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The al fresco nap is standard practice here and Icelanders clearly have it down to a science.
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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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The first buildings, which are indented to house the aluminum smelting pots of the Nordurál – Century Aluminum smelter in Helguvík on Reykjanes peninsula, southwest Iceland, are currently under construction.
The aluminum pot housings of the smelter in Reydarfjördur, east Iceland, under construction. Photo by Páll Stefánsson.
The project is proceeding slowly and it won’t move any more quickly ahead until funding for the Helguvík smelter and related power plants is completed, Morgunbladid reports.
The contractor, Íslenskir adalverktakar (ÍAV), is currently working on two aluminum pot buildings as part of the project’s first 90,000-ton stage. The groundwork is almost completed and the construction of a new harbor for Reykjaneshöfn is also underway.
Ágúst Hafberg, managing director of business development and communications at Nordurál, said they will continue constructing the Helguvík smelter at this pace for most of this year while working on the project’s funding.
Hafberg explained that environmental impact assessment for the establishment of cables and construction of power plants also has to be completed and other licenses need to be obtained as well, so he cannot say when construction will begin at full speed.
Click here to read more about planned aluminum smelters in Iceland.
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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The Ministry of Finance proposed in December that the Icelandic state acquire Byr savings bank and that claimants be compensated by 40 percent, paid out with bonds issued by the state.
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There are speculations that some members of the Social Democrats are interested in forging a new coalition government with the Progressive Party in addition to the Left-Greens. The current Social Democrat-Left-Green coalition is described as fatigued.
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The song “Je Ne Sais Quoi” by Örygur Smári and Hera Björk Thórhallsdóttir received the most votes in the Icelandic Eurovision song contest final on Saturday and will be Iceland’s entry in the main contest in Norway in May.
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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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