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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 Minister of Transport Kristján Möller announced over the weekend that the government had decided not to construct a tunnel connecting the Westman Islands, off Iceland’s southern coast, with the mainland.
Möller told reporters the government would focus on other ways to improve transport to the islands instead, as Bladid reports.
The minister said an agreement had been reached with sea transportation company Eimskip on Friday, which operates the Westman Island ferry Herjólfur, on 15 additional trips every year until the agreement with Eimskip expires in 2010.
The engineering service Sigurdur Thoroddsen hf. (VTS) submitted a cost estimate of a tunnel to the Westman Islands last week.
According to the estimate, the tunnel construction would be risky and cost between ISK 50 and 80 billion (USD 833 million and 1.3 billion, EUR 605 million and 969 million), which the government concluded would be too expensive.
Two other options are being considered to improve transport to the Westman Islands: a new and better Herjólfur or ferry transports to Bakkafjara, south Iceland, which would replace the current docking point in Thorlákshöfn, which is closer to the capital region, but further away from the islands.
According to Hreinn Haraldsson, the managing director of the development department of the Iceland Road Administration, the total cost of a new docking point in Bakkafjara would be ISK 5.6 billion (USD 100 million, EUR 67 million).
“That includes the cost of constructing a new harbor, a new specially designed ferry and a new road to connect to the Ring Road,” Haraldsson said, concluding a new docking point in Bakkafjara would be the best option.
The new ferry would be smaller than Herjólfur and carry about 250 passengers and 50 cars. It could sail between the Westman Islands and Bakkafjara six or seven times a day and each trip would take about 30 minutes instead of the current two hours and 45 minutes.
“In fact, the transport time would not be much longer than driving through a tunnel,” Haraldsson said.
The average temperature of the three summer months, June, July and August, in Reykjavík this year was 12.2°C (54°F), which makes this the warmest summer in the capital since temperatures were first recorded in 1871, according to meteorologist Trausti Jónsson.
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The comedy sketch show Spaugstofan, which has been shown more or less continuously for 21 years on the Icelandic national broadcaster RÚV, has now been relocated to the private television channel Stöd 2.
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The crew of the sailboat Santa Maria from Hamburg, Germany, called for assistance when they ran out of fuel 140 nautical miles west of Reykjavík last week. The guard post of the Icelandic Maritime Administration contacted ships that were nearby and as it turned out the whaling ship Hvalur 9 was located closest to Santa Maria.
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The theater festival Lókal begins in Reykjavík today and will run until September 5. The program includes the show “The Great Group of Eight” held by the Kviss búmm bang trio where spectators have the opportunity to be national leaders for three to four hours.
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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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