You can't visit East Iceland without enjoying the largest wooded area in Iceland, Hallormsstaður which incidentally is also the birthplace of my father! A hot spot in East Iceland of much beauty which bears witness to the remarkable reforestation that has taken place in Iceland from 1899.
Continue reading "East Iceland - Hallormsstadur" »
The Icelandic horse - Icelandic pony
This small and quite wonderful pony was brought to Iceland with the Vikings over a thousand years ago. The breed remains pure because of the country's isolation.
The Icelandic horse has an amazing variety of colors and is known for its five gaits, the most popular being the "tölt".
Continue reading "The Icelandic Horse - a Unique Breed" »
Icelanders still follow a very ancient tradition when naming their children. Icelanders also communicate using first names, never surnames. Some visitors find this amazing fact about Icelandic names very confusing!
My name own name is Margret Gunnarsdottir - I am the daugher (dottir) of Gunnar. Incidentally, I could choose the surname Sigrunardottir (daughter of Sigrun, my mother), but that is not common practice. Complicated? :-)
Continue reading "Icelandic names and traditions, -dottir or -son?" »
You might find it strange that we still speak Icelandic, the ancient language of the Vikings... although our language today has undergone some changes of course. A Viking from the past would definitely find our pronunciation and vocabulary today very funny, but he WOULD be able to understand us. (Although I sincerely doubt he would understand some of the English slang that has found its way into the language...)
Look to the Icelandic language if you want to get an idea of how the the Vikings spoke all those centuries ago. The language has not changed that much in 1100 years, or since Iceland was first settled in the 9th century.
Continue reading "Icelandic - The Language of the Vikings" »