DATELINE ICELAND - May/June 2003

A periodic look at news and events from the home of the Vikings. Brought to you by the Icelandic Tourist Board.

>What's the Buzz?
    >Spring Getaway to North Iceland
    >Golf 'til You Drop
>Here's Looking at You
>How Can You Sleep? The Sun's Still Out?
    >Enjoy the Light Nights (June - August)
    >Sailing, Sailing
    >Another Excuse to Party
    >Here Comes the Sun
>For Iceland Golfers, Anytime is a Good Time, Especially Midnight
>The Run-Down on Running
>Have a Ball
>"Thar She Blows!"
>In Iceland, Everyone is on a First Name Basis
>They Said It

What's the Buzz?
Everyone seems to be talking about Iceland these days. It's your turn to see what the buzz is all about by taking off with one of these special packages from Icelandair www.icelandair.com.

Spring Getaway to North Iceland
Springtime in the mountainous north is a lovely time with birds, flowers and newborn horses and sheep. This package introduces you to Akureyri near the Arctic Circle, and the fantastic natural wonders of North Iceland.

While Akureyri is just a 45-minute plane ride, it is a world apart from Reykjavik and South Iceland. This lovely town of 15,000 is cradled in a stunning fjord. It offers charming buildings, gardens, art museums, shopping, cafes and nightlife as well as one of Iceland's best geothermal swimming pools.

Outside Akureyri, you can enjoy the awe-inspiring volcanic and mountainous scenery of northern Iceland of Myvatn National Park, gorgeous waterfalls such as Godafoss, and some of the world's best whale watching in Husavik.

Icelandair Holidays offers a special 3-day package add-on tour from just $405* per person based on double occupancy. Departures are from Reykjavik through June 15, 2003. For more information, an online video, an interactive map, and postcard-like images of Akureyri, visit www.eyjafjordur.is.

Golf 'til You Drop
Spring is here, and it is time to get away from the dull drabness of winter and celebrate the start of golf season. Make it really unique and head up to Iceland for a few days of golf on top of the world. Enjoy emerging spring colors, loooong daylight hours and a truly amazing change of scene. Iceland is fun, friendly and closer to home than you think. Prices start at $743* per person and include roundtrip airfare, lodging, a car, and greens fees. Departures through August 31, 2003.

A special Midnight Golf package allows you to be the first on your block to golf at midnight - while the sun is still high in the sky. In Iceland you can play golf under the famous bright night on challenging lava-sculpted terrain at Reykjavik Golf Club. Packages start from $1347* per person double occupancy with departures June 15 - July 29, 2003. The price includes airfare, hotel, car, greens fees, and some meals.

For more package information from Icelandair, or to book a reservation, telephone (800) 779 2899; [email protected]; www.icelandair.com.

* Prices quoted are exclusive of applicable taxes and official charges by destination of approximately $90 per person, including the Sep. 11th security fee of $2.50 per U.S. enplanement.

Here's Looking at You

The greatest solar eclipse in the past 17 years glances by Iceland on May 31. It's a spectacular annular eclipse where the moon will appear entirely inside the sun's disc so that the edge of the sun forms a ring around the moon. If the Vikings had seen this, who knows, it might have frightened them right out of the country. Savvy eclipse chasers can get the best view in northeast Iceland, although it seems the whole world will be watching and hotel space will be hard to find. But don't pass up this opportunity - the last time an annular eclipse was seen in Iceland was in 1793, while the next one won't be until 2048. For more details there's an animated web site set up just for this celestial event - see http://www.almanak.hi.is/myrkensk.html.

How Can You Sleep? The Sun's Still Out?

Let Iceland be your "Island in the Sun" when you make your summer travel plans this year. After all, we have 20 hours of sunlight per day this time of the year and Icelanders love to party; it hardly feels like staying up late when the sun shines virtually all night. Come and join us for our summer holidays and special events this spring and summer. Here are some of the highlights:

Enjoy the Light Nights (June - August)
Enjoy live theater and an audiovisual presentation based on Icelandic Sagas, historical events, folklore and music through the ages. Performed in English. Shows every day except Sunday at 9 p.m. in Reykjavik at the Tjarnarbio Theater. Contact: (+354) 561-0280, fax: 561-0210. Learn more at www.visitreykjavik.is.

Sailing, Sailing
- Seamen's Day is June 1
This holiday is often the greatest celebration of the year with festivities including parades, rowing and swimming races, tugs of war, and even sea rescue competitions. This fun-filled and light-hearted occasion for the whole family always has a lot going on. Contact Midbakki, Old Harbor: (+354) 552-8211. Learn more at www.visitreykjavik.is.

Another Excuse to Party
- Icelandic Independence Day is June 17th
Enjoy the Fourth of July early this year, on June 17 when Iceland celebrates its Independence Day. This is a great time to visit the country - especially Reykjavik, which will host parades, street theater, sideshows and dancing. In 1944, Iceland declared full independence from the Danish crown. June 17 was chosen as the official holiday because it was the birthday of Jon Sigurdsson who is regarded as Iceland's champion to the nationalist cause. Learn more at www.visitreykjavik.is.

Here Comes the Sun
- Celebrate the Summer Solstice on June 21
Gatherings around Reykjavik celebrate the magic of the midnight sun on the longest day of the year. Come and celebrate the oldest summer holiday in existence the Viking way. Learn more at www.visitreykjavik.is.

For Iceland Golfers, Anytime is a Good Time, Especially Midnight

You simply haven't played golf until you've played with the midnight sun glowing in the sky at, well, midnight. If you can't get enough golf at home and have an "I'd Rather Be Golfing" bumper sticker on your car, then Iceland is for you. You can sleep when you're dead ...there's golf to play all night long.

Consider:

The Iceland Open (June 23-29) - Whether you are crazy about golf or just an insomniac, here is your chance to tee off at midnight. If this sounds good to you, you belong at the Amstel Light Iceland Open in Reykjavik. The tournament will be played on two golf courses: the Reykjavik Golf Club and the Keilir Golf Club in Hafnarfjordur. For more information see www.amstellighticelandopen.com it includes some hilarious TV commercials you can view.

The Arctic Open (June 25-28) - If Reykjavik isn't north enough for you, head to within a few miles of the Arctic Circle - up around Akureyri for the annual 36-hole open international match held at the Akureyri Golf Club. Tee-off is just before midnight and playing continues until the early hours of the morning. If you think you have the stamina, contact Akureyri Golf Club at Tel: (+354) 462-2974, [email protected], www.arcticopen.is

Of course, if you value your sleep more than your game, Iceland is still a duffer's paradise with over 50 golf courses throughout the island, some with outstanding views in a stunning natural environment. Visitors are welcome at the courses and greens fees vary from $15- 30 U.S. For further information contact the Icelandic Golf Association: (+354) 568-6686, [email protected], www.golf.is If your Icelandic is a bit rusty these days, just click on "English."

The Run-Down on Running

- Enter the Laugavegur Marathon, July 19
Do you dream of running past glaciers and volcanoes in a lush, unspoiled landscape, instead of through city streets and smog? Renew your love of running at the Laugavegur Marathon. The race begins in Landmannalaugar and finishes at Husadalur, Thorsmork. The Laugarvegur course is one of the most beautiful in Iceland, stretching from Landmannalaugar in the highlands to Thorsmork, a protected nature reserve. The total distance of the super marathon is 34 miles (55 km). www.toto.is/rmar/new/efni.asp?id=33&l=um

Have a Ball

- the VISA-REY CUP Soccer Festival is July 23-27
The Cup is a fantastic opportunity to share the joys of sport in a youth-oriented environment. This soccer festival is for boys and girls, 13 to 16 years old, and is held every year. The purpose of VISA-REY CUP is to have a high quality international sports event in Reykjavík, and give the youth of Iceland a chance to show their skills in front of an enthusiastic international audience. Spectators are welcome. www.reycup.com.

"Thar She Blows!"

Iceland is considered by various whale watching experts and tour operators as Europe's new 'Hot Spot', with astonishingly high sighting rates. The most common whales spotted are the friendly Minke whales, but Blue whales, Humpback whales, Sei and Fin whales and Orcas are often seen.

Dolphins, including White Beaks and Harbor porpoises, love to play in the coastal water close to land. Tours depart from several locations in Iceland such as Hafnarfjordur near Reykjavik, Breiddalsvik in the East, Olafsvik in the West, and the Westmann Islands in the South. But the most popular spot for whale watching is from Husavik, which is regarded by many as the 'Whale Watching Capital of Europe.' Cruises are made on a quiet, old-fashioned wooden boat that glides gently among the giants. On shore there is an exhibition center dedicated to the many species of whales that live in and around the bay. The season runs from May through September, and further information can be found at www.nordursigling.is.

In Iceland, Everyone is on a First Name Basis

We knew there was a reason the country is so friendly: everyone in Iceland is on a first name basis, and people are even listed by first names in the telephone directory. Most Icelanders still use the old Viking patronymics with different forms for sons and daughters. For example, a man called Haraldur Magnusson and his wife Helga Jonsdottir might have a son called Petur whose entire name would then be Petur Haraldsson; their daughter would be named Ingibjörg Haraldsdottir.

Logical enough, but the naming system sometimes raises eyebrows at passport control and hotel reception desks when Icelanders travel abroad. Image a family of four traveling with four different last names. Lately, increasing numbers of children are being given matronymics, i.e. identified as the son or daughter of their mother rather than their father. Somehow it works just fine and is another reason why we love our little island nation in the North Atlantic.

They Said It

"After a few days in the saddle, I gave up trying to distinguish between past and present. We rode (Icelandic) horses with a lineage 1,000 years old across farms that had borne their names for centuries, while the farmers and guides, on horseback, spoke an ancient language into their cellphones ….But to ride him, to tolt sweetly without halting, to pick our way through boulder fields and across glacial seeps for hours without ever missing a step - it was as though the earth were rolling forward in a smooth, unbreaking wave and I were sitting astride it." - Verlyn Klinkenborg, Gourmet Magazine, May 2003.

Need Room to Roam? We'll Make More

We hardly run out of room in Iceland - more seems to pop up out of the sea. Geologically speaking, Iceland is hardly out of playschool, since it only began to rise from the North Atlantic seabed about 25 million years ago, the product of volcanic eruptions that are still going on today. Parts of the country are still so rugged that American astronauts chose Iceland as a training ground to prepare them for landing on the moon. And Iceland is still taking shape before peoples eyes: the newest land is Surtsey, an island that rose from the sea during an underwater eruption off the south coast in 1963.

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