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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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Norwegian Minister of Finance Sigbjoern Johnsen does not oppose the idea that Norway would pay Iceland’s Icesave debt and then grant the Icelandic state a loan at a much lower interest rate than Iceland can receive from the UK and the Netherlands.
From Oslo. Photo by Páll Stefánsson.
Johnsen told Norwegian newspaper Aftenposten that the idea has been discussed between Icelandic and Norwegian officials in the past weeks.
“We have discussed it but he Norwegian government has not received any request from Iceland regarding this solution,” Johnsen said. “It is something we will consider if such a request is received.”
Iceland’s Finance Minister Steingrímur J. Sigfússon told visir.is it is pleasing that the Norwegian government is prepared to loan Iceland money to cover the Icesave obligations. But he said it hasn’t been discussed formally yet.
It appears as if a cross-political sympathy for Iceland’s cause in the Icesave dispute with the UK and the Netherlands is forming in Norway.
“We are in very good contact with Norway and they pay close attention to this matter and we sense goodwill,” Sigfússon said, adding that it isn’t sensible to discuss this matter in any more detail at this stage.
The interest rate on the proposed Icesave loan from British and Dutch authorities is permanent at 5.5 percent.
According to Aftenposten, the Icelandic government is hoping that with refinancing of the debt from Norway, the rate could drop as low as two percent.
Click here to read more about Icesave.
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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