All Things Iceland

By Jewells ChambersSociety & Culture Education Places & Travel

All Things Iceland episodes

January 23, 2019 The Cod Wars: Iceland vs Britain – Ep.36

While Iceland is not known for getting involved in wars, the country found itself in a territorial battle with Britain. The disputes are called the Cod Wars and they lasted for almost 20 years.

First, It Was Denmark vs Britain

The seas surrounding Iceland are rich with marine life, especially fish. British fishermen had been capturing cod in Icelandic waters since the 15th century. In the early 16th century, it became common to see many of their boats off the coast of the island. While Icelandic people did capture fish back then, fishing was not a major industry in the country until the 20th century.

Before there was a dispute between Iceland and Britain, there was conflict between Denmark and the British. The Danish were worried about how close British boats were fishing near Icelandic shores in the late 1800s. As I have mentioned in previous episodes, Iceland was ruled by Denmark until 1945. Denmark also governs the Faroe Islands. The invention of steam powered boats allowed for fishermen to travel to much farther distances. This meant that the amount of British vessels around the Icelandic shore started to rapidly increase.

Danish Gunboat

As a response, the Danish government claimed a fishing limit of 50 nautical miles (93 km) around Icelandic shore in 1893. The British government did not recognize the claim set by the Danish government because they felt it would damage British fishing industry. British fishing boats continued to violate the claim by the Danish government. In retaliation, Danish gunboats would fine British trawlers that they found fishing illegally within the off limits area. The Royal Navy was deployed in 1896 and 1897 to make a show of naval force, but that only increased the tension between the nations.

A Major Incident Between the Danish & the British

One major incident, sparked the countries to finally come to an agreement. Caspian, a British steam trawler was fishing off the coast of the Faroe islands in April 1899. A Danish gunboat attempted to arrest the boat for fishing within the off limits area. When the gunboat saw that the trawler refused to stop, they first fired blank shells at the boat, but later used live ammunition. The Danish did eventually capture the Caspian but there is a bit more drama to the whole incident.

Charles Henry Johnson, the Captain of the Caspian, had a little trick up his sleeve. Before he left to board the Danish gunboat, he ordered his mate to make a dash for it after he had safely made it to the other boat. Once Johnson was aboard the gunboat, the Caspian took off at full speed. The Danish fired on the boat but was not able to stop it from getting away. When the Caspian arrived in Grimsby, England, it was heavily damaged. Johnson was tied to the mast on the boat. Later, he was tried in a court on the Faroe Islands. He was convicted of illegal fishing and attempted assault, and was jailed for 30 days.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FsOytZMRXo0

Due to this incident, the Danish and British formed the Anglo-Danish Territorial Waters agreement in 1901. It set 3 nautical mile (6 km) territorial limits for Iceland for 50 years. While it was narrowly followed,
22 min
January 16, 2019 Iceland’s Hidden People & Mythical Beings – Ep. 35

Many people think that the hidden people in the land of fire and ice are just elves. However, hidden people actually includes the many different types of beings that are rarely, if ever, seen here. In addition to elves, there are trolls, dwarfs, gnomes, fairies, mountain spirits and ghosts. There are also a variety of monsters.

Icelandic folklore includes many fascinating and frightening stories that I plan to talk about in future episodes of this podcast. As a primer for future shows, I have decided to give you an overview of these different hidden beings in this episode.

Elves - The Most Popular of the Hidden People in Iceland

Elves are by far the most well-known of the hidden people here because media sources have printed that the majority of the population in Iceland believes that they exist. The funny part is thing is that while many Icelandic people won’t say they absolutely do believe in elves, a good chunk of them won’t say outright that elves do not exist. It is as if they don’t want to make a decision just in case elves really do exist. I find it amusing. The story of how elves came to be hidden people is quite sad and is related to Christianity. Iceland became a Christian nation in the 11th century. With the religion came fascinating stories and there a couple of scenarios that explain the origins of elves.

How Elves Came Into Existence

The first is that Adam and Eve had many children in the Garden of Eden. In preparation for a visit from god, Eve tried to clean all of her children. Unfortunately, she didn’t finish cleaning all of them in time. She hid the dirty ones away from god and lied about their existence because she was ashamed. According to Jón Arnarsson, who wrote Icelandic Legends, god knew that Adam and Eve had more children that were hidden. God said to Eve, "What man hides from God, God will hide from man.” Those unwashed children then became invisible. It is believed that the children that were not hidden from god are us, the people that you see all over the world.

The 2nd scenario of how elves originated is that they come from Lilith, a figure in Jewish mythology that appears as a dangerous demon in the darkness. She is said to be sexually wanton and steals babies in the night. According to Jewish mythology, she was Adam’s first wife but she left him because she didn’t want to become subservient to him. She left the Garden of Eden and became involved with an archangel Samael. The last scenario is that elves are fallen angels that are condemned to live between heaven and earth.

These beings looks like humans and they live in rocks and hills. Icelandic people have a lot of respect for the homes of elves and they generally do their best to avoid disturbing them. Roads have been built around areas or rocks that elves are said to live. Sometimes a medium that can communicate with elves is consulted before construction is done in an area that might be inhabited by elves.

Where to Find Elves in Iceland

If you are wondering where you can find elves, there are many places around the country where they are said to dwell. One very popular place is the Elf Stone in Grjótaþorp, the oldest neighborhood in Reykjavík. Another is along the south coast. It is quite a huge rock near Skógafoss that has some incredible stories attached to it.
15 min
January 09, 2019 Moving & Adjusting to Living in Iceland – My Personal Experience – Ep. 34

This week is a bit different than my normal episodes because I am going to share why I moved to Iceland. I get this question a lot, mainly because I was born and raised in NYC. People find it very difficult to understand why I would move to such a small country that averages relatively chilly temperatures and has a population of about 350,000 people. After sharing Ingólfur Arnarson’s story, the man who founded Reykjavík, I felt compelled to share my own. So, let’s just jump right into it.

Meeting Gunnar 12 Years Ago

I won’t go into all the details about how Gunnar and I’s relationship evolved because I have a video coming out on YouTube about it that will explain everything. For now, just know that we met through a mutual friend, Orri, who is Icelandic.

That was about twelve years ago but we didn’t becoming a couple until about five and a half years ago. We were in a long distance relationship for 3 years and the first time we lived together is when I moved to Iceland in 2016.

If someone had asked me if I would consider moving to Iceland before I started dating Gunnar, I would have flat out said no. I didn’t have anything against Iceland, but I just didn’t know anything about the place. I assumed that it would be more of a hassle to live there than it was worth. It’s funny how love has the ability to change your mind.

Adjusting to Life in Iceland

I started working the very next day after I arrived in Iceland. Because of that, I didn’t have a lot of time to think about my feelings regarding living in another country. I was so excited about my job opportunity and I wanted to do well so I mainly focused on that.

Funny enough, one of the hardest adjustments for me in the beginning was learning to live with another person. I lived on my own in a studio apartment in NYC for about 3 years before moving in with Gunnar in Iceland.

Of course, all of the cultural differences, such as the language and traditions were things I needed to adjust to. Thankfully, I had learned a lot about them during my visits to the country before I moved. Living here is so much different than visiting, but I experienced a lot less culture shock when I finally moved.

I do have to mention that I feel like marrying into an Icelandic family has given me an advantage when it comes to coping with living here. Many foreigners that move to Iceland but do not have ties an Icelandic family can feel quite lonely or left out. Icelandic people can be closed off when it comes to celebrating the holidays and other activities. They are very family orientated and most of the time their celebrations are just family members and very close friends of the family that are also Icelandic. Being included in the various activities made me feel like a part of the family immediately. That made living here an even more enjoyable experience.

Learning Icelandic

While I do understand a lot of Icelandic, I am continuously learning and working on my conversational skills. It is challenging, but it is also a lot of fun. Thankfully, there are a decent amount of resources online that are available. If you are interested in learning the language, here are some free resources that you can check out. I use a tutor at the moment, who is awesome. I highly recommend you considering to use a tutor or take classes if you want to learn the language in a systematic way.

24 min
January 02, 2019 Ingólfur Arnarson – The Founder of Reykjavík – Ep. 33

Gleðilegt nýtt ár!!! Happy New Year. Because the new year can feel like the time for new beginnings, I know 2019 does for me, I thought it would be fun to talk about the person who founded Reykjavík. He is also recognized as the first permanent Norse settler of Iceland.

The First Norsemen in Iceland

According to the Landnámabók, which literally means the book of settlements, Ingólfur Arnarson, his wife Hallveig Fróðadóttir, his step brother Hjörleirfur Hróðmarsson and their slaves arrived in Iceland in the later half of the 800s. He gave Reykjavík its name in 874. Ari Þórgilsson, a medieval historian, claimed that Ingólfur and his crew were the first Norsemen to settle in Iceland. However, there were Irish monks that had been living in the country before Ingólfur arrived. These people eventually left because they did not want to live among heathens.

While it is true that many settlers that came to Iceland after Ingólfur were looking for new land to cultivate to call their own, Ingólfur’s main reason for leaving Norway was due to a blood feud. He and Hjörleifur killed the two sons of a Norse Earl. This resulted in Ingólfur having to give up his land possessions to the Earl. With no land of his own to speak of in his birth country, he set sail to the west to start over.

How Ingólfur Founded Reykjavík, Iceland

What I find most interesting about where Ingólfur decided to settle, is his method for choosing the place. While on his ship, he saw Iceland’s rugged natural landscape in the distance. Instead of saying that he would settle wherever his ship hit the shore, he decided to leave it up to the gods. As a chieftain, he sat on a high seat that had pillars with engravings on them. These carved pillars had the family name, a special emblem and representations of all of the gods. However, it is worth noting that the chieftain owed their highest allegiance to the god that was prominently represented on the pillars.

Interestingly, Ingólfur took those carved pillars from his high seat and threw them into the water. He vowed that he would build his farm wherever those pillars came ashore on the island. Where his ship hit the shore is called Ingólfshöfði and he spent his first winter there, but that is not where the pillars were found.

Ingólfur sent two of his Celtic slaves, Vífill and Karli, to search for the pillars. Incredibly, it took them 3 years to find the carved pillars. They located them in a small bay in the south western part of the country. The slaves reported back to Ingólfur that they had found the pillars, but were not impressed with the land where the pillars were located. Ingólfur seemed to not care much about their opinion of the place. The gods had made their decision and Ingólfur moved to that place. He named the area Reykjavík, which literally means steam or smoke bay, because of the large amount of steam rising up from the nearby hot springs.

Legal Owner of South Western Iceland

To give you some kind of reference of how much land Ingólfur claimed, his farm was between the Botnsá river in Hvalfjörður, or whale fjord, in the west to Ölfusá river in the east. According to Google Maps, if you wanted to travel from one river to the next, you would have to walk almost 100 kilometers or about 62 miles. As a reward for finding the pillars, Ingólfur gave Vílfill and Karli their freedom and land to set up farms. He also gave a considerable amount of land to his relatives that came to settle in Iceland.

At some point, Ingólfur was the legal owner of the South Western part of Iceland. However,
11 min
December 26, 2018 How to Ring in The New Year Icelandic Style – Ep. 32

Now that some of the major Christmas events are over, Icelandic people are gearing up for the New Year. While I did talk about how amazing it is to celebrate the New Year in Iceland in episode 23, which is all about Icelandic Holidays, Traditions and Celebrations and episode 31, "16 Christmas Activities to in Reykjavík, Iceland", I still feel like the New Year's celebration in Iceland deserves an episode of its own. After all, it is one of the most joyous, noisy and fun nights of the year. Well, at least it is for me.

Go to a Community Bonfire

Most Icelandic people start out New Year’s eve with a gathering of friends and family for a lovely dinner. If you don’t have an Icelandic family to join, no worries because there are restaurants that are open that night. Because the word has gotten out that Reykjavík is the place to be to ring in the New Year, there are even tours now that take care of all of your logistics for that night. I haven’t gone on any so I can’t vouch for them. However, a quick google search of “New Year’s tours in Reykjavik” will bring up a lot of tour results.

After dinner, people head out around 8 or 9 to their community bonfire to enjoy the warmth from the crackling fire, chat with friends, some people are singing and many others are reflecting on the past year. It is such a cosy time. There are 18 places where bonfires will be in the Reykjavík area this year. Due to safety reasons, the use of fireworks near bonfires are forbidden. Just keep that in mind if you plan to buy some to set off during the night.

The Annual Comedy Show

After spending some time at their local bonfire, everyone hurries inside to watch Áramótaskaupið, or skaupið for short. It comes on TV promptly at 10:30 pm. This is a one hour sketch comedy show, similar to Saturday Night Live, that only happens on New Year's Eve.

Besides major Icelandic football matches, this is probably the most watched show in the country. The show is a comedic view of all of the major events that have happened in Iceland throughout the year. Unfortunately, scandals have become quite common in Iceland, so those are always made fun of during the show. There are also jokes about artists, well known business people, activists, crazy things that tourists do and any odd occurrences. If you have not been keeping up with the Icelandic news and if you do not understand Icelandic, you will be lost.

However, it is just an hour and you might find some of the situations funny, even if you can’t understand what is being said. Also, the majority of the country is watching the show, so it will be very quiet during that time. If you want to see it, you can view it online at ruv.is. You just click sjónvarpið, or on channel 1 if you have a television where you are staying. After the show, Icelandic people usually talk about whether is was ...
12 min
December 19, 2018 16 Christmas Activities to Do While Visiting Iceland – Ep. 31

Christmas in Iceland is a lovely time. Everyone is merry and there are lots of fun events happening. I purposefully decided not to include activities that not specific to Christmas on this list. You won’t hear me say, hunt for Northern Lights, go on a Glacier Walk, ride an Icelandic horse and so on during this episode. While those activities are awesome, they can be experienced when it is not Christmas in Iceland. Because the Christmas season in Iceland lasts for about a month, you will have lots of time to tick off some of the activities on this list.

1. Try Icelandic Christmas Beer (jólabjór)

I am a big fan of tasty beers and Iceland has a thriving craft beer culture. In fact, one of my favorite episodes of this podcast is my interview about Iceland’s complicated and fascinating beer history with Óli the brewmaster at Ægisgarður brewery. Icelandic brewers start to offer their special Christmas brews around mid November. It is a glorious time and there are such tasty varieties. My two favorite are Egill’s Malt Jólabjór and Einstök´s Icelandic doppelbock. I highly recommend trying those and others while you are. I know that some Icelandic companies are exporting their beer, so you might find some Icelandic Christmas beer at a distributor near you.

2. Laufabrauð

Next up is eating Laufabrauð, or leaf bread. Some people even call it snowflake bread. It is at type of bread that looks like a thin, flat cake. Geometric or leaf like patterns are cut into it and it is then fried quickly in fat or oil. It is only served during this time and it is yummy. Some people make it at home and many buy them from bakeries. Many of the supermarkets in Reykjavík carry them, but if you can get your hands on some fresh, homemade laufrabrauð, you are in for a treat.

3. Ice Skating in Ingólfstorg

Ice skating, in general, is an activity that you can do in Iceland at any time of the year at the Laugadalur sports center. However, ice skating outside in
19 min
December 12, 2018 Halldór Laxness – Iceland’s Nobel Prize Winner for Literature

As I have mentioned in previous episodes, literature plays a big role in Icelandic society. Halldór’s nobel prize for his literature about Icelandic society is something that Icelandic people are very proud of.

He was born in Reykjavík in 1902 and his parents moved to the Laxnes farm near Mosfellsdalur when Halldór was three. His birth name was Halldór Guðjónsson but he changed it later on in life. In his own memoirs, he describes himself as an odd child. He learned to read and write at an early age, and spent a lot of time scribbling away in his notebook. From 1915 to 1916, he attended a technical school in Reykjavík and had his first article published in Morgunblaðið, a local newspaper, when he was 14 years old. By the age of 17, Halldór had already published his first book “Barn náttúrunnar”. He also had traveled abroad to other countries in Europe.

Laxness Converts to Catholicism

Surprisingly, he joined a Benedictine monastery in Luxembourg in 1922. Halldór was baptized and confirmed Catholic in 1923. After being confirmed, he took on the last name Laxness, after the farm that he grew up on in Reykjavík. He also took on the name Kiljan, which is the Icelandic version of the name Irish martyr Saint Killian.

In episode 29, which is right before this, I talk about Iceland’s unique and strict naming system. Very few people in Iceland have family names and Laxness is one of them.

During his stay at the monastery, Halldór read lots of books and studied French, Latin, theology and philosophy. He also joined a group in the monastery that prayed for the reversion of Nordic countries back to Catholicism. He wrote about his experiences during that time in the books Undir Helgahnúk and Vefarinn mikli frá Kasmir (The Great Weaver from Kashmir). The Icelandic critic Kristján Albertsson gave Halldór’s “The Great Weaver from Kashmir” a great review. He said the following about the novel that had been published in 1927,

"Finally, finally, a grand novel which towers like a cliff above the flatland of contemporary Icelandic poetry and fiction! Iceland has gained a new literary giant - it is our duty to celebrate the fact with joy!"Kristján Albertsson

Socialism

Laxness lived in the United States from 1927 until 1929.
12 min
December 07, 2018 Episode 01: Idea To Execution
A wonderful serenity has taken possession of my entire soul, like these sweet mornings of spring which I enjoy with my whole heart. I am alone, and feel the charm of existence in this spot, which was created for the bliss of souls like mine. I am so happy, my dear friend, so absorbed in the exquisite sense of mere tranquil existence, that I neglect my talents. I should be incapable of drawing a single stroke at the present moment; and yet I feel that I never was a greater artist than now.
When, while the lovely valley teems with vapour around me, and the meridian sun strikes the upper surface of the impenetrable foliage of my trees, and but a few stray gleams steal into the inner sanctuary, I throw myself down among the tall grass by the trickling stream; and, as I lie close to the earth, a thousand unknown plants are noticed by me: when I hear the buzz of the little world among the stalks, and grow familiar with the countless indescribable forms of the insects and flies, then I feel the presence of the Almighty, who formed us in his own image, and the breath of that universal love which bears and sustains us, as it floats around us in an eternity of bliss; and then, my friend, when darkness overspreads my eyes, and heaven and earth seem to dwell in my soul and absorb its power, like the form of a beloved mistress, then I often think with longing, Oh, would I could describe these conceptions, could impress upon paper all that is living so full and warm within me, that it might be the mirror of my soul, as my soul is the mirror of the infinite God!
I should be incapable of drawing a single stroke at the present moment; and yet I feel that I never was a greater artist than now.
O my friend — but it is too much for my strength — I sink under the weight of the splendour of these visions! A wonderful serenity has taken possession of my entire soul, like these sweet mornings of spring which I enjoy with my whole heart. I am alone, and feel the charm of existence in this spot, which was created for the bliss of souls like mine. I am so happy, my dear friend, so absorbed in the exquisite sense of mere tranquil existence, that I neglect my talents.
When, while the lovely valley teems with vapour around me, and the meridian sun strikes the upper surface of the impenetrable foliage of my trees, and but a few stray gleams steal into the inner sanctuary, I throw myself down among the tall grass by the trickling stream; and, as I lie close to the earth, a thousand unknown plants are noticed by me: when I hear the buzz of the little world among the stalks, and grow familiar with the countless indescribable forms of the insects.
0 min
December 07, 2018 Episode 03: Advanced Roasting Tips
A wonderful serenity has taken possession of my entire soul, like these sweet mornings of spring which I enjoy with my whole heart. I am alone, and feel the charm of existence in this spot, which was created for the bliss of souls like mine. I am so happy, my dear friend, so absorbed in the exquisite sense of mere tranquil existence, that I neglect my talents. I should be incapable of drawing a single stroke at the present moment; and yet I feel that I never was a greater artist than now.
When, while the lovely valley teems with vapour around me, and the meridian sun strikes the upper surface of the impenetrable foliage of my trees, and but a few stray gleams steal into the inner sanctuary, I throw myself down among the tall grass by the trickling stream; and, as I lie close to the earth, a thousand unknown plants are noticed by me: when I hear the buzz of the little world among the stalks, and grow familiar with the countless indescribable forms of the insects and flies, then I feel the presence of the Almighty, who formed us in his own image, and the breath of that universal love which bears and sustains us, as it floats around us in an eternity of bliss; and then, my friend, when darkness overspreads my eyes, and heaven and earth seem to dwell in my soul and absorb its power, like the form of a beloved mistress, then I often think with longing, Oh, would I could describe these conceptions, could impress upon paper all that is living so full and warm within me, that it might be the mirror of my soul, as my soul is the mirror of the infinite God!
I should be incapable of drawing a single stroke at the present moment; and yet I feel that I never was a greater artist than now.
O my friend — but it is too much for my strength — I sink under the weight of the splendour of these visions! A wonderful serenity has taken possession of my entire soul, like these sweet mornings of spring which I enjoy with my whole heart. I am alone, and feel the charm of existence in this spot, which was created for the bliss of souls like mine. I am so happy, my dear friend, so absorbed in the exquisite sense of mere tranquil existence, that I neglect my talents.
When, while the lovely valley teems with vapour around me, and the meridian sun strikes the upper surface of the impenetrable foliage of my trees, and but a few stray gleams steal into the inner sanctuary, I throw myself down among the tall grass by the trickling stream; and, as I lie close to the earth, a thousand unknown plants are noticed by me: when I hear the buzz of the little world among the stalks, and grow familiar with the countless indescribable forms of the insects.
0 min
December 05, 2018 Iceland’s Unique & Strict Naming Traditions – Ep. 29
Icelandic names can be difficult to pronounce, spell and understand when being spoken, especially for someone that doesn’t know the language. Even though, Icelandic people are pretty laid back about many things, mainly because they live in a world where flexibility of plans is a crucial part of their survival, they take their names seriously. I will first start out with explaining the structure of Icelandic names, and then I will delve a bit deeper into the fascinating rules and unique cultural aspects of this system.

Structure of Icelandic Names
In Iceland, a native person’s last name is usually a combination of their father’s first name and if they are his daughter or son. I say usually because this system is mostly patronymic. However, there are people whose last name is a combination of their mother’s first name and if they are her daughter or son.

For example, let’s say there is a woman named Guðrún who has a father with the first name Jón. Her name will be Guðrún Jónsdóttir, or literally Guðrún the daughter of Jón. If there is a man named Guðmundur and his father´s first name is Helgi, his name will be Guðmundur Helgason. Literally, his name is Guðmundur the son of Helgi. You might have noticed that the names Jón and Helgi changed a little bit when they became last names (Jónsdóttir and Helgason). This has to do with the structure of the Icelandic language and how words are declined depending on the grammatical case they are in.

Additionally, someone’s last name can be a combination of their parent’s middle name and their gender. Some Icelandic people prefer to be called by their middle name rather than their first name. In fact, an Icelander might decide that their middle fits the child’s name better when made into a last name.
An Easy System to Learn
While this system might confusing at first, the good news is that the learning curve for understanding this system is fairly easy. If you know an Icelandic person’s full name, you will know right away if they are male or female. This can be helpful, especially since some Icelandic first names are quite unique. For instance, it might be hard for a foreigner to know if someone named Guðbjörg is male or female. Just for the record, it is a female name. Random side note, I am curious to see how Iceland’s system adapts to individuals that do not conform to a gender, but I won’t be diving into that topic today.
A Country (Mostly) Without Family Names
Because an Icelandic person’s last name is dependent on one of their parent’s first names and their gender, there are mostly no family names. For example, a family of four that has two parents and two kids, one male and the other female, will all have different last names. In the following example, I will do my best to explain this. However, if it gets confusing, please check out the list of names for the family below.

Gunnar Guðmundsson is married to Katrín Einarsdóttir. They have two kids, a daughter named Guðný and a son named Björgvin. The parents have decided to take the traditional route and the kids last names will have the father’s first name. The full names of the kids are Guðný Gunnarsdóttir and Björgvin Gunnarsson. When you look at all of the names spelled out in a row, they are all different.
Icelandic Family of 4 (Example)

* Gunnar Guðmundsson
* Katrín Einardóttir
* Guðný Gunnarsdóttir
* Björgvin Gunnarsson

Of course, same sex siblings, such as brothers, will have the same last name in a family as long as they share the same father or mother whose first or middle name is being used for their last name.

Icelandic people do not see this system as strange. However, the majority of people from other countries are shocked to hear this fact. Finding this out made Iceland even more intriguing to m...
17 min