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DATELINE
ICELAND
July
- August
2004 Welcome
to the new Dateline Iceland. Welcome to an
unabashedly and totally biased look at one of the most
adventurous countries in Europe (yes, indeed, even though
we’re between the U.S. and Europe, we’re
still considered a part of Europe, but without all that
funny new Euro money they’re using over there).
So rather than pack the kids up
and fight the crowds at one of those mouse-themed amusement
parks, or getting yourself in a traffic jams watching
bears out west, take flight for a truly memorable vacation.
Icelandair has a number of packages that take advantage
of bright summer nights.
>Icelandic Water
Makes A Splash in the U.S.
>Playing in the Park
>Round ‘em up. Move ‘em
out.
>Icelandic Horsepower in Northern Iceland
>Saga Sites - Have We Got a Story
for You!
>Be Your Own Tour Guide with the Reykjavik
Adventure Package
>News And Notes
>Flight of the Pufflings
>Cheap Date
>The “Best” Airline
>Make a Date with Van Morrison
>Chill Out at the Kaffi Reykjavik Ice
Bar
>Gay Pride
>Get Cultured
>Run, Don’t Walk
>Candyland
>They Said It
>Free DVD Available
Icelandic
Water Makes A Splash in the U.S.
If you can’t
get to Iceland anytime soon, Iceland will come to you.
Iceland Spring bottled water is making a splash with
retailers and thirsty Americans alike. The water is
bottled in Iceland, at a 156 acre preserve that is fenced
off to keep any and all impurities from soaking into
the source. It is then shipped to the U.S. in award-winning
bottles that resemble the glacial ice that feeds the
spring.
“The company is doing exceptionally well,”
said Eric Skae, the U.S. importer of the brand, from
his offices in Orangeburg, N.Y.
He can quote any number of reasons why this is true.
Take for example the request from the U.S. Women’s
Olympic Soccer team to supply them with water, or the
fact that Iceland Spring regularly supplies water to
the guests and hosts of MTV.
The brand has wide distribution in the Eastern U.S.,
but focus will shift to making the water available nationally
in 2005.
"Once you build a success story, the rest of the
country becomes easier," said Skae.
Iceland Spring is already available
in all Whole Foods and Wild Oats stores, Vitamin Shoppes,
and will become available in all 4,800 Walgreens stores
in the U.S., a move that Skae predicts will double the
number of bottles he sells per year. From the purest
land comes the purest water. Look for it near you soon.
Click
here for more information.
Playing
in the Park
Iceland
Naturally makes its return to Central Park Summer
Stage, Saturday, July 31. This will be the second Iceland
Naturally Day, and three bands from Iceland will perform.
“Jaguar,” a seven-person funk band formed
in 1998, is best experienced in person at a live show.
The bass-heavy grooves and three-piece horn section
will keep the crowd shaking.
Round
‘em up. Move ‘em out.
Iceland is home to great herds of sheep, which
are allowed to roam free for the spring and summer in
the Icelandic countryside. Trouble is, at some point
they need a haircut. Hence, the round-up or “Rettir”
as we like to say in the mother tongue.
In the fall there is a great celebration as farmers
gather sheep from the mountains. Guests are invited
to ride along on the Icelandic horse, a breed renowned
for their sure-footedness and easy temperament. There
is much to do and see in addition to the autumn revelry.
Majestic Gullfoss Falls, the famous Geysir hot spring
area and Thingvellir National Park are all nearby. On
the way back to the airport, you can even take a baaaaaaath
(get it?) in the Blue Lagoon, Iceland’s number
one travel destination. Click
here for more information.
Icelandic
Horsepower in Northern Iceland
This
is the ideal program for families, romantic getaways,
and small groups looking for a unique driving holiday.
Head to the Adventure Center of Skagafjordur, North
Iceland. This region is getting a name for itself as
Iceland's ideal location for outdoor activities. Horseback
riding, whitewater rafting, hiking and historical museums
are just a few of the activities this region offers.
Accommodations are at the new "Hestasport"
cottages near Varmahlid village. The cottages have kitchens,
bathrooms and
sleeping areas, making this a great idea for people
who enjoy having their own "home away from home"
this September. Click
here for more information.
Saga
Sites - Have We Got a Story for You!
Saga
sites trips are planned to show you the essence of Iceland.
These six-day excursions are a great way to introduce
yourself to our island in the sun. Explore the glaciers,
geysers, and waterfalls of southern Iceland -
land of some of the heroes of the Icelandic sagas. Click
here for more information.
Be
Your Own Tour Guide with the Reykjavik Adventure Package
On this trip you are the master of your own
destiny. Using Reykjavik as your home base, you can
plan to see any of the beautiful and exciting destinations
in Iceland on day trips, and then return to the restaurants,
spas and nightlife of Reykjavik each night. Mix and
match to make this your ideal vacation. Click
here for more information.
News
And Notes
“Vinyl” comes from the same country
as “Jaguar,” but their sound is worlds apart.
“Vinyl” gets back to the roots of rock and
does their thing loud, proud and raw. They play even
a little bit sleazy, and make no apologies along the
way.
“Maus” comes to New York from the
very top of the Icelandic indie rock scene. In their
album, Nordic vocals hover over straight guitar figures
and incessant drum tracks. Minimal and drifting verses
give way to full on chorus lines and hooks. Their shows
have become legendary within Reykjavik - you don’t
want to miss this experience.
The concert series is free and
starts at 3 p.m. (gates open 1:30 p.m.) at the Rumsey
Playfield, 69th St. and 5th Ave. Click
here for more information.
Flight
of the Pufflings
Are
you a "Lundi" Lover? What is a Lundi? A puffin,
of course. Come to Iceland's Westman Islands where in
August the annual round-up for baby puffins is celebrated.
Iceland has the world’s largest population of
puffins, roughly 8 to 10 million birds. The pufflings
make their first flight every year around the same time
and always at night. The streetlights of the Westman
Islands throw some of them off course, landing them
in harm’s way. To help protect them, local parents
and their children steer hundreds of pufflings from
the nighttime perils of the city. Adult birds, hardly
an endangered species, often find themselves smoked
or sautéed on the menus of the country’s
finest restaurants. Saving baby puffins, then eating
them as adults is all part of the Icelandic experience,
a tradition practiced for generations. Learn more about
the flight of the pufflings in a fascinating national
Geographic magazine story…here.
Cheap
Date
If
you think Reykjavik is expensive, think again. According
to Mercer Human Resource Consulting, it doesn’t
even make the top 25 most expensive cities in the world.
Bring lots of money to the top three most expensive
cities of Tokyo, London and Moscow. New York is ranked
12th.
The
“Best” Airline
Icelandair
and Pete Best have teamed up to form a nostalgic partnership
that celebrates the Sixties, when Icelandair was dubbed
“The Hippie Airline” by a generation of
Europe-bound travelers. The year was 1960 when Pete
joined John, Paul and George in Liverpool’s famed
Casbah Coffee Club and put the original Beat in The
Beatles until Ringo came along in 1962.
Best, who kicked off the first
two years of the historic eight-year enterprise as The
Beatles’ drummer, now leads a six-member band
in concerts around the world recalling the sounds of
the Sixties. Their transatlantic tickets to fly will
be provided by Icelandair-The Americas - a move
that delights the associates on both sides of the Pond.
Various projects are in the works and will be announced
shortly, including trip giveaways at all performances
of The Pete Best Band when touring in the U.S. and Canada.
Details and schedules are available at www.petebest.com
and www.icelandair.com.
Make
a Date with Van Morrison
This
just in: Irish crooner Van Morrison will be playing
during the 14th annual Reykjavik Jazz Festival which
starts Sept. 29; Van Morrison is scheduled to perform
Oct. 2. Morrison’s career spans over 30 years
from his early band called “Them” to his
popular solo albums such as “Astral Weeks”
and “Tupelo Honey.” He will be playing one
concert in Laugardalshöll. Click
here for more information.
Chill
Out at the Kaffi Reykjavik Ice Bar
Most
of us don’t need much of an excuse to drink alcoholic
beverages. But one place that makes drinking seem irresistible
during the lazy, hazy days of summer is the Kaffi Reykjavik
Ice Bar. The interior is kept at below freezing all
year-round, and all of the interior fittings, including
the glasses, are made of pure, clear ice from the glaciers
of Iceland.
The Ice bar has capacity for 50 and
group bookings are welcome. Women best leave those halter-tops
back in the room. Men: no Speedos unless you want to
experience some serious shrinkage. Are you bold enough
to drink in the cold? See for yourself. Click
here for more information.
Gay
Pride
A new book from Queer & There Publishing
takes both seasoned and novice gay and lesbian travelers
to the northern reaches of civilization, calling modern
Iceland one of the most gay-friendly countries in the
world. GetawayGay Iceland is a guidebook to the superb,
gay-owned accommodations and unspoiled nature of glaciers,
thundering waterfalls, spouting geysers, and land so
geologically active it’s warm to the touch. You
can find it at amazon.com
and barnesandnoble.com.
August 6-8 is Gay Pride Days in Reykjavik. It
starts with an indoor concert/theatre on Friday night
and continues with a Parade on Saturday that goes down
to the city center, where an outdoor concert takes place.
Saturday night is gay night in most clubs in the center.
Click
here for more information.
Get
Cultured
Reykjavik
Cultural Night, Aug. 21, is a great time to visit. Museums,
galleries, churches, cafes, restaurants, stores and
other establishments in the capital city’s downtown
stay open into the night and present a variety of exhibitions,
concerts, performances, theater and other cultural events.
Click
here for more information.
Run,
Don’t Walk
If
your interests are a bit more aerobic, there’s
no better way to get to know a city than to run through
it. The world-renown Reykjavik Marathon, Aug. 21, is
said to attract half of the country’s entire population,
either to run or watch from the sidelines. Special travel
packages are available from North America through Marathon
Tours & Travel, Boston, 617 242 7845; [email protected].
Click
here for more information.
Candyland
Visitors
to Iceland are raving about trips to the sjoppas -
corner shops where candy unique to Iceland is being
snapped up and whisked back home. One favorite is Opal,
strong licorice pastilles that come in a fabulous sixties-style
package in a variety of colors corresponding to different
flavors: green is salty licorice, red is strong, and
blue is a bizarre, yet curiously refreshing taste. Check
these babies out here…
They
Said It
Iceland
Rated as One of the World’s Safe Havens
A May 11, 2004 New York Times article on the
dangers U.S. travelers face when traveling abroad recently
named Iceland as among the three safe havens in the
world. The other two were Greenland and Canada.
The article, written by Harry Hurt III,
quotes Chris Palmer, Director of Risk Control for the
insurance broker Aon, who is frequently tapped by motion
picture studios to provide security training and personal
protection on location. Palmer most recently provided
drivers and bodyguards for the cast and crew of “Man
on Fire,” which was filmed in Mexico City -
where 10 to 20 kidnappings occur every day.
Street crime and targeted kidnapping are worldwide problems,
a fact often overlooked by U.S. travelers. “Anyone
who travels with credit cards or ATM cards, which is
just about everybody, is at risk,” said Palmer.
Palmer singled out Iceland as
among safe destinations for travel because of its sparse
population and remoteness.
The White Nights of Summer
Where’s the best place to take advantage
of the white nights this summer? Explorers
Club president Richard Wiese recommends Iceland
in the July issue of Men’s Journal. Says he, “My
favorite place to experience (light around the clock)
is Iceland, where there’s so much to do -
hiking on glaciers, horseback riding through lava fields,
swimming in thermal pools - that you’ll
appreciate the extra hours of daylight.”
Free Stuff
Goodies, swag, call it what you want. We’ve
got free stuff here just for the asking:
Free
DVD Available
Travel brochures? They’re so 90’s.
Besides, for a country like Iceland, the island nation
located smack dab between the U.S. and mainland Europe,
travel brochures can’t do justice to the scenic
waterfalls, geysers, sizzling nightlife, and culinary
cuisine that’s attracting an estimated 60,000
Americans each year.
That’s why the Iceland Tourist
Board, in conjunction with IcelandNaturally.com, is
offering a free 5-1/2 minute DVD to travel agents, tour
operators and consumers nationwide.
“Iceland: The Way Life Should
Be” recently received a Gold in the Documentary
- Travel category of the 2004 Aurora
Awards, an independent film and video competition.
The DVD also received recognition as
a Bronze finalist in the Travel & Tourism category
of the 25th annual Telly
Awards, based in Cincinnati.
The DVD is free just for the
asking. To request a free copy of the DVD, or a good
old fashioned brochure perfect for you Ludites, e-mail
the Iceland Tourist Board - [email protected]
or log onto www.icelandtouristboard.com/order.html
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