Maybe it would be best for both Jón Bjarnason and the whole country if he were to move to Grímsey, an uninhabited island in the West Fjords.
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The new Dreamliner, Boeing 787, landed at Keflavík International Airport yesterday morning for test flights in side wind. According to the airport’s information officer Fridthór Eydal, the airplane will be in Iceland for test flights for about a week.
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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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According to a statement from the Whale Watching Association of Iceland, the number of minke whales spotted in whale watching areas has dropped significantly since 2003, when the Iceland Marine Research Institute began whaling for scientific purposes.
The statement claims the Marine Research Institute has killed dozens of minke whales within designated whale watching areas despite the Ministry of Fisheries promising that no animals would be killed in these areas.
According to the statement, minke whales, which used to swim alongside whale watching boats, now tend to avoid them, destroying the experience of tens of thousands of tourists who whale watch.
The Whale Watching Association said in its statement that it celebrates the Minister of Fisheries’ Einar K. Gudfinnsson’s decision not to issue a new quota for commercial whaling for the upcoming fishing season since whale meat cannot be exported to Japan.
However, the statement says, the Association regrets the minister’s decision to renew the quota for minke whaling for the local market, which will further harm the whale watching industry.
The red dots represent killed minke whales and the dark blue areas the designated whale watching areas. The map was made by the Whale Watching Association based on information from the Marine Research Institute.
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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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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