Icelandic committee, told Fréttabladid yesterday evening.
“We have not had any direct contact with the Dutch; our relations have mostly been with the British but we know that the British and the Dutch committees have been in contact over the weekend. There were no actual meetings [yesterday] but people have exchanged telephone conversations and emails,” Árnason explained.
According to Fréttabladid’s sources, the British negotiation committee is currently reviewing the last offer Iceland made. It involves, among other items, three interest free years and changeable interests during the repayment period.
“I hope that is correct,” Árnason said of the news that the British are reviewing Iceland’s offer. “We have presented certain ideas which we expect that they are looking at.”
The Icelandic government was in contact with the Icelandic negotiation committee yesterday; Minister of Finance Steingrímur J. Sigfússon followed the progress of the informal talks from his ministry last night.
Sigfússon said representatives of the Dutch government will come to the negotiation table if there is reason for formal talks.
Dutch Minister of Finance Jan Kees de Jager recently discussed the Icesave dispute in an interview on Dutch state television. He said the Dutch had been fair towards Icelanders, who he described as tough negotiators.
“There must be some movement from Iceland. We have made a very fair offer. If Icelanders say they want to resume negotiations that is good. We are always open for talks,” de Jager said.
Árnason said he doesn’t know what will happen next. “We will have some conversations [today] and then we expect that we will go back home [tonight].”
Click here to read more about Icesave.
Iceland’s cabinet met at the presidential residence Bessastadir at noon today where new ministers were announced: Gudbjartur Hannesson of the Social Democrats will lead a new Welfare Ministry and Ögmundur Jónasson of the Left-Greens a new Ministry for Internal Affairs.
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The average temperature of the three summer months, June, July and August, in Reykjavík this year was 12.2°C (54°F), which makes this the warmest summer in the capital since temperatures were first recorded in 1871, according to meteorologist Trausti Jónsson.
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The comedy sketch show Spaugstofan, which has been shown more or less continuously for 21 years on the Icelandic national broadcaster RÚV, has now been relocated to the private television channel Stöd 2.
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The crew of the sailboat Santa Maria from Hamburg, Germany, called for assistance when they ran out of fuel 140 nautical miles west of Reykjavík last week. The guard post of the Icelandic Maritime Administration contacted ships that were nearby and as it turned out the whaling ship Hvalur 9 was located closest to Santa Maria.
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The second issue of the print edition of Iceland Review 2010 has just been published. Entitled “Under the Volcano” the magazine dedicates 20 pages, words and pictures, to the volcanic eruption in Eyjafjallajökull glacier which made headlines all over the word. New subscribers will receive the book 2010 Eruptions as a gift and all subscribers are part of a draw to win a trip to Iceland. Click here to subscribe to the magazine.
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REVIEWS
Dadi Gudbjörnsson's art with its smiley faces, Aladdin's lamps, gleaming hearts, blue mountains and psychedelic flora of unearthly origin reminds me of the cheesy R.E.M. song “Shiny Happy People”. The sugar-sweet naivety fails to amuse me but I must admit it infects my mood with delirious joy.
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Former President of Iceland Vigdís Finnbogadóttir turned 80 on 15 April this year and Mayor Hanna Birna Kristjánsdóttir—in making her an Honorary Citizen of Reykjavík to mark the occasion—observed that Finnbogadóttir’s life was interwoven with that of Reykjavík. In June 1980 Finnbogadóttir made history when she became the world’s first democratically elected female head of state.
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Today, August 30, and tomorrow is your last chance to visit the exhibition “Eau De Parfum” by Andrea Maack at the Spark Design Space in Reykjavík. In the exhibition space, Maack introduces three perfumes that are the result of her collaboration with French perfumery apf aromes & parfums.
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