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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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Icelandic energy company Enex, owned by Reykjavík Energy Company and Geysir Green Energy, is planning to help construct a geothermal heating system in China ten to 12 times bigger than that in Reykjavík.
Enex is already participating in constructing the world’s largest geothermal heating utility in the Chinese city of Xianyang in Shaanxi province, Morgunbladid reports.
“We haven’t examined in detail what our opportunities are,” said Enex managing director Lárus Elíasson. He said Icelandic knowledge is useful in China as the need for energy is in rapid growth and coinciding with the country’s economic growth of ten percent annually.
Elíasson and Zhao Zhengyong, the first assistant governor of Shaanxi (pop. 40 million) who visited Iceland last week, agree that Iceland and China’s cooperation on energy issues should expand further.
Zhengyong said the next step will be cooperation on hydrogen research and that China’s Premier of the State Council Wen Jiabao is personally interested in the countries’ cooperation on energy issues.
Enex’s operations in China are managed by Shaanxi Green Energy, owned by Enex China and CGCO, which is owned by Sinopec, one of China’s largest oil companies.
Click here to read about free trade talks between Iceland and China and here to read about Glitnir Bank’s operations in China.
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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