Raving Ravens

The Spirit of Iceland

The people of Iceland, Greenland and the Faroe Islands are the free people - growing up in the wild, unspoiled nature of the North. Dependent on the often ruthless natrual forces of the North Atlantic they learn that the only one they can rely on for survival, is themselves.

That is the spirit of freedom.

That is the spirit of the North.

Hjörtur

This fantastic image of the clouds taking the form of a giant bird taking off was shot just before midnight last night by Ingvar Vilhjálmsson in Keflavik, Iceland.

The Best of 2010 and What to Expect in 2011

Here's a list of some of the most popular articles in 2010. This has been a very memorable year in many ways with two volcanic eruptions in Fimmvörðuháls and Eyjafjallajökull, comedy politics, my family winning "The Greatest Holiday in the World" and some memorable trips of my own. I started the blog in April and have published 72 posts. I've also added a few pics from upcoming articles so you know what to expect in the new year :)

Happy new year :)

200 meter high lava falls, the highest ever known. Image by Fredrik Holm.

 The eruption in Eyjafjallajokull got most of the attention in the beginning with the most popular post being Iceland Volcano Photos which includes some of the pictures that have been chosen the best pictures of the year world wide. Highly recommended with out of this world images. 

Helicopter Rescue in Icelandic waters. Image by Hjortur Smarason

I got to ride with some True Icelandic Heroes practicing a helicopter rescue. These are the men Icelandic sailors and travelers rely on no matter how the weather is. And the weather can be BAD in Iceland. 

Politics in Iceland where also in the spot light when The Best Party led by a comedian called Jon Gnarr won the city and Jon Gnarr became the mayor of Reykjavik.

Many were eager to explore the new volcano on Fimmvorduhals, including Top Gear's James May who got world attention when he drove a modified Toyota Hilux from Arctic Trucks onto the erupting volcano.

Arctic Puppy in the middle of Route 66 in the Westfjords, Iceland. Image by Hjortur Smarason.

I took a road trip of my own driving Route 66 in Iceland, a short but adventurous mountain road in the Westfjords, Iceland. I love to travel and I love to travel with my kids. I'm eternally grateful for all those who supported us in the competition for "The Greatest Holiday in the World".

Seljalandsfoss, by Pétur Gunnarsson

The uncounted waterfalls all over the place in Iceland, Greenland and the Faroe Islands are an important part of the landscape. It's a Waterful World!

The Northern Lights above the Fimmvorduhals volcanic eruption. Image by Mike Herbert.

Even more amazing are the Northern Lights, dancing in the arctic sky. The never cease to amaze me no matter how often I witness them :) These pictures are simply breathtaking.  

It's not just nature that is creative, but also the people. On Mondays I've introduced a local artist and the most creative ones are probably the members of Orka, a Faroese band that is worth checking out!

White Tailed Sea Eagle in Greenland. Image by Hjortur Smarason.

Birds are another reason people visit these islands with Latrabjarg, Europe's largest bird cliff and the once almost extinct white tailed sea eagle. 

Despite the rough economy in Iceland, a few students launched a space program of their own successfully launching a space craft and retrieving it again.

They weren't the only ones denying to let anyone tell them where they could go and where not. Kirsten Kester is one of the guest bloggers on Raving Ravens and told us how she explored Iceland from her electric wheel chair and Veerle van den Broeck told us why she chose to move to Iceland to study, to her friends surprise. I also posted a few videos from visiting tourists like Nick Miners and Mark Casey's video Ice, Water and Stream.

And finally my picture of the lunar eclipse on December 21st and the sun at it's highest point in Reykjavik during winter solstice got surprisingly much traffic. 

 

In 2011 many more tales will be told here on Raving Ravens including my bicycle tour across Selárdalsheidi mountain, an ancient trail that was very rough on my mountain bike, my search - and find - of an ancient Viking grave following guide lines from an ancient folk lore, a hike from Narsarsuaq to the inland Ice in Greenland and home of Leif Ericsson in Brattahlid in Qassiarsuk in Greenland. It will be exciting to see what more adventures the new year will bring. So be sure you've subscribed to my blog via RSS or on Facebook or follow me on Twitter so you don't miss out on the best of 2011 :)

As always, I'm eager to hear stories from other travelers from Iceland, Greenland and the Faroe Islands if you're interested in guest posting or have some pictures or videos to share.

Happy New Year :)

Hjörtur Smárason

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MusicMonday: Teitur - Happy Christmas (the war is over)

Here is one of Faroes' best singer Teitur singing the Lennon classic Happy Christmas. It's shot in Copenhagen on a snowy day and notice that it is all just one shot.

 

Hjörtur Smárason

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Lighting up the dark with Christmas songs

It's a tradition here to attend Christmas concerts during the long winter nights in the North. Bringing warmth and light into the darkest season many people find that there can be no Christmas with out these concerts. 

In the video below we see the Faroese Eivör and the Icelandic Ragga sing "One Little Christmas Tree", recorded at the Frost Roses concert in Hallgrímskirkja church in Reykjavik in December 2007.

 

Hjörtur Smárason

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MusicMonday: Northern Lights Dancing to Eivør Pálsdóttir's "Den liuse dag forgangen er"

We had some spectacular Northern Lights dancing above Reykjavik this weekend. The season has started but you need to get the right weather - cold and clear skies. 

In pagan times we believed that the northern lights where reflections from the Valkyries' armour as they rode the black arctic sky. The Valkyries are powerful women who ride the skies searching for brave men. They were the ones who chose who would die and who would live in the battlefield and bring the bravest fighters to Valhalla, the palace of Odin, the mightiest of the Nordic Gods.  There they would become Einherjar, fight in the fields during the day and then party all night long. 

In the video below we see time lapsed images of northern lights from Salten in Norway (from National Geographic). Eivör Pálsdóttir sings her song "Den liuse dag forgangen er" (the bright day has passed) with her seductive Valkyrie like voice.

 

Hjörtur Smárason

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MusicMonday: Fjøllini standa úti - Orka with Eivør Pálsdóttir and Yann Tiersen

What do people do, stranded on a little rock in the middle of the North Atlantic ocean? They make music. And they don't even need fancy instruments from Italy or Austria, they just make them themselves from what they can find in the garage.

Orka is one of the most creative bands I've ever seen on stage. It's members being some of the most talented Faroese musicians it becomes a truly unique experience to witness their act. Their use of instruments reminds of the German band Einstürzende Neubauten but their music is created in collaboration with the French composer Yann Tiersen. Here's a recording from their performance at the Spot Festival in Denmark in May 2009 where they had the fascinating Faroese singer Eivør Pálsdóttir with them. If they ever play on stage near you, I highly recommend checking them out. Pay special attention to their musical instruments:

 

And here is the band in the making:

 

Hjörtur

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MusicMonday: Romeo & Julia - Friðrik Ómar and Jógvan Hansen

The people of Iceland and the Faroe Islands have a lot in common and feel strong ties between the islands. With related culture, history and language we probably feel closer to each other than to any other nation. Two of the most loved Icelandic and Faroese singers decided to seal this friendship by recording a record with a combination of popular Icelandic and Faroese songs, sung in both languages. Here's one of Bubbi's most popular songs Romeo & Julia performed in Icelandic and Faroese by Friðrik Ómar and Jógvan Hansen:

Hjörtur

MusicMonday: Louis, Louis - Teitur

The people of the Faroe Islands must be the descendants of sailors and sirens. Everybody seems to be able to sing like an angel there. Going to a karaoke bar in Thorshavn is actually an enjoyable experience, because even though the singers are just "ordinary" people, and totally wasted, they can still sing like a star.

One of the brightest stars in the Faroe Islands is with out a doubt Teitur. Already popular as a young kid he has now went on to conquer the world with his fascinating voice. Here's his song Louis, Louis:

 

Hjörtur

 

 

MusicMonday: Høgni Lisberg - Been Out of Town

The Faroese music scene is amazing. On this tiny little island with less than 50.000 inhabitants you can find very talented musicians in just about every single house. Go to Karaoke bar in Torshavn is a unique experience because all the drunks actually CAN SING!

That does not mean that all those who can sing are drunks though. Today I'm going to introduce Høgni Lisberg, a talented young musician from the Faroe Islands who's been playing quite a bit in Denmark, Iceland and the UK. This is a recording from Danish television where he's performing Been Out of Town.

Høgni, take it away:

And here is his latest video, Burstin' Bubble:

You can check out his official home page on hogni.com.

Hjörtur

What a Waterful World! Part 1 - Waterfalls in Iceland, Greenland and the Faroe Islands.

Water is the foundation of life. Here in the North we have the privilege of having what feels like unlimited sources of fresh water (though in some cases, it's frozen). 

Here are a few awesome examples of the water flowing around us:

Gásadalur in the Faroe Islands by g.Norðoy 

This amazing shot of Seljalandsfoss in South-Iceland is called "Tears of Heaven", shot by Pétur Gunnarsson. When you drive east Route 1 you can see the waterfall for a long period. Do stop when you get there. You can actually walk behind the 60 meter high waterfall and standing behind it watching the world through the waterfall is a pretty amazing thing.

Godafoss waterfall in N-Iceland. When Iceland was Christened in the year 1.000 Þorgeir Ljósvetningagoði took his pagan god statues and threw them in the waterfall. Since then it's been called Goðafoss, or the waterfall of the gods. The waterfall is at the northern end of Sprengisandur. This fantastic picture of the waterfall is the work of Andri Elfarsson - who's got many more like it!

Svartifoss waterfall in Skaftafell National Park, one of the most photogenic waterfalls in Iceland. And not as scary as many of the big ones. It's an easy hike up to the waterfall from the parking lot at Skaftafell. A photo by - f i r s t l i g h t - 

What makes Svartifoss so photogenic is the amazing basalt columns that surround the waterfall like a cathedral. Looking at this waterfall, you can see what inspires the architecture of Hallgrimskirkja church in Reykjavik. This winterphoto from Svartifoss is taken by Örvar Atli. 

Gullfoss waterfall at winter time - all frozen. This photo is taken by Sandra Dögg in -17°C. 

Dettifoss waterfall in Iceland, Europe's most powerful waterfall. It's a long way for the melting water from Vatnajokull to the sea and big rivers run to the south, east and north. This one, Jökulsá á Fjöllum (literally meaning glacier river on mountains), runs to the north. The waterfall is so loud that you have to shout to the ear of the person next to you and you can feel the earth trembling beneath you. Still, it gets three times bigger during floods. This dramatic picture of Dettifoss waterfall is by Elis Bergur.

Dynjandi (e. Thunderous) waterfall in Arnarfjordur in the Westfjords in Iceland. It's in a fjord within a fjord and derives its name from the thundering sound you hear when you sail in the fjord. Because of where it is located, you hear the waterfall long before you see it. This is a picture perfect waterfall and one of my favorites, maybe partly because I grew up in this fjord as a kid. Nowadays, I and a few colleagues offer guided hiking tours in the area during summer. This picture is taken by Völundur Jónsson.

Skogarfoss waterfall, right below the infamous Eyjafjallajokull volcano. And a nice old Beetle in the forground. A photo by Ingibjorn. This is a must stop on route 1 in Iceland.

A waterfall in a small creek in Greenland by Miguel A Pedrera. 

An unknown waterfall in Greenland by sibuxton.

Though the rivers are usually short in Greenland, they can be very powerful. Here's a short river running from the Greenland ice cap. Shot by Twoodburn2001.  

Nope, this is not Greenland. This is actually from the Faroe Islands. Waterfalls everywhere. Shot by little-frank. 

and finally, a water falling up instead of down in the Faroe Islands. This image is called "Áin flettur upp um seg" by Jan Egil Kristensen who has an interesting description of the phenomenon, explaining the phrase: "A more literal meaning is when a woman is lifting her skirt - think Marilyn Monroe. Probably an element of male wishful thinking here. If the wind can lift the creek, it would have done wonders to a girl's skirt. Keep in mind that underwear was not worn until the early 1900s."

What a waterful world!

Hjörtur