Elves

Strolling along Laugavegur on Friday, I came across a performance piece, Hásálfar, gracefully presented by a trio of artists: performer Sandra Gísladóttir, dancer María Þórdís Ólafsdóttir and electronic musician Viktor Birgisson, who now go by the name Samaris. They are part of an ongoing Creative Summer Groups production by Hitt Húsið, the Cultural and Information Center for Young People, deftly managed by incorrigible Ása Hauksóttir, an artist who has seemingly single-handedly advocated for the youth of our Smoke City for years now. Aside from the entrancing music and subtle artistic display of the trio, what caught my attention was the nature of the material they were performing: their objective is to reanimate the classic Icelandic elves tales in modern dress, to "intertwine folk stories with today's modern society."

What specifically got my attention, though, is the location they performed at: the newly renovated edge of a triangle, where the Nike store used to be, that I dreamt years ago was the location of an Elves Hall. Synchronicity in action.

I received an email today from Sara, who is coming to Iceland in September, asking a classic and important question: what to pack for her trip. The answer is a little bit of everything. Scroll down to the bottom of this post for a more detailed answer, and read this post for a few more hints.

While looking for these posts (using the blogger search box in the top left corner) I ran across a post with links to some important info for visitors. I'll post them again for you here:

Where to Get Good Coffee, Drinking Water, Driving in Iceland, What to Wear (see end of post), Quality Fleece, Taking Care of Your Silver Jewelry, Swimming Pools, The High Cost of Alcohol, Pizza, Reykjavik with Kids, Buying Groceries, Places of Historical Interest.

Read and enjoy!

Have you tried Dynamic Viewing yet? Five new views in all. Use the blue tab at the top of the view page to check them all out : )

Sentiment

Why, of course you can!

Knit-graffiti left at the top of Skólavörðurstígur by an intrepid, and sentimental, tourist.

(Have you tried Dynamic Viewing yet? Use the blue tab at the top of the view page for five amazing new views.)

Nap

A tourist takes a shady break on a bench in a tiny park right by Hallgrímskirkja. There used to be a house on the lot, a ramshackle cottage that was torn down a few years ago and replaced by roll-a-lawn. I pass this lot almost every day (a wall of the college where I teach is in the background) and certainly did not expect it to stay empty and green for as long as it has. With the addition of of a couple of arty sheep silhouettes and a bench, it's now a proper park-ette, though as is only visitors take advantage of its idyll.

Was the land bequeathed to the city, I wonder? Is there some green benefactor purposed with sprinkling small gardens about town? Nice thought, and with the same healthy benefit as our pop-up Heart Park, which I wrote about in 2009, and again last year when street artists took it over with urban style (note that the brick wall in the first link is the 'canvas' in the second ; )

Grass, trees, some benches and art...has there ever been a better combination to soothe a city's soul?

Sjómenn

One more photo from Arnarstapi, on the Snæfell Peninsula, and this one in honor of our seafaring men and women of the last millennia-plus on National Seafarer's Day, or Sjómannadagur. Iceland Eyes offers great thanks for their courage and sacrifice throughout this country's history. (And not least to my father, Þórir Pálsson Roff {Thor Roff in the States} who served a four year tour of duty in the U.S. Navy on the USS Great Sitkin 1960-64, with some excellent stories to share for it : )

Thinking of sailing to/around Iceland? Every summer we get scores of intrepid sailors visiting our harbours in their fancy yachts and sloops. If so, visit the Icelandic Maritime Administration site for info. And be sure to be here in time for the Sail Húsavík Nordic Coastal Cultural Festival 2011. They've got some very lovely boats set to attend.)

A good reason to get a Mac

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Stapafell

This chalet near the seaside town of Hellnar just below Snæfellsjökull nicely mirrors the near-perfect natural pyramid of Stapafell Mountain, which in my eyes is an often-overlooked magical companion to the gorgeous glacier above it. Bárður, the guardian half-ogre/half human of the region, calls this special place his home.

Wondering how one recognizes an ogre? Here's a read about our Bárður in English by Ármann Jakobsson, a renowned local writer and professor of Icelandic (and the brother of our outgoing Minister of Education, Science and Culture, Katrín Jakobsdóttir, who is off on maternity leave.)

Note: the chalet has a yin yang symbol over it's door, but I have no idea who owns it....very curious.

Snæfellsjökull

Even with a little digital compact, the Snæfellsjökull glacier* and it's volcanic mountain are easy to glorify. Blessed in many minds as a source of energetic and spiritual power, as well as being the start point for a journey to the center of the earth according to Jules Verne's fiction, this mountain is very special indeed.

*This link takes you to a very nice, informative PDF of the Snæfellsjökull National Park