Some things I can’t see or understand. Not even with my FUJI camera.
more
Prime Minister of Iceland Jóhanna Sigurdardóttir travels to Canada today. She will travel around Canada and the US until Monday and participate in the Icelandic Festivals held by the Icelandic communities in both countries.
more
Click on the picture to watch this audio slideshow about bird watching at Óshólmar, an area at the mouth of Eyjafjardará river just outside Akureyri in north Iceland, the largest Icelandic town outside the capital region. Not many tourists know about this attraction, which is perfect for a walk in the sun.
more
Located just 40 minutes by car and six minutes from Keflavík International Airport, Sandgerdi (“Sandy Hedge”) is a growing town of 1,700 with a storied history and loads to see. Read this special promotion about the hidden secrets of one of Iceland's most charming seaside villages.
more
Iceland ranks number 6 is a survey of disposable income among European countries. According to the survey, Icelanders generate ISK 1.8 million (USD 30,000, EUR 20,000) in disposable income on average per capita per year, lowering the nation down one place since last year. Switzerland and Lichtenstein rank highest.
The survey was undertaken by the German market research company GfK GeoMarketing and the results were published yesterday, 24 stundir reports.
“These results are good,” said Skúli Thoroddsen, general manager of the Federation of General and Special Workers in Iceland (SGS), “but […] it says nothing about the situation of those who have the lowest wages.”
“The pie is not sliced evenly, and behind these high salaries in Iceland are long working hours, one quarter longer than in the other Nordic countries,” Thoroddsen added. “We also have the highest food prices in Europe and other necessities are also much more expensive here than in other countries.”
Thoroddsen claimed that the taxation system in the other Nordic countries is used to even out personal revenue, while in Iceland it is used to favor those who have the highest salaries. “Our goal in the upcoming wage agreements is to correct the inequality and make sure the taxation system serves the right purpose.”
Cornelia Richter, a spokesperson for GfK, told 24 stundir that different costs of living had not been taken into account when conducting the survey, adding that a rule of thumb says that after housing costs and other regular expenses have been paid, one third of the disposable income remains.
Ireland, which is currently in fourth place, according to GfK’s survey, has surpassed both Iceland and Denmark since last year. Salaries in Ireland have rapidly increased while taxes remain rather low.
Luxembourg ranks number 2, Norway is in the third place and Denmark is number 5 on the list. Moldavia ranks lowest with only ISK 60,000 (USD 999, EUR 681) in average annual disposable income per capita, one-thirtieth of what the average Icelander can spend in one year.
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 Puffins as a gift and all subscribers are part of a draw to win a trip to Iceland. Click here to subscribe to the magazine.
more
Hendrikka Waage is an accomplished jewellery designer whose first children’s book Rikka and Her Magic Ring in Iceland, takes readers on an enchanted and educational journey through the country. It’s beautifully illustrated and a good lesson in geography, but the plot could have been better thought through and the moral of the story is a bit too prominent.
more
On the third day of the Eyjafjallajökull eruption we drove from Skógar to Hvolsvöllur in total darkness, a distance of 18 kilometers. It was frightening, the darkness being so impenetrable that we could hardly see out the windows of the car. We could see faint lights from the farm standing right next to the highway.
more
Ásmundur Sveinsson is among the foremost Icelandic sculptors. The current exhibition in the Ásmundur Sveinsson Museum in Reykjavík is entitled “I choose women who thrive…” and features women as symbols in the sculptor’s art. The works in the exhibition are selected from his entire career.
more