Raving Ravens

Elves on the Move in Iceland

"The elves are about this big" Ragnhildur Jónsdóttir says to Árni Johnsen, as they move the elf stone.

Árni Johnsen, a member of the Icelandic parliament, had a car accident two years ago, when his car rolled over five times down a hill before stopping beside a large stone. Árni crawled out of the car unharmed and sat outside the car staring at this big stone until help arrived.

When Árni found out that the stone needed to be moved due to widening of the road, he decided he had to act. You see, stones like that are usually homes to the elves that have been living side by side with Icelanders since the beginning of times. Árni called to his assistance Ragnhildur Jónsdóttir, a woman from Hafnarfjordur, the capital of the elves, who has the unique talent of being able to see and talk to elves. They negotiated with the elves and Árni offered them to move to his home in the Westman Islands. The elves were relatively easy to convince as the stone was tilting. The oldest of the elves, the grandfather of the three generations living there, said his bed was almost vertical so when offered a more leveled ground with an ocean view and grass for the sheep, they were up for it. 

Yesterday the 24 ton home of the elves was transported with a trailer from the location. The elves themselves did not stay in the stone during transportation but followed in Ragnhildur's small Peugeot, sitting in wicker baskets. The family is an elderly couple living on the upper floor in the stone and a younger couple on the lower floor with their three children. For comfort Ragnhildur brought their favorite treat, some honey they could enjoy along the ride. 

Árni, who is known for his excellent bargaining skills, got some excellent prices for the transport, only having to pay the price of a truck on the ferry and tickets for two of the seven elves, the younger elf couple. The seniors and the children got a free fare. 

Hjörtur 

Images are from GVA at Visir.is

Nokia's Ultimate Challenge in Iceland

Nokia was looking for the ultimate test for their new amazing camera phone, the Nokia 808 Pureview with a revolutionary 41 MILLION PIXEL camera! So, with a team from Kin Design and Design Studio in London they came to me for the ultimate challenges that could be found on the island of fire and ice - and in the space above it! Here are the results:

 

Hjörtur

 

ps. if you're looking for the ultimate challenge for yourself, your films or your products - you know who to turn to ;)

The Spirit of Iceland

The people of Iceland, Greenland and the Faroe Islands are the free people - growing up in the wild, unspoiled nature of the North. Dependent on the often ruthless natrual forces of the North Atlantic they learn that the only one they can rely on for survival, is themselves.

That is the spirit of freedom.

That is the spirit of the North.

Hjörtur

This fantastic image of the clouds taking the form of a giant bird taking off was shot just before midnight last night by Ingvar Vilhjálmsson in Keflavik, Iceland.

Iceland - Hollywood's New Favorite?

What do Russell Crowe, Tom Cruise and Ben Stiller have in common? Well, they're all going to shoot movies in Iceland this summer. 

Iceland has been a popular retreat for celebrities for some time and a very popular location for TV commercials for brands like Audi, Porsche, Peugeot, Johnny Walker and a series of others making the most of the magnificent Icelandic atmosphere. Now it seems like Hollywood has fallen in love with Iceland. The otherworldly landscape with glaciers, deserts, waterfalls and volcanoes within easy reach, well trained local crew with proofen experience form producing quality films in tough conditions and of course, the low value of the currency, are all very attractive features for the film industry. 

Russell Crowe and Liam Neeson are starring Darren Aronofsky's film Noah which is a very large and complex production. Shootings are starting soon and will be all summer. Russell sounded excited about finally visiting Iceland on twitter: 

I don't know about you, but I can easily picture Russell Crowe as a convincing Viking.

Ben Stiller was here this winter looking at locations for his next film "The Secret Life of Walter Mitty" and found what he was looking for. He'll be shooting in August and September and unlike most other projects, he will be doing a lot of urban shooting here as well in both Reykjavik and Seydisfjordur in the east.

Tom Cruise's film Oblivion is still more of a secret. All that has been heard is that it has been confirmed that it will be shot here this summer. According to IMDB Morgan Freeman and Andrea Riseborough will be co-starring the film. And the topic of the film:  

"A court martial sends a veteran soldier to a distant planet, where he is to destroy the remains of an alien race. The arrival of an unexpected traveler causes him to question what he knows about the planet, his mission, and himself."

Otherworldly landscape sounds like the perfect match for that ;) And Tom Cruise isn't the only one to think so. Last summer Ridley Scott shot his film Prometheus here in Iceland, the prequel to the Alien movies and this summer the new Star Trek movie will be shot here as well. Looks like Iceland has become the cheap alternative to outer space.

 

Outer space isn't the only fictive world Iceland makes the perfect background for. So are the fictive worlds of Game of Thrones but last year part of series two was shot here and this year more of series three will be shot in Iceland. All those film projects have been a great boost for the small economy of Iceland as a lot of local crew and cast has been used. And if you watch closely the episode aired tonight you might actually see yours truly as one of Ygritte's Wildlings. Who knows, if I have the time, I might participate in some of the upcoming projects as well :)

Hjörtur

Images from Ilulissat Icefjord in Greenland

Ilulissat is the largest town in Northern Greenland and it's most popular tourist destination. The town is located in Disco Bay, just north of the Ilulissat Icefjord, a UNESCO World Heritage Site and a place like no other on this Earth. 

Klaus Poulsen is a photographer living in Ilulissat and he created this beautiful video which is a combination of his photographs from the Ilulissat area.

 

 

Hjörtur

Humpback Whale Breaching in Iceland

A friend of mine went whale watching from Reykjavik today with Hvalalif and got this fantastic video of a Humpback whale breaching:

 

These are fantastic creatures and great to see these powerful giants play in the sea.

Hjörtur

The Ultimate Sustainable Viking Voyage

I've been planning my dream trip around the fjord where I grew up, in the Westfjords of Iceland. It's a fjord filled with stories of Vikings and sea monsters, black magic and folklore. A trip where we go 1.000 years back in time. I've been guiding hiking tours there for years, but I've been wanting to do something really unique. So, I started planning, and here's the trip:

The Viking ship Vésteinn sailing in the fjords.

Day 1:

You fly from Reykjavik to Bildudalur airport where you leave the airport and step 1.000 years back in time - on board a Viking ship. Sail to an isolated fjord where there are no roads, electric lines or other signs of human interference, except a small cottage from early last century and Viking ruins. The tale of the Viking outlaw that lived there told and performed. Dinner at the camp by a geothermal pool with a view of the midnight sun.

A Viking in Geirthjofsfjordur bringing people 1.000 years back in time.

Day 2: 

Sailing to Hringsdalur where an archeological dig 4 years ago confirmed a 1.000 year old myth - and unearthed a Viking chief grave! The grave of his killer visited - which is on a mountain edge and still unearthed. Sailing back to camp for a Viking feast.

The guide standing by a Viking grave with a magnificent view over the fjord.

Day 3:

Sailing to the Dynjandi waterfall (Thundering), tales of sea monsters and local inhabitants told and the sea monster museum in Bildudalur visited. Finally flown back to Reykjavik at the end of the day.

Enjoying the midnight sun from the geothermal pool by the camp.

 

Mode of transport: Viking ship and by foot

Mode of accommodation: Viking tent camp

Full board made from fresh, local ingredients.

Hiking difficulty: moderate

Date: July 4th - July 6th

The estimated price for this 3 day trip including the flights from Reykjavik and all of the above is € 1.500.

So what do you think? Is this something you would love to do? I'd love to hear you feedback, your questions, your worries, before I finalize the planning and start selling the trip - if I think it's viable. Feel free to write your thoughts in the comments below. Oh, and if you really like the trip, reserve your spot. There are only 15 spots available!

Cheers
Hjörtur 

 

Reykjavik Tourist Video from 1926!

Visit Reykjavik just dug up this old film somewhere on the net which was shot by tourists in Reykjavik in 1926. It shows what the capital looked like and though it's been 86 years, most of these houses are still there, we still have the same three men as the entire police force and some of those kids do look familiar. Maybe I know their great grand children... Heck, maybe I am their great grand child ;)

 

In the beginning of the film you can see as they sail ashore. Make notice that this is at midnight! The big building there is now Radisson Blu 1919 though it is a bit further from the harbour today, as a landfill was created some decades back. You sometimes see crowds gathering in the spot where the crowd is starting at 0:39, but nowadays they're in line waiting for a hot dog at Bæjarins Bestu.

Most of the shots are taken at the corner of Austurstræti and Pósthússtræti standing outside Landsbankinn, which still stands and is still the same bank. Well, same name at least ;) The church is the Domkirkjan (cathedral) by Austurvollur. 

If you're an Icelander watching this, show it to the eldest in your family and see if you can recognize some of the faces :)

Do you see anything you recognize from your visits to Reykjavik?

Hjörtur

It's Summertime Time Again

Yep, it's that time of the year - when Europe changes the clock to celebrate summer. Bravo for them. 

Greenland "belongs" to Denmark, so they change the clock as well and now they have summer time. My aunt who lives in Upernavik in North Greenland (72°N) sent me this picture to show me what summer time looks like in Greenland:

Guess no one told nature! I don't really know why you'd need to change the clock there anyway. I mean, it's dark 24 hrs a day in the winter time and it's sun 24 hrs a day in the summer time. I guess what this shows, is the obscurity when European standards are applied to a completely different culture and circumstances.

Luckily for me, we don't do summer time here in Iceland. We're just always on GMT - better known as #TTOT time on twitter. That is world time, the time every airplane in the world travels by, and the time the #TTOT community on twitter tweets by, and the time we go by here in Iceland. Simple.

Cheers
Hjörtur

 

ps. if you're unsure what time you're on, or what time it is elsewhere in the world, you can find out with this World clock!

Suit & Tie - Recession Poetry from Iceland by Hallgrimur Helgason

Hallgrimur Helgason, one of Iceland's most loved writers wrote a poem in English about the economic meltdown in Iceland and the aftermath. The poem is called Suit & Tie and is performed by Hallgrimur himself. Below you'll find the poem in writing.

 

Suit and tie
Suit and tie
We're deadly afraid of the clever guy
Wearing suit and tie

They used to roam the streets of Reykjavik
And thought they were what made the city tic
 
From bank to lunch with Nikkei, Dow Jones and FTSE
Dressed to kill in Armani, Boss and Gucci
Cheerful, laughing, full of self esteem
The players of our national team

But now you hardly see them anymore
The crisis took them through a different door
Their bank got crunched by Euro, Dollar and Yen
So now they're trying Tai Chi, Yoga and Zen
Still they're good in playing the blaming game
The players of our national shame

Iceland: The home of young and retired bosses
And regular people busy counting their losses
The high-flying heroes of good times past
Have come to the ground and had their blast
Hiding inside his fancy house
The bull now meets his inner mouse

And both are dressed in suit and tie
Suit and tie
Nothing scares like suit and tie

We're left alone in the arctic sea
For they left the loan for you and me
To pay
But they
Do have enough to last an eon
Silently kept in the Caribbean

So true, so true
So mad, so bad
But we don't want back the life we had
Full of lies and numbers high
Enough to keep a country high
On hope of becoming the new Dubai

Where all the women were suit and tie
Suit and tie
Suit and tie we kiss goodbye

Communism lasted long
Nations led by Mr. Wrong
Western brokers, young and brave
Went disco dancing on its grave
But victory got to their head
Big ambitions were overfed
The color of blue contained some red
The Wall Street Wall came down one night
And we were all raped by Mr. Right.
Capitalism fell on its nose
Died from an overdue overdose
Of arrogance and loneliness
And left the world in a state of mess

We were fooled by suit and tie
Suit and tie
Who tricked us, told us: To sell and buy
While speeding across their private skies
Engines fuelled by loans and lies

The boys of Bush and global greed
Left us with a local need
For truth and nothing but the truth
To put inside a confession booth
The Brothers Lehman and all their sons
The neo-cons were just plain cons

In suit and tie
Suit and tie
Trained to loot and taught to lie

Yet we try
To struggle on
A nation betrayed by an evil don
A nation so small you can easily whip
All of it into a cruise line ship
The former captain and his crew
Are still on board but out of view
Sipping on Scotch inside their cabins
And telling jokes like desperate has-beens
Or faking calls
In bathroom stalls
While nervously looking for their balls
We carry on, on a vessel unwell
Steering away from the icebergs of hell
The national body still infected
By the virus we long neglected
Called suit and tie
Suit and tie
Hoping it won't make us die

At the airport a father of three
Spends his last in the Duty Free
"We're going to Norway, to get a life
Wife will study, I'll be her wife
It's sad to leave your fatherland
A bit like parting with your hand
But they took the house, they took the car
Does Stavanger have a strip-tease bar?"

And the politician on the TV screen
Speaks of ways to cure the spleen
But his words no longer do apply
For he's still wearing suit and tie
Suit and tie
Suit and tie we kiss goodbye

And when you roam the streets of Reykjavik
You spot the signs that made your city sick
Empty houses, vacant office spaces
And way too many fancy meeting places
On the map, nearby the valley parks
The financial district is now shown in quotation marks

And on the streets and freeways, parking lots
There still are lots and lots
Of black and shiny Range Rover jeeps
Luxurious creeps
Once the symbols of all our national vices
Now they are the coffins of the crisis
Driven by people who died a market-death
But were allowed to prolong their final breath
In suit and tie
Suit and tie
They're all still wearing their suit and tie

In Germany they have the Nazi outfits
To remind them of the thing that rhymes with... outfitz

In Iceland we have suit and tie
Suit and tie
Suit and tie 

Hallgrimur Helgason

 

Hjörtur