Commercial Iceland

by Neil Woodburn on

A few
years ago I discovered for myself the unparalleled, natural beauty of Iceland.  Now it seems, every time I turn on
the TV, numerous advertisers have done so as well.  The remote island has become the location of choice these days
for commercial shoots—especially for automobile manufacturers.

I think it was the Hummer ads that first caught my attention (check them out here under Hummer World).  So beautiful, so remote, it just had to be
Iceland.  Had I never been, I would have contacted the agency responsible to track down the location and jetted
over at the first opportunity.  Wow.  Iceland is simply that amazing. 

Iceland is perfect for such glamour ad shots because it has only recently (geographically speaking) bubbled out of
the earth.  That means a rugged lunar landscape perfect for spotlighting the newest hot model.  Indeed, the
landscape is so diverse that Pegasus, a local production company, has dedicated an
entire webpage to listing the island’s incredibly wide assortment of location opportunities such as lava, sand, geothermal areas, glacier
lagoon, craters, ice and snow, and glaciers.  Take a moment to check out the outstanding photos that accompany
this page.  I haven’t found a better testament to the beauty of Iceland than what is represented here. 

Word for the Travel Wise (01/21/06)

by Adrienne Wilson on

“Nature is under massive attack in Iceland.” According to the website of my absolute favorite artist, the Icelandic Highlands are in danger. Vegetation, bird life, reindeer and Vatnajokull, one of the greatest glaciers of Europe will all be affected in some way after the Icelandic government turns some of the last remaining wilderness into an Alcoa aluminum smelter in September 2006. Several of the countries fuming artists and others joined together earlier this month to highlight the destruction of nature. You can view the trailer here and sign-up to find out more about the concert featuring Björk, Zeena Parkins, Múm, Damien Rice, and Sigur Rós to name only a few and information on how to stop the ruination of Icelandic wilderness. Let’s keep this issue in mind and turn our attention to the language.

Today’s word is an Icelandic word used in Iceland:

söngkona / söngvari –  female singer / male singer

As much as old Nordic Viking folklore generated my own interest in seeing the country, Björk’s music has done equally the same. Any fan of her music knows how connected she, like many of the countries people are one with the land. Though today’s word isn’t the one for nature or land I’m sure you’ll be curious enough to find out more about this issue and lingo. Háskóli Íslands, one of the universities offers an excellent free starter course to learning Icelandic. Pictures, text, and audio for sample conversations are included. European Youth Portal points out other sources of study within the country and distance learning. I’ve met several speakers with My Language Exchange. Surprisingly they aren’t huge fans of the söngkona, but respect her work greatly.

Icelandic Cuisine

by Erik Olsen on

For centuries the various cuisines of Europe have been celebrated and savored. From France to Spain to Italy to Great Britain, the countries of the continent have developed unique and delectable ways of preparing food (wait, scratch Britain…at least until they rename the stuff they call pudding). But what about some of the lesser-known cuisines of the region? What about, say, Iceland? Well, they’ve got some rockin Vodka, that’s a given, but have you ever tried smoked puffin? What about fermented shark or lamb smoked over dried sheep dung (hmmm, the dung gives it a tantalizing little tang…why don’t we use more dung in our cooking?). Well, it may be time to celebrate Icelandic cooking, or so says this piece in the Times today that takes a look at noshing in the North.

Icelandic food producers, it seems, are eager to market their wares here and are coming up with creative ways of getting the point across, like coming up with a marketing campaign to market food under a logo entitled “Sustainable Iceland” (gosh, that’s catchy). Whether it works is another matter, given that they are using Icelandic names for some products like “smjor” (butter), “skyr” (a kind of cheese), and “Hofdingi” (well, another cheese), which will challenge the American tongue in more ways than one.

101 Hotel

by Adrienne Wilson on

It’s a scorcher here in Florida today. Hot, humid, sticky, and highly uncomfortable best describes my current condition inside my apartment, even as I down my last mouthful of butter pecan ice cream. Looking at the site for the ultra cool and chic 101 Hotel in Reykjavik, Iceland makes me feel a little less hot, but boy would I love to be there right now.

One thing that catches my attention most about the 101 Hotel is the 101 Gallery. The hotel often has exhibitions, but they also have the permanent collection which features an eclectic blend of art from several local artists such as Ransu, Jon Oskar, Hulda Hakon and Daniel Magnusson to name a few. The pieces come across very calming, mellow, and feel like icy masterpieces on this hot day, which also goes to include the hotel atmosphere. You won’t have to worry about the hotel being as chilly as some of the art placed around it’s corridors. Their amenities include under floor heating in all 38 guestrooms and suites, with recreational activities like the nearby geothermal pools to keep your temperature up.

Hot Tub Nation

by Erik Olsen on

I’m still confused why they call it Iceland when there’s not much ice there and they call it Greenland when it’s very icy. Can someone fix this semantic conundrum? Maybe write a letter?

Anyhoodle, speaking of Iceland, give a gander to this piece by Jason Wilson in the Washington Post about his efforts to find some good pools in Iceland. He hits the countryside and finds Icelanders are quite fond of their hot tubs.