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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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Some European Union member states are said to be of the opinion that Iceland should not be granted a loan from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) until an agreement with Britain in regards to the deposits of Icelandic banks has been reached.
These same EU member states allegedly also believe that Iceland should not be granted a loan from the union’s emergency fund until the dispute surrounding the deposit accounts has been solved, Fréttabladid reports.
Icelandic Committee Members of Parliament of the European Free Trade Association (EFTA) Countries (CMP) said they had been given a clear message in that regard from EU officials during a meeting in Brussels earlier this week.
“I believe that extortion is involved,” said MP for the Left-Greens Árni Thór Sigurdsson, who is on the CMP. “[EU officials] said that a loan from the IMF would not happen unless we reached an agreement with Britain. They have influence in the fund and can set terms like that, which is known as extortion.”
Katrín Júlíusdóttir, an MP for the Social Democrats and chairman for the Icelandic division of the CMP, said Iceland’s representatives on the CMP had pointed out that Iceland intended to respect laws and regulations but that they disagreed with Britain on the interpretation of some legal issues.
Júlíusdóttir said Iceland’s representatives in the committee had also pointed out that there should not be a connection between international financial aid and a dispute on insurance for deposits.
British authorities have offered a loan to the Icelandic state so that Icelandic authorities can honor their obligations to Landsbanki account holders in the UK. However, a prerequisite for such a loan is an agreement with the IMF.
According to Fréttabladid, British Chancellor of the Exchequer Alistair Darling emphasized that a loan to Iceland would not be granted otherwise in an interview with the Dow Jones news agency on Monday.
Icelandic banks Landsbanki and Kaupthing, both of which have now been nationalized, accepted deposits through their subsidiaries in some European countries, primarily in the UK and the Netherlands. Landsbanki’s Icesave is an example of such a subsidiary.
Click here to read more about the potential IMF loan and here to read more about the development of the Iceland-Britain dispute.
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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