Peace

A flower representing hope for peace for my readers in Ukraine. Our thoughts are with you...

Trip

I'm never very inspired in February (who is! Well, maybe people in the southern hemisphere, where it's still summer...) but I did go on a really nice day trip with Óðinn recently "east of the mountain" or austur fyrir fjall. I'll wager to say that all of you who have been here have taken the same drive, as it's the southern part of the Golden Circle loop that takes you out to Gullfoss and Geysir, as well as the only road getting you to the south and east coasts.


After just a short drive out of town we passed through Hveragerði (Hot Spring 'Paddock') and went farther into the valley to Reykjadalur (Smoke Valley.) It totally lives up to its name, with fumaroles, hot pits filled with bubbly grey mud, and steaming rivers creating permanent mist columns rising from the earth. People came to this area to tap into the free geothermal heat, and by 1930 the first greenhouse was built.

I remember that a trip to Hveragerði for ice cream was a mandatory thing back when our family came to visit, as in pretty much every close relative with a car proposed day trip to Eden, a hothouse nursery with a gift shop and restaurant attached. They were famous for having a banana tree and of course soft serve ice cream with chocolate dip for ennui-laden visitors from the Capital region. Unfortunately, Eden burned down in 2011, after a bankruptcy (that never happens here, am I right?)

Though the hothouse flower market is going strong here in Iceland, and we have some excellent locally grown greens and vegetables, greenhouses do not use free electricity. It is costly to keep a greenhouse running 24/7, and agriculture is not subsidized by the government the way the aluminum industry is. The result is sights like the one above, abandoned dreams that litter the geothermally-active landscape. 

Visitors, past and future, and lovers of our country, please continue to put pressure on our government to step into the Now and become ecologically sustainable and renewable. We have all the resources, and none of the excuses that make this more difficult in other regions. You can help by choosing locally-grown foods and asking your hotels and guesthouses for info on eco-friendly travel around the island (this website looks interesting,  and here are some great resources to look over.)

We are having a passionate love affair with our tourism economy right now, but to truly make it last, and to make your trip here have impact, put pressure with your pocketbook in all the right places. That way, maybe we can actually live up to our reputation as one of the most eco-friendly countries in the world.*

*Note that we are at #14 for 2014 on this EPI list, down from #1 in 2011... 

Charity from the heart

Work has kept me busy. Suddenly, blogging time becomes minimal. I am doing things that are interesting and I am still exploring good food and places. It just takes more effort to post up something...

One new interesting project I have taken on is about Autism. Every parent hopes for a normal child. But, sometimes, a special child is born instead. A child who looks normal, but has a mind of his own. We read about autism, we have a general idea of what autism is. But, to give hands-on care for an autistic child is a whole different ball game. I call them special because they really are! Currently, I am learning and experiencing this project on weekends.

I care very much about children. Therefore helping children is what I have been doing since young and I will continue doing it for as long as I can. Many years ago, I did a small charity project for children infected with HIV. It was an eye opening experience.

My contribution is to children. What is yours?

Glacier

GUEST PHOTOGRAPHER: Vincent Briglia

Vincent writes:

This picture was taken at Sólheimajökull when a few friends came over to Iceland to celebrate a stag party. I organized a trip for them and took them sightseeing on a Sunday. 'Eerie Sólheimajökull' is what I call this picture. Everyone was quiet; there was a solid sense of awe from the guys who had never seen it and they thanked me for taking them there, since this isn't exactly a tourist-trap.


Vincent, originally from Belgium, is a software engineer at AlterEgo Studios here in the Greater Reykjavik area. He first came to Iceland years ago to work for CCP Games, left the country, then came back because he missed it so much. We're very glad he did! And I certainly hope he keeps finding beautiful landscapes to visit, and keeps taking beautiful photos to share.

(Note: My goal is weekly, if not twice-weekly, updates for this site though it's been a fortnight since my last post. Sometimes I just can't find a good photo to post, so I'd rather delay a bit than toss just anything into the mix. I update the Facebook Page daily, though, so check in there if you'd like a bit of Iceland every day : )

New Year

Started getting too busy with work!

One things for sure, location matters.

Im working in a hospital in the city, making it easy to try a variety of food.

Say hello to Sushi Zanmai's yee sang. It is not your typical traditional yee sang. I wouldnt rave too much about Zanmai's yee sang. The authentic one is much better. But, just for a tiny celebration for fun with friends in a comfortable environment and cheap yummy sushi, Zanmai is worth it.

New Year resolution - Buy a car and house? :)

Flower power

A dozen roses for me.

Feels amazing to receive it and to wake up to it in the morning again. A simple gesture, a simple gift can brighten my day!

How I wish it will stay as beautiful forever :)

Je t'aime

Smoke

Like I mentioned yesterday on the Facebook page I've decided to dig a little bit into the story of tobacco in Iceland, specifically because this photo is of the display window of our local smoke shop, Tóbaksverslunin Björk on Bankastræti. I'm going to guess that all of you who've visited Reykjavik have passed by this store, which is just a few houses up the street from the restaurant I wrote about in November. It's been there for as long as I can remember, with the same friendly and slightly eccentric man behind the counter, Sölvi Óskarsson.


He recently sold the shop, but not before raising a bit of hell. After a four-year long battle with the government (which holds the sole license to import all tobacco products, as well as alcohol) over a law passed in 2002 which demanded that all tobacco for sale must be kept out of consumers' sight, an exception was made in 2006 for his shop, based on the fact that the majority of his livelihood depends on the sale of that specific product. I know personally that he's had other issues with the monopoly on booze and smokes as I've heard his (very justified) rants on why specialty tobaccos brands, Nat Sherman for example, which produce higher grade, higher quality non-chemically treated cigars and cigarettes (there are no additives in the tobacco, paper or filters) are not available in his store: they are not allowed to be imported and sold in Iceland, though much more toxic and probably deadly corporate brands (you know their names...) are.

The monopoly is of course nothing new. The Danes held the reins on import and trade for two hundred years, which the government of the newly formed Icelandic republic took over in 1944. I found a nice BA thesis from 2011 on the history of tobacco in Iceland that I'll let you read at your leisure, as well as a very cool book from 1758 called the Natural History of Iceland which states, "In this manner all payments are regulated by fish, and whatever comes to less than the value of twelve fish cannot be paid in money, but must either in fish, or roll tobacco, an ell of which is equal to a fish" (page 128.)

Today, more and more people I know are buying loose tobacco and hand-rolling with quality paper and filters. It's about half as expensive, and seems to have relaxed the culture of smoking overall. It takes time to roll a cigarette, which means there has to be forethought. They also burn slower than major-brand cigarettes with their treated paper, which means less of that creepy fast-action suck and drag that so many chronic smokers adopt. The doubling of the price of smokes here in just the past six years (they're almost $10 a pack), the ban on smoking indoors (adopted in 2007), and better preventive education means fewer and fewer smokers on our island. Good news.

As far as the Björk tobacco store goes, as you can see in the photo they have a ton of other cool products and souvenirs to keep them going, even as the culture of chronically, addictively puffing ciggies seems to be fading into what will hopefully one day be the distant past.