Ancestry

The Icelanders are the direct descendents of the vikings, who have settled this island in the north Atlantic from Norway. But also a shot of Celtic blood from Great Britain and Ireland flows through the veins of the todays population. The Icelandic society is homogeneous - the restrictive immigration policy makes it hard for immigrants to settle. It often seems that every Icelander is related to the other. It is therefore not surprising that many Icelanders are devoted to ancestry research. One of my Icelandic friends can track his genealogy back 33 generations - back to an illegitimate son of a Norwegian king.

Reykjavik goes dark

Unfortunately cloud cover blocked the stars yesterday evening as Reykjavik´s streetlights were turned off in order to enable city residents to have a better view of the sky. In other respects the darkening of Reykjavik went well. The lights were shut off at 10pm sharp in connection with the opening of the Reykjavik International Film Festival, and were turned back on half an hour later. Reykjavik residents flocked into the streets to take part in the experience. The idea was to show the biggest screen: the sky.

A young island

Iceland is geologically seen a very young island that has emerged out of the sea 20 million years ago thanks to a hot spot. The mid-atlantic range passes right through the island leaving a 50km wide strap that is geologically very active with volcanoes, hot springs and high temperature areas. Iceland is situated on the edges of two tectonic plates, namely the Eurasian and the American, which are constantly drifting apart. Iceland grows therefore around 2 cm per year! The cleft can be seen throughout Iceland - a very typical picture for Japanese tourists to stand with one foot in Europe, with the other in America.

The Icelandic Horse

The Icelandic horse, which has been prominent in the development of Iceland, is smal but a sturdy animal perfectly suited to the rough Icelandic terrain. The first horese were introduced by the early settlers and, since no other horses have been importet recently, the breeding stock remains pure for over 1000 years. To keep this unique race pure already the Althing has released a law that prohibited any import of other horses. This law still exists and even a horse that has been raised in Iceland and then transfered abroad will never be allowed back again. From the first years of Settlement to the early part of this century, these horses were the primary form of transporation in the country.
Horsefights were organised as a source of entertainment as the meat was consumed as a staple and used in pagan rituals. As a result, horsemeat was later banned by the Christian church. Although the horse's utilitarian value has diminished in recent years, it continues to play a role in the autumn sheep round-up and is still used recreationally.
If I ever manage to save up enough money I would love to buy a young Icelandic horse and train it. I've already found the perfect example for it. He's around 2 years old and stands on a farm in Snaefellsnes. This is when we met :o)

The nation with the glassy genes

The genotype of the human being has been decoded. Now scientists are looking for agents with which genetically conditioned diseases can be cured. Therefore special biological banks are needed in which genetical information and datas of health are linked. Iceland is the first country to have set up one.
Although the human genotype has been decoded, we do not yet fully understand the biological structure of the human being. Indeed we possess less genes than expected but the interactions are more complicated. Now the really tough part begins: namely to distinguish the genetical differences between the individual humans to estimate the risk factor which lead to diseases. But the acutal goal is still a big step further, namely to find new agents against diseases that have not been cureable untill now - here many pharmaceutical companies scent the big business (Novartis and Roche are investing heavily into this!) For this complex mission a biological bank is needed with preferably a complete system of health data from the majority of the population and also as many blood samples. Iceland was the first country to establish this!

A long path
Also in this business, rapidness is needed, but the Icelandic collection of blood samples only coveres a few thousand pieces. The exact number is a corporate secret of DeCode Genetics (www.decode.is), but they are still far away from the possibility to look at the genotypes of all Icelanders.

A had full of vikings
The fact that Iceland was the first country to establish a biological bank is quite simple: The Icelandic people are a young nation. Only about 1000 years ago the first vikings came from Norway to settle the island in the north Atlantic. It was only a hand full of people that landed at that time and as there was practically no further immigration, the 300'000 inhabitants that live on the island now principally have to be all related to each other. For scientists this would be the ideal population to look for congenital diseases. This was Kari Stefánsson's theory, professor of medicine, when he founded his company deCode genetics in Reykjavik. Also the Swiss pharmacologist Hoffmann - La Roche was so enthusiastic about this idea that in 1997 he invested a large amount of money for a collaboration.

Thrilled genealogists
Meanwhile there have been surprising results, because the Icelandic population is not as homogeneous as expected. On their way to Iceland the vikings apparently stopped first in Scottland and Ireland to rob some women, which are responsible for the Celtic line in the blood. The Icelanders have always been keen scientists about their ancestors. This interest has been part of Iceland over centuries. Already the first settlers started to document in the Landnámabók all the family relations from the beginning on.

Privacy in danger
For over 100 years Icelandic doctors have collected disease records, which together with the genealogy have shown the interaction of environmental impact with predisposition at the emergence of diseases. Sine qua non was a law from 1998 that allows the collection of all the health data of the living and dead Icelanders in a central databank. The concession for setup and use went for the period of 12 years to deCode genetics.

Icelandic Art

Wednesdays, having off university, I always spend the day at one of the various art museums in Reykjavik. Iceland has a great many number of artists. One of my favourites is called Georg Gudni Hauksson. He was born in 1961, lives in Reykjavik and has studied in Iceland and Holland. Especially his newer works are great! His homepage: www.georggudni.com

Réttir - sheep round up

The annual Icelandic sheep and horse round up, known as réttir, is by now finished in all parts of Iceland.
Réttir is one of the highlights of the Icelandic autumn season, drawing visitors from all over the world to witness the round up of sheep and horses that have grazed wild for the summer. The round up is still conducted on horseback and the animals are herded into a corral where the sorting takes place. This traditional event is a highly festive occasion, with dances and other communal festivities an integral part of the celebrations.

Sheep

As sheep are seen EVERYWHERE on the island, this sign is almost unnecessary.
Icelanders and sheep have lived tightly over centuries and there is a special relationship towards these animals. Some years ago the government has put in charge a new regulation program for the sheep farmers. The consequence was that many sheep farmers gave up the farming. Nevertheless each Icelander is allowed to own 10 sheep without falling into the new regulation policy - so important are these animals to this nation.
As a breed, the Iceland Sheep is unique - the purity of the strain has been protected by centuries of isolation and a total absence of contact with others.


Usually the sheep can be seen in groups of three: the mother with her 2 lambs.
From the brochure: How to drive in Iceland
"In Iceland, you can expect livestock to be on or alongside the road. It is usually sheep, but sometimes horses and even cows can be in your path. This is common all over the country, and can be very dangerous. (Now note the following sentence - wonderful :o)) Sometimes a sheep is on one side of the road and her lambs on the other side. Under these conditions - which are common - it is a good rule to expect the lambs or the sheep to run to the other side. (amazing - nobody would have guessed! :o))
Unfortunately as tradition is often abandoned, many Icelanders now have their sheep on fenced paddocks.

Icelandic - at once ancient and modern

About 300'000 people know Icelandic - the vast majority of the population has Icelandic as their mother tongue (97%). Iceland is also a country nearly without dialects. Icelandic has been spoken in Iceland ever since its settlement in the 9th century and has changed relatively little since then.
Icelandic belongs to the northern branch of the Germanic languages. It is most closely related to Faroese and various West Norwegian dialects.
The Icelandic system of grammar is extremely complicated. Icelandic has many categories of inflected words and verbs. Nouns, adjectives, pronouns and numerals have 4 cases. There are three gender of nouns. Adjectives, most pronouns and the numerals are also declines in three genders . Verbs are conjugated according to tense, person, number, mood and voice.

Icelandic Name Customs
In Iceland it is still common to identify oneself with one's father or mother and use Christian names rather than surnames in communications. The last name is formed from the Christian name of the father (most common practice) or mother (much rarer). The possessive form of the parent's name is put first and either -son (son) or -dóttir (daughter) appended. Often the same Christian names occur again and again in the same family.
Icelanders never use their last names alone. One would never refer to someone as just "Eiríksson" or "Bjarnadóttir". One must use either the Christian name alone or the full name. Last names are therefore much less important than customary elsewhere. The Icelandic telephone directory, for example, is organised by Christian names first, then by last names.

Icelandic language policy
The Icelandic language policy has two main components: on the one hand, continuing preservation of the language and, on the other, development of the language, not least to help keep its vocabulary abrest of new conditions and ensure the use of Icelandic in as many areas as possible. New words are continuously being formed to keep pace with developments in technology and the sciences. Many people enjoy trying to create new Icelandic words. This activity isnot at all tied to institutions or government decisions. The Icelandic Language Council, for example, primarily provides consultancy and dissemination of information regarding language usage and neologisms, but it is not at all the custom in Iceland for the government to have words produced that the public is then obligated to use!

Vocabulary
Many new words have been added to the Icelandic vocabulary since the beginning, as is natural over so long a period since the national life has been transformed. Some of the old words have also acquired new meanings in addition to the old ones. However, most common words in the language look exactly the same today as they did 1100 years ago, i.e., such as auga (eye), himinn (sky), haf (ocean), hestur (horse), kýr (cow). An enormous number of neologisms have since enriched the Icelandic language, especially in the 19th and 20th century, to meet contemporary needs. Most of the new words are fromed from older words and parts of words.

Neologisms and transparency
Neologisms are most often fromed by joining existing words or parts of words together in a new way:
vedur (weather) + fraedi (science) = vedurfraedi (meteorology)
bíll (car) + skúr (shed) = bílskúr (garage)
prefix al- (all) + naemi (openness to) = alnaemi (AIDS)
tölur (numbers) + völva (prophetess) = tölva (computer)
MY FAVOURITE EXAMPLE: farfugliaheimili is the Icelandic word for Youth Hostel. Literally translated it means "home for migrating birds" - beautiful!

Icelandic and other languages
As in Switzerland, the Icelandic school system has long placed heavy emphasis on the teaching of foreign languages. In addition to Icelandic, everyone learns English and Danish in compulsory school, and many add French, German or Spanish in upper secondary school.

Icelandic is at once an ancient and modern language
Icelandic is by and large the language that the Nordic people spoke in the Middle Ages throughout most of the Nordic countries as well as in demarcated regions of England, Ireland, Scotland, some parts of France and Russia and as far as south of Constantinople. Icelandic was also the language of Leifur Eiríksson who went to America in 1000.
Modern Icelanders have no problem reading and understanding ancient texts in Icelandic. It is extremely unusual for a language to undergo so little change over so long a period.

Deep-rooted written language
The oldest preserved texts in Icelandic were written around 1100. Many of them are actually based on material like poetry and laws, preserved orally for generations before being written down. The most famous of these, which were written in Iceland from the 12th century onward, are without doubt the Icelandic Sagas, the historical writings of Snorri Sturluson and eddaic poems.

The Icelandic language and literature
The continuity of the Icelandic language and literature surfaces in the fact that the Icelandic authors of the 20th cenutry, such as the Nobel prize winner Halldór Laxness, wrote in the same language as, for example, Snorri Sturluson, one of the foremost authors in the Nordic countries in the 13th centurey.
The works of poets and authors have always found favour with the Icelandic public. Books are still the most popular Christmas gifts, not least biographies and memoirs.

sunny day

It was a sunny, calm autumn day in Reykjavik yesterday so Anna and me decided to meet for a coffee but also to climb the tower of Hallgrimskirja to have a look at the panoramic view over the capital.
As Iceland's economy is dominated by the fishing industry, Reykjavik possesses a rather bigh port in the north-east.
In the east you find lake Tjornin and the Reykjavik City Hall.
The southern view shows the university campus!
The southern-west view reveals the Perlan restaurant and the city airport. From here inland flights depart daily.
The northern view: Mt Esja is the most prominent mountain within the capital area. Its highest point reaches 914m.
Anna and me are enjoying the autumn sun in a coffee place!

Radhús Reykjavík

The idea of a city hall in Reykjavik is almost as old as the city itself. For years the municipal authorities explored the possibilities of building a city hall, studied locations and invited proposals for its design.
In 1987, on the invitation of mayor David Oddsson, the city council decided to build the Reykjavik City Hall on the northern shore of lake Tjornin. That particular site, in the heart of the old city centre, had been pointed out as a prime location. The beautiful environment of lake Tjornin was considered a worthy setting for a building intended to proudly symbolize the city's status as the capital of Iceland.
The architecture is considered controversial. Personally I find it communicates well with its environment and demonstrates modern nordic architecture!

Kennitala

To be able to live and survive in Iceland the first thing you have to do upon arrival is to get registered at the Hagstofa Íslands (Statistical Bureau). After you have found the right building, because the address the university had sent you was wrong. There you fill in a form and 2 days later you are in possession of this magical 10 digit number. It is put together by your birthdate and a 4 digit number at the end. This number is your golden gate into Icelandic society. Without it you cannot register anywhere, you cannot open an account, you cannot buy a car... nothing!
So, one you have this you can throw away your passport. All you need now is your kennitala. When you register at university. All they need is this number and they know where you are from, your Rekjavik address. If you open a bank account, all they want is your kennitala and they know your details, that you are an exchange student etc. I call it the "Big brother is watching you system". Amazing and sometimes even a bit scary... With my new job it was the same. All my boss needed was my kennitala and I'm in :o) different cultures - different systems...

Jobs in Iceland

I have settled in my new life in Reykjavik. I have my favourite grocery shop, I don't have to look for the rooms my lectures are in, I even managed to find out where to print on the campus. High time to find a job. Now how do you do that in Iceland. Don't answer to job announcements in the newspaper. I did so and didn't even get a reply. What I did was to apply for a job at Foss Hotel (a hotel chain throughout Iceland) although they repeatedly say on their webpage that they do not hire people out of season.
Anyway... I sent my CV and 10 min. my cellphone rang. So I met up with Axel, the responsible for Fosshotel Baron in Reykjavik. After 5min. of smalltalk he not only offered me a weekend job as a receptionist at his hotel, but he also rang up some friend of his who happens to be the head waiter at the Hereford Steikhus. So Axel also got me a waitressing job at this top restaurant. Oh... I nearly forgot. He also offered me a full time job in summer time. Either in a Reykjavik Hotel or wherever in the countryside. NOTA BENE: this after a 5min. conversation with me :o) Icelandic people are just great! AND before I left he added that if these 2 jobs where not enough, he could easily find some more work for me!

So yesterday night I had my first day at the Hereford Steikhús. I got there, got my working dress and started straight away. The team is awesome! It's all young people between 25-35 and like a great family. I received such a warm welcome that I felt like home straight away. The place is really nice - notice the photos or have a look at the homepage: www.hereford.is
After my shift I got the official offer to get a permanent job there and then I got a hug from each of them - just like a family :o) I do admit that I've been extremely lucky with my jobs lately!

September 16, The Golden Circle

Patrick, Vani's boyfriend joined us on Saturday morning. He's spent the last night on a London airport, arrived here and we took him straight away to a full-day trip. He didn't seem too exhausted though. On our first stop he tried to catch some sheep, alas he wasn't successful!

The souvenir shop at Geysir was fun! We've spent there some time checking out the outrageous prices for ridiculous articles. This time I even managed to get a shot of Strokkur shoting up into the air. And notice Geysirs little brother... isn't he cute?




The weather was beautiful and we saw hundreds of rainbows at Gullfoss.

We also stopped at Thingvellir. Patrick really had to find out whether there is another continental crack behind the law rock. So... he simply climbed the wall (if you click on the photo to enlarge it you can find a tiny little orange dot in the rocks... that's Patrick) and actually found another crack :o) luckily it was late in the evening. I guess climing up historical heritages is not very welcomed...

September 15, Snaefellsnes

A huge trip awaited us today! We set off to drive around the Snaefellsnes peninsula. This part of Iceland is also called "Islande en miniature" because its diverse landscapes show all the characteristics of Iceland. The first photo shows Vani on her paparazzi hunt. She is fanatic about sheep and always tries to get some good photos of them.
The Snaefellsjökull is one of the most famous in Iceland. It has been the inspiration for Jules Verne's "Journey to the Centre of the Earth".

Before the village of Arnarstrapi we found an amazing lava field with a lot of berries :o)




At another beach we found 4 ancient stones. In the early days the sailors competed and tested their muscles. Vani and me only managed to lift the smallest stone. Maja managed to lift the second one!