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Click on the picture to watch an audio slideshow of Þorrablót, an Icelandic mid-winter feast. In the past there was no fresh food available at this time of year so people ate dried fish, smoked lamb, putrefied shark and soured blood and liver pudding along with other soured meat products—ram testicles included.
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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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The main highways leading out of Reykjavík to the south, Hellisheiði, Þrengsli and Reykjanesbraut, which were closed due to a blizzard yesterday, were reopened this morning, only for Hellisheiði to close again shortly before 10 am, visir.is reports.
Archive photo by Páll Stefánsson.
The conditions on the other roads aren’t optimal either, with ice, snowfall and snow cover. Many other roads in the region, and in other regions across Iceland, remain closed, ruv.is reported at 9 am this morning.
A number of drivers ignored the road closure on Hellisheiði yesterday and ended up being stuck on the mountain pass, mbl.is reports.
The Icelandic Meteorological Office is assuming rising temperatures of up to 11°C (52°F) in the Westman Islands, coupled with stormy conditions, and rain in the southwestern region today and in the coming days, mbl.is added.
Given the amount of snow that has fallen in the past days, the thaw creates a risk of leakage and slippery conditions, ruv.is warns.
The Reykjavík Metropolitan Fire Department asks people to clear the snow away from drains and balconies to diminish the risk of damages, and reduce the risk of accident by shoveling their drive and walkways.
Capital residents are unused to such excessive snowfall as it hasn’t occurred in decades. One man reported to the police that his car had been stolen but later canceled his visit to the police station, explaining that he had found his car inside a snowdrift, visir.is reports.
In Ólafsfjörður and Siglufjörður in the north, locals haven’t seen as much snow in ten years; in Ólafsfjörður the snow cover measured 80 centimeters, as stated on ruv.is.
For almost 24 hours, the inhabitants of the two towns were unable to leave the area by land due to avalanche risk on the roads leading out of Tröllaskagi peninsula.
While many Icelandic residents are annoyed, tourists seem to enjoy all the snow; a group of Japanese travelers who were stuck in a bus by the smelter in Straumsvík, Hafnarfjörður, yesterday were cheerful in spite of the situation.
The guide told mbl.is that “this is just a good ending of a good trip.” The group was waiting to continue their drive to Keflavík International Airport as soon as the conditions allowed for it (click here to watch a video from the bus).
Commuters are asked to pay close attention to weather forecasts and warnings on vedur.is and road conditions on vegagerdin.is.
Click here to read more about the trouble caused by the snowstorm yesterday.
ESA
A Playboy model, Progressive Party in trouble and a bad hair day.
Seven companies have asked to be listed on the NASDAQ OMX in Reykjavík, in one of the biggest privatization plans in the country’s history. All seven companies are owned, at least in part, by Landsbanki Íslands, which the Government of Iceland owns 81 percent.
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Landsvirkjun accounts for 75 percent of total electricity production in Iceland; in the year 2010 production reached 12,625 GWh. Climate change and the resulting increase in temperatures are expected to lead to a significant increase in the flow of glacial rivers in the years to come.
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The Special Prosecutors’ Office has filed charges in the so-called Al-Thani case, which pertains to the purchase of a five percent share in Kaupthing Bank in late September 2008, merely two weeks before the banking system’s collapse.
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The current issue of the quarterly magazine Iceland Review includes for example an interview with world-renowned fashion designer Steinunn Sigurðardóttir as well as features on the successful biotech company ORF Genetics and the hot debate regarding the EU. If you subscribe now, you will receive a photo book by IR editor, photographer Páll Stefánsson of the eruptions in Eyjafjallajökull as a gift. Click here to subscribe to the magazine and here to buy a gift subscription.
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REVIEWS
The second series of The Press continues to follow the life of journalist, mother and wife Lára and her investigation of Iceland’s underground world.
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Harvesting human-like protein from genetically modified barley, Icelandic company ORF Genetics is revolutionizing the world of green biotechnology. With Iceland’s First Lady Dorrit Moussaieff and Hollywood stars among its loyal fans, the company’s phenomenal skincare range has, quite literally, changed the face of the cosmetics industry.
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The international recognition that the architecture firm Snøhetta has received is quite unique in a Norwegian context.
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