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10 Iceland Travel Tips for an Amazing Vacation
Read our 11 top tips for Iceland travel. Find out the best way to see Iceland, tips for exploring, & other info for travelers holidaying in Iceland.
Einar Steinn Valgarðsson
Certified travel blogger
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A writer for this site, integral in its shaping, as well as an avid traveler and a Reykjavik local, I have a fair knowledge of the country and traveling. Good in languages, have a BA in English. Other interests: Music, films, coffee houses, swimming, politics, health and humanitarian issues, folklore, anthropology, arts, poetry, culture, nature, hiking, history etc. I would be happy to direct you to good tours and recommend cool stuff. The opinions that I express on my blog are solely my own.
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Buns & Bakeries, Tea & ale: Four Weird Icelandic Sayings
Gotta love language. I especially love sayings in different languages. Sometimes these will be the same or similar between countries and sometimes completely different. My favourites are probably those that seem to make little or no sense at all, even to native speakers. Here are four local ones: 1) Hann/hún vildi fá eitthvað fyrir snúð sinn = He/she wanted something for his/her bun (well, actually for his/her effort/trouble). The word "snúður" typically refers to a cinnamon bun but it‘s original meaning is a twist, as in a spinning wheel. "Að snúast" indeed means to turn or, indirectly
Intercultural Day in Reykjavik
Tomorrow, May 11th, Reykjavik will celebrate multiculturalism and diversity, showcasing the different cultures in the capital on its fifth annual Intercultural Day. The fun starts at 13:00 with a parade from Hallgrímskirkja church, marching down to the city hall. Thereafter there will be a full and diverse schedule of festivites, including music, dance and poetry at various places in the central area, celebrating the many and rich cultures of the people staying the city. This is a great event for the whole family to enjoy and everyone is welcome. The schedule is as follows: Tjarnarbí
Election results... *le sigh*
I have not much to add about the results of the parliamentary elections that you won't be able to read in the international media anyway. So instead of elaborating on the sad fact that the two parties that were crucial in instigating the financial crash got the majority of votes, in order to get my feelings off my chest I will simply share this video, that pretty much sums up my view on that: I still urge everyone to visit Iceland. We have cookies.
Hekla: Old & new pictures, music & tours
I am an avid reader of the Icelandic website Lemúrinn, which can be described as a website about pretty much everything. Today I stumbled upon a great article featuring old pictures from Hekla volcano, taken by English photographer Frederic W.W. Howell somewhere in the years 1890-1900. I thought it ideal to share this, and you can thus access the article and the pictures here. I also thought I'd share a great piece written by Icelandic composer Jón Leifs, called Hekla, Op. 52, inspired by the volcano. The video features more pictures from the volcano: The legendary Hekla is definitely T
University Choir Concert on April 11th
The University Choir ('Háskólakórinn' in Icelandic), where I sing 1st bass, will have it's spring concert in Neskirkja in Reykjavík on Thursday, April 11th at 20:00. We'll be performing Icelandic choir works, among them works by our conductor, Gunnsteinn Ólafsson, Jón Leifs, and Jón Ásgeirsson along with works by Johannes Brahms and Felix Mendelssohn. Special guests will be Söngfjelagið and Helga Margrét Marzellíusardóttir. The common ticket price is 2000 ISK, 1500 for the elderly, children and invalids. In an earlier post I shared a few works performed by Háskólakórinn. Below are some mo
Seven of My Favorite Songs About Reykjavík
I was born and raised in Reykjavík and still live here. As with probably every place where you grow up, it has its share of the good, the bad and the ugly. It is a part of you and always will be. There will be times where you can‘t wait to get away from it and others where you miss it so much you‘ll think you‘re heart is going to burst. I thought I‘d share with you seven of my favorite songs about Reykjavík, celebrating the high, the low and the in-betweens. Björk & KK: Ó borg, mín borg A beautiful and romantic ode to the city, praising it‘s low houses, lights and streets. It also has t
Great Icelandic Songs That Aren't Icelandic
While Iceland certainly has an abundance of great original music, (see the section Music of Iceland for example), many songs have been borrowed through the years, as things go, adapted and arranged. Similarly, lyrics have either been translated, adapted or the songs have gotten entirely new lyrics, and may not even have anything to do with the original. It might be argued that in order for a cover to be successful, the artist has to put his/her mark on it, ‘make it theirs’ so to speak. This has certainly been common in Iceland, to the point of many Icelanders not being aware of the origins
Wacken Metal Battle at Harpa. Special Guests: Skálmöld
Wacken Metal Battle, the live band competition that sends the winning band to Wacken Open Air, will be held at Harpa, the new Reykjavik Conference and Concert Hall on Saturday 6. April. The hall in question: Eldborg (meaning "Fiery City" or "Fiery Fortress") is the grandest of 4 halls in the complex and home of the Icelandic Symphonic Orchestra and the Icelandic Opera. The evening will be headlined by Iceland's biggest metal band at the moment: SKÁLMÖLD. Skálmöld have never played before in Eldborg and will be performing a full set. This concert comes hot on the trails of their recent near
The Easter Platypus
I‘ve never really understood what rabbits or hares have to do with Easter eggs. It‘s not as if they hatch eggs or anything. I have a theory, however, that the origin for this connection lies with the platypus. The platypus is a furred mammal like the hare, but unlike the hare it does indeed lay eggs. Furthermore it has an important advantage over the hare: As a defense mechanism, it spews poison. How cool is that? The most natural explanation as to why the platypus was pushed away in favor of the hare would lie in the simple fact that hares are way cuter and pretty harmless, or so I believ
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