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May
20
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Rhubarb Stew
Watch an audio slideshow of how traditional Icelandic rhubarb stew is made. Rhubarb is one of the few vegetables that grows effortlessly in Iceland and for that reason it used to be a highly-valued addition to the traditional diet of fish and lamb.
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18.03.2013 | 11:00
A Perfect Night (JB)
Last night was the kind of night only a poet can capture with his or her words. The kind of night, Shakespeare would describe with a passionate sonnet and Wordsworth with a picturesque lyrical ballad.
The air is crisp. Each breath of fresh air, ice-cold and invigorating, is intoxicating. All is quiet. The only distraction is the beat of running feet with a clear destination in mind, so determined to reach its destination that he who calls these feet his own, is seemingly blind to the unpredictable choreography of the dancing Aurora.
The spring green is an unlikely shade for the Aurora’s cloud as she drifts across the blue plains of an endless sky. Winter’s cold breath still reigns our lands and spring still seems but a distant dream.
On a night like this, the boundary between the artist’s imagination and the physical reality is blurred.
The stars shimmer next to the moon, a magnificent display of waxing crescent lit up as brightly as the sun. The wide tail of Aurora’s cloud drifts lightly from star to star, stars to moon, and moon to stars. The blue and green are fused together softening the cold of winter with a softer shade of turquoise. Like the shores of the Mediterranean briefly visiting the land of ice from great heights. Just like Van Gogh’s ‘Starry Night in Arles’.
The Aurora is not a rare sight in the deep northern hemisphere. But rarely is her dance as intoxicating as it was last night.
The green was greener. The blue was cooler. The blue sky and the green Aurora danced together to music so awesome and powerful to celebrate the power of the sun.
A coronal mass ejection was the reason for this immense celebration of the solar system.
The fantastical display was a reason enough to take a late night walk, following the dancing Aurora flirting with the blue sky and veiling the stars in her embrace into the eternal horizon.
There was a time when I would have looked through my window and catch but glimpse of Aurora’s dance. On a night like last night, I would have made the exception and peeked through the front door to see it with my own eyes.
However, on my journey of rediscovery, I seize every opportunity to not only see but to feel in my veins the cold and crispy air, and watch the moon and the stars flickering from joy as they bathe in the warm fog of soft turquoise, born in a moment of passion as the ice-cold blue sky and spring green Aurora cloud dance with joy.
A true beauty is not always measured by her soft curves and maternal glow. Sometimes beauty is raw, even harsh as is the case on the surface of this land of ice and fire.
But once in a while, the raw beauty of cold is transformed with a power greater than is within our control. It is softened by the extremes of solar flames ejected into space from the very source of heat, the Sun, and becomes a passionate flame of spring green. The maternal glow of feminine creativity sweeps her flames across the universe, creating momentary warmth in this world of winter.
This is life on the edge of the world. The cold dominates our world and we dare not presume what tomorrow brings. Only once in a while do the flames of the sun pay us a visit with such ferocity without giving an inch of physical warmth to the population on ground.
In summer, we rejoice days when the wind is unable to penetrate the sun’s warmth with his cold North Atlantic breeze that is never silent.
On a night like this, Mother Nature’s creation comes alive in a bodice that enables her to physically dance over a world that is perfectly still in the night. Not a whisper from the wind.
I am not a religious woman. I believe in science and the scientific explanations of how life was created.
Last night, Mother Nature took my breath away.
For others, Aurora’s dance would be seen as one of God’s most magnificent creations.
Either way, it was like watching a waterfall of flaming green sweeping across the sky.
Nature is Life’s Playground. All living creatures on earth are privileged to be a part of something so beautiful.
I certainly am.
That’s why I want to do my best to make sure she, Mother Nature, continues to be the center of the world, to whom we owe our existence.
To continue ruining it with our best efforts is the best way to further reduce the time we are given to bathe in this perfect world.
Júlíana Björnsdóttir – julianabjornsdottir@gmail.com
One of the last tasks of Steingrímur J. Sigfússon while in office as minister of industries and innovation was to issue a regulation on Monday extending the reserve for whales in Faxaflói bay, off Reykjavík in Southwest Iceland. The regulation took affect at midnight.
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The Identification Committee of the National Commissioner of the Icelandic Police yesterday completed its investigation of human remains found by travelers on the beach Kaldbaksvík in Strandir, the eastern West Fjords, on Saturday.
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The government of Jóhanna Sigurðardóttir will formally step down after a state council meeting with President of Iceland Ólafur Ragnar Grímsson at his residence Bessastaðir at 11 am today. At 3 pm, the new government of Sigmundur Davíð Gunnlaugsson will attend a state council meeting and afterwards formally take power.
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Air traffic was grounded at Keflavík International Airport for up to two hours this morning due to a failure in the flight data system. Due to the delay, many passengers missed their connecting flights.
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May
21
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Oldest Icelander Conquers Everest
May
21
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Iceland’s Highest Peak Popular
May
20
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Today is the Second Day of Whitsun
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The 2013 April-May issue of Iceland Review & Atlantica has been released. Packed with informative and entertaining stories, highlights include an interview with outgoing Prime Minister Jóhanna Sigurðardóttir and the people who know her best, a photo essay of ice caves in Europe’s largest glacier and a colorful feature on life in the West Fjords.
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REVIEWS
May
15
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Shorts & Docs Galore
The 11th Reykjavík Shorts & Docs. Catch it while it lasts!
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May
20
|
Inspired by Ísafjörður
Artist couple Nína Ivanova and Ómar Smári Kristinsson explain why they decided to settle in the West Fjords’ capital.
May
20
|
Reykjavík Queer Choir Spring Concert
Reykjavík Queer Choir’s annual spring concert takes place on Friday, May 24.
&p[title]=A Perfect Night (JB)&p[images][0]=http://www.icelandreview.com/icelandreview/upload/images/daily_life/3842841_julianabjornsdottir_dl.jpg&p[summary]=Crispy air. Cold blue skies. Dancing Aurora. Moon and stars bathing in the glory of an extraordinary solar eruption.
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