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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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NATO’s North Atlantic Council (NAC) decided on Thursday to begin regular supervision of Icelandic airspace, which would involve NATO air forces coming to Iceland at least every four months for supervision and exercises.
Following Thursday’s agreement, NATO member nations will be approached to see whether they are interested in sending military jets to Iceland. According to Bladid, some member nations have already expressed their interest.
The nations in question would probably cover the cost of such operations themselves, but Iceland would pay for technical assistance, required facilities and accommodation for the pilots at the Keflavík airport security zone.
“I think this is happening in the wrong order. First we should have discussed these issues here in Iceland, created a policy and defined our needs instead of deciding in advance that it is in our benefit to have military exercises in this country,” leader of the Left Greens (Vinstri graenir) Steingrímur J. Sigfússon told Fréttabladid.
“I haven’t seen any arguments saying it will change anything for Iceland to have military jets from other countries coming here four times a year to play around. I think this is pretension,” Sigfússon concluded.
“With [the agreement with NATO] we’ll have acceptable air defense. But we still have to go through a general estimation of our needs for defense, not only in a military sense, but also regarding preparation for environmental disasters, infectious diseases and international crime,” said Foreign Minister Ingibjörg Sólrún Gísladóttir.
The air supervision plan will be developed further next fall and then it will be decided when the military jets will arrive, how long they will stay on each occasion and how many troops will come.
The idea was first brought up by Prime Minister Geir H. Haarde at a meeting between NATO member nations last November.
Before NATO supervision of Icelandic airspace can begin, Iceland will have to take over the operation of the local airspace supervision system which the US has operated so far, including radar stations in four locations in the country, and connect it to the NATO Integrated Air Defense System.
According to Bladid, negations between Iceland and the US regarding the future of the system are scheduled to finish before August 15.
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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