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The 11th annual Night of Lights festival begins today in Reykjanesbaer municipality in southwest Iceland. Tomorrow and Saturday night, many of the country’s best bands will play in Reykjanesbaer and on Sunday local choirs will entertain guests.
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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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Most beautiful lake in Iceland: Langisjór
Favorite mountain: Herdubreid
Favorite restaurant: Hamborgarabúllan, down by the harbor in Reykjavík
Most scenic road: The 99-kilometer stretch on the Ring Road, Iceland’s highway number one, between Höfn and Djúpivogur
Best view from hotel room: Hótel Ísafjördur
Favorite destination in Iceland: Langanes peninsula
Most scenic place: Askja volcano
Best place to watch the Northern Lights: Jökulsárlón lagoon by Vatnajökull glacier
Most beautiful building in the country: Alvar Aalto’s Nordic House in Reykjavík
Best car for Icelandic roads: Audi Q5
Most underrated place in Iceland: Reykjanes peninsula, southwest Iceland
Most beautiful country church: Skinnastadarkirkja in Öxarfjördur, northeast Iceland
Most impressive waterfall: Dettifoss in Jökulsá á Fjöllum
Best place to watch the midnight sun: Melrakkarslétta
Best museum: Safnasafnid, near Akureyri
Ugliest town: Blönduós in Húnavatnssýsla
Best place for bird watching: Lake Mývatn, north Iceland
Hot and cold: Hrafntinnusker by Torfajökull glacier in the central highlands
Favorite pub: Boston in Reykjavík
Most difficult road: F210, to Hungurfit and Lifrarfjöll, close to Tindfjallajökull glacier
Best hiking trail: From Snaefell to Lón in southeast Iceland
Best view: From the peak of Sveinstindur on Öraefajökull glacier in Skaftafellssýsla county
Best swimming pool: Salalaug in Kópavogur
Best camping ground: Landmannalaugar
Most scenic town: Seydisfjördur in the East Fjords
Strangest place for a hotel: Djúpavík in Strandasýsla, the West Fjords
Best bird cliff: Látrabjarg in the West Fjords, Europe’s westernmost point
Most overrated place in the Republic: Eden in Hveragerdi
Best ice cream: Brynjuís in Akureyri
Most beautiful waterfall: Dynjandi in Arnarfjördur, the West Fjords
Most exciting harbor: The Westman Islands (never a dull moment)
Best road to drive fast: Road 47, Hvalfjördur
Ugliest county: Vestur-Húnavatnssýsla, northwest Iceland
Strangest airport: Kópasker, northeast Iceland
Most beautiful river: Jökulsá á Fjöllum
Place most crowded by tourists: Lake Mývatn
If you want to be alone: Hornstrandir, the West Fjords (the last farmers left the region 70 years ago)
Páll Stefánsson – ps@icelandreview.com
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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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