| 
DATELINE
ICELAND
March - April 2005
Welcome
to Dateline Iceland.
Welcome to an unabashedly and totally biased look at
one of the most adventurous countries in Europe. Fire
and ice make up the land, but it’s the people
you will find in Iceland that make each trip an adventure.
>The
Midweek Getaway - The $299 Deal is Back!
>Hot Stuff
>Romantic Reykjavik
>Mingling with Miss Iceland
>Locals Stock Up on Lopapeysa
>Golf is Hot IN The Icelandic Summer
>Valley of the Spas is a World Class
Experience
>Got Art?
>Run Over for the Iceland Marathon
>Icelandic Guys Get Respect
>Fear Factor: Icelandic Style
>Stairway to Heaven
>Letters to the Editor
Going
to Europe? Why not consider stopping in Iceland on your
way there? The country is fast becoming the hottest
new discovery for American travelers. Iceland is a special
place with spectacular northern lights, glistening waterfalls,
ancient geysers, purifying hot springs and spas, majestic
mountains, and tempting cuisine - an impressive
palette of outdoor adventure, sports, culture and food.
For the vacationer who’s “been there, done
that,” Iceland represents an adventurous alternative
to yet another boring beach vacation. More...
Iceland
is on the way, but not out of the way, when you fly
to or from North America and continental Europe. In
fact, the country can now be conveniently reached from
the West Coast starting this May when non-stop Icelandair
service begins from San Francisco. More...
Icelandair
Holidays also has travel packages that take advantage
of special savings during the off-season, and will suit
whatever Icelandic vacation tickles your fancy.
The
Midweek Getaway - The $299 Deal is Back!
Air and hotel for $299* per person? Indeed. Read on:
Do you consider yourself an adventurer? Well pack you
bags and do something spontaneous, because Icelandair
has a great deal for people just like you. Depart on
a Sunday, Monday or Tuesday and spend two nights in
a double room at a hotel in Reykjavik from $299* per
person. Save $60* per person when you book Midweek Getaway
for departures through March 31, 2005. More...
Hot
Stuff
The stark chill of Iceland in winter is held
at bay by volcanic activity while plumes of steam rise
from the ground by Fosshotel Nesbud. The fascinating
geothermal area makes Nesbud a warm retreat only 15
miles from Reykjavik. Scenic walking trails through
the volcanic landscape, trout fishing and Thingvellir
National Park are all within driving distance. Come
explore the wilderness and return each night to a cozy
sanctuary. From $599* per person double occupancy. More...
Romantic
Reykjavik
The world's northernmost capital brings romance
to a whole new latitude. World-class candlelit dining,
vibrant nightlife and the charm of an ancient city at
night give way to luxuriant spa treatments and shopping
in the day. Grab someone special and start making memories.
From $783* per person based on double occupancy. More...
*Prices
quoted are exclusive of applicable taxes and official
charges by destination of approximately $100-$180 per
person including the Sept. 11th Security Fee of $2.50
per U.S. enplanement. Click here to view approximate
taxes by destination. Click here to read the General
Terms and Conditions of Icelandair Holidays Packages
Mingling
With Miss Iceland
The
Miss Iceland 2005 Pageant will bring together the most
beautiful women in Iceland, undeniably some of the most
beautiful women in the world, and you could be right
there. Tickets to the May 23 event at Broadway in Reykjavik
are $124 and include a four-course meal. A special V.I.P.
package is also being offered that includes a four-course
dinner with wine and tickets to the Pageant’s
afterparty for about $296. Interested partygoers should
click
here for more information.
Locals Stock
Up on Lopapeysa
Lopapeysa, hand-knit heavyweight wool sweaters
made by Icelanders for generations to keep out the cold
are the hottest new trend among Iceland’s youth.
The sweaters, always popular among tourists, have found
renewed popularity with the locals, particularly the
lopapeysa with zipper fronts.
A typical lopapeysa costs around $189. More...
Golf
Is Hot In The Icelandic Summer
Iceland has over 50 golf courses throughout
the island, most with outstanding views and always close
to nature. Golf can be played in Iceland from May through
September and in the summer golf can be played around-the-clock
thanks to the midnight sun. In fact, The Amstel Light
Iceland Open (June 23-26, 2005) caters specifically
to those who would rather be playing golf than sleeping.
The tournament will be played on two golf courses near
Reykjavik: the Reykjavik Golf Club and the Keilir Golf
Club in Hafnarfjordur. More...
Visitors
may also enter the Arctic Open International Golf Tournament
(June 22-25, 2005) at northern Iceland's Akureyri Golf
Club. This four-day 36-hole championship battle of the
clubs is open to professionals and everyday players
alike. More...
Valley
of the Spas is a World Class Experience
Thanks to enormous reserves of thermal
water, no other city in the world has as many spas per
capita as Reykjavik. The newest spa is also one of Europe’s
largest. Just a short walk from the Hotel Nordica, lies
the Laugardalur Valley, named after its hot springs.
For centuries, Icelanders have been walking, riding
and driving in this sports park to rejuvenate body and
soul. Now Laugardalur is also home to its own five-star
health and spa resort, the 200,000 sq. ft. Laugar Spa
& World Class Gym.
You
have to hand it to those Icelanders. When the weather’s
howling outside, they’ll still find a way to go
swimming. Laugar features an Olympic-size indoor pool,
an outdoor pool, and natural hot tubs called “hot
pots.” The 55,000 sq. ft. spa also has one of
Europe’s best-equipped fitness centers, and a
bathhouse with seven different saunas and steam rooms
of varying temperatures, seawater hot pools, Thalasso
therapy jacuzzi, foot pools and even a cold waterfall
for bathing. Guests are pampered with aromatherapy massage,
reflexology, hot stone, salt or raindrop treatments
featuring E’SPA products. Our favorite? An indoor
quiet room with recliners, soft music and a roaring
fire for a mid-day snooze. There’s even a 20-ft.
wide indoor waterfall made of smooth granite by noted
Icelandic artist Sigurdur Gudmundsson. More...
Got
Art? Reykjavik Arts Festival is May 14 - June 5, 2005
This year’s program will focus on contemporary
visual arts after three decades of festivals dedicated
to the performing arts. A series of exhibitions and
installations will be presented in Reykjavík
and throughout the country, centering on the legacy
of Dieter Roth, the German-born Swiss artist who spent
a large part of his life in Iceland, and who influenced
both established and younger artists. More...
Run Over to Iceland for
the Laugavegur Marathon, June 20, 2005
Runners from throughout the U.S. and
Europe will gather in Iceland’s interior for the
annual Laugavegur Marathon. The race begins in Landmannalaugar
and finishes at Husadalur, Thorsmork. The 34-mi./55
km Laugarvegur course is one of the most beautiful in
Iceland, stretching from Landmannalaugar in the highlands
to Thorsmork, a natural preservation area. (Click
here for more information).
Icelandic
Men Get Equal Time
For years, you’ve been bombarded
with images of Icelandic women elevated on a pedestal
as the most beautiful in the world. Sure, they win a
lot of beauty contests, but what about the men? Now
we know. After the final episode of the Bravo Network
television show, "Manhunt", it's an Icelander
who has been crowned "America's most gorgeous male
model". Like most young men, Jón Jónsson
wants to be an astronaut, but unlike most young men,
this 22-year-old astrophysics student may actually end
up with the qualifications to do it, not to mention
his $100,000 prize. So, what's his best physical feature?
"Probably my scars. I've got a bunch of matching
scars, they're really cool." Is he your type? See
for yourself...
Fear
Factor: Icelandic Style
It’s not too soon to begin planning a
trip to Iceland next January, in time for the Thorrablot
Midwinter Feast, the Viking annual celebration
of winter. The celebration offers an array of interesting
food selections, festive dancing and singing. The Association
of Meat Producers of Iceland just weighed in with a
report on the top five foods for Thorrablót:
1)
Soured ram's testicles.
2) Sheep brain jelly
3) Livrapylsa-- a loose sausage of soured stomach parts
4) Soured whale blubber
5) Blood Pudding
Seal
flippers rated low, at 8th on the list. Putrified shark,
a famous
Thorrablót delicacy, did not make the list.
"Stairway to Heaven"
The venerable rock singer Robert Plant,
former front man for Led Zeppelin, is scheduled to perform
in Reykjavik on April 24 at Laugardalsholl, the sports
facility in Laugardalur next to the outdoor soccer stadium
and close to Laugar Spa. The concert is part of a tour
to promote his new album "Mighty Rearranger,”
which is due out April 25 in the UK and May 3 in the
U.S.
What
took him so long? - this will be Plant’s
second concert in Reykjavik. The musician last played
at Laugardalshöll 35 years ago with Led Zeppelin.
More...
Letters
to the Editor - An Icelandic Crime Wave? We Don't Think
So
Dear Dateline Iceland:
I
visited Reykjavik and enjoyed my stay very much. I thought
Iceland was one of the most beautiful places in the
world. My $500(US) camera was stolen somewhere in the
City. Not knowing where to go, I immediately returned
to where I was shopping earlier that afternoon. When
I told the store owner that my camera may have been
stolen, she assured me that I must have lost it. She
said, "This is Iceland, you are not in the U.S.
anymore - you MUST have lost it." The store
owner called all of the departments she could think
of, and sure enough, I left it on the bus. A kind Icelander
took my camera to the Police Station for me to pick
it up! That is a true testimony of how friendly the
people here are. I will return whenever I can! I love
that City!
Eric
Diello
Seattle, Wash.
Thanks
Eric. Nice story. Better get a strap for that camera
if you ever plan to visit New York - The Editors
THEY
SAID IT
Don’t
just take our word for it. Here’s what leading
magazines, newspapers, and TV shows are saying about
visiting Iceland.
Reykjavik
has become the unlikeliest of world tourist destinations,
a "Wild On" city where weekend throngs of
natives and foreigners drink and dance the long winter
nights away. Most residents I talk to cite what might
be called the Lava Field of Dreams theory, which holds
that if you build a reputation as Party Central, they
will come. And so they do, to the tune of 60,000 Americans
each year and many more British and Irish visitors,
according to the Iceland Tourist Board. Indeed, the
night life in Reykjavik, where in winter there is almost
nothing but night, is nonstop on weekends. The city's
dozens of pubs, discos, live music clubs and theaters,
as well as its best restaurants, are clustered within
an easily strolled, brightly lighted 20-square-block
area downtown known by its Reykjavik 101 postal code.
- Steve Dougherty, New York Times, Dec. 19, 2004
Iceland
is so beautiful. It is gorgeous. People are unbelievably
nice. And every time we turn a corner it was -
oh my gosh! We are taking pictures everywhere.
- Harry Smith, CBS Early Show, Nov. 17, 2004,
following the season premiere of the Amazing Race in
Iceland. Twelve million armchair adventurers vicariously
raced across Iceland during the prime time reality show.
With so much nightlife and edgy music to savor,
you won't even notice that Europe's northernmost capital
gets only a few hours of sun - especially on Gamlarskvold
(a.k.a. New Year's Eve), when the streets are lit with
traditional bonfires, and multiple generations of toasting
revelers brighten the long night. - Megan
Miller, Budget Living, December, 2004
The
average temperature in Iceland's capital, Reykjavik,
is 35 degrees in January, but most visitors don't mind:
They come for the hot nightlife, the wildlife (the four
legged kind), and otherworldly volcanic landscapes.
- Christopher Elliot, U.S. News & World Report,
December 20, 2004
Icelanders
are Norsemen, so ice runs in their blood. But thanks
to geographical circumstance, Icelanders are also hot
pool aficionados. You don't plan an Iceland adventure
without periodic steam cleanings in the countless hot
springs that bubble up in the country. -
Mark Jenkins, Outside, December, 2004
There
are thousands of waterfalls in Iceland. At one point
I stopped the car, got out, and counted nine within
my immediate view. - Layne Kennedy, Islands,
December, 2004
|
