Vikings

They're small, but already have the look of voyagers setting out to discover new wealth, new adventures, new lands.

Regarding adventures, download the latest, May-June, issue of Packed Magazine. Be sure to take a look at page 35 for a bit on our friendly little city.

Also, drop by Iceland Says, a new sister site to Iceland Eyes now featuring the writings of Icelandic teens. New posts will be added on a regular basis....

Idyll

The beautiful woods of Öskjuhlíð, just a short walk from downtown Reykjavik, are a soothing sight in springtime as sunlight filters through the firs to pool at mossy rocks and hollows. No bunnies were spotted on this trip but they're there in the hundreds, and if you're still and calm for long enough they will appear, as if from nowhere.

Read the latest copy of Vanity Fair, the Green Issue, and especially Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s manifesto with his insights into Iceland. Though maybe a bit optimistic about our independence from foreign energy sources (gas and oil are imported and we'd be crippled without them) the concept of local innovation, which is, I think, his point, is very valid. Be sure to also read this article for a solid cue as to how Iceland can fully live up to the eco-mythos surrounding it while simultaneously maintaining its new role as a global market player.

Turf houses, anyone?

Care

Young students of Kvennaskólinn college 

A snapshot of young romance in Reykjavik...

Kvennó

Here's some charming people, students of Kvennaskólinn, all prettied up in national dress for Peysafatadagur, held a few Fridays ago. The third year students, 18 year old-ish, get all dolled (and guyed) up, then dance and sing at various locations about town, including a retirement home two. It's a fancy sight, seeing these ultra-hip kids so full of classic-style pride and joy.

Street

If they're tearing up the streets, it must be spring!

Reflection

Al Gore is here today. Maybe he'll be able to convince the powers that be that creating an ultra-modern environment-loving model eco society in Iceland would be the thing to do. We have the technology, we have the opportunity, we have the reputation. No pussyfooting. We have a future to enter. Starting Now.

Copper

This past week's protests have had to do with the price of gas reaching as it has just under $9 a gallon (diesel's pricey too.) Truckers, taxi drivers, 4x4 tour operators and other professional drivers, plus a load of motor enthusiasts and supporters blocked roads, honked incessantly and made a general nuisance of things to let the state know that the near 50% tax added to fuel is, at this point, almost ridiculous. It costs a semi driver, who may be an independent contractor, just under a $1000 to fill a tank that lasts a day and a half of work-based driving. Maybe they should take up bicycle messengering instead. In this photo a cop is giving biker a hard time for revving up and starting to drive off from the protests in front of the parliament without his helmet on. I got the impression they knew each other well: it sounded like the cop used his name and he kind of hissed at him like "you know I have to bust you if you don't wear it so just put it on!" It killed the buzz of the biker's exit, but he got his mojo back in a flash and roared off to the next protest point in style.