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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Two new exhibitions open at the ASÍ Art Museum today by visual artist Gudrún Gunnarsdóttir, who usually works with textiles, and photographer Gudmundur Ingólfsson. Most of his pictures were taken inside oil tanks around Iceland.
Gudrún Gunnarsdóttir.
Gunnarsdóttir’s exhibition is called “Ad muna sinn fífil fegurri” in Icelandic, which is a play on words.
Literally it means “To remember one’s dandelion in a more beautiful state” and has to do with nostalgia, to reflect on faded beauty. All the artwork on display is based on the flower.
Gudmundur Ingólfsson.
Ingólfsson is exhibiting his work at the invitation of Gunnarsdóttir. The photographs on display are part of a series that he has worked on since 1993.
Both exhibitions run through February 28. Admission to the museum is free. For further details, visit its website.
A series of meetings about the Icesave dispute ended in The Hague in the Netherlands on Friday. The representatives of Iceland, the Netherlands and the UK discussed the matter on Thursday and Friday but came to no decisive conclusion.
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Attentive commuters in the capital region have noticed strange behavior among some people on roundabouts lately. Police say these people are likely picking psilocybin mushrooms, which is an annual event at this time of year, and not strictly illegal.
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Singer-songwriter Jónsi of Sigur Rós has been nominated for the 2010 World Soundtrack Awards for the best originally composed song in a movie. The nomination is for the song “Sticks & Stones” which is in How to Train Your Dragon.
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Emails between the management team at FL-Group seem to indicate that assets sold to Northern Travel Holding (NTH) at year end 2006 were overvalued on purpose to deceive stakeholders about the real condition of the companies involved in the transactions. Among the assets being transferred were the Danish budget airline Sterling and Iceland Express.
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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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Future of Hope is an aptly named documentary directed by Henry Bateman about what some people are doing to shape the future of Iceland, hoping that above all, the crisis will ultimately strengthen the country.
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There can’t be many novels that are heralded as being “a purification for body and soul” recommended to “those who enjoy experimental cookery” (review of November Rain in DV newspaper) and “as beautiful as a painting from the golden age” (review of The Offspring by Danish newspaper Politiken). However, Reykjavík based writer, Audur Ava Ólafsdóttir, has attracted such attention not to mention literary prizes.
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Have a laugh this week by visiting Hafnarborg, the Hafnarfjördur Centre of Culture and Fine Art, where the exhibition “Humor in Icelandic Art” is currently running. The exhibition consists of works by contemporary Icelandic artists from different generations which deal with humor and irony.
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