July 2012
26 posts
Tekatana inspired to visit Iceland →
tekatana.tumblr.com
Was happy to receive a note from Tekatana who is now travelling around Iceland. It was fun to hear that I had inspired him to visit Iceland. Check out his tumblr travelogue.
do you know of a place to ride horses for a few days ?
Iceland is famous for the Icelandic horses and an Icelandic horse is a great way to discover Iceland’s nature.
Around Reykjavík there are a bunch of companies offering horse riding tours. These are generally short day tours and I’ve met plenty of people who unfortunately are not totally content, especially people with some riding experience. However, the further you go from Reykjavík the more “original” the horse tours. So if you are looking for single day horse tours and you are travelling around Iceland, try and stop by at some local farm that offers tours on a small scale.
Good luck!
UFO clouds over Snæfellsjökull in Iceland
Snæfellsjökull is a glacier out on the Snæfellsnes peninsula on the west coast of Iceland. It is a much loved mountain in Iceland due to its beautiful volcanic cone lines. It is well visible from Reykjavík from where it appears to float on the ocean.
The glacier has always been linked with mystic powers and was chosen by Jules Verne as the starting point for his Journey to the Center of the Earth. It has also been a center of attention for UFO seekers from around the world. In 1991 UFO enthusiasts and international media flocked around the glacier in anticipation of an alien landing.
Perhaps clouds such as these lenticular altocumulus clouds in the photos below originally triggered these stories.
Photo by Ingvar Baldursson.
Photo RG.
Also check out more great pictures of clouds in Iceland.
Is it expensive to live in Iceland? How much it costs to rent or buy an apartment, a detached house?
Iceland is expensive relative to much of the world. A few years ago Reykjavik was one of the most expensive cities in the world. After the financial crisis however, much has changed. Prices in general are comparable or lower than those of our Scandinavian neighbors.
Housing prices are actually much lower than in the other Nordic countries. At least if you compare with the larger cities. What is different though is that most people own their homes (loans) and the rental market is therefor quite small. You can check out a question I answered about finding housing in Reykjavik. You might also want to look at a bunch of posts about moving to Iceland.
Regarding costs. The cheapest apartments you’ll find in Reykjavík cost around 10-15 million ISK. You have plenty of choices for 20. Outside Reykjavík prices are considerably lower. For the price of a super cheap Reykjavík apartment you could get a nice house in a more remote area. I don’t know the rental market as well (it’s small as I said) but I guess between 100-150 thousand ISK per month you have a lot of nice options. The absolute bottom might be at around 75.
About falling rocks
dmoreira submitted: I supose the trees on this photo are to prevent the falling rocks
IcelandinPictures: Yes that’s right, the trees are intended to protect the farm from rockfall and perhaps small avalanches. This farm is only a few kilometers away from the other farm. The rockslide I mentioned is right in between the two farms.
Oh by the way, I think you have a picture of me on your flickr.
Could you recommend other good tumblrs for pictures of Iceland?
Last year I made a list of Iceland related tumblr pages. The list might be a bit outdated. If anybody knows of new ones that are missing, let me know.
Good evening. I would like to know whether it is possible to win a trip to Iceland in any competition?
Probably yes… I don’t know. You might look for where Icelandair attends trade shows or travel shows near you.
Hey, is there any place to take any sort of photography course? Even if its semi-professional
There are a few yes.
These are Iceland tours which combine photography:
Focus on Nature (This one looks best to me as it is guided by one of Iceland’s best nature photographers)
Ljósmyndari.is has plenty of courses aimed at Icelanders.
You might actually be able to get the best answer by asking at the forum on ljosmyndakeppni.is. Just use google translate to register and then ask your question in English. I’m sure you’ll get lots of helpful responses. It is the most active photography forum in Iceland.
Of Monsters and Men on Jay Leno
Icelandic band Of Monsters and Men was on Jay Leno, playing their hit Little Talks. That is what we in Iceland call “að meika það”.
Are you in Reykjavík? Of Monsters and Men is playing this weekend 7.7.2012 in the Hljómskálagarður park in downtown Reykjavík. Entry is free.
Do you know any website where I can start reading about Icelandic phonology and grammar? I'd love to learn the language -at least a bit of it as I've read it's quite difficult actually. Btw, lovely blog!
You could try Icelandic Online, run by the University of Iceland. You could also read through previous posts on Icelandic for some interesting tips. This book promises to make learning Icelandic easy.
Jordan Chark is a Canadian that learned amazingly good Icelandic all by himself. Perhaps you should contact him for some good tips.
Gangi þér vel! (Good luck)
