| 
DATELINE
ICELAND
May-June
2004
Welcome to the new Dateline Iceland.
We have updated the newsletter and now present you with
this “quickie” version to give you an idea
of what to expect in each issue. Condé Nast Traveler
gives Iceland four separate awards this month, we’re
quickly turning into Hollywood East (way East) as two
more movies begin filming here, and our capital city
is one of the hottest places in Europe. Discover the
Land of Fire and Ice for yourself. This month’s
Dateline Iceland is loaded with great travel suggestions.
So, instead of yet another trip to the Hamptons, Branson
or Catalina Island, join us in the North Atlantic for
the adventure of a lifetime. It’s almost summer
in Iceland - we’ll keep the lights on for
you.
>The Icelandair
Horse Festival 2004
>Getting into the Swim of Things
>Iceland Lands on the Hot List
>You Get Some Serious Fries With That...
>Spring Flings!
Glaciers, Geysers
and Waterfalls
Love is in the
Icelandair
Horsing Around
- A Week of Riding in South Iceland
>Something's Fishy
>The Love Boat, Iceland Style
>Tourists Say, "Par-Tay!" as Cost of
Alcohol Drops
>Golfers Gather For Midnight Golf.
Better Bring Your Sunglasses!
>The Arctic Open
>National Museum Reopens in Fall
>Movies, Monsters and Mayhem
>They Said it
>If You're in the Neighborhood, Take-A-Break
in Iceland
The
Icelandair Horse Festival 2004
will be
held at The Icelandair Horse Festivals - called
Landsmot - are the climax and celebration for
the Icelandic horse. This year’s event will be
held at Hella in the Rangarvellir region of South Iceland,
June 28 - July 4. You’ll be caught up in the moment,
as superb horses and riders demonstrate their capabilities
during a wide variety of competition and show events.
Click
here for more information.
Getting
into the Swim of Things
In
terms of must-sees, it’s not exactly like kissing
the Blarney stone. But adventurous travelers looking
for bragging rights, are joining Icelanders in the new
sport of ocean swimming. It's becoming so popular, in
fact, that in some areas, changing rooms are being built
to accommodate the large numbers of swimmers. The most
popular location is in Seltjarnarnes, West Reykjavik.
"It's one of the most healthy sports there is,"
says Bjorn Ruriksson, who's been ocean swimming for
six years. "It's great. It's cleared up my asthma."
While the water temperature in Iceland can dip down
to -2°C (28.4°F) in winter, it can rise to an
average of 13° (55.4°F) during the summer.
Iceland
Lands on the Hot List
Iceland
just scored big in Conde Nast Traveler’s 2004
Hot List of the hottest tables, bars and hotels in the
world. Hotel
Budir in Snaefellsnes and 101
Hotel in Reykjavik were judged to be two of the
best in the world. The bar at 101 Hotel also received
an award as one of the global hotbeds of nightlife.
Iceland is not just for late-night action though -
Sjavarkjallarinn (The Seafood Cellar) in Reykjavik was
rated as one of the world’s Hot Tables by the
magazine for its Viking history and Asian-influenced
food. The restaurant is also gaining recognition in
other areas - last February, the head chef at
Sjavarkjallarinn, Larus Gunnar Jonasson, won the title
"Iceland's Chef of the year 2004." Click
here for more information.
You
Get Some Serious Fries With That�
…43.54
pounds, to be exact. Those 43-plus pounds were served
with 34.21 pounds of battered cod fillets to give Icelandic
USA the Guinness World Record for the Largest Serving
of Fish ´N Chips ever. The record-setting buffet
took place on March 15, 2004, at the Black Rose in Boston.
Over 100 people showed up to partake of the Icelandic
cod. There was nary a fin left when the crowd got through
with it. Click
here for more information.
Spring
Flings!
Spring
is here and so are some great travel deals from Icelandair.
Glaciers,
Geysers and Waterfalls
Take
a seven-day jaunt to some of the natural wonders of
Iceland. Come see colorful mountains ringed by geysers,
natural arches carved by the pounding surf, majestic
waterfalls and Europe’s largest glacier. Click
here for more information.
Love
is in the Icelandair
Spring
is a time of new beginnings and if you are just beginning
your married life come check out our romantic driving
package. Jump off your plane upon arrival and into a
rental car that we secure for you and drive through
West Iceland towards the Eldborg volcanic crater and
the famous Snaefellsjokull Glacier. Just underneath
the glacier you will find Brekkubaer, your accommodations
for the next few nights. For your first night, enjoy
a delicious home-cooked 3-course dinner. This is just
the first day of a six-day tour, but you get the picture.
We also offer a similar travel deal that includes horseback
riding. Click
here for more information.
Horsing
Around - A Week of Riding in South Iceland
Experience
the world-famous Icelandic horse up close and personal
with this week-long horse trekking adventure. South
Iceland is delightful to explore on horseback, an artist's
palette of volcano-carved valleys, mountains, and hidden
lakes. In the evenings, stay at a friendly farmhouse
with geothermal hot tubs and delicious farm-cooked meals.
It’s an ideal family tour. Click
here for more information.
For more
details, you can also call 1-800-779-2899 ext. 2.
Something's
Fishy
Iceland's
parliament has agreed to plans to build a state-of-the-art
aquarium in downtown Reykjavik. The aquarium will showcase
the biology of the North Atlantic Ocean, which has so
long been central to the Icelandic way of life. The
aquarium, which opens in 2005, will also cover scientific
research being conducted in the area, the technology
used and protection of the marine environment.
The
Love Boat, Icelandic Style
Cruise
ship visits to Iceland reached record numbers in 2003
as thousands of cruise ship passengers were attracted
to the island nation’s spectacular fjords, mountain
vistas, shopping, and historical attractions. Over the
past 10 years, cruise traffic to Iceland has increased
substantially. Cruising is becoming an important segment
of the tourism industry in Iceland. Ask your travel
agent about booking a cruise for yourself this summer
or fall. We’ll meet you on the Lido deck. Click
here for more information.
Tourists
Say, "Par-Tay!" as Cost of Alcohol Drops
Twelve
members of Iceland’s Parliament have introduced
a bill aimed at lowering the cost of alcohol in Iceland.
The bill, which would privatize the liquor industry
and was sponsored by members of three different political
parties. The bill would lead to a 50% reduction in taxes
on alcohol over three years and make beer and wine available
through private shops and leave hard liquor under the
jurisdiction of the government. On a related note, the
price of aspirin is likely to spike sharply should this
bill pass.
Golfers
Gather Fore Midnight Golf. Better Bring Your Sunglasses!
Picture
yourself walking out of the clubhouse at midnight into
bright sunshine and stepping up to the first tee on
a golf course at the top of the world! Golf doesn't
get any more extreme than the Amstel Light Iceland Open,
an international event open to golfers of all abilities,
June 24-25. The tournament will be played on two of
Iceland's finest championship courses, Reykjavik G.C.
and Keilir G.C. It's open to anyone with a USGA handicap
or it's equivalent of 36 or less. Non handicap cardholders
are welcome as well and will have their own category
of play. The golf is competitive, but always fun. The
tournament will consist of one optional practice round
and one tournament round on each course. Click
here for more information.
The
Arctic Open
Not
to be outdone, the Akureyri Golf Club hosts its own
midnight golf tournament on June 23-26, just a few days
after the longest night of the year. This place is up
there - the Royal Ancient Golf Club of St. Andrews
golfers Handbook confirms that "the most northerly
18-hole golf course is the Akureyri Golf Club in Iceland,
which is situated 65 degrees 49 minutes north of the
Equator.” The Arctic Open is a 36-hole tournament,
played under the Stableford point system over two days
(nights), 18 holes each day. The former day groups are
chosen randomly but the second day by score. This championship
tournament is open to professional and amateur golfers
alike. Click
here for more information.
National
Museum Reopens in Fall
One
of the most popular attractions in the country, the
National Museum, will reopen this September. The museum
has been closed for refurbishment for several years.
The first artifact to have been taken into the museum
for display is the boat Ingjaldur which was
used to stop British fishermen fishing illegally in
1899. Click
here for more information.
Movies,
Monsters and Mayhem
Iceland
is becoming a popular place with filmmakers these days,
as those of you who have seen the latest James Bond
movie already know. Two more movies - the Norse
epic Beowulf and the black comedy Guy X
- will begin filming in the land of fire and ice
this spring. Beowulf, for those of you not
forced to read it in high school, is the story of the
adventures of a great Scandinavian warrior in the sixth-century
A.D. Audiences can expect lots of action.
The producers
of Guy X have not released many details other
than it stars Jason Biggs (American Pie) and
is directed by Saul Metzstein who worked on Trainspotting
and Shallow Grave. The movie is based on the
book “No One Thinks of Greenland” by John
Griesemer.
They
Said It
National
Geographic to Iceland: "It Matters"
In
the April issue of National Geographic you
will find a section called “Who Knew?” Check
out the side of the page for a column called “It
Matters” where geothermal energy is credited with
being a mainstay of Iceland’s well being. Adding
a Did You Know? factor is this tidbit: “Geothermal
energy heats 88% of Icelandic housing and meets over
half of the country’s total energy needs.”
We’d say perfectly clean and renewable energy
matters indeed.
If
You're in the Neighborhood, Take a Break in Iceland
Next
time you want to go to Europe, Take-A-Break in Iceland.
There is no additional airfare to worry about with Icelandair's
popular Take-A-Break program that allows you to stay
up to seven nights on your way to or from Europe. Up
to seven nights in one direction may be added to your
travel itinerary, providing an ideal anecdote to jet
lag and the opportunity to experience Iceland's unique
blend of outdoor adventure and cosmopolitan sophistication.
Click
here for more information.
|
