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As a kid I thought airports were the most romantic places in the world. Now, while other airports destroy my jet-setting romanticism, Keflavík aptly revives it.
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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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Two out of three aluminum companies in Iceland trade with the Icelandic króna in foreign markets in such a way that they profit from the difference between the official exchange rate of the Central Bank of Iceland and the króna’s exchange rate abroad.
The aluminum smelter in Reydarfjördur under construction. Photo by Páll Stefánsson.
“Many companies have exemption from the [currency] restrictions, according to the 14th paragraph of the regulations,” Central Bank governor Svein Harald Oeygard told Fréttabladid. “But exemptions aren’t made so that companies can profit because of the regulations.”
This type of trade takes place, for example, in the following manner: Companies buy currency in a market in Europe where the exchange rate of the króna is more profitable. In this way these companies obtain more króna for each dollar in export revenue than if they had exchanged the currency in Iceland.
However, such practice is not illegal since the companies in question have exemption from the Central Bank’s currency regulations.
Both Alcan and Alcoa in Iceland confirmed that their companies had spent a low percentage of their revenue to purchase Icelandic króna abroad.
Nordurál – Century Aluminum, on the other hand, stated that all trade has taken place in Iceland and through Icelandic commercial banks.
Alcan has now decided to change the nature of its trade with the Icelandic króna. The company has contacted the Central Bank requesting that its currency trade only take place in Iceland from now on.
Click here to read more about the currency restrictions.
Minister of Transport Kristján L. Möller decided yesterday to follow the advice of the committee supervising the finances of municipalities and appoint a three-person board to reorganize the finances of Álftanes, a neighboring community of Reykjavík, which has gone into insolvency.
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Norwegian lawyer Morten Furuholmen is preparing a lawsuit against Icelandic authorities for what he calls an unfounded arrest of Leif Ivar Kristiansen, the leader of the Hells Angels motorcycle club in Norway, at Keflavík International Airport yesterday.
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The government of Iceland and the opposition in Iceland’s parliament reached an agreement yesterday on a discussion point to use in renegotiations with British and Dutch authorities on the Icesave obligations.
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Icelandair has submitted a request to the Ministries of Justice and Industry that operating casinos be legalized in Iceland. The company is interested in opening a casino at the Hilton Hotel Nordica on Sudurlandsbraut in Reykjavík.
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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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