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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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Iceland’s accession negotiations with the European Union were formally opened today at the first intergovernmental conference in Brussels.
Icelandic Minister for Foreign Affairs Össur Skarphédinsson. Photo by Páll Stefánsson.
Icelandic Minister for Foreign Affairs, Össur Skarphédinsson, participated on Iceland’s behalf in the conference, which was hosted by the Belgian Presidency of the EU, a press release from the Foreign Ministry of Iceland stated.
Skarphédinsson welcomed the opening of the negotiations with the EU by saying: “This is quite a historic day for Iceland as well as the European Union when we embark on negotiations on the membership of Iceland.”
In his speech, Skarphédinsson presented Iceland’s negotiation position and underlined Iceland’s long democratic tradition and European identity.
He emphasized areas where Iceland could make a significant contribution, such as in sustainable use of natural resources, both marine and energy, and its status as a country entirely in the Arctic region.
“The benefits I see for Iceland of joining the Union are quite clear: We seek the right to sit at the family table where decisions are made that affect our future. We seek the security of a strong, international currency. We seek foreign investments. We seek an environment of stable, lasting growth that is inductive to the development of hi-tech industries that already contribute 25 percent of our export earnings. Not least, we seek the long-term security a small nation, that neither has nor intends to have a military, would find by belonging to a strong European family.”
Iceland's negotiating committee continues its preparations in close consultation with the Icelandic parliament, Althingi, stakeholders and social partners.
The screening process, preceding actual chapter-by-chapter negotiations, is expected to start in November. This process involves the detailed comparison of Iceland’s and EU’s legislation.
Once the screening has been completed, individual chapters can be opened for negotiations between the EU Member States and Iceland.
For further information, visit the Foreign Ministry’s new website for Iceland's application for the EU.
Click here to read more about Iceland and the EU.
At the upcoming Reykjavík International Film Festival (RIFF), on September 24, the 1959 comedy Some Like It Hot by director Billy Wilder, starring Marilyn Monroe, Tony Curtis and Lack Lemmon, will be screened at the 73-year-old swimming pool Sundhöll Reykjavíkur.
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A memorial to Helgi Hóseasson, known nationally as ‘Iceland’s Protestor’, was unveiled yesterday, the first anniversary of his death, on the street corner of Langholtsvegur and Holtagata in Reykjavík where he used to stand with his placards.
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According to a schedule issued by the Icelandic Road Administration yesterday, Herjólfur, the Westman Islands ferry, will sail between the islands and the new harbor Landeyjahöfn three times a day during high tide in the coming days.
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Prime Minister of Iceland Jóhanna Sigurdardóttir traveled to the Faroe Islands with her wife Jónína Leósdóttir yesterday on an official visit. During her stay, Sigurdardóttir will meet Faroese Prime Minister Kaj Leo Johannesen, the Faroese government and learn more about the Faroese culture and history.
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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 Puffins 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
Future of Hope is an aptly named documentary directed by Henry Bateman about what some people are doing to shape the future of Iceland, hoping that above all, the crisis will ultimately strengthen the country.
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There can’t be many novels that are heralded as being “a purification for body and soul” recommended to “those who enjoy experimental cookery” (review of November Rain in DV newspaper) and “as beautiful as a painting from the golden age” (review of The Offspring by Danish newspaper Politiken). However, Reykjavík based writer, Audur Ava Ólafsdóttir, has attracted such attention not to mention literary prizes.
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Have a laugh this week by visiting Hafnarborg, the Hafnarfjördur Centre of Culture and Fine Art, where the exhibition “Humor in Icelandic Art” is currently running. The exhibition consists of works by contemporary Icelandic artists from different generations which deal with humor and irony.
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