Category Archives: Travel

08 Dec

Christmas in Iceland

388431_2744590688033_340345582_nAccording to The Icelandic Tourist Board Iceland has become increasingly popular at Christmas. A record number of tourists is expected to spend the holidays there this year. It used to be a problem that restaurants and shops were closed for days during the festive season, but apparently that’s not the case anymore. If you are traveling to Iceland HERE’S a useful list of places open these days.

It can also be useful to learn some Icelandic phrases and in THIS ARTICLE you can learn 11 of them, such as;

‘9.  “Verða rauð jól í ár?”
Do you expect a snowless Christmas this year? – Every year, Icelanders (mostly Southerners) hope and dream of a white Christmas because in Iceland, it really isn’t Christmas unless the ground outside is covered in beautiful, white snow. A snowless Christmas is called ‘a red Christmas’, or rauð jól.

10. “Áttu malt og appelsín?”
Do you have malt and appelsín? – Once a year, Icelanders will mix two popular soft drinks together to create what’s called ‘jólaöl’, meaning Christmas ale (non-alcoholic). Malt and appelsín are drunk separately all year around, but ‘jólaöl’ is reserved for Christmas only. Every family has their very own secret ‘jólaöl’ recipe and the ratio between malt and appelsín differs from one family to the next.’

16 Sep

Watch them try Brennivín! – videos

440px-Brennivin2This is how Wikipedia describes the Icelandic Brennivín, something everyone visiting Iceland simply has to try:

‘Brennivín is a clear, unsweetened schnapps that is considered to be Iceland‘s signature distilled beverage. It is a popular Icelandic liquor and special-occasion alcohol shot, and the traditional drink for the mid-winter feast of Þorrablót. It is made from fermented grain or potato mash and flavoured with caraway, and for this reason can be considered anaquavit.[1] The steeping of herbs in alcohol to create schnapps is a long-held folk tradition in Scandinavian countries. Brennivín has a unique and distinctive taste similar to vodka or Scandinavian akvavit. It is typically bottled at 80 proof.’

I find Brennivín rather disgusting, to be honest. It reminds me of my teenage years, when beer was banned in Iceland. The youngsters drank Brennivín, distilled spirit people produced at home, or even some home-brewed horror. My taste buds never agreed with any of it.

There are several videos on Youtube where people from all over the world try Brennivín.

Enjoy!

And sometimes people even sing about Brennivín.

29 Aug

The Northern Lights – video

The best chance to catch the elusive Northern Lights, also known as Aurora Borealis, is during the winter time. Tourists staying in Iceland this week are really lucky because they’ve been able to view the Northern Lights as well as the gorgeous August sunset.  Here’s a mesmerising video from Gardar Olafsson, showing the dance of Aurora Borealis on the 27th of August.

Take a look at his website as well. There are many more amazing videos.

26 Aug

A hidden gem!

IMG_2704There are so many hidden gems in London. When I decided to visit Kenwood House, a mansion from the 18th century, it was purely because I wanted to see the location of a scene from Notting Hill. For those who know the movie; I’m talking about the scene where Anna Scott is filming and William overhears her dismissing him to a fellow actor.

Little did I know that Kenwood House has a truly exceptional collection of paintings by Rembrandt, Vermeer, Gainsborough, Turner and Reynolds, not to mention the 112 acres of glorious parkland. It’s the perfect place to visit if you want to spend a day admiring art and be able to take a stroll in beautiful surroundings as well. It’s also interesting to walk around the house and explore the stories of it’s inhabitants and if you are hungry there’s a restaurant on the grounds, offering food that’s nice.

Kenwood House was built by Robert Adam for the 1st Earl of Mansfield and saved for the nation by Edward Cecil Guinness, 1st Earl of Iveagh.

I highly recommend a visit to Kenwood House if you’re traveling to London.

Mother of all selfies. Rembrandt van Rijn - Portrait of the Artist.

Mother of all selfies. Rembrandt van Rijn – Portrait of the Artist.

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21 Aug

How amazing is this?

I remember vividly going whale watching in 1999 or 2000. We sailed from Húsavík, which is by many considered the whale watching capital of Europe. The dolphins were dancing around the ship and we saw some Minke whales, Humpback whales and even a Fin whale, which is a rather rare sight I believe, so I was really lucky. I remember being extremely cold and I also recall the nice and cosy feeling of sipping hot chocolate out on the sea.

Now whale watching has become very popular and there are a lot of videos from the tours circling around. This is a good one.

If you’re traveling to Iceland, I recommend going whale watching. Here’s a list of whale watching tours in Iceland.

16 Aug

Surreal queues

11875084_10206204729731274_8047293525790926619_oIt’s interesting being a tourist in your own homeland. I’ve been surprisingly cold since I arrived in Iceland 10 days ago. Always wearing a coat, when other Icelanders wear t-shirts. I marvel the landscape and nature in new ways and enjoy every single drop of the fresh water, straight from the tap.

I’ve been admiring how many good Icelandic designers there are and listening to marvellous new local music. There is no doubt about the fact that our talents lie in arts.

Then there are times when I just don’t get my fellow Icelanders. For the longest time, it was impossible to get Icelanders to form a proper queue. They simply couldn’t bring themselves to stand in a line and wait for something. When people from other nations waited politely for their turn in a bank or at the bus stop, Icelanders would stand in some irregular blobs, pushing each other around. However, things have changed recently. All of a sudden, Icelanders seem to love waiting in queues. I think it’s their new hobby. What else could possibly explain what I witnessed yesterday?

The American global doughnut company Dunkin Donuts opened a shop (they actually call it a restaurant) here for the first time a few days ago. Yesterday, there was still a long line of people outside, waiting for their turn to buy a doughnut. What made it extra weird was witnessing that queue merge with a never ending line of people waiting for a taste of bacon at the Bacon festival taking place on Skólavörðustígur across the street.

 

Pretty surreal.

Bacon Festival queue

Bacon Festival queue

04 Aug

Pleasure and Pain

shoes v aGoing to a museum in London is obviously very popular among tourists. The National British Museum is amazing and so is the Tate, but the world’s greatest museum of art and design, The Victoria and Albert Museum, is one of my personal favourites.

On the 13th of June, a new and interesting exhibition opened at the V & A. Shoes – Pleasure and pain looks at the extremes of footwear from around the globe. The museum has an unbelievable collection of shoes, around 2,000 pairs spanning more than 3,000 years of history. The exhibition is on until the 31st of January 2016 and I recommend booking your tickets in advance if you’re thinking of going.

If you don’t have a chance to visit the museum, you can always take a look at their fascinating website. Did you know that the Stiletto heel was named after a Sicilian fighting knife? The Shoes Timeline gives you a unique look into the history of shoes.

The museum is on Instagram as well, and to those of you who have unusual pairs of shoes, it tells you that: ‘Whether it’s on #TuesdayShoesday or your favourite daily #Shoefie, we want to see your extreme footwear. Simply take a photo of your favourite shoes and tag it on Instagram with the exhibition hashtag #vamShoes.’

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Photo from the V & A website.

 

 

 

 

30 Jul

BriBry do Iceland!

Bri and Candice are a young Irish couple visiting every country in the world. Iceland was the fortieth country they travelled to. This video they made is funny and spot on. I specially like it when they imitate the Blue Lagoon introduction video.

The Youtube ad revenue from this channel goes to an Irish cancer charity called The Ross Nugent Foundation.